Choosing the Right Payment Provider for Your SaaS - Stripe vs. Lemonsqueezy vs. Polar vs. Creem

As a SaaS developer, choosing the right payment provider is crucial. It affects your revenue, customer experience, development process, and how you handle compliance. In this comparison, we'll look at four top payment solutions for SaaS businesses: Stripe, Lemonsqueezy, Polar, and Creem.

TL;DR Comparison

Provider	Fees	MoR	Developer Experience	Best For
Stripe	2.9% + 30¢	No	Great but complex	Big SaaS companies with special needs
Lemonsqueezy	5% + 50¢	Yes	Easy and user - friendly	Solo founders and indie hackers
Polar	4% + 40¢	Yes	Designed for developers	Tech founders looking for a quick launch
Creem	3.9% + 40¢	Yes	Modern and simple	SaaS startups focused on design

Stripe: The Versatile Enterprise Solution

Overview

Stripe is a well - known payment processor in the SaaS world. It has a comprehensive API and lots of documentation, giving businesses a lot of flexibility.

Fees

Standard rate: 2.9% + 30¢ for each successful card charge.
If your business processes over $1 million, you can get volume discounts.
Extra features like Stripe Tax and Stripe Billing may cost more.

Developer Experience

Stripe offers a strong developer experience:

A well - documented API.
SDKs for almost every programming language.
Many testing tools and sandbox environments.
A powerful dashboard for analytics and management.

But it can be complex. Implementing Stripe often needs a lot of development work, especially for advanced features.

Payment Methods

Stripe supports over 135 currencies and many payment methods, such as:

Credit and debit cards.
ACH and bank transfers.
Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Local payment methods like Alipay and SEPA.

Tax Handling

Stripe is not a Merchant of Record (MoR). This means you have to:

Figure out and collect sales tax.
File tax returns.
Manage tax compliance in different places.

Stripe Tax is available to help with tax calculations, but it doesn't handle filing or full compliance.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• A lot of flexibility and customization	• More complex for development
• Reliable and secure for big businesses	• You have to handle tax compliance
• Good subscription management with Stripe Billing	• Might be too much for simple SaaS apps
• Many integrations

Lemonsqueezy: The Indie Hacker's Friend

Overview

Lemonsqueezy has become popular among indie hackers and solo founders because it's simple and acts as a Merchant of Record.

Fees

5% + 50¢ for each transaction.
No monthly fees or setup costs.
All features are included in the basic fee.

Developer Experience

Lemonsqueezy is easy to use:

A simple API with clear documentation.
Quick setup with little code.
Pre - built checkout experiences.
A dashboard that's easy for developers.

Payment Methods

Major credit and debit cards.
PayPal.
Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Tax Handling

As a Merchant of Record, Lemonsqueezy takes care of:

VAT/GST collection in over 100 countries.
Tax filing and sending money to the government.
Tax compliance documents.
Sending automated tax receipts to customers.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• No need to worry about taxes	• Higher fees than Stripe
• Made for digital products and SaaS	• Less room for customization
• Easy to set up and use	• Fewer payment methods than Stripe
• Great customer support

Polar: The Developer - Centric Solution

Overview

Polar is a payment solution designed for SaaS companies, with developers in mind.

Fees

4% + 40¢ for each transaction.
No hidden fees.
Volume discounts for higher - revenue businesses.

Developer Experience

Polar is great for developers:

A clean and well - documented API.
Webhooks for real - time event handling.
Strong CLI tools.
Built for modern development stacks.

Payment Methods

Credit and debit cards.
Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Bank transfers in some markets.

Tax Handling

As a Merchant of Record, Polar handles:

Automatically calculating and collecting taxes.
Filing taxes around the world.
Compliance documents.
Handling digital services tax requirements.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• Good for developers with clear documentation	• Newer in the market
• Takes care of tax compliance	• Higher fees than some traditional processors
• Made for SaaS business models	• Less of a track record than big providers
• Strong subscription management features

Creem: The Design - Forward Challenger

Overview

Creem is a new payment service that focuses on modern design and user experience, along with good payment features.

Fees

3.9% + 40¢ for each transaction.
No monthly fees.
0% fees until you make $1000 in revenue.
Clear pricing with no hidden costs.

Developer Experience

Creem offers a balance of power and simplicity:

A modern API with clear documentation.
Emphasis on responsive design.
Quick integration options.
A big focus on UX/UI.

Payment Methods

Credit and debit cards.
Major digital wallets.
More local payment methods are being added.
Cryptocurrency payments (in beta).

Tax Handling

As a Merchant of Record, Creem:

Calculates and collects taxes.
Manages tax filing and compliance.
Sends automated tax receipts.
Follows global tax rules.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• Great user interface and experience	• Newer service with less market presence
• Takes care of tax compliance	• Still adding more features
• Lower fees than other MoR providers	• Fewer integrations
• Modern and responsive checkout experiences

Making Your Decision: Key Considerations

When to Choose Stripe

You need a lot of flexibility and customization.
You have a development team to handle complex features.
You process a large amount of money and can get volume discounts.
You need special payment flows or marketplace features.
You're okay with handling tax compliance yourself.

When to Choose Lemonsqueezy

You're a solo founder or a small team.
You want to avoid tax compliance problems.
You prefer a simple and quick setup.
You're looking for an all - in - one solution.
You're just starting and want to spend less time on development.

When to Choose Polar

You're a tech founder who values a good developer experience.
You need strong subscription management.
You want to avoid tax compliance issues.
You like modern development tools.
You need features made for SaaS businesses.

When to Choose Creem

You care a lot about user experience and design.
You want lower fees than other Merchant of Record services.
You need a mix of simplicity and functionality.
You're interested in offering cryptocurrency payments.
You want a modern checkout for your customers.

Implementation Considerations

No matter which provider you choose, follow these best practices:

Test well in sandbox environments before going live.
Plan for webhooks to handle events like subscription changes and payment failures.
Handle errors properly for declined payments and other special cases.
Design for mobile since more customers buy on mobile devices.
Think about internationalization if you plan to sell globally.

Conclusion

The right payment provider for your SaaS business depends on your needs, technical resources, and how far along your business is. Stripe is powerful but needs more development work and doesn't handle taxes. Lemonsqueezy is simple and takes care of taxes but costs more. Polar is good for tech founders and handles taxes. Creem offers a modern design with slightly lower fees.

By looking at your needs and these options, you can pick the payment provider that will help your SaaS business grow in the competitive market.

Accelerate Your SaaS Launch with SuperStarter

The good news is that you can easily integrate all four payment providers with SuperStarter. Using a comprehensive starter kit like SuperStarter can speed up your time to market and save you the trouble of setting up payment systems. Whether you choose Stripe, Lemonsqueezy, Polar, or Creem, SuperStarter has pre - built parts and workflows that make it easy to implement. This way, you can focus on building your main product instead of spending weeks on payment systems, subscription management, and user billing interfaces.