Forge Payments vs Lemon Squeezy
Forge Payments vs Lemon Squeezy: fees, tax and who each fits
Lemon Squeezy: 5% + 50¢ per transaction and no monthly charge for ecommerce features. It lists additional fees on some payments, including small extra fees outside the US. Forge Payments: Forge Payments charges one all-in fee per sale, card processing included: Free 13% + 30¢, Pro 9% + 30¢, Business 7% + 30¢, Enterprise per contract. Read from Lemon Squeezy's pricing page on 2026-10-22; re-check before you decide, because both sides change.
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Fees on the same sale
On a $20.00 sale the Lemon Squeezy headline fee ($1.50) is lower than every Forge plan, including Business ($1.70).
On a $100.00 sale: Lemon Squeezy headline $5.50; Forge Free $13.30, Pro $9.30, Business $7.30.
Forge Pro is not cheaper per sale than Lemon Squeezy's headline rate, so a paid Forge plan would not pay for itself through fees alone.
| Scenario | Fee | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon Squeezy headline rate, $20.00 sale | $1.50 | 5% + $0.50 |
| Forge Free, $20.00 sale | $2.90 | 13% + 30¢ |
| Forge Pro, $20.00 sale | $2.10 | 9% + 30¢ |
| Forge Business, $20.00 sale | $1.70 | 7% + 30¢ |
| Lemon Squeezy headline rate, $100.00 sale | $5.50 | 5% + $0.50 |
| Forge Free, $100.00 sale | $13.30 | 13% + 30¢ |
| Forge Pro, $100.00 sale | $9.30 | 9% + 30¢ |
| Forge Business, $100.00 sale | $7.30 | 7% + 30¢ |
Tax
Lemon Squeezy states that it is the seller of record and takes on tax collection and calculation for sellers.
Forge Payments is not the seller of record and does not file or remit sales tax or VAT for you, so you stay responsible for the tax on your sales.
Choose Lemon Squeezy if
- You sell software, digital goods or subscriptions and want the seller of record to take on tax collection.
- You want a low headline per-sale rate for a digital product and do not need Forge64 to build the app.
- You only need checkout and tax handling, and you already have an app elsewhere.
Choose Forge64 if
- You want the app, database, sign-in, hosting and payments in one account instead of wiring a checkout into a separate app.
- You want one all-in fee that includes card processing, with no tax-handling service bundled in.
- You want hard spend caps on every metered resource of the app itself.
What is and is not available today
Forge Payments is rolling out: it is built and tested, and a production step is still pending, so confirm availability in your dashboard before you plan a launch around it.
Payouts to sellers in more countries are coming soon. Today Forge Payments serves sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and the European Economic Area.
FAQ
- Is Forge Payments cheaper than Lemon Squeezy?
- It depends on the sale and the plan. On a $20.00 sale the Lemon Squeezy headline fee ($1.50) is lower than every Forge plan, including Business ($1.70). Forge Payments is one all-in fee that includes card processing, and it does not include tax handling; Lemon Squeezy describes its own tax handling above. Compare the total cost for your own mix of sales.
- Does Forge Payments handle tax like Lemon Squeezy?
- Forge Payments is not the seller of record and does not file or remit sales tax or VAT for you, so you stay responsible for the tax on your sales.
- Can I use Lemon Squeezy and Forge64 together?
- Forge64 builds the app and Forge Payments is how that app gets paid. Whether to keep a store on Lemon Squeezy alongside it is your call; they are separate products with separate fees.
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