Merchant of record fees compared in 2026: Skalp, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad, Polar and Stripe Managed Payments
A merchant of record sells your digital products in its own name and handles VAT, invoices and chargebacks. They all charge for it differently: a percentage, a flat fee per sale, surcharges for buyers abroad, payout fees and dispute fees. Here are the published fees of six of them side by side, and what one sale actually costs at four prices.
Published fees
| Platform | Fee per sale | Extra charges listed | Monthly plan |
|---|
| Skalp | 3%, 7% on FiveM stores, plus a payment fee: 2.9% + 30¢ on a US card | +1.5% for non-US cards, +0.7% on card subscriptions, 5.4% + €0.30 on euro cards. A lost dispute costs the payment fee and the dispute fee. A bank payout of card sales is free | None |
| Paddle | 5% + 50¢. Bespoke pricing on request for products under $10 | None listed. Chargebacks are included | None |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% + 50¢ | +1.5% for buyers outside the US, +1.5% for PayPal, +0.5% for subscriptions, +3% for affiliate sales, 1% on payouts to banks outside the US | None |
| Gumroad | 10% + 50¢ for direct sales, 30% for sales through Discover | None listed on the pricing page | None |
| Polar, Starter plan | 5% + 50¢ | +1.5% for non-US cards, $15 per dispute whatever the outcome, $2 a month with active payouts plus 0.25% + 25¢ per payout | None. Lower rates on paid plans from $20 a month |
| Stripe Managed Payments | 3.5% on top of Stripe's payment fees, which start at 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards | Stripe's +1.5% for international cards and +1% for currency conversion | None |
All figures are from each platform's own pricing or fee pages, read on 24 October 2026. Check them before you decide, because they change.
What one sale costs
The table below is a seller outside the US selling to a buyer outside the US who pays by card, with the payout going to the seller's bank.
| Platform | $5 | $10 | $20 | $50 |
|---|
| Skalp, 3% | $0.65 | $1.02 | $1.74 | $3.93 |
| Skalp FiveM, 7% | $0.83 | $1.39 | $2.50 | $5.83 |
| Paddle | $0.75 | $1.00 | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| Polar, Starter | $0.82 | $1.15 | $1.80 | $3.75 |
| Lemon Squeezy | $0.87 | $1.24 | $1.98 | $4.21 |
| Stripe Managed Payments | $0.75 | $1.19 | $2.08 | $4.75 |
| Gumroad, direct sale | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.50 | $5.50 |
Polar's payout fees and dispute fees are not in the table, because they are charged per payout and per dispute. Stripe Managed Payments is shown with Stripe's US card pricing, an international card and currency conversion. Paddle is shown at its listed rate. Skalp is shown with a card from outside the US in USD, 4.4% + 30¢. On euro cards its payment fee is 5.4% + €0.30, which costs more than this table shows.
What the numbers say
- At $5 Skalp's 3% is the lowest in the table. At $10 it is 2 cents above Paddle.
- At $20 Paddle costs the least and Skalp's 3% comes second. The 7% rate applies to FiveM stores.
- At $50 Paddle comes first, Polar second and Skalp's 3% third.
- A flat fee hurts cheap products most. On a $3 product, 5% + 50¢ takes 22% of the price, and 10% + 50¢ takes 27%.
Costs the fee table does not show
- Disputes. Polar charges $15 for every dispute, won or lost. Skalp answers chargebacks with the bank. If a dispute is lost, you pay back your earnings, the payment fee and the dispute fee.
- Payouts. Lemon Squeezy takes 1% when it pays a bank outside the US, and Polar passes on Stripe's payout fees. A payout of card sales to your bank on Skalp costs nothing, in 40+ countries, and you can also take it in USDT.
- Affiliates. Lemon Squeezy adds 3% to sales that come through an affiliate and takes 2% from the affiliate's payout. Skalp pays partners from your share at the rate you set and adds nothing. How Skalp's partner program works.
- Where the tax comes from. On Skalp you set a net price and the buyer's VAT is added on top, so the tax never comes out of your share.
What you are allowed to sell
The fee only matters if the platform accepts your product. Paddle describes itself as built for software companies and reviews each business before it can sell, and its acceptable use policy names community access among the things it does not support. Skalp accepts individual developers and creators after a seller review of up to 2 business days, and sells software, license keys, downloads, subscriptions, paid Discord membership, scripts with protection applied at upload and stores for game servers.
What comes with the fee on Skalp
- Checkout with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, BLIK, Pix and crypto, in the buyer's currency in Poland, the euro area, the US and Brazil.
- A storefront on your own domain, docs pages, a listing on the Skalp marketplace and ten languages.
- License keys checked by API, subscriptions with trials and usage charges, webhooks and SDKs for Node and Go.
- Co-owners with their own payouts, Amethysts for repeat buyers, coupons, bundles and flash sales. Co-owners, Amethysts.
- Support for you and your buyers 7 days a week.
Questions people ask
Which merchant of record is cheapest?
It depends on your price and where your buyers are. Compare the full cost at your own price, including surcharges, payout fees and dispute fees.
Do merchants of record charge VAT on top of the fee?
The buyer pays the VAT. On Skalp it is added on top of your net price at checkout. The payment fee is calculated on the amount with VAT, and the commission on the net price after that fee.
Is Stripe a merchant of record?
Stripe on its own is a payment processor, so you stay the seller. Stripe Managed Payments is its merchant of record service. Stripe vs a merchant of record.