Flint vs Paddle
Flint vs Paddle: the Paddle alternative for US businesses that ship.
Paddle is a merchant of record built for software companies. It charges 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, files sales tax as the seller, and its acceptable use policy prohibits physical products. Flint Pay is the alternative for US businesses selling goods, services, or software on their own site: 3.79% + 35¢ per card payment with no monthly fee, plus orders, product variants, inventory held at payment, shipping and pickup, and subscriptions whose renewals ship. On Flint your business is the seller: automatic tax calculates and collects US sales tax at checkout, and you file it.
3.79% + 35¢ on cards · no monthly fee · free sandbox · no credit card
last reviewed 2026-10-15 · sources
01Side by side
Flint vs Paddle, need by need.
The Paddle column is what Paddle's own pricing page and acceptable use policy say today, each linked under Sources. The Flint column is what a Flint account does, with the API name behind it.
| What you need | Paddle, as merchant of record | Flint |
|---|---|---|
| Price per payment | Paddle, as merchant of record: 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, no monthly fee. Custom pricing for products under $10. | Flint: 3.79% + 35¢ per card payment, no monthly fee. Stripe's processing fees are included, and every fee is itemized per payment.GET /v1/balance-transactions |
| Physical products | Paddle, as merchant of record: Prohibited: “physical products or products that require physical delivery,” the first category in Paddle’s acceptable use policy. | Flint: A catalog with options and variants, stock per location held at payment, and orders that ship, get picked up, or deliver locally.POST /v1/products |
| Shipping and pickup | Paddle, as merchant of record: Paddle says it is built to serve software companies, and products that require physical delivery are prohibited. | Flint: Region-priced shipping, free shipping over a threshold, in-store pickup, scheduled local delivery, and rate callbacks.POST /v1/delivery-methods |
| Subscription boxes | Paddle, as merchant of record: Subscriptions for software. A box that ships requires physical delivery, which the policy prohibits. | Flint: Any interval, trials, setup fees, and four retries over 16 days. Each renewal is an order with shipping and tax for the subscriber's address. 0.40% of subscription payments.subscription_delivery_method_ids |
| Services | Paddle, as merchant of record: Prohibited: “human services that are not related to a software offering,” such as consulting and coaching. | Flint: Invoices with payment terms, installments, and late fees, and orders that fulfill as a service. Invoices are 0.40% of invoice-collected payments.POST /v1/invoices |
| Sales tax | Paddle, as merchant of record: Paddle is the merchant of record and submits sales tax returns, with the payments, as the seller. | Flint: Your business is the seller. Automatic tax calculates US sales tax after discounts and collects it at checkout, at 0.50% on payments that carry tax. You register and file in the states where you owe tax, or pass your own rates. US addresses only: no VAT or GST.tax_money |
02Physical goods
Can you sell physical products on Paddle?
No. Paddle says it is built to serve software companies, and the first prohibited category in its acceptable use policy, last updated April 13, 2026, is physical products or products that require physical delivery. Services that are not related to a software offering are the second.
A business that sells physical goods, or software alongside goods, needs a platform where it is the merchant and the order can ship. On Flint every checkout, payment link, invoice, and subscription renewal creates an order with line items, so the same record carries the stock it held, the shipping it charged, the tax it collected, and the refund or return that follows.
Products carry options and variants, each with its own SKU, price, and stock.
POST /v1/productsStock is held per location when payment starts, committed when it succeeds, and released when it fails.
held_quantityShipping prices by region, goes free over a threshold, or switches to in-store pickup or scheduled local delivery.
POST /v1/delivery-methodsSubscription renewals are orders, so a box ships to the subscriber's address with shipping and tax every cycle.
subscription_delivery_method_idsReturns run from a policy, with inspections, restocking fees, exchanges, and buyer self-serve.
POST /v1/return-policiesRefund one line and its share of the discount and the tax goes back with it.
line_item_allocationsPhysical products on merchant-of-record platforms →Selling physical goods on Flint →Delivery options →
03Who is the seller
Paddle vs Stripe vs Flint: who is the seller, and who files sales tax?
The three put the seller in different places, and that decides who handles tax.
Paddle is the merchant of record. It is the seller to your buyer, and its 5% + 50¢ covers payments, checkout, billing, and submitting the sales tax returns.
Stripe processes payments for your business, which stays the merchant of record. Tax compliance is a separate product, Stripe Tax, and the order record, stock, and fulfillment are your code.
Flint runs on Stripe’s processing with the commerce system on top. Your business is the seller, the way a US store usually is. Automatic tax calculates US sales tax after discounts for the states where you are registered, collects it at checkout, records it on each line item, and exports it in tax reports. Flint doesn’t decide where you owe tax, register you, or file and pay the returns; you or your accountant do that with Flint’s reports.
04Worked example
What does Paddle cost compared with Flint?
Paddle's 5% + 50¢ is one price that includes its merchant-of-record tax filing. Flint's card rate is 3.79% + 35¢, with published add-ons for subscriptions and automatic tax. Here is a month of subscription renewals, with every Flint add-on that applies.
| 400 renewals of $50.00, $20,000.00 a month | Paddle | Flint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of each payment | $1,000.00 | $758.00 | |
| Fixed fee per payment | $200.00 | $140.00 | |
| Subscriptions add-on, 0.40% | included | $80.00 | |
| Automatic tax, 0.50% | included | $100.00 | |
| Fees for the month | $1,200.00 | $1,078.00 | |
Assumptions
- 400 subscription renewals of $50.00 each, paid with US cards. The $50.00 includes the sales tax collected.
- Paddle at its published pay-as-you-go price, 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, without custom pricing.
- Flint at 3.79% + 35¢ per card payment, plus 0.40% on subscription payments and 0.50% on every payment because each one carries tax.
- International cards add 1.50% on Flint. Neither side has a monthly fee.
- Paddle's price includes filing and paying sales tax as the merchant of record. Flint's doesn't: you file the US sales tax it collected, from its tax reports.
05Who Flint is for
Flint is built for US businesses that sell on their own site.
If that describes you, the catalog, checkout, and shipping above are running the day you create your account.
US sellers, mainly US buyers
Flint onboards businesses in the US, pays out in USD to your own bank account, and is built for selling mainly to US buyers. Buyers can pay from anywhere with a card, but automatic tax covers US addresses only, so sellers who need VAT or GST collected and remitted on international digital sales aren't the fit.
Goods, services, and software
Orders that ship, get picked up, deliver locally, or fulfill as a download or a service, all on one catalog.
You are the seller
Automatic tax calculates and collects US sales tax at checkout and exports it for filing in the states where you're registered.
Developers and agents
A public OpenAPI spec, Node and PHP SDKs, a CLI, llms.txt, and MCP servers a coding agent can read.
06Switching
How do you switch from Paddle to Flint?
Recreate what you sell, move subscribers onto their current period, then point checkout at Flint.
Recreate the catalog
POST /v1/productsCreate each product with its options and variants. Physical items get an inventory item and stock at each location they ship from.
Recreate recurring prices as plans
POST /v1/subscription-plansCreate a subscription plan for each recurring price, with the interval, trial, setup fee, and, for a box that ships, the delivery methods it offers.
Validate every subscriber first
POST /v1/subscription-previewsSend each subscription you plan to create to the preview call. It runs every check a real create runs, reports every failure, and creates nothing.
Move subscribers without a second charge
billing_startFlint has no card import, so each subscriber saves a card on Flint once, in the hosted buyer account or on your own page. Then create their subscription with an imported billing start set to the start of the period Paddle already billed. Flint charges nothing for that period and takes over at the next renewal.
Switch checkout and fulfill from order.paid
POST /v1/checkout-sessionsOpen a hosted checkout for each order, or use a Flint payment link, and run fulfillment from the order.paid webhook. Connect automatic tax in the dashboard first if you want Flint to calculate sales tax.
07Start
From a sandbox key to a paid test order in ten minutes.
Node
CLI
Test keys are prefixed flint_test_ and bound to a sandbox with its own data, so nothing you try there touches live money. Pay with 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry, any CVC.
Then read these
- 01Physical products on merchant-of-record platformsLemon Squeezy, Paddle, and Polar side by side
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Sources
Where each claim comes from.
5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, no monthly fee, custom pricing for products under $10, and sales tax returns submitted by Paddle as merchant of record. Paddle pricing
www.paddle.com · checked 2026-10-15Last updated April 13, 2026. Built to serve software companies. Prohibited: physical products or products that require physical delivery, and human services not related to a software offering. What am I not allowed to sell on Paddle?
www.paddle.com · checked 2026-10-15On Stripe's products other than Managed Payments, your business is the merchant of record, and tax compliance is available with Stripe Tax. Stripe Managed Payments
docs.stripe.com · checked 2026-10-15
last reviewed 2026-10-15 · corrections: Flint Help
FAQ
Questions people ask.
Is Flint a good alternative to Paddle?
Yes, for a US business that sells physical goods, services, or goods and software together on its own site. Paddle prohibits physical products and human services not related to software. Flint charges 3.79% + 35¢ per card payment with no monthly fee and includes orders, variants, inventory held at payment, shipping and pickup, returns, and subscriptions that ship. Your business is the seller on Flint, and automatic tax collects US sales tax for you to file. Sign up on the web or from the terminal with flint signup.
Can you sell physical products on Paddle?
No. Paddle's acceptable use policy, last updated April 13, 2026, lists physical products or products that require physical delivery as its first prohibited category, and says Paddle is built to serve software companies.
What is the difference between Paddle and Stripe?
Paddle is a merchant of record: it is the seller to your buyer, collects tax, and files the returns, for 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction. Stripe is a payment processor: your business stays the seller, tax compliance is the separate Stripe Tax product, and orders, stock, and fulfillment are your own code. Flint runs on Stripe's processing and adds that commerce system, with your business as the seller.
Is Flint a merchant of record?
No. On Flint your business is the seller. Automatic tax calculates US sales tax after discounts for the states where you're registered, collects it at checkout, and exports it in tax reports. Flint doesn't decide where you owe tax, register you, or file and pay the returns. It is built for US sellers selling mainly to US buyers and doesn't handle VAT or GST, so sellers who need VAT or GST collected and remitted on international digital sales aren't the fit.
How much cheaper is Flint than Paddle?
A $100 US card payment costs $5.50 on Paddle and $4.14 on Flint. A subscription payment that carries automatic tax costs $5.04 on Flint, with the 0.40% subscriptions add-on and the 0.50% automatic tax add-on. International cards add 1.50% on Flint. Paddle's price includes filing sales tax as the merchant of record, which Flint's does not.
Can I move Paddle subscribers to Flint without charging them twice?
Yes. Each subscriber saves a card on Flint once, because Flint has no card import. Then create the subscription with an imported billing start set to the start of the period Paddle already billed. Flint charges nothing for that period, computes its end from the plan interval, and takes over at the next renewal. Import subscribers
Sell the things Paddle won't take, at a lower rate.
Free sandbox, no credit card, no sales call. Create a product with variants, ship a test order, and renew a subscription box.
Or run npm install -g @flintpay/cli && flint signup to create your account and a sandbox key from the terminal. CLI guide
More comparisons · last reviewed 2026-10-15