what should I use for payment processing and subscriptions?

If you’re building a product with payments + recurring subscriptions, the default recommendation for most startups is:

Best overall: Stripe

Use Stripe Billing + Stripe Payments if you want:

• easy subscription handling
• global card payments
• invoices, coupons, trials, proration
• customer portal
• strong docs and APIs
• lots of integrations

Why Stripe is usually the best choice

• Fast to integrate
• Handles subscriptions natively
• Good developer experience
• Strong ecosystem
• Supports many payment methods
• Good for SaaS

Downsides

• Can be a bit expensive
• Some businesses get account reviews/risk issues
• Not always ideal for every country or business type

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Good alternatives depending on your situation

1. Paddle

Best if you’re selling digital products/SaaS internationally and want tax/VAT handling taken care of.

Pros

• Handles VAT/sales tax as Merchant of Record
• Easier compliance
• Good for subscriptions

Cons

• Less flexible than Stripe
• Fees can be higher
• Not as customizable

2. Chargebee

Best if you need advanced subscription management on top of a payment processor.

Pros

• Strong subscription lifecycle tools
• Dunning, invoicing, analytics, retention features
• Works with Stripe, Adyen, etc.

Cons

• More complexity
• Usually overkill for early-stage startups

3. Braintree

Good if you want a PayPal-owned option and more classic payment processing.

Pros

• Supports PayPal and cards
• Solid for some businesses

Cons

• Less modern than Stripe
• Subscription tooling isn’t as smooth

4. PayPal

Useful if your customers specifically want PayPal.

Pros

• Trusted by many consumers
• Easy to add as a secondary option

Cons

• Not great as your only subscription platform
• UX and integration can be clunky

5. Adyen

Best for larger businesses or when you need enterprise/global payment infrastructure.

Pros

• Excellent global coverage
• Strong enterprise features

Cons

• More complex
• Usually better for larger companies

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Simple recommendation by stage

If you’re a startup / SaaS:

• Stripe Billing
• Add PayPal only if customers request it

If you sell globally and hate tax/compliance headaches:

• Paddle

If you need advanced subscription logic:

• Stripe + Chargebee

If you’re enterprise-scale:

• Adyen or Stripe, depending on needs

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My practical default advice

For most new products:

1. Start with Stripe
2. Use Stripe Billing for subscriptions
3. Use Stripe Checkout or Payment Element for faster setup
4. Add PayPal later if needed

If you want, I can also recommend the best option based on:

• your country
• B2B vs B2C
• SaaS vs marketplace
• monthly subscriptions vs one-time payments
• whether you need tax handling