Software · head to head
Paddle vs Empower
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; Empower empower's managed advisory tiers require a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets for Personal Strategy and $1,000,000 for Private Client, with exact advisory fee percentages deferred to the Form ADV filing rather than published on the site.
- They diverge on capability: Paddle covers Payment processing, Empower covers Net worth tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Paddle and Empower actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Empower
- Net worth tracking
- Investment tracking
- Retirement planner
- Cash flow
- 401k fee analyzer
- Bank connections
- Brokerage accounts
- Bank-level encryption
Both cover
- SOC 2
- Web 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 Empower
- Global subscription billing and checkoutnot Empower
- Offloading sales tax and VAT compliance for cross border salesnot Empower
Empower
- Wealth trackingnot Paddle
- Retirement planningnot Paddle
- Investment analysisnot 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
Empower
- Empower's managed advisory tiers require a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets for Personal Strategy and $1,000,000 for Private Client, with exact advisory fee percentages deferred to the Form ADV filing rather than published on the site.
Pricing, plan by plan
Paddle
$29/month- Standard$5/transaction
- Payment processing
- Tax compliance
- Billing
Empower
$29/month- Free ToolsFree
- Net worth tracking
- Cash flow
- Investment checkup
- Wealth ManagementFree
- 0.89% AUM fee
- Dedicated advisor
- Tax optimization
Which should you pick?
Choose Paddle if
- You need payment processing.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want sales tax handling.
Choose Empower if
- You need net worth tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want investment tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Paddle or Empower better?
- Neither clearly leads. Paddle starts at $29/month and Empower at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Paddle or Empower?
- Paddle starts at $29/month and Empower at $29/month.
- Does Paddle or Empower run on more platforms?
- Paddle runs on Web, Api. Empower runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- 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 Empower is typically brought in for.
- What can Paddle do that Empower cannot?
- Paddle covers Payment processing, Sales tax handling, Subscription management, Checkout. Empower covers Net worth tracking, Investment tracking, Retirement planner, Cash flow. Both handle SOC 2, Web support.