Originally published at hafiz.dev
Every "Stripe vs Paddle" comparison I've read compares features. Webhook flexibility. Checkout customization. API surface area. That's useful if you're an engineer evaluating architecture, but it's useless if you're a bootstrapped founder trying to figure out how much money you'll actually keep.
So let's do the math instead. I'm going to take a $100/month subscription and trace it through both platforms, including the fees that most comparisons conveniently leave out. Then I'll tell you which one I'd pick at different stages, and why.
Both platforms have official Laravel packages: laravel/cashier (v16.5, Stripe) and laravel/cashier-paddle (v2.8, Paddle). Both support Laravel 10 through 13. The integration quality is comparable. So this really comes down to money and operational cost.
What Stripe Actually Costs
Stripe's headline rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in the US, or 1.5% + €0.25 in most of Europe. On a $100 subscription, that's $3.20 in the US. Simple enough.
But if you're running a SaaS with recurring billing, that's not the full picture. You'll probably want Stripe Tax to handle VAT and sales tax automatically. That adds 0.5% per transaction where tax is collected. On our $100 charge, that's another $0.50.
If your customers pay with international cards, add another 1.5%. Currency conversion adds 1-2% on top of that. And chargebacks cost $15 each, win or lose.
Here's the realistic breakdown for a $100 US subscription:
Base processing: $3.20 (2.9% + $0.30)
Stripe Tax: $0.50 (0.5%)
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Total Stripe fees: $3.70
You keep: $96.30
Effective rate: 3.7%
For an EU seller charging €100 to an EU customer:
Base processing: €1.75 (1.5% + €0.25)
Stripe Tax: €0.50 (0.5%)
────────────────────────────────
Total Stripe fees: €2.25
You keep: €97.75
Effective rate: 2.25%
That EU rate looks great. But there's a catch. Stripe Tax calculates and collects the tax. It doesn't file your returns everywhere automatically. You'll still need to register for OSS (One-Stop Shop) in the EU and handle filing, either yourself or through a service. Some of that is included in Stripe's Tax Complete tier, but you'll need to verify coverage for your specific countries.
And none of this includes the time you spend managing it. Configuring Stripe webhooks, handling failed payments, generating compliant invoices, dealing with chargebacks. That's your time or your developer's time, and it has a cost even if it doesn't show up on an invoice.
What Paddle Actually Costs
Paddle's rate is 5% + $0.50 per transaction. Full stop. On a $100 subscription, you pay $5.50. You keep $94.50.
All-inclusive fee: $5.50 (5% + $0.50)
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Total Paddle fees: $5.50
You keep: $94.50
Effective rate: 5.5%
That 5.5% looks painful compared to Stripe's 3.7%. But here's what's included in Paddle's fee that isn't included in Stripe's:
Tax compliance in 200+ countries. Paddle registers, calculates, collects, and files sales tax, VAT, and GST everywhere. You don't touch it. You don't even think about it.
Merchant of Record status. Paddle is the legal seller. Your customer's credit card statement shows "Paddle" (or a Paddle subsidiary), not your company. This means Paddle handles refunds, chargebacks, and compliance obligations. If a customer disputes a charge, Paddle deals with it.
Chargeback protection. Included in the 5%. No $15 per dispute fee.
Invoicing. Paddle generates compliant invoices automatically for every jurisdiction.
The trade-off is clear: Paddle costs more per transaction, but it removes an entire category of operational work.
The Number That Actually Matters
The fee difference on a $100 transaction is $1.80 ($5.50 Paddle vs $3.70 Stripe). On $1,000 MRR, that's $18/month. On $5,000 MRR, it's $90/month. On $10,000 MRR, it's $180/month.
Now compare that to the cost of handling tax compliance yourself with Stripe:
If you're an EU-based solo developer (like me, based in Italy), selling to customers across the EU, you need to handle VAT via OSS. Stripe Tax helps with calculation, but the filing, the registration, the record-keeping: that takes time. Conservative estimate: 2-4 hours per month at the start. If your time is worth $50/hour, that's $100-200/month in opportunity cost.
Add in the occasional chargeback investigation ($15 each plus your time), invoice formatting issues, and the mental load of being legally responsible for tax compliance in dozens of countries. The $90/month difference at $5,000 MRR starts looking like a bargain for Paddle.
But. At $10,000+ MRR, the math shifts. By then you probably have a bookkeeper or accountant. Tax filing is systematized. The $180/month gap becomes real money over a year ($2,160). And Stripe gives you more control: more checkout customization, more webhook flexibility, deeper integration with your application.
The Laravel Integration Side
Both packages follow similar patterns. Install, configure, add the Billable trait to your User model. Both handle subscriptions, plan swapping, cancellation grace periods.
The practical differences:
Checkout flow. Stripe lets you build a fully custom checkout within your app. Paddle uses an overlay or redirect checkout hosted by Paddle. If you want the payment form embedded directly in your Blade views, Stripe gives you that control. With Paddle, the customer briefly leaves your UI.
Webhooks. Both packages register webhook routes automatically. Stripe sends more granular events (payment_intent.succeeded, invoice.payment_failed, customer.subscription.updated). Paddle sends fewer, broader events (transaction.completed, subscription.activated). For most SaaS apps, both provide everything you need. Stripe's granularity matters more if you're building complex billing flows with metered usage or prorations.
Refunds. With Stripe (via laravel/cashier), you call $user->refund($paymentId) and handle the money movement yourself. With Paddle (via laravel/cashier-paddle), you call $transaction->refund() and Paddle handles everything including the tax adjustment.
Testing. Both have sandbox/test modes. Stripe's test mode is more mature with more test card numbers and edge case simulation. Paddle's sandbox works but has fewer testing tools.
My Recommendation
Under $5,000 MRR, especially if you sell to EU customers: use Paddle.
The time you save on tax compliance, chargeback handling, and invoice generation is worth more than the fee difference. You should be building features and acquiring customers, not debugging VAT edge cases in Slovenia. Paddle lets you ship billing in an afternoon and forget about it.
Above $10,000 MRR, or if you need deep checkout customization: use Stripe.
At this scale, you can afford to systematize the tax compliance work. The per-transaction savings add up. And Stripe's flexibility lets you build billing experiences that Paddle's checkout overlay can't match.
Between $5,000 and $10,000 MRR: This is the gray zone. If you're still a solo dev or a tiny team, stay on Paddle. If you've hired help and your accountant has capacity, the Stripe migration makes sense.
One more thing to consider. Switching from Paddle to Stripe (or vice versa) mid-flight is painful. Active subscriptions can't be cleanly migrated. Customers may need to re-enter payment details. You could lose 10-20% of subscribers in the churn. So pick the one that fits your next 12-18 months, not just today.
FAQ
Can I start with Paddle and switch to Stripe later?
You can, but it's not seamless. Paddle is the Merchant of Record, so they own the customer billing relationship. When you migrate, each customer needs to set up a new subscription with Stripe. There's no automatic migration path. Plan for some churn.
Does Paddle's checkout hurt conversion rates?
Paddle's overlay checkout is polished and trusted, but it does briefly take the customer out of your UI. Some developers report no measurable difference. Others see a small drop. If your audience is technical (developers, designers), they're less likely to be spooked by a Paddle checkout. If you're selling to enterprise buyers, a branded Stripe checkout embedded in your app may convert better.
What about Lemon Squeezy as an alternative?
Lemon Squeezy is another Merchant of Record platform (now owned by Stripe). It's popular with indie developers and often compared to Paddle. However, there's no official Laravel Cashier package for Lemon Squeezy. You'd need a third-party integration or build your own. If Laravel-native billing is important to you, it's Stripe or Paddle.
Do I still need an accountant with Paddle?
Yes, but your accountant's job gets much simpler. Paddle sends you a monthly payout with a single invoice for their services. Your accountant records one line item of income instead of hundreds of individual transactions with varying tax treatments across jurisdictions. It's the difference between a 30-minute task and a multi-hour one.
Is the 5% + $0.50 negotiable with Paddle?
Paddle offers custom pricing for businesses processing over $50,000/month. If you're approaching that volume, reach out to their sales team. At scale, the negotiated rate can close much of the gap with Stripe.
Wrapping Up
The right choice depends on where you are, not where you want to be. If you're in the first year of a bootstrapped SaaS, every hour you spend on billing infrastructure is an hour you're not spending on the product. Paddle's higher fee buys you that time back. If you're past product-market fit and optimizing unit economics, Stripe's lower fees compound into real savings.
Both laravel/cashier and laravel/cashier-paddle are well-maintained, first-party packages with official Laravel documentation. The integration quality won't be your bottleneck either way. If you're building a Laravel SaaS and want help picking the right billing setup for your stage, get in touch.
