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Adyen, Paddle or Checkout.com: What SaaS Companies Use Instead of Stripe

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 31 October 2026
Last modified: 31 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 11 min read

Short answer

Paddle publishes 5% plus 50¢ per checkout transaction as a merchant of record in 2026.¹ Checkout.com prices by business profile or interchange++ and lists no Indian contracting entity.²³ RBI lists Adyen India as an online and outward cross-border aggregator, and Stripe India as an online aggregator only.⁴

Applies to	Rules involved	Platforms compared	Last verified
Indian SaaS and software businesses selling to customers abroad⁵	PA-CB Master Direction (₹25 lakh per transaction); FEMA 2026 Regulations⁶⁷	Skydo, Razorpay, Karbon Business, Adyen, Checkout.com, Paddle, Stripe⁴	31 October 2026¹

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

1,000 USD = ₹94,243 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	Karbon BusinessLowest estimated costBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹942plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,131 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 1.18%
2	RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,000plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,063 to ₹93,243	1.06 to 1.25%
3	WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,435	0%	₹92,809	1.52%
4	SkydoPayment link (InstaLinks) paid by ACH debit	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,885plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,019 to ₹92,358	2.00 to 2.36%
5	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹90,473 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 4.00%
6	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,175no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹86,465 to ₹87,366	7.30 to 8.25%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: Cashfree Payments, Dodo Payments, PingPong, Stripe, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

Adyen, Paddle and Checkout.com are the names that come up when SaaS companies compare Stripe alternatives. Adyen describes itself as a platform for enterprises, Paddle sells merchant of record (MoR) billing, and Checkout.com prices by business profile or interchange++.⁸¹² For an Indian SaaS business the question is narrower: which of these can actually contract with an Indian entity and pay out to India. Software sold to customers outside India is usually an export of services under section 2(6) of the IGST Act.⁵

How do Adyen, Paddle, Checkout.com and Stripe compare for Indian SaaS companies?

Adyen, Paddle, Checkout.com and Stripe differ most on whether they serve Indian sellers at all. Rows are ordered by estimated cost on a $5,000 USD receipt from published fees, cheapest first, with providers that do not publish enough pricing to estimate listed after, A to Z.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Platform	Best for	Fee	FX markup	Settlement	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Source
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹²	Skydo says it charges USD 19 plus GST for transactions up to USD 2,000, USD 29 plus GST from USD 2,001 to USD 10,000, and 0.3% plus GST above USD 10,000; payments above USD 100K a month are priced on request.⁹¹³	Skydo's product page says conversion is at a live mid-market rate with 0% markup. Its terms say conversion uses a retail foreign exchange rate determined by Skydo or its partner banks and do not guarantee the most favourable rate.¹⁴¹⁵	Skydo's product page says funds settle to the Indian bank within 24 hours. Its terms commit to commercially reasonable efforts to credit within T+1 to T+3 business days, depending on currency and corridor. ACH Debit via InstaLinks typically settles within 6 business days.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶	Skydo says it issues a free FIRA on every payment received, and that its FIRA and FIRC are accepted for GST filing and by banks.¹⁴¹⁷	Skydo Technologies Private Limited is on the RBI list as a PA-CB-I & O (Payment Aggregator, Cross Border, facilitating inward and outward transactions), authorised on 8 January 2026. Its terms say it uses partner banks to provide the service.⁴¹⁵	Skydo pages and RBI list¹³⁴
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone¹⁸	MoneySaver bank transfers: 1% per transaction, GST applicable, with a flat fee of ₹1,000 on transactions below ₹1,00,000. Flash Links (US ACH debit): 2%. International cards: up to 3% per successful transaction plus 18% GST on the pricing page (the international payments page says 3% plus taxes). Enterprise pricing is custom.¹⁰¹⁹²⁰	MoneySaver bank transfers: Razorpay says 0% FX markup, converting at the live exchange rate. Card payments: converted at the rate on the date of payment (the processing bank's rate, per Razorpay's docs); any markup on card conversions is not published.¹⁰¹⁹²¹	Push bank transfers (ACH, FPS, SEPA, SWIFT): T+1 from capture or from when invoice details are shared, whichever is later. Flash Links (ACH debit): around T+5 business days. International cards: Razorpay's FAQ refers to a T+7 working day settlement period, with early settlement at an additional, unpublished charge.¹⁸²²¹⁰²³	Razorpay provides a Foreign Inward Remittance Statement (FIRS), sent to the contact email within 24 hours after settlement for bank transfers, and downloadable from the dashboard, which shows bank-provided certificates and Razorpay-generated statements. The pricing page lists FIRC or eFIRC as included and auto-generated for international cards. No separate charge is published.¹⁸²⁴¹⁹	Razorpay Payments Private Limited (formerly Razorpay Software Private Limited) appears on the RBI list of authorised payment system operators as a Payment Aggregator: Online, Physical, and Cross Border facilitating Inward and Outward transactions (PA-CB I and O).⁴	Razorpay pages and RBI list¹⁹⁴
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts²⁵	Karbon's PayPal alternative page lists a 1% transaction fee in its feature list; its freelancer page gives no fee amount.¹¹²⁵	Karbon's freelancer page says 0% markup on inward remittance; its PayPal comparison page gives a forex markup of 0.5% to 1.0%. The home page says displayed amounts are indicative and depend on the rate booking date.²⁵¹¹²⁶	Karbon says international payments reach India within 24 to 48 hours.²⁵	Karbon says it provides a FIRA for every transaction, issued by its licensed banking partner, which it does not name. Cost not published.²⁵	Not on the RBI list itself; its terms run export receipts under a partner the RBI lists as a PA-CB²⁷⁴²⁶	Karbon pages and RBI list²⁵⁴
Adyen	Large businesses with an Indian entity²⁸²⁹	Not published for Indian exporters. Adyen's global pricing page shows indicative fees: $0.13 per transaction plus Interchange++ plus 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard, and $0.13 plus 3.95% for American Express.³⁰	Not published.³⁰	Not published.³⁰	Not published.³¹²⁹	The RBI lists Adyen India Technology Services Private Limited as an online payment aggregator (PA-O, 15 July 2024) and as PA-CB-O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating outward transactions. Adyen's India onboarding policy describes its cross-border product as the Payment Aggregator Cross Border Import solution for foreign merchants. Adyen is not listed for inward (export) cross-border transactions.⁴⁸³¹	Adyen pages and RBI list³⁰⁴
Checkout.com	Not rated in this site's data; no Indian contracting entity is listed³	Flat rate based on business profile and risk category, or interchange++; no figures published.²	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not on RBI's payment aggregator list.⁴	Checkout.com pages and RBI list²⁴
Paddle	Not rated in this site's data; software businesses wanting a merchant of record¹	5% plus 50¢ per checkout transaction, including merchant of record, tax handling and chargebacks.¹	Conversion margin of up to 1.5% on payouts in a currency other than your balance currency.³²	Not published on the pages checked.	Not published	Not on RBI's payment aggregator list.⁴	Paddle pages and RBI list¹⁴
Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions³³³⁴	3% for Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside India, 3.5% for American Express cards issued outside India, and 4.3% for international cards with USD or other non-INR presentment, per successful charge.³⁵³⁶	Additional 2% if currency conversion is required. Stripe does not publish on these pages exactly which export charges need conversion.³⁵³⁶	Each daily payout includes international card payments processed five business days earlier. No payouts on weekends or public holidays. Seven-day waiting period for the first payout, which can be longer for high-risk industries.³⁷	Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice (payee advice) to the registered Stripe email on the day an export payout is processed; Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC. Cost of the FIRC from your bank: not published by Stripe.³⁸³³	RBI lists Stripe India Private Limited as an authorised Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O, 'Stripe', dated 15.01.2024), not as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB). RBI's application status list as on 16.10.2026 shows its new PA-CB application returned on 12.07.2024 and marks it as withdrawn by the entity. Stripe says it withdrew the PA-CB application based on RBI guidance and continues cross-border services for Indian businesses on an invite-only basis. Stripe names Standard Chartered Bank as the bank that issues payment advice for export payouts.⁴³⁹⁴⁰³³³⁸	Stripe pages and RBI lists³⁵³⁹

Skydo, Razorpay and Karbon Business appear because they rank lowest on published fees for bank transfers, which suit invoiced annual SaaS contracts more than card checkout.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Which platforms are named as Stripe alternatives for SaaS, and can Indian exporters use them?

Adyen, Paddle and Checkout.com are named as Stripe alternatives for SaaS: Paddle works with software businesses anywhere except listed sanctioned countries, Checkout.com lists no Indian entity, and Adyen requires an Indian entity for local processing.⁴¹³²⁹

Platform	Best for	Who can sign up	Can an Indian SaaS exporter use it?
Adyen	Large businesses with an Indian entity²⁸²⁹	Adyen describes itself as a platform for enterprises. To process payments locally in India, Adyen requires a local entity in India and a separate company account. Eligibility of Indian freelancers or small exporters is not published.⁸²⁹	Not published for exporters; RBI lists Adyen India for outward cross-border payments only.⁴
Checkout.com	Not rated in this site's data	Contracting entities listed for the UK, EEA, UAE, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the US.³	No Indian entity is listed.³
Paddle	Not rated in this site's data	Software businesses anywhere except listed sanctioned countries.⁴¹	India is not on Paddle's unsupported list.⁴¹
Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions³³³⁴	By invite only: Indian businesses cannot sign up through the website and must request an invite. International payments are open to sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies. Individuals can use Stripe India for domestic payments only. Non-profits, NGOs and simple partnerships are not supported.³³³⁴⁴²⁴³	Yes, by invite, for card payments.³³
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone¹⁸	Indian businesses with a completed Razorpay KYC. The MoneySaver onboarding form lists Individual, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Private Limited, Public Limited and LLP as business types, and the business must fall under one of the export purpose codes Razorpay lists. International card payments need a website with terms, privacy, refund and shipping policy pages. Razorpay says it cannot offer international payments to NGOs.¹⁸⁴⁴²³	Yes, as an RBI-authorised PA-CB.⁴

For a merchant of record set up from India, see merchant of record in India, which also covers Dodo Payments.

What does each option charge?

Each option charges a different way: Paddle bundles MoR services into one percentage, Stripe and Razorpay charge card fees, and Adyen and Checkout.com quote by profile.¹³⁵¹⁹³⁰²

Platform	Best for	Card or checkout fee	Payout or conversion cost
Adyen	Large businesses with an Indian entity²⁸²⁹	Not published for Indian exporters. Adyen's global pricing page shows indicative fees: $0.13 per transaction plus Interchange++ plus 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard, and $0.13 plus 3.95% for American Express.³⁰	Not published
Checkout.com	Not rated in this site's data	Flat rate by profile, or interchange++; no figures published.²	Not published
Paddle	Not rated in this site's data	5% plus 50¢ per checkout transaction.¹	Free in local currency over local networks; otherwise a $15, €15 or £15 SWIFT fee; up to 1.5% conversion margin.³²
Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions³³³⁴	Yes, card payments are the core method: 3% (Visa or Mastercard issued abroad, INR presentment), 3.5% (American Express issued abroad), 4.3% (non-INR presentment), plus 2% if conversion is required. GST at 18% is charged on Stripe fees.³⁵⁴⁵	Additional 2% if currency conversion is required. Stripe does not publish on these pages exactly which export charges need conversion.³⁵³⁶
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone¹⁸	Yes, international cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners, Discover, JCB, UnionPay listed on the pricing page) and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, at up to 3% per successful transaction plus 18% GST.¹⁹²⁰	MoneySaver bank transfers: Razorpay says 0% FX markup, converting at the live exchange rate. Card payments: converted at the rate on the date of payment (the processing bank's rate, per Razorpay's docs); any markup on card conversions is not published.¹⁰¹⁹²¹

A merchant of record fee covers more than payment processing, so compare it with a gateway fee plus your own tax compliance costs.¹

Which option is cheapest at $500, $2,000 and $5,000?

For invoiced payments by bank transfer, Skydo, Razorpay and Karbon Business cost least on a $5,000 USD receipt on this site's ranking of published fees.⁹¹⁰¹¹ The table below shows INR received at today's rate.

Platform	Best for	INR on USD 2,000	INR on USD 5,000	INR on USD 10,000	Cost on USD 5,000
SkydoMost INRTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,86,373	₹4,67,991	₹9,39,206	0.68%
Karbon BusinessBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹1,86,262 to ₹1,86,601	₹4,65,655 to ₹4,66,503	₹9,31,311 to ₹9,33,007	1.00 to 1.18%
RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,86,262 to ₹1,86,601	₹4,65,655 to ₹4,66,503	₹9,31,311 to ₹9,33,007	1.00 to 1.18%

Ranked by INR received on USD 5,000. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

For example, Paddle's 50¢ fixed fee adds 1% to a $50 monthly subscription, making 6% in all, but only 0.1% to a $500 annual plan, making 5.1%.¹ Stripe's 4.3% on a non-INR card charge stays the same at $500, $2,000 and $5,000, before any 2% conversion fee and 18% GST.³⁵⁴⁵

What documents do you get from each option?

Indian SaaS exporters need proof of each receipt for GST and the bank, and the options differ on whether they publish one.³⁸²⁴¹

Platform	Best for	Proof of receipt
Adyen	Large businesses with an Indian entity²⁸²⁹	Not published.³¹²⁹
Checkout.com	Not rated in this site's data	Not published
Paddle	Not rated in this site's data	Not published on the pages checked
Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions³³³⁴	Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice (payee advice) to the registered Stripe email on the day an export payout is processed; Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC. Cost of the FIRC from your bank: not published by Stripe.³⁸³³
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone¹⁸	Razorpay provides a Foreign Inward Remittance Statement (FIRS), sent to the contact email within 24 hours after settlement for bank transfers, and downloadable from the dashboard, which shows bank-provided certificates and Razorpay-generated statements. The pricing page lists FIRC or eFIRC as included and auto-generated for international cards. No separate charge is published.¹⁸²⁴¹⁹

The exporter self-certifies an e-BRC on DGFT from the bank's IRM data, whichever provider collects the money.⁴⁶

What changes in 2026 for Indian SaaS companies moving off Stripe?

Indian SaaS companies moving off Stripe in 2026 face new export paperwork and a changed list of authorised providers.⁷⁴

EDF for software: From 1 October 2026 the EDF under the 2026 Regulations covers software exports, and RBI Circular No. 20 supersedes the earlier SOFTEX circulars.⁷⁴⁷
Filing deadline: The EDF is due within 30 days from the end of the month of invoicing.⁷
Realisation: Payment is due within nine months of the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced in rupees.⁴⁸
Transaction cap: Each PA-CB payment is capped at ₹25 lakh, inward or outward.⁶
Stripe: RBI's status list shows Stripe's PA-CB application as withdrawn by the entity.³⁹
New PA-CBs: RBI's list dates Skydo's authorisation 8 January 2026 and Wise's 12 March 2026.⁴
Income tax: The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026.⁴⁹

See SOFTEX replaced by EDF and GST on SaaS sold to foreign customers for the detail.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 31 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

Can an Indian SaaS company use Paddle instead of Stripe?+

Paddle says it works with software businesses anywhere in the world except listed sanctioned countries, and India is not on that list. Paddle acts as merchant of record at 5% plus 50¢ per checkout transaction. Paddle is not on RBI's payment aggregator list, so ask your bank how it will report the payouts.⁴¹¹⁴

Is Checkout.com available for businesses in India?+

Checkout.com's country terms list contracting entities for the UK, the EEA, the UAE, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the US, with no entity for India. Checkout.com is also absent from RBI's payment aggregator list dated 16 October 2026.³⁴

Does Adyen let Indian businesses accept international card payments?+

Adyen requires a local Indian entity to process payments in India, and RBI lists Adyen India as PA-O and as a cross-border aggregator for outward transactions only. Adyen describes its cross-border product as an import solution for foreign merchants, and does not publish fees for Indian exporters.²⁹⁴³¹³⁰

How does Paddle pay out to an Indian bank account?+

Paddle says payouts are free when the payout currency matches your bank's local currency over local networks; otherwise a SWIFT wire fee of $15, €15 or £15 is deducted. Paddle may add a conversion margin of up to 1.5% if you take a payout in a currency other than your balance currency.³²

Is Stripe still invite-only in India for SaaS companies?+

Yes. Stripe says Indian businesses cannot sign up through its website and must request an invite, and that it continues cross-border services on an invite-only basis after withdrawing its PA-CB application. International payments are open to sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies.³³⁴⁰⁴²

What is cheaper than Stripe for a SaaS company in India?+

It depends on how customers pay. Stripe charges 4.3% on non-INR international cards, Paddle 5% plus 50¢ including merchant of record services. For invoiced annual contracts paid by bank transfer, Skydo, Razorpay and Karbon Business cost least on this site's $5,000 ranking.³⁵¹⁹¹⁰¹¹

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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