# Insights on Payments & Commerce

Expert insights, guides, and best practices for payment processing, merchant of record services, and building scalable commerce platforms.

### Merchant of Record vs. Payment Facilitator (PayFac): What's the Difference?  
Merchant of Record vs. Payment Facilitator (PayFac) explained — what a payfac is, how it differs from an MoR on tax, liability, and compliance, and which model is right for your business.  
[Read more](/content/blog/merchant-of-record-vs-payment-facilitator/index.html)

### Merchant of Record for AI Companies: What Founders Need to Know  
What AI founders need to know about merchant of record and usage-based billing — why AI billing is different, how metered billing works, where an MoR fits, and how to tell a true MoR from a billing tool.  
[Read more](/content/blog/merchant-of-record-for-ai-companies/index.html)

### 10 Best Lemon Squeezy Alternatives for 2026 (MoR, Fees & Scale Compared)  
An honest comparison of the best Lemon Squeezy alternatives for 2026 — Comecero, Paddle, FastSpring, PayPro Global, Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, 2Checkout, Gumroad, and Dodo — ranked on fees, merchant-of-record coverage, billing flexibility, revenue recovery, and how well they scale past the indie stage.  
[Read more](/content/blog/lemon-squeezy-alternatives/index.html)

### 11 Best FastSpring Alternatives for 2026 (Compared by Fees, MoR & Support)  
An honest comparison of the best FastSpring alternatives for 2026 — Comecero, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, PayPro Global, Cleverbridge, 2Checkout, Chargebee, Recurly, Stripe, Sellfy, and Maxio — ranked on fees, merchant-of-record coverage, high-ticket handling, revenue recovery, and support.  
[Read more](/content/blog/fastspring-alternatives/index.html)

### Cleverbridge vs. FastSpring (2026): Fees, Checkout & MoR Compared  
Cleverbridge vs. FastSpring compared head-to-head for 2026 on pricing and fees, checkout quality, subscription billing, merchant-of-record tax coverage, support, and which one fits your software business (plus when neither is the right answer).  
[Read more](/content/blog/cleverbridge-vs-fastspring/index.html)

### 13 Best Paddle Alternatives for 2026 (Fees, MoR & Migration Compared)  
An honest, up-to-date comparison of the 13 best Paddle alternatives for 2026 — Comecero, Lemon Squeezy, FastSpring, Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, 2Checkout, Dodo, PayPro Global, Cleverbridge, Gumroad, Polar, and Creem — ranked on fees, merchant-of-record coverage, billing flexibility, checkout control, and migration risk.  
[Read more](/content/blog/best-paddle-alternatives-b2b-saas/index.html)

### 10 Best 2Checkout (Verifone) Alternatives for 2026 (Fees, MoR & Support Compared)  
An honest comparison of the best 2Checkout / Verifone alternatives for 2026 — Comecero, Paddle, FastSpring, PayPro Global, Cleverbridge, Lemon Squeezy, Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, and Dodo — ranked on fees, merchant-of-record coverage, modern checkout, revenue recovery, and support.  
[Read more](/content/blog/2checkout-verifone-alternatives/index.html)

### VAT, Sales Tax, and Global Compliance for SaaS: A Founder's Practical Guide  
A practical guide to SaaS sales tax and VAT compliance — economic nexus, US state-by-state taxability, international VAT and GST, B2B vs. B2C rules, and the two ways to handle it all: automate, or offload to a merchant of record.  
[Read more](/content/blog/saas-vat-sales-tax-compliance/index.html)

### Merchant of Record vs. Payment Service Provider: What's the Real Difference?  
Merchant of Record vs. Payment Service Provider explained — who carries the tax, chargeback, and compliance liability, how the two models differ, and how to choose the right one for your business.  
[Read more](/content/blog/merchant-of-record-vs-payment-service-provider/index.html)

### How to Sell Software Globally Without Setting Up a Foreign Entity  
How to sell software worldwide and accept international payments without forming a foreign entity, opening overseas bank accounts, or registering for tax in every country — using a merchant of record.  
[Read more](/content/blog/how-to-sell-software-globally-without-foreign-entity/index.html)