4 alternatives comparedLast verified 2026-04-21 Live pricing
Looking for an alternative to Recurly?
Whether you need better pricing, different features, or a tool that fits your workflow,
we've compared 4 verified saas billing & payments alternatives below.
Every price is checked daily against vendor pages — no stale data, no guesswork.
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
Stripe is the category standard for SaaS payments. 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction is industry baseline. Stripe Billing at 0.7% platform fee + base processing handles subscription management. For most SaaS under $1M/year, Stripe is the correct default. Developer APIs are best-in-class. You're responsible for sales tax compliance unless you add Stripe Tax ($0.50/transaction).
Industry-standard APIs — best developer experience in payments
Lowest base transaction fees in non-MoR category — 2.9% + $0.30
Stripe Billing at 0.7% platform fee is cheaper than dedicated subscription tools for most SaaS
Lemon Squeezy is the indie developer's Paddle — same MoR model, same 5% + $0.50, but designed for solo makers and small teams shipping digital products. Built-in affiliate program, license key delivery, digital download automation, and email sequences make it a complete e-commerce platform for one-person SaaS and infoproduct businesses. Stripe acquired them in 2024.
Indie-friendly MoR — same 5% + $0.50 as Paddle but designed for solo makers
Built-in affiliate program, license keys, digital downloads, email sequences — all included
Developer experience inherited from Stripe alumni — APIs feel familiar and clean
Paddle is a Merchant of Record — not a payment processor. That distinction matters: Paddle takes legal responsibility for selling your product to customers worldwide, which means they handle sales tax, VAT, GST, refunds, and customer support inquiries. You invoice Paddle, Paddle invoices your customers. 5% + $0.50 per transaction is higher than Stripe but includes tax compliance that would cost $5-20k/year with Stripe + accountant.
Merchant of Record — zero sales tax / VAT / GST compliance work for you
Chargebee is the enterprise subscription billing platform for SaaS with complex needs that Stripe Billing can't handle. Starter tier free up to $250K cumulative is generous for early-stage startups. Performance at $7,188/year ($599/mo) for up to $100K/month handles mid-market subscription complexity. Enterprise tier unlocks multi-entity, account hierarchy, and contract terms — required for large SaaS with enterprise customers.
Starter tier FREE up to $250K cumulative volume — generous runway for early-stage startups