The Billing Stack

Yes. Card processing - interchange plus network fees, typically around 2.9% + 30c per transaction - goes to the card networks and your payment processor no matter which billing system you choose. The estimator above shows both layers separately for exactly this reason: the platform fee and the processing cost are two different bills.

A billing layer (like Stripe Billing or Chargebee) runs on top of your own payment account - you keep the direct merchant relationship and the lower processing rates. A merchant of record (like Paddle) becomes the legal seller, handling sales tax and compliance for you, but charges a larger all-in cut, often around 5% or more.

As a rule of thumb, when 0.7% of your monthly volume exceeds about $249, a flat fee starts winning. That crossover sits near $35,000 in monthly volume. Below it, percentage pricing is usually cheaper; above it, flat-rate platforms pull ahead. Try both models in the estimator to see your numbers.

More than most teams expect. Failed payments drive a large share of subscription churn, and automated retries plus reminder emails typically recover a meaningful portion of them. For many SaaS businesses, good dunning is worth more than shaving a few basis points off platform fees.

Not always. Enterprise tiers, overage fees, and implementation costs are often quote-based and never appear on the pricing page. Every price we cite comes from the vendor's public page and carries a check date - always confirm current pricing with the vendor before you sign.