Stripe vs Lemon Squeezy for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Stripe Overview

Stripe is the gold standard of payment processing. The API documentation is so good that other companies model theirs after it. Subscriptions, one-time payments, invoicing, payment links, checkout pages. Stripe handles everything. If money moves through your application, Stripe can process it.

I use Stripe in production and the reliability is rock solid. Webhooks fire consistently. The dashboard gives you complete visibility into every transaction, subscription, and dispute. Stripe Checkout lets you set up a payment flow in under an hour with a hosted page that handles card validation, 3D Secure, and multiple payment methods.

The developer experience is where Stripe truly stands apart. Every SDK is well-maintained. The testing mode mirrors production exactly. You can simulate failed payments, disputes, and subscription renewals. The documentation has working code examples in every language. When something goes wrong, the error messages actually tell you what happened.

Lemon Squeezy Overview

Lemon Squeezy is the payment platform built specifically for indie hackers and solo developers selling digital products. The big difference from Stripe: Lemon Squeezy is a Merchant of Record. That means they handle global tax compliance, VAT, GST, and sales tax for you. You get paid. They handle the tax paperwork.

For solo developers, this is genuinely life-changing. If you sell a SaaS subscription to someone in Germany, you owe German VAT. If you sell to someone in Texas, you might owe Texas sales tax. Tracking and filing taxes in every jurisdiction your customers live in is a nightmare. Lemon Squeezy makes it their problem, not yours.

The checkout pages are beautiful out of the box. License key management is built in for software products. The affiliate program feature lets you set up partner programs without any code. And the dashboard is clean and focused on what indie hackers actually need to see.

Key Differences

Tax compliance is the deciding factor for many solo devs. With Stripe, you're the merchant of record. You collect payments, you're responsible for tax compliance in every jurisdiction. That means figuring out VAT in the EU, GST in Australia, and sales tax across US states. You'll need Stripe Tax (0.5% additional) or a third-party tool. With Lemon Squeezy, they handle all of it. You receive your payout and don't think about tax compliance.

Fees tell a clear story. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30. Lemon Squeezy charges 5% + $0.50. On a $50 subscription, Stripe takes $1.75 and Lemon Squeezy takes $3.00. That's almost double. But if you add Stripe Tax (0.5%) plus the time and potential cost of tax compliance tools, the gap narrows significantly.

API flexibility. Stripe's API is more powerful and flexible. You can build custom payment flows, usage-based billing, metered subscriptions, marketplace payments, and complex billing logic. Lemon Squeezy's API is simpler but covers the standard use cases: subscriptions, one-time purchases, license keys.

Checkout experience. Lemon Squeezy's checkout pages look better by default. Stripe Checkout works great but requires more customization for a polished look. For quick launches, Lemon Squeezy wins the aesthetics.

Account stability. Stripe is known for freezing accounts without warning, especially for new accounts with sudden spikes in revenue. Lemon Squeezy, as the merchant of record, has fewer of these issues since they're the ones processing the payment.

When to Choose Stripe

• You need advanced payment features (usage billing, marketplaces, connect)
• You want the lowest possible transaction fees
• You're building a platform where you control the entire payment experience
• You're already set up for tax compliance or using a tax service
• You need the most comprehensive payment API available

When to Choose Lemon Squeezy

• You sell digital products, SaaS subscriptions, or software licenses
• You don't want to deal with global tax compliance at all
• You want beautiful checkout pages without custom design work
• You need built-in license key management and affiliate programs
• You'd rather pay higher fees than spend hours on tax paperwork

The Verdict

For most solo developers selling SaaS or digital products, Lemon Squeezy is the smarter choice. Yes, the fees are higher. But the time you save not dealing with tax compliance across dozens of jurisdictions is worth far more than the 2% fee difference. Your time is your most valuable resource when you're building alone.

Pick Stripe if you need advanced billing features, marketplace payments, or if you're processing enough volume that the fee difference materially impacts your margins. At $10,000/month in revenue, the fee gap is about $125. That's real money, but at that scale, you can afford a tax compliance tool.

My approach: start with Lemon Squeezy to launch fast and validate. If your product takes off and you want to optimize fees, migrate to Stripe later. Launch speed matters more than saving 2% when you have zero customers.