Lemon Squeezy alternatives: 10 merchant of record platforms compared
Sellers of software, courses and subscriptions look past Lemon Squeezy when they want a different fee shape, a vendor with a named home country, or a platform whose roadmap is not tied to a payments company's plans. Others want usage metering, game-store tooling or lower rates at volume. The choice runs between small flat-commission sellers, larger quote-led firms and creator marketplaces.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for Lemon Squeezy? Fungies, Creem and Polar come first in our merchant of record platform ranking. Smaller vendors fill the top three places where the category offers them, and the household names start at place 4. Start with Fungies if you want the same headline rate with a storefront on your own domain. The 10 entries that follow are all ranked in Best Merchant of Record Platforms in 2026; each one explains what sets it apart from Lemon Squeezy.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Free to start, no contract; published rate per transaction, extra fees on some payments
Established in: Not stated by the vendor
Built for: Solo founders and small teams launching a paid product quickly
Not for: Companies that sell to procurement departments on contracts
01
Why buyers look past Lemon Squeezy
01
The headline rate leaves room for extras
Lemon Squeezy prints 5% plus 50 cents per transaction and says some payments, and sales outside the US, can carry small additional fees. The amounts sit in a separate fees document. Sellers of low-priced items feel the fixed 50 cents most, so they compare rates before volume grows.
02
The page itself points to a change of ownership structure
The home page banner reads 2026 Update: Lemon Squeezy + Stripe Managed Payments, and the footer says sold through Link, LLC, formerly Lemon Squeezy LLC. The page explains neither the arrangement nor a timeline. Anyone who must document supplier relationships will want a firmer answer than a banner link.
03
Details inside the page disagree
The pricing page gives 130+ currencies in one place and 95 in the table, and 16 payment methods in one place and 21 in another. None of this stops a sale, but a finance team reconciling payouts and currencies wants figures that match. Compare what each alternative states on its own pages.
you are ready to talk to a sales team about a large catalogue
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03
What each one does differently
1
Fungies
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Fungies gives the store builder away and then keeps a flat 5% plus 50 cents per sale, the same for every product. That one figure covers payments, tax, fraud screening and chargebacks. Publishing on your own domain is part of the offer, and a card is not needed to begin. Lower volume rates are handled by a contact form.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you want the same headline rate with a storefront on your own domain.
Creem is an Estonian merchant of record, named as Armitage Labs OÜ in its terms, that handles payments, taxes, invoices, fraud and chargebacks. It posts one percentage plus a fixed 40 cents, so the per-sale amount is ten cents under Lemon Squeezy's. Credit wallets, affiliate revenue splits and an MCP server round it out.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you want a named EU legal entity and a slightly smaller fixed fee.
Polar targets AI products. It meters tokens, agent runs or GPU seconds and puts subscriptions, prepaid credits and usage charges on a single invoice. A Starter plan costs nothing monthly, and higher plans swap a monthly fee for a lower rate per sale. The Usage Billing Engine is still early access, and the terms point to Delaware.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if your product bills by consumption rather than by licence or seat.
Dodo Payments bundles licence keys, storefronts, affiliate programmes and digital delivery with VAT, GST and sales tax handling. Its standard published rate covers domestic US sales only, so international orders need a check before you commit. Bank debits by ACH or SEPA carry a capped flat percentage on one-off payments.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you sell downloads or licences and want affiliates in the same tool.
Nexway is a French firm, Nexway SASU in Nîmes, that earns a revenue share tied to transaction volume, subscription revenue or both. Rates are not published, so every deal starts with a quote or a sales conversation. Setup fees are zero on most plans, and support is said to cost nothing extra.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you prefer a French seller of record and are willing to negotiate.
Gumroad runs two rates. Sales through your own profile or direct links cost 10% plus 50 cents, while a new buyer arriving through the Discover marketplace costs 30%. The profile is simple and aimed at creators, so it leaves out the subscription and tax machinery larger software sellers want. No sales call is involved.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you sell to an audience you already have and want a creator-style page.
PayPro Global, based in Toronto, becomes the legal seller and carries tax, compliance and fraud liability for SaaS, software and video games. It states 3,000+ businesses and 70+ payment methods, and its dunning covers failed renewals. The pricing page promises one all-features price but reveals it only through a quote request.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you run subscriptions and want recovery of failed renewals built in.
Paddle charges per checkout transaction at the same 5% plus 50 cents that Lemon Squeezy posts, so a switch changes the vendor rather than the arithmetic. Items under ten dollars need custom terms, and large or complex sellers also move to bespoke pricing. Advisory and implementation services are sold without listed prices.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you sell mid-priced software and want a long-standing merchant of record.
FastSpring withholds its commission from your payouts and shows no rate, only a quote form. The page names no minimum volume, and ACH and wire transfers get discounted rates whose amounts stay unlisted. Bright Market, LLC trades under the name and lists offices in the US, UK, Netherlands and Canada.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you want negotiated terms and local offices in several regions.
Xsolla lists Los Angeles as headquarters and Xsolla (USA), Inc. in its footer, and its pricing page offers a meeting request and a contact form instead of figures. Plans, currencies and limits were not visible to us. The entry depends on a conversation with sales, so treat it as a lead to explore.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy if you are ready to talk to a sales team about a large catalogue.
You want the same rate with a store on your own domain
Fungies: The builder is free forever with 5% plus 50 cents per sale covering tax, fraud screening and chargebacks.
02
You want a named EU legal entity
Creem: Armitage Labs OÜ of Estonia is named in the terms, with a fixed 40 cents on each sale.
03
Your product bills by usage
Polar: Tokens, agent runs or GPU seconds are metered and billed with subscriptions on one invoice; the usage engine is early access.
04
You sell licences and want affiliates in the same tool
Dodo Payments: It adds licence key management, storefronts and affiliate programmes; the standard rate covers domestic US sales only.
05
You sell to an existing audience and want a creator page
Gumroad: Direct sales cost 10% plus 50 cents, and the 30% rate applies only to Discover buyers.
04
When Lemon Squeezy is still the right choice
Lemon Squeezy remains a fair choice for a seller who wants to start without a monthly charge or a contract. It carries tax, fraud and payments as merchant of record, issues licence keys, runs subscriptions with trials and failed-payment recovery, and pays out twice a month. If your volume is modest and the posted rate suits you, the banner about Stripe is a reason to read the update, not a reason to leave.
05
What moving off Lemon Squeezy involves
01
Subscriptions and licence keys need a plan
Active subscribers cannot simply be re-pointed to a new seller. Ask the destination how existing subscriptions, card details and licence keys transfer, and whether buyers must re-authorise. Export your customer and licence lists first, then test one product end to end.
02
Check tax and payout details again
The merchant of record is the seller on each invoice, so changing it changes receipts, tax numbers and payout timing. Update checkout wording, refund routines and your accountant's records, and keep Lemon Squeezy open until the final payout of the old period has arrived.
06
Questions about replacing Lemon Squeezy
6 answers
What does Lemon Squeezy charge per sale?
Its pricing page says 5% plus 50 cents per transaction, with no monthly fee for ecommerce features. Some payments and sales outside the US may cost extra, with the amounts in a separate fees document.
When does Lemon Squeezy pay out?
Payouts are automatic twice a month, by bank wire or PayPal, and the page says over 200 countries are supported. Check the fees document for any charge on the payout method you choose.
Which alternative has the lowest posted fixed fee?
Creem posts one percentage plus a fixed 40 cents, against 50 cents at Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Fungies. Gumroad's direct rate carries 50 cents too. Quote-led firms such as Nexway, FastSpring and Xsolla show no figures.
Which options are free to start?
Lemon Squeezy, Fungies and Polar's Starter plan have no monthly charge, and Paddle and Creem list none either. Each still takes a cut of every sale, so compare the per-sale rate at your expected volume.
Are any of these alternatives based in Europe?
Creem names Armitage Labs OÜ of Estonia and Nexway names Nexway SASU of France. PayPro Global is Canadian, Xsolla is American and several others state no country on the pages we read.
Which alternative suits AI or usage-billed products?
Polar meters tokens, agent runs and GPU seconds and bills subscriptions, credits and usage on one invoice. Its Usage Billing Engine is early access, so confirm its status before building on it.
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Sources
Checked 10 November 2026
Lemon Squeezy pricing: 5% + 50 cents, small extra fees outside the US, twice-monthly payouts, 200+ countries, no trial or contract, free email tier up to 500 subscribers, 130+ versus 95 currencies.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Checked and edited by Sebastiaan Smits, last on 10 November 2026. The editorial process explains the method.
