{"slug": "paddle", "name": "Paddle", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 3, "warners": 0, "score": 2.828, "rising": 1.67, "first": "2026-06-04", "latest": "2026-09-03", "why": "In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments", "icon": true, "domain": "paddle.net", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.paddle.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Paddle"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 792885088, "item_id": 49555318, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49555318", "by": "holtwick", "date": "2026-09-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Paddle is quite easy to set up", "excerpt": "AFAIK: Lemon Squeezy is owned by Stripe and development is discontinued; I sold my software via FastSpring before I switched to Paddle, it is not very modern and you have to bring a lot of your own implementation; Paddle is quite easy to set up; more modern providers like tiun from Switzerland offer MCP so AI can do the setup for you (probably Paddle can as well)", "context": "sells software", "use_case": "selling software worldwide", "switched_from": "FastSpring", "story": "Selling Software Worldwide from Europe"}, {"id": 789649153, "item_id": 49353072, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49353072", "by": "Enox77", "date": "2026-08-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "smoother approval process, live now.", "excerpt": "Update, a few days later: switched billing from Lemon Squeezy to Paddle \u2014 Lemon Squeezy rejected my store application after review with no specific reason given (seems to be a fairly common experience based on other founders' reports), so I moved to Paddle instead. Same idea (merchant of record, handles global tax/VAT so I don't have to), smoother approval process, live now. Also fixed a rough edge in the login flow ", "context": "founder of CredOclock", "use_case": "billing / merchant of record", "switched_from": "Lemon Squeezy", "story": "CredOclock \u2013 email reminders before your team's API keys/certs expire"}, {"id": 774460304, "item_id": 48403769, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403769", "by": "abnercoimbre", "date": "2026-06-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments", "excerpt": "> And the form is not unlike Paddle's verification. You need a company, EIN, samples of what your texts will look like. Massive pain. In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments where your customers might reside. They also manage customer disputes, chargebacks, refunds etc. I always redirect support emails to Paddle.net [0] which does t", "context": "sells software using Paddle for income", "use_case": "payments and sales tax handling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Kiki \u2013 a tiny homepage construction kit with a small footprint"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "holtwick", "context": "sells software", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49555318", "date": "2026-09-03"}, {"by": "Enox77", "context": "founder of CredOclock", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49353072", "date": "2026-08-18"}, {"by": "abnercoimbre", "context": "sells software using Paddle for income", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403769", "date": "2026-06-04"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["selling software worldwide", "billing / merchant of record", "payments and sales tax handling"], "compared": [{"slug": "stripe", "name": "Stripe", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "paypal", "name": "PayPal", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49540833", "title": "Selling Software Worldwide from Europe", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49311618", "title": "CredOclock \u2013 email reminders before your team's API keys/certs expire", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48348545", "title": "Kiki \u2013 a tiny homepage construction kit with a small footprint", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 792885088, "item_id": 49555318, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49555318", "by": "holtwick", "date": "2026-09-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Paddle is quite easy to set up", "excerpt": "AFAIK: Lemon Squeezy is owned by Stripe and development is discontinued; I sold my software via FastSpring before I switched to Paddle, it is not very modern and you have to bring a lot of your own implementation; Paddle is quite easy to set up; more modern providers like tiun from Switzerland offer MCP so AI can do the setup for you (probably Paddle can as well)", "context": "sells software", "use_case": "selling software worldwide", "switched_from": "FastSpring", "story": "Selling Software Worldwide from Europe"}, {"id": 789649153, "item_id": 49353072, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49353072", "by": "Enox77", "date": "2026-08-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "smoother approval process, live now.", "excerpt": "Update, a few days later: switched billing from Lemon Squeezy to Paddle \u2014 Lemon Squeezy rejected my store application after review with no specific reason given (seems to be a fairly common experience based on other founders' reports), so I moved to Paddle instead. Same idea (merchant of record, handles global tax/VAT so I don't have to), smoother approval process, live now. Also fixed a rough edge in the login flow ", "context": "founder of CredOclock", "use_case": "billing / merchant of record", "switched_from": "Lemon Squeezy", "story": "CredOclock \u2013 email reminders before your team's API keys/certs expire"}, {"id": 774460304, "item_id": 48403769, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403769", "by": "abnercoimbre", "date": "2026-06-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments", "excerpt": "> And the form is not unlike Paddle's verification. You need a company, EIN, samples of what your texts will look like. Massive pain. In defense of Paddle (I use them for my own livelihood), they're on the hook for remitting sales taxes to ALL the governments where your customers might reside. They also manage customer disputes, chargebacks, refunds etc. I always redirect support emails to Paddle.net [0] which does t", "context": "sells software using Paddle for income", "use_case": "payments and sales tax handling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Kiki \u2013 a tiny homepage construction kit with a small footprint"}]}