Building a SaaS? Meet other builders, share your progress, and get feedback.

Join our Discord
Get featured

Explore ShowMeYourSaaS

FIND YOUR FIT

Stripe alternatives

Compare PayPal, Square, Paddle, Polar, and Adyen as Stripe alternatives by fee model, merchant of record coverage, and the kind of business each suits.

What do you need to change?

Most teams that look beyond Stripe want one of three things: someone else to take on sales tax and VAT as merchant of record, a checkout their buyers already trust or one that also works at a shop counter, or pricing built for enterprise volume. Paddle and Polar sell on your behalf as merchant of record, PayPal adds a familiar wallet and Square joins in-person and online sales, and Adyen is built for large businesses on Interchange++ pricing.

A focused editorial selection based on the linked official documentation. Fit notes are our judgment, rather than firsthand benchmark results or a universal ranking. How we select and verify information.

Stripe alternatives at a glance

Stripe and its alternatives: main focus and free option
ToolBest forFree option
Stripe (current)Online payments that developers integrate through APIs or prebuilt checkout pages, with subscriptions, invoicing, and in-person payments as further products.No monthly fee; pay per transaction
PayPalAdding a payment option many buyers already have an account for, through buttons on your site or a full checkout integration.Check fees for your country
SquareBusinesses that sell in person and online and want one system for both, from a single location to several.Free plan; pay per transaction
PaddleSoftware businesses that want another company to sell on their behalf and take on global tax and payment compliance.No monthly fee; pay per sale
PolarDevelopers selling software, subscriptions, or digital products who want tax handled for them and publicly posted rates.Free Starter plan; pay per sale
AdyenLarge businesses and platforms processing high volumes across countries and channels.No monthly fee; pay per transaction

Five alternatives to consider

Payment platforms

PayPal

Consider PayPal when many of your buyers prefer paying from a PayPal account, Venmo, or Pay Later, whether as your main checkout or as a button next to card payments.

Checkout buttons that let buyers pay with PayPal, Venmo, Pay Later, or a debit or credit card, plus recurring billing through PayPal Subscriptions.

Pricing model
PayPal publishes its merchant fees by country and payment type; check the current rates for your country and the payment methods you plan to accept before comparing.
Before choosing
Decide whether PayPal will be your only checkout or a button alongside card payments from another provider, and test a subscription sign-up, a failed renewal, and a refund in the sandbox.
Payment platforms

Square

Consider Square when you sell in person as well as online and want card readers, point of sale, and payment links in one account, starting on a free plan.

Point-of-sale software, card readers, and online payments in one account, with payment links, a hosted checkout, invoices, and subscriptions APIs.

Pricing model
Square Free has no monthly fee; Square Plus and Square Premium add a monthly fee for each location and lower processing fees. Processing fees apply to each transaction and vary by payment method; businesses processing large volumes can ask about custom pricing.
Before choosing
The pricing page shown here is for the US; check Square's availability, plans, and processing fees in your own country, and which features need Plus or Premium.
Payment platforms

Paddle

Consider Paddle when you sell SaaS or apps internationally and want a merchant of record to handle tax, billing support, and chargebacks for one all-inclusive rate.

A merchant of record for SaaS, apps, and digital products that handles payments, checkout, subscriptions, sales tax, and buyer support.

Pricing model
An all-inclusive pay-as-you-go rate on each checkout transaction covers payments, tax compliance, fraud protection, chargebacks, and buyer support, with no monthly or migration fees. Custom pricing is available for high-volume or complex businesses.
Before choosing
As merchant of record, Paddle is the seller your customers see on receipts and handles their billing queries; check that its acceptable products and checkout fit what you sell.
Payment platforms

Polar

Consider Polar when you want a merchant of record with posted rates, a free starting plan, usage-based billing, and open-source code.

An open-source merchant of record and billing platform for software, with subscriptions, usage-based billing, seat-based pricing, and automated delivery of benefits.

Pricing model
A free Starter plan charges a per-transaction rate with no monthly fee. Three optional paid plans add a fixed monthly fee in exchange for a lower per-transaction rate and prioritised support; you can switch at any time.
Before choosing
Polar's documentation says it is built on Stripe and acts as a reseller of your goods; check its acceptable use policy and supported countries before you migrate subscribers.
Payment platforms

Adyen

Consider Adyen when you process enterprise volumes across many countries and channels and want Interchange++ pricing with no monthly fee.

A payments platform for enterprises covering online, in-app, and in-person payments, payouts, and embedded financial products through one integration.

Pricing model
Each transaction carries a fixed processing fee plus a fee set by the payment method, with many card schemes on Interchange++ pricing. There are no setup or monthly fees; other products are priced separately.
Before choosing
Its website is aimed at enterprises and routes new businesses to its sales team; confirm that your volume and business model qualify before planning a migration.

When Stripe may still fit

Keep Stripe when your developers want fine-grained APIs for checkout, subscriptions, and marketplaces, and you are happy to stay the seller. If tax compliance is the only reason to leave, compare Stripe's own Managed Payments, a merchant of record option charged on top of payment fees, before migrating.

On standard Stripe you remain the seller, so you handle sales tax and VAT registration and filing yourself unless you use Managed Payments; check whether your products and integration are eligible for it.

Before you switch

  1. Decide whether you want to stay the seller and file sales tax and VAT yourself, or have a merchant of record do it, before comparing rates.
  2. Price a typical month under each fee model, including international cards, currency conversion, refunds, and disputes, using each provider's current pricing page.
  3. Plan how existing subscriptions and saved payment details would move, and run a test purchase, failed renewal, and refund in each sandbox.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Stripe alternative that handles sales tax and VAT for me?

Paddle and Polar act as merchant of record, so they sell to your customers and take on international sales tax for you. Stripe also offers this itself through Managed Payments, which adds a per-transaction charge on top of its payment fees. PayPal, Square, and Adyen leave tax compliance with you.

Is there a free alternative to Stripe?

No payment provider here processes payments for free; each charges per transaction. Stripe, Paddle, and Adyen have no monthly fee on their standard pricing, Polar has a free Starter plan, and Square has a free plan with paid upgrades. Check PayPal's fees for your country.

Is Lemon Squeezy still a good Stripe alternative?

Stripe acquired Lemon Squeezy in 2024. In January 2026 its CEO wrote that the team is focused on Stripe Managed Payments, that support and product updates had slowed, and that Lemon Squeezy users will get a way to migrate. In our judgment, a new business should compare Stripe Managed Payments, Paddle, or Polar instead.

How does Stripe pricing compare with Paddle?

Stripe charges per successful transaction for payments, with tax, billing, and Managed Payments priced as separate products. Paddle charges one all-inclusive rate per checkout transaction that covers payments, tax compliance, and buyer support. Neither charges a monthly fee on its standard pricing.

Stripe vs Square

Stripe vs Square: compare a developer-first payments platform with a point-of-sale system that also sells online, by fee model and plans.

Read the guide

Stripe vs PayPal

Stripe vs PayPal: compare an API-first card payments platform with PayPal's wallet-based checkout for one-off sales and subscriptions.

Read the guide

Sources and check dates

Provider documentation supports the product and billing descriptions. Confirm current limits and terms before choosing a plan.

Stripe

Checked

PayPal

Checked

Square

Checked

Paddle

Checked

Polar

Checked

Adyen

Checked

ShowMeYourSaaS also offers commercial product coverage. These guides follow our editorial selection criteria; placement is not a purchased ranking. Send a correction with the page and a supporting source.