Best payment tools in 2026
Payment processing, subscription billing and merchant-of-record platforms. 18 tools, ranked by live GitHub and npm numbers.
Payments comparisons
StripevsLemon Squeezy
Stripe processes payments while you remain the seller of record, responsible for your own tax compliance unless you add Stripe Tax or Stripe Managed Payments.
PolarvsPaddle
Polar and Paddle both act as merchant of record, so they collect and remit sales tax and VAT on your behalf.
MercuryvsStripe
Mercury is a business bank account for startups, with free checking and savings, cards and treasury tools.
StripevsRevenueCat
Stripe is a payment processing API that charges cards and moves money directly.
Stripe BillingvsStripe
Stripe is the core payments infrastructure: APIs for accepting one-time online payments, handling payouts and preventing fraud, priced per successful transaction with no monthly fee.
StripevsPaddle
Stripe processes payments while you remain the seller of record, responsible for your own sales tax and VAT unless you add Stripe Tax or its merchant-of-record option, Stripe Managed Payments.
AdyenvsStripe
Adyen is a global payments company aimed mainly at larger merchants, offering over 100 payment methods through a single integration with per-transaction fees and no monthly or setup costs.
Stripe BillingvsPaddle
Stripe Billing is Stripe's subscription and invoicing product, layered on Stripe's payment processing and priced as a share of billing volume on top of card fees, with your business staying the seller of record by default.
Alternatives
How to choose
This category covers four jobs. Payment processors take card and wallet payments. Billing tools manage subscriptions, invoices and usage-based pricing on top of a processor. Merchants of record sell on your behalf and handle sales tax and VAT. Business accounts hold and move the money.
Decide who should be the seller. If you are the merchant, you use a processor and handle tax yourself, with lower fees. If you want tax handled for you, a merchant of record charges a higher percentage and takes on that work. Fees are set per transaction, so compare them against your prices and volumes.
What to compare
- Processor, billing tool, merchant of record or account
- Fee per transaction, and any monthly fee
- Who handles sales tax and VAT
- Countries and currencies supported
- Subscription and usage-based billing support
- Open source or self-hosting option
Questions
What is a merchant of record?
It is a company that sells your product to the customer on your behalf. It collects the payment, charges and remits sales tax and VAT, and pays you the rest. You pay a higher fee and do less tax work.
What is the difference between a payment processor and a billing tool?
A processor moves the money for a single payment. A billing tool manages what to charge and when: plans, trials, invoices, upgrades and usage. Billing tools usually sit on top of a processor.
How do payment fees work?
Most charge a percentage of each transaction plus a fixed amount. Rates differ by country, card type and payment method. Each tool page gives the published starting rate and the date it was checked.