SaySo vs Lemon Squeezy: fees, taxes and payouts compared (2026)

This is the closest comparison of the bunch, honestly. Lemon Squeezy's percentage covers card fees and tax, so it isn't the same as a percentage stacked on top of everything else. The question is whether you need what that 5% buys.

SaySo vs Lemon Squeezy at a glance

What a month costs on each

Two sample months, both selling a $50 product to buyers on US cards, one-time payments only.

SaySo's figures are the monthly price plus Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢. Lemon Squeezy's is 5% + 50¢, which already covers card processing. (At $5,000, that's $250 plus 50¢ on each of the 100 sales.)

So at $2,000 the difference is $31 a month, and Lemon Squeezy is doing your tax work for that $31. At $5,000 it's $106 a month. Sell subscriptions and Lemon Squeezy adds another 0.5% a payment, and international buyers add 1.5% on both platforms. And SaySo doesn't calculate or add tax at checkout, so that work moves to you.

Lemon Squeezy is part of Stripe now

Stripe bought Lemon Squeezy in 2024. Lemon Squeezy's pricing page now carries a "2026 Update: Lemon Squeezy + Stripe Managed Payments" banner, and Stripe's own merchant of record service, Managed Payments, costs 3.5% on top of Stripe's standard card fees. Lemon Squeezy hasn't announced a shutdown date, so this isn't a reason to panic. It is a reason to read Lemon Squeezy's 2026 update yourself before you build anything new on it.

Where Lemon Squeezy is the better pick

• You sell to buyers all over the world and don't want to touch tax. As the merchant of record, Lemon Squeezy collects and sends sales tax and VAT for you. That's real work off your plate, and it's a fair thing to pay for.
• You sell software. License keys and a developer API are part of Lemon Squeezy, and it's built with software sellers in mind.
• You want email and affiliates in the same place as your checkout. Its email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers, and affiliates are built in.
• You're just starting and want no monthly bill. Lemon Squeezy charges nothing until something sells.

Where SaySo fits better

• You want to keep more of each sale as you grow. The SaySo bill stays $19 a month at the founding price ($29 after), so every sale past the break-even point is money you keep.
• You want the money in your own account, right away. Buyers pay straight into your Stripe account, and Stripe pays you out on your own Stripe schedule. Lemon Squeezy holds the money and pays out on its schedule.
• You sell to creators, not developers. SaySo is built for digital products, lead magnets, services with a booking link, payment plans, and an order bump, upsell and downsell, all on one plan.
• You'd rather run your store from a conversation. Connect SaySo to Claude and you can ask it to add a product, edit a draft, check sales or change your store design. New discount codes and price changes wait for your approval, and Settings › Activity shows every change marked You, Your Claude or SaySo.
• You already have an email service you like. SaySo hands buyers to Bento, Kit, beehiiv, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign or Flodesk.

What SaySo doesn't do yet

I'd rather you know now than find out in month three.

• SaySo isn't the merchant of record and doesn't calculate or add sales tax or VAT at checkout. You're the seller, so working out and paying what you owe is yours to manage. If you sell to a lot of countries, weigh that seriously.
• Stripe only for now, so no PayPal at checkout yet.
• No affiliate program yet, and no license keys.
• Your Claude can't upload product files or issue refunds. You do those in SaySo, and refunds go through your own Stripe account.
• Stripe can still restrict a Stripe account. Owning the account means it's your relationship with Stripe instead of somebody else's... it doesn't make the risk disappear.

FAQ

What does Lemon Squeezy charge in 2026? 5% + 50¢ per sale, with no monthly fee. Its fee page adds 1.5% for international transactions, 1.5% for PayPal and 0.5% for subscription payments. Recovered abandoned-cart sales add 5%, and affiliate sales add 3%.

Does Lemon Squeezy's 5% include card processing? Yes. Lemon Squeezy's docs say the platform fee covers card fees, currency conversion and taxes.

Is SaySo cheaper than Lemon Squeezy? Selling a $50 product to US buyers, SaySo comes out cheaper once you pass about $760 a month at the founding price (about $1,160 at $29), and the gap grows from there. On a $2,000 month it's $89 on SaySo and $120 on Lemon Squeezy. On a $5,000 month it's $194 and $300.

Who handles sales tax, Lemon Squeezy or SaySo? Lemon Squeezy does, as the merchant of record. With SaySo, you're the seller, so tax is yours to manage. SaySo doesn't calculate or add it at checkout.

How do payouts work? With SaySo, buyers pay straight into your Stripe account and Stripe pays you out on your own schedule. With Lemon Squeezy, sales collect in your Lemon Squeezy balance and are paid out to your bank or PayPal. Its docs list a 1% payout fee for bank accounts outside the US.

Can I move my Lemon Squeezy products to SaySo? Yes. How to switch from Lemon Squeezy to SaySo covers what moves, what doesn't, and what happens to your subscribers.

Sources

All checked October 29, 2026.

• Lemon Squeezy pricing: 5% + 50¢, merchant of record, email free up to 500 subscribers, affiliates, payouts
• Lemon Squeezy fees: what the platform fee covers, the extra fees, payout fees and marketing fees
• Lemon Squeezy's 2026 update and Stripe Managed Payments pricing: 3.5% on top of standard Stripe fees
• Stripe pricing: 2.9% + 30¢ on US cards, +1.5% international
• SaySo's home page and help center for SaySo's price, features and what Claude can change