Question 1

Which payment provider should I choose?

Accepted Answer

It comes down to two things: whether you want to handle tax compliance yourself or have it handled for you, and how much you're willing to pay for that. If you want the lowest fees and are comfortable managing VAT/GST, sales tax, and chargebacks yourself, a payment gateway like Stripe or Braintree is usually the better fit. If you'd rather offload compliance and let someone else act as the legal seller, a Merchant of Record like Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, or Dodo Payments is worth the higher fee. Take the quiz above for a recommendation based on your specific situation.

Question 2

What's the best payment processor for a SaaS startup?

Accepted Answer

There's no single best option - it depends on your stage and priorities. Early-stage SaaS companies selling internationally often start with a Merchant of Record (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, or Dodo Payments) since they don't yet have the resources to manage global tax compliance. Companies with more engineering resources, primarily US-based customers, or very high volume often move to Stripe or Braintree for lower fees and more control.

Question 3

Should I use a payment gateway or a Merchant of Record?

Accepted Answer

Payment gateways (Stripe, Braintree) process the transaction but leave tax collection, compliance, fraud liability, and chargebacks to you. Merchants of Record (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Dodo Payments, PayPro Global, FastSpring, and others) legally sell on your behalf and handle all of that themselves. Gateways charge lower fees; MoRs charge more but remove significant legal and operational overhead - the right choice depends on whether that overhead is worth avoiding at your stage.

Question 4

Which payment provider has the lowest fees?

Accepted Answer

Among pure payment gateways, Braintree (2.89% + $0.29) and Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) are typically the cheapest for domestic cards. Among Merchants of Record, 2Checkout (3.5% + $0.35) and providers like Dodo Payments, Polar, and Suby (4% + $0.40) tend to be the most competitive. The cheapest option isn't always the best one, though - tax handling and compliance change the real cost.

Question 5

Which payment provider is best for selling internationally?

Accepted Answer

Merchants of Record generally handle international sales better out of the box - they collect VAT/GST automatically and offer localized checkout experiences without an extra card surcharge. Stripe and Braintree charge an additional 1.5% on international cards and leave you to register for VAT/GST yourself in every country you sell into.

Question 6

Do I need a Merchant of Record?

Accepted Answer

If you're selling to customers in multiple countries and don't want to register for VAT/GST in each one, track compliance changes, or handle chargebacks yourself, a Merchant of Record removes that burden for a higher per-transaction fee. If you're primarily selling domestically, already have tax and compliance handled, or want to minimize fees, a standard payment gateway is usually enough.

Question 7

Is this an AI chatbot?

Accepted Answer

No. It's a deterministic, rule-based quiz - each answer maps to specific criteria (tax handling, chargeback protection, geography, and more) checked against the same provider data used in our Payment Fee Comparison tool. There's no AI model involved, so the same answers always produce the same result.

Question 8

What if I sell physical products?

Accepted Answer

This quiz and its 12 providers are built for SaaS and digital goods, not physical inventory or shipping. If you sell physical products, use our Ecommerce Platform Comparison tool instead.

Which Payment Provider Should I Use?

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