Is FastSpring or Sage 50 better?

Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Sage 50?

FastSpring starts at On request and Sage 50 at $29/month.

Does FastSpring or Sage 50 run on more platforms?

FastSpring runs on web, api. Sage 50 runs on Windows.

What is FastSpring best used for?

FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.

What can FastSpring do that Sage 50 cannot?

FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing.

E-commerce · head to head

FastSpring vs Sage 50

FastSpring

E-commerce

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

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Sage 50

Accounting & Finance

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From: $29/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.; Sage 50 sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams
They diverge on capability: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Sage 50 covers General ledger.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FastSpring and Sage 50 actually diverge.

Attributes where FastSpring and Sage 50 differ
Attribute	FastSpring	Sage 50
Starting price	On request	$29/month
Pricing model	transaction	subscription
Platforms	web, api	Windows
Category	E-commerce	Accounting & Finance
Founded	2006	1981

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 FastSpring

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

Only in Sage 50

General ledger
Invoicing
Inventory management
Job costing
Budgeting
Microsoft 365
Salesforce
Local encryption

What people use each for

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

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Sage 50
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Sage 50
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Sage 50
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Sage 50

Sage 50

Desktop accountingnot FastSpring
Job costingnot FastSpring
Inventory trackingnot FastSpring

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Sage 50

Sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Sage 50

$29/month

Pro Accounting$50/month
- Core accounting
- 1 user
- Basic reports
Premium Accounting$85/month
- 5 users
- Job costing
- Inventory

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

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

FastSpring review

Choose Sage 50 if

You need general ledger.
You work on Windows.
You also want invoicing.

Sage 50 review

Questions people ask

Is FastSpring or Sage 50 better?: Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Sage 50?: FastSpring starts at On request and Sage 50 at $29/month.
Does FastSpring or Sage 50 run on more platforms?: FastSpring runs on web, api. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
What is FastSpring best used for?: FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
What can FastSpring do that Sage 50 cannot?: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing.

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

FastSpring vs Sage 50

FastSpring

Sage 50

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in FastSpring

Only in Sage 50

What people use each for

FastSpring

Sage 50

Where each one falls short

FastSpring

Sage 50

Pricing, plan by plan

FastSpring

Sage 50

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

Choose Sage 50 if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on FastSpring

More on Sage 50

Keep looking

Other head to heads