Paddle

Paddle offers a fundamentally different approach to payment processing that can dramatically simplify operations for SaaS businesses selling internationally. As a Merchant of Record (MoR), Paddle becomes the legal seller of your product—meaning they handle VAT collection, tax filing, and compliance in every country where you have customers. For German SaaS companies selling to customers across the EU and globally, this eliminates one of the biggest operational headaches: tracking VAT thresholds, registering for VAT in multiple countries, and filing returns. Paddle handles all of this, remitting a single payment to you after deducting their fees and taxes owed. The trade-off is cost—Paddle's 5% + €0.50 per transaction is significantly higher than Stripe's fees. However, when you factor in the accounting costs, time, and compliance risk of managing international VAT yourself, many SaaS founders find Paddle's all-inclusive model more economical and certainly less stressful. Paddle also handles subscription billing, checkout, and invoicing, making it a complete revenue platform for digital products.