> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macropay.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Macropay vs Paddle: Which Merchant of Record Is Right for You? > Macropay vs Paddle compared: pricing, tax handling as Merchant of Record, AI and agent billing, SDKs, and a step-by-step migration path. Both Macropay and Paddle act as your **Merchant of Record (MoR)** — meaning either one becomes the legal seller on your customer's statement, calculates and remits sales tax and VAT worldwide, and absorbs the PCI and chargeback burden so you don't have to. That part is table stakes. The real decision comes down to three things: **what you pay**, **how you bill** (especially if usage, tokens, or AI agents are involved), and **how fast you can ship**. This guide walks each one honestly. As a Merchant of Record, Macropay is the seller of record on every transaction. We register, collect, and file sales tax / VAT in the jurisdictions where your customers buy — and that liability sits with us, not you. The same is true of Paddle; it's the shared foundation both platforms are built on. ## TL;DR * **Cheaper base rate.** Macropay is 4.5% + 50¢; Paddle is 5% + 50¢. The gap compounds at volume. * **AI billing is native, not bolted on.** Token metering, an OpenAI-compatible proxy, cost insights, and **agent-level billing** ship out of the box. * **Digital delivery is built in.** License keys, file downloads, GitHub repo access, and Discord roles — no third-party tooling. * **Paddle wins on enterprise B2B.** Purchase orders, net-terms invoicing, and revenue recognition are areas where the incumbent is ahead. ## Where the two platforms overlap Paddle has spent over a decade building a mature MoR trusted by names like Notion and Framer. Macropay covers the same MoR fundamentals, then leans hard into usage-based and AI-native billing. Here's how the core capabilities line up. | Capability | Macropay | Paddle | | ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | **Merchant of Record** | Yes | Yes | | **Tax registration & filing** | Global (EU VAT, UK VAT, US sales tax) | 200+ jurisdictions | | **Tax remittance** | Included | Included | | **Dispute / chargeback liability** | Handled as MoR | Handled as MoR | | **One-time products** | Yes | Yes | | **Subscriptions** | Upgrade, downgrade, pause, cancel | Upgrade, downgrade, pause, cancel | | **Usage-based billing** | Event meters, LLM ingestion strategies | Metered billing | | **AI / token billing** | Purpose-built (proxy, meters, agent signals) | General-purpose only | | **License keys** | Built in | Not built in | | **File downloads** | Built in | Not built in | | **GitHub repo access** | Automated benefit | Not available | | **Discord role grants** | Automated benefit | Not available | | **Customer portal** | Self-serve | Self-serve | | **Checkout** | Links, embed, sessions API | Overlay, inline, full page | | **Native SDKs** | TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP | JS, Python, PHP, Go, .NET | | **Framework adapters** | Next.js, Laravel, and more | Paddle.js (universal) | | **Webhooks** | Signed + retries | Signed + retries | | **Seat-based pricing** | Yes | Yes | | **Trials** | Yes (with abuse prevention) | Yes | | **B2B quotes / POs** | Not yet | Yes | | **Revenue recognition** | Not yet | Yes (accounting integrations) | ## Pricing, side by side Pricing is the clearest, most quantifiable difference. | | Macropay | Paddle | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------ | -------------------- | | **Base rate** | 4.5% + 50¢ | 5% + 50¢ | | **Monthly fee** | None | None (standard plan) | | **Setup fee** | None | None | | **International cards** | +1.5% (non-US) | Varies | | **Subscriptions** | +0.5% | Included | | **Disputes** | \$30 each | Varies | | **Payouts** | ACH / SEPA free, SWIFT at cost | Varies | ### What that looks like on real orders | Order | Macropay fee | Paddle fee | You keep extra | | ---------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- | -------------- | | \$40 one-time (domestic) | \$2.30 | \$2.50 | \$0.20 | | \$99 subscription (domestic) | \$5.45 | \$5.45 | \$0.00 | | \$120 one-time (domestic) | \$5.90 | \$6.50 | \$0.60 | | \$250 one-time (domestic) | \$11.75 | \$13.00 | \$1.25 | | \$80 subscription (intl) | \$5.45 | \$4.50 | −\$0.95 | For domestic and higher-ticket orders, Macropay is consistently cheaper, and the margin widens as order value grows. The one place Paddle can come out ahead is international subscriptions, where Macropay's +1.5% international and +0.5% subscription surcharges stack — so model your own mix before deciding. On **$100,000/month** in domestic processing, the half-point base-rate difference is roughly **$500/month** back in your pocket — about \$6,000 a year before factoring in dispute and payout fees. ## AI and agent billing: the real divergence If your product charges by tokens, API calls, compute, or **what an agent actually accomplishes**, this is where the platforms stop looking alike. Paddle has metered billing as a general capability. Macropay treats usage — and agents — as first-class. ### Meter usage with the AI proxy Point your OpenAI-compatible client at Macropay's proxy and token cost is captured automatically, per customer, with no manual tracking pipeline. ```bash theme={null} curl https://api.macropay.ai/ai/v1/chat/completions \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $MACROPAY_ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "model": "gpt-4o", "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Draft a launch tweet." }], "metadata": { "customer_id": "cus_8fK2p" } }' ``` Every call flows into a **meter**, the meter attaches to a metered price, and overage bills automatically — including against any prepaid **credits** you've granted with a plan. ### Bill agents by outcome, not just activity Agents are first-class in Macropay. The **Signals API** ingests both *activity* signals (the work an agent did) and *outcome* signals (what it achieved), attributed to the agent that earned them. ```bash theme={null} curl https://api.macropay.ai/v1/signals \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $MACROPAY_ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "agent_id": "agt_research_42", "customer_id": "cus_8fK2p", "type": "outcome", "name": "lead_qualified", "value": 1 }' ``` From those signals you get **value receipts** that certify ROI to the customer (time saved, revenue generated, cost avoided) and an **agentic margin** view — billed revenue versus the underlying AI cost of goods for each agent. That lets you price on results with full visibility into whether each agent is actually profitable. ### Watch your COGS in real time **Cost insights** record cost events and cost traces for your upstream LLM spend, so per-customer margin and model efficiency are visible alongside revenue — not reconstructed in a spreadsheet after the fact. ### The same job on Paddle Paddle can support usage-based AI billing, but you supply the moving parts yourself: * Build token tracking and cost calculation * Run your own ingestion and aggregation pipeline * Stitch together reporting and per-customer margin * Ship a customer-facing usage dashboard Put simply: Paddle is a payments platform that *can* do AI billing with enough engineering. Macropay is a payments platform that *does* AI and agent billing on day one. ## Developer experience Both platforms are pleasant to build on. The differences are in emphasis. Framework adapters for Next.js, Laravel, and more · native SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go, and PHP · full OpenAPI spec · an **MCP server** for agent tooling · a single customer-state call returning subscriptions, benefits, and usage together · OAuth2 + organization access tokens · a sandbox for payment-free testing. Paddle.js as a universal frontend library · SDKs for JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, and .NET · a well-documented REST API · a full sandbox environment · long-standing, deep documentation. Net: Macropay leads on framework adapters, agent-ready tooling, and the consolidated customer-state API; Paddle leads on .NET support and the depth that comes with a more mature docs corpus. ## Choose Paddle when… * **You need the widest tax footprint.** Registration in 200+ jurisdictions matters if you sell heavily into markets like Japan, Brazil, or India. * **You sell enterprise B2B.** Purchase orders, custom invoicing, and net-30/60/90 terms are Paddle features Macropay doesn't offer yet. * **You need revenue recognition.** Paddle's accounting integrations cover ASC 606 / IFRS 15 workflows. * **You're a .NET shop.** Paddle ships a native .NET SDK. * **It already works.** If Paddle is serving you well, migration has a real cost — don't move for its own sake. ## Choose Macropay when… * **You're building AI or agents.** Native token metering, the AI proxy, the Signals API for agent activity and outcomes, value receipts, and agentic-margin reporting. * **Fees matter at scale.** 4.5% + 50¢ versus 5% + 50¢ is recurring savings, not a one-time discount. * **You deliver digital goods.** License keys, file downloads, GitHub access, and Discord roles are granted automatically as **benefits** — no extra tooling. * **You want to move fast.** Framework adapters, a clean API, a sandbox, and an MCP server for agent-native development. * **You'd rather own less compliance.** As your MoR we remit tax and VAT globally, stay PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, and handle disputes — so the tax and PCI liability stays off your plate. ## Migrating from Paddle to Macropay If you decide to switch, here's the path that minimizes disruption. [Sign up](https://macropay.ai/signup) and set up your organization. Rebuild each product with matching pricing, and attach any benefits — license keys, file downloads, repo or Discord access — you delivered before. Point webhook endpoints at your systems to keep them in sync. Macropay signs every payload and follows the Standard Webhooks spec, so signature verification is straightforward. Replace Paddle.js and Paddle API calls with the Macropay SDK. Embedded checkout drops in with a few lines: ```tsx theme={null} "use client"; import { MacropayCheckout } from "@macropayments/checkout"; export default function PricingPage() { return ( ); } ``` Let existing Paddle subscriptions run their current term. Route new sign-ups and renewals to Macropay so no active subscriber is disrupted. Confirm transactions, tax, and payouts are flowing correctly using Macropay's analytics before you scale traffic over. **About active subscriptions:** Macropay can't auto-migrate live subscriptions from Paddle. Let current subscriptions finish their term on Paddle and direct new ones to Macropay — a clean, low-risk transition. ## The bottom line Paddle is a proven, enterprise-ready MoR. If you're an established SaaS with B2B purchasing, net terms, and revenue-recognition requirements, it's a strong, safe choice. Macropay is the MoR built for what's coming next: AI products and autonomous agents. You get a lower base rate, billing that meters tokens and prices agents by outcome, automatic digital delivery, and full Merchant-of-Record coverage — global tax remittance, PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, and dispute handling — all in one flat fee. Spin up an account and accept your first payment in minutes — 4.5% + 50¢, all-in. Questions about moving off Paddle? We're glad to help map it out.