Top SaaS Payment Solutions for Streamlining Transactions

Revenue in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market worldwide is projected to reach $390.46 billion in 2025 and most of that – $221.46 billion – is expected to come from the US.¹

If you’re operating in the SaaS space, selecting the right solution for online payments is crucial for your software business' success. You need a billing platform that can handle subscriptions, payment processing, taxes, and compliance.

In this article, we look at some of the top SaaS payment solutions and their key features to help you choose a suitable option for your business.

Top SaaS Payment Solution Providers

Stripe

Stripe is popular with SaaS developers for its flexibility and scalability. It offers a simple to set up and user-friendly platform that you can customize to your company’s own branding. Stripe supports a range of currencies and payment methods, making it ideal for international businesses.

Stripe provides a full payment processing service, including a payment gateway, merchant account, subscription management tools, and analytics. It also offers a wide range of payment integration tools to connect seamlessly with your accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), and other systems. Stripe charges a standard transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30, and offers customized plans for larger businesses.

Paddle

Paddle is a merchant of record (MoR) that offers a full-stack service targeted at SaaS businesses, which integrates checkout, billing, subscription management and automatic tax compliance with SaaS tools. It also handles chargeback management and fraud protection.

Paddle provides localized checkouts in more than 17 languages and 29 currencies and allows you to offer regional pricing to attract international customers. Paddle can collect, file and remit sales taxes and comply with local regulations for more than 100 jurisdictions.

Paddle offers a simple pricing model with a flat fee of 5% plus $0.50 per transaction, and doesn’t charge setup or monthly fees.

Verifone

While the other platforms support international transactions, Verifone (formerly 2Checkout) stands out for its global reach – it’s active in more than 200 countries and more than 45 payment methods. If you’re running an international Saas business and looking to accept an extensive range of payment methods, 2Checkout may be a suitable choice.

The platform offers subscription billing, fraud prevention and compliance with tax regulations. Payments are charged at 3.5% plus $0.35 per transaction.

A modular design allows you to choose the features you want on the platform and scale as your business grows, so that you only pay for the service you need.

Chargebee

Chargebee is a SaaS subscription platform that provides more billing management and recurring payment tools than all-in-one services like Stripe or Braintree. It doesn’t provide a merchant account or payment gateway.

Chargebee’s SaaS-specific features include pricing flexibility, upselling, revenue recognition, invoicing, and analytics. You can set up free trials for subscribers, manage your subscriber base and minimize churn.

Chargebee aims to meet the needs of various businesses with multiple pricing models, including flat-rate and usage-based plans. It also offers tax management and local currency invoicing, although for fewer countries than Paddle.

Unlike the other payment platforms, Chargebee offers a freemium pricing model. There are no transaction fees on the first $250,000 in revenue with the Starter plan; subsequent transactions incur a fee of 0.75%. The Performance plan with additional features costs $599 monthly.

Braintree

Braintree is a PayPal service aimed at mobile users and designed to compete with Stripe. Like Stripe, it supports global payment methods, recurring billing and fraud protection. Braintree also charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 1% for international cards and currency conversion. Unlike Stripe, Braintree offers PayPal for payments.

The platform is designed to handle complex payment requirements, making it well suited to scaling SaaS businesses. You can negotiate the transaction fees if you receive a large volume of payments. It’s also worth noting that you can use Braintree’s payment gateway services even if you have another payment processing account.

What Are SaaS Payment Solutions?

SaaS payment solutions are specialized payment platforms that enable software providers to efficiently manage and process recurring subscription payments. They not only handle the process of accepting payments but offer additional features like invoicing, tax compliance and fraud prevention. This helps to streamline the process for businesses and provide a seamless payment experience for customers.

Overview of SaaS Billing Systems

SaaS billing systems are designed to automate the process of billing recurring payments for subscription-based services. They support multiple pricing models, such as flat-rate, tiered, and usage-based plans.

Providers can either be integrated payment processing services like Stripe and Braintree or SaaS-focused subscription management services like Paddle or Chargebee.

In addition to processing payments, SaaS billing systems provide tools for managing customer subscriptions and generating analytics reports to monitor performance. Advanced systems also provide features like dunning management to address failed payments.

Why SaaS Payment Solutions Are Essential for Software Businesses

Implementing an effective SaaS payment system is essential for software businesses selling services as a monthly or annual subscription for several reasons:

• Revenue management: SaaS billing automates recurring payment processes, which can reduce manual workload, limit errors and ensure consistent cash flow.
• Scalability: SaaS payment systems accommodate a growing number of subscribers, without compromising performance.
• Compliance and security: Payment systems help businesses comply with payment regulations and tax laws.
• Customer retention: By offering flexible payment options and efficient subscription management, SaaS billing systems enhance the customer experience and help to increase retention.

Key Features to Consider When Choosing a SaaS Payment Solution

The type of payment solution to choose will depend on the needs of your SaaS business.

Fully integrated services are well suited to startups as they provide simple recurring billing and pricing, but dedicated SaaS subscription platforms may be more suitable as your business expands and your services become more complex. There are several features to look out for.

Integration with Existing Systems

Choosing a solution that integrates with your current software setup, including your accounting and analytics tools, can help to simplify and streamline your operations.

Compliance and Security

When taking payments from customers, it is essential to comply with industry regulations to safeguard their sensitive data. The platform you choose should adhere to standards such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and provide robust security measures to protect customers’ payment information.

Customer Support

Look for customer reviews that indicate a platform provides good technical support, which you might need especially when you’re starting out with the service. Consider whether you’ll need phone support as well as email or live chat support.

Customer Relationship Management

Some payment platforms include CRM features that analyze transactions to help you understand customer behavior. This can help your business target its communication and marketing to boost sales.

Setup Costs and Ongoing Fees

Compare the pricing structures that various platforms offer, including setup charges, transaction fees, monthly fees and any extra costs, to find an option that suits your payment volumes and business budget.

Discover Wise Business: The Low-Cost Money Transfer Provider

When you’re researching ways to manage funds in various currencies, check out Wise Business. Wise is a money services provider that offers a low-cost multicurrency account. You can hold and exchange 40+ currencies at once and save money on currency conversion at the mid-market exchange rate, with low, transparent fees.

Find out more about Wise Business

Your Wise account allows you to receive payments from customers directly or via service providers like Stripe. You can receive payments like a local with major currency account details. You’ll also pay no monthly fees.

A Wise Business account can help your SaaS business grow in the US and internationally.

Sources:

¹Software as a Service - Worldwide | Market Forecast
²Pricing & Fees
³Pricing | Paddle
⁴Pricing | 2Checkout
⁵Plans and Pricing - Chargebee
⁶Fees | Merchant and Business | PayPal US

All sources checked March 2025.

	Editor & Business Expert:
	Panna is an expert in US business finance, covering topics from invoicing to international expansion. She creates guides and reviews to help businesses save time and make informed decisions. You can read more useful business articles on her author profile.

	Author:
	Nicole is a professional journalist with two decades of experience in writing and editing, she has also run her own freelance business for the past five years. Her expertise spans the financial and technology industries, including payment processing and small business banking.