Accounting & Finance · head to head
Paddle vs Avalara
Paddle
Accounting & Finance
The complete payments infrastructure for SaaS
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Paddle paddle charges 5% plus 50 cents on every checkout transaction, which is well above a bare payment processor rate; Avalara plans start at $699 per state per year, so multi-state sellers multiply that figure rather than paying one subscription
- They diverge on capability: Paddle covers Payment processing, Avalara covers Tax calculation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Paddle and Avalara actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).
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 Paddle
- Payment processing
- Sales tax handling
- Subscription management
- Checkout
- Revenue metrics
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Various
Only in Avalara
- Tax calculation
- Returns filing
- Exemption management
- Document management
- Real-time rates
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
- Shopify
Both cover
- SOC 2
- Web support
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Paddle
- Selling SaaS or digital products with a merchant of record handling taxnot Avalara
- Global subscription billing and checkoutnot Avalara
- Offloading sales tax and VAT compliance for cross border salesnot Avalara
Avalara
- Real-time sales tax calculation at checkoutnot Paddle
- Multi-state and multi-jurisdiction tax determinationnot Paddle
- VAT, lodging, communications and excise tax calculationnot Paddle
- Feeding tax results into an ERP or ecommerce platform through the APInot Paddle
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Paddle
- Paddle charges 5% plus 50 cents on every checkout transaction, which is well above a bare payment processor rate
- The 50 cent fixed component falls heavily on low value sales, and products under $10 require custom pricing agreed with sales
- Invoicing is not covered by the published rate and requires custom pricing
- As a merchant of record Paddle sits between the seller and the customer, so payouts and tax handling run through Paddle rather than the seller's own processor
Avalara
- Plans start at $699 per state per year, so multi-state sellers multiply that figure rather than paying one subscription
- Billed by transaction, where one API call is one transaction, so cost tracks invoice volume
- The free option is limited to the Streamlined Sales Tax programme, in up to 25 states and only for qualifying businesses
Pricing, plan by plan
Paddle
$29/month- Standard$5/transaction
- Payment processing
- Tax compliance
- Billing
Avalara
$29/month- AvaTax$50/month
- Tax calculation
- Exemption certificates
- Returns filing
Which should you pick?
Choose Paddle if
- You need payment processing.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want sales tax handling.
Choose Avalara if
- You need tax calculation.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want returns filing.
Questions people ask
- Is Paddle or Avalara better?
- Neither clearly leads. Paddle starts at $29/month and Avalara at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Paddle or Avalara?
- Paddle starts at $29/month and Avalara at $29/month.
- Does Paddle or Avalara run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Paddle best used for?
- Paddle is most often used for selling saas or digital products with a merchant of record handling tax, global subscription billing and checkout, offloading sales tax and vat compliance for cross border sales. Of those, selling saas or digital products with a merchant of record handling tax and global subscription billing and checkout are not what Avalara is typically brought in for.
- What can Paddle do that Avalara cannot?
- Paddle covers Payment processing, Sales tax handling, Subscription management, Checkout. Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. Both handle SOC 2, Web support, Api support.