Is Chartable or FastSpring better?

Neither clearly leads. Chartable starts at Free and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Chartable or FastSpring?

Chartable has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chartable and On request for FastSpring.

Does Chartable or FastSpring run on more platforms?

Chartable runs on Web. FastSpring runs on web, api.

Can I use Chartable for free?

Yes. Chartable has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.

What is Chartable best used for?

Chartable is most often used for podcast analytics, marketing attribution, chart tracking, growth measurement. Of those, podcast analytics and marketing attribution are not what FastSpring is typically brought in for.

What can Chartable do that FastSpring cannot?

Chartable covers Download analytics, Chart rankings, SmartLinks tracking, Attribution. FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

Podcast & Audio Publishing · head to head

Chartable vs FastSpring

Chartable

Podcast & Audio Publishing

Podcast analytics and attribution platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

FastSpring

E-commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Chartable has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Chartable shut down on 12 December 2024. Spotify, which acquired Chartable in February 2022, announced the closure on 27 September 2024 and folded parts of it into Spotify for Podcasters; FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
They diverge on capability: Chartable covers Download analytics, FastSpring covers Global online payments.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chartable and FastSpring actually diverge.

Attributes where Chartable and FastSpring differ
Attribute	Chartable	FastSpring
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	freemium	transaction
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	web, api
Category	Podcast & Audio Publishing	E-commerce
Founded	2017	2006

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chartable

Download analytics
Chart rankings
SmartLinks tracking
Attribution
SmartPromos
Cross-promotion analytics
All podcast platforms
Advertising networks

Only in FastSpring

Global online payments
Subscription billing
Branded checkout
Tax compliance
Fraud prevention
Digital invoicing and quotes

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chartable

Podcast analyticsnot FastSpring
Marketing attributionnot FastSpring
Chart trackingnot FastSpring
Growth measurementnot FastSpring

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Chartable
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Chartable
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Chartable
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Chartable

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chartable

Shut down on 12 December 2024. Spotify, which acquired Chartable in February 2022, announced the closure on 27 September 2024 and folded parts of it into Spotify for Podcasters
The tracking prefixes no longer function, and shows still carrying one need it removed
chartable.com now redirects to Spotify's Megaphone site

FastSpring

Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chartable

Free

FreeFree
- Chart tracking
- Basic analytics
- 1 podcast
Indie$20/month
- Advanced analytics
- SmartLinks
- Attribution
Team$100/month
- Multiple podcasts
- SmartPromos
- Team access
Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited podcasts
- Custom integrations
- API access

FastSpring

On request

Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

Which should you pick?

Choose Chartable if

You need download analytics.
You want to start without paying.
You also want chart rankings.

Chartable review

Choose FastSpring if

You need global online payments.
You work on web, api.
You also want subscription billing.

FastSpring review

Questions people ask

Is Chartable or FastSpring better?: Neither clearly leads. Chartable starts at Free and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chartable or FastSpring?: Chartable has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chartable and On request for FastSpring.
Does Chartable or FastSpring run on more platforms?: Chartable runs on Web. FastSpring runs on web, api.
Can I use Chartable for free?: Yes. Chartable has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.
What is Chartable best used for?: Chartable is most often used for podcast analytics, marketing attribution, chart tracking, growth measurement. Of those, podcast analytics and marketing attribution are not what FastSpring is typically brought in for.
What can Chartable do that FastSpring cannot?: Chartable covers Download analytics, Chart rankings, SmartLinks tracking, Attribution. FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

Source

FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

Source

FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source

Chartable vs FastSpring

Chartable

FastSpring

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Chartable

Only in FastSpring

What people use each for

Chartable

FastSpring

Where each one falls short

Chartable

FastSpring

Pricing, plan by plan

Chartable

FastSpring

Which should you pick?

Choose Chartable if

Choose FastSpring if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Chartable

More on FastSpring

Keep looking

Other head to heads