Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Paddle vs Stigg

Paddle logo

Paddle

Accounting

The complete payments infrastructure for SaaS

From
$5/percent_plus_transaction
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stigg logo

Stigg

Accounting

Usage runtime platform for credits and entitlements

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Stigg has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Stigg free tier limited to 10,000 entities and 5M events per month
  • They diverge on capability: Paddle covers Payment processing, Stigg covers Real-time credit enforcement.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Paddle and Stigg actually diverge.

Attributes where Paddle and Stigg differ
AttributePaddleStigg
Starting price$5/percent_plus_transactionFree
Pricing modeltransactionFreemium with usage-based and custom tiers
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, API
Founded2012Unknown

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

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 Stigg

  • Real-time credit enforcement
  • Financial-grade credits
  • High-scale metering
  • Budget governance
  • Flexible deployment
  • Billing platform integration
  • Data warehouse integration
  • CRM integration

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 Stigg
  • Global subscription billing and checkoutnot Stigg
  • Offloading sales tax and VAT compliance for cross border salesnot Stigg

Stigg

  • Managing token and credit usage for AI productsnot Paddle
  • Enforcing spending caps and budget controlsnot Paddle
  • Implementing prepaid credit systems with expirynot Paddle
  • Real-time entitlement verification for feature accessnot Paddle
  • Scaling billing infrastructure for high-volume eventsnot 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

Stigg

  • Free tier limited to 10,000 entities and 5M events per month
  • Pro plan pricing ($399/month) may be high for early-stage companies
  • Scale and BYOC plans require custom contracts and sales engagement
  • Primarily targets AI and high-scale use cases, not all business models
  • Requires integration with separate billing platform (Stripe, Zuora, etc.)

Pricing, plan by plan

Paddle

$5/percent_plus_transaction
  • Pay-as-you-go$5/percent_plus_transaction
    • 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction
    • Global payments and billing unified in one platform
    • Cross-border sales tax compliance
  • Custom Pricing$null/contact
    • All pay-as-you-go features
    • Custom pricing tailored to business model
    • Optional premium services access

Stigg

Free
  • Build (Free Forever)Free
    • 10,000 managed entities per month
    • 5M usage events per month
    • 1K events per second rate limit
  • Pro$399/month
    • 10,000 entities included (graduated pricing to 100K)
    • 25M usage events included (to 500M with graduated rates)
    • 10K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
  • Scale$null/custom
    • Custom entity and event volumes
    • 50K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
    • RBAC and SSO (SAML)
  • BYOC$40000/year
    • Deploy in customer VPC
    • Unlimited entities and events
    • No event billing

Which should you pick?

Choose Paddle if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want sales tax handling.
Paddle review

Choose Stigg if

  • You need real-time credit enforcement.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, API.
  • You also want financial-grade credits.
Stigg review

Questions people ask

Is Paddle or Stigg better?
Neither clearly leads. Paddle starts at $5/percent_plus_transaction and Stigg at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Paddle or Stigg?
Stigg has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/percent_plus_transaction for Paddle and Free for Stigg.
Does Paddle or Stigg run on more platforms?
Paddle runs on Web, Api. Stigg runs on Web, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, API.
Can I use Stigg for free?
Yes. Stigg has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paddle starts at $5/percent_plus_transaction.
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 Stigg is typically brought in for.
What can Paddle do that Stigg cannot?
Paddle covers Payment processing, Sales tax handling, Subscription management, Checkout. Stigg covers Real-time credit enforcement, Financial-grade credits, High-scale metering, Budget governance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Paddle: How much does Paddle charge per transaction?

Paddle charges 5% plus 50 cents per checkout transaction on their pay-as-you-go plan. Custom pricing is available for products under $10 or those requiring invoicing.

Source
Stigg: How quickly does Stigg check entitlements?

Stigg makes entitlement checks in under 10 milliseconds, enabling real-time enforcement of spending decisions before token consumption.

Source
Paddle: Are there hidden fees with Paddle?

No. Paddle emphasizes all-in-one pricing with no hidden costs, migration fees, or monthly fees. The stated 5% plus 50¢ rate covers payments, billing, tax compliance, fraud protection, and support.

Source
Stigg: Can I use Stigg with my existing billing platform?

Yes, Stigg integrates with major billing platforms including Stripe, Zuora, Chargebee, Metronome, and Orb to manage entitlements and credits.

Source
Paddle: Does Paddle offer custom pricing?

Yes. Paddle offers custom pricing arrangements for businesses with specific needs. Customers can contact Paddle directly to discuss custom pricing tailored to their business model.

Source
Stigg: What deployment options does Stigg offer?

Stigg offers cloud API, BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) for VPC deployment, and BYODB options for customers who want to manage their own database.

Source
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