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Merchant of record with usage billing

Dodo Payments

Merchant of record for SaaS and AI products that onboards sellers from 177 countries, with credit and usage billing, license keys and a 4% + 40¢ base rate.

Visit dodopayments.com ↗ Alternatives Paid
Dodo Payments homepage
§1

Overview

Dodo Payments is a merchant of record: it is the seller for your SaaS, AI product or digital goods and handles VAT, GST and sales tax, payment processing, chargebacks and fraud across 220+ countries and regions for buyers. It is backed by investors including Antler, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed and Razorpay.

The standard rate is 4% + 40¢ for US cards and wallets, with 1.5% more for international cards and local methods, 3% more for PayPal and BNPL, and 0.5% more for subscriptions and usage billing. Indian UPI and card payments are 4% + 15¢.

Its seller eligibility list covers 177 countries and territories, decided by where your identity documents were issued, which makes it an option for founders in countries without direct Stripe accounts. Billing features include credit wallets, usage metering, subscriptions with add-ons, storefronts, license keys, affiliates and purchasing power parity pricing.

Payout balances are held in USD, GBP and EUR wallets; INR payouts were discontinued. Early-stage companies can apply to Dodo for Startups for up to 12 months of credits.

§2

Pricing and plans

Plan Price What you get
Standard 4% + 40¢ Domestic US cards and wallets; international +1.5%; BNPL and PayPal +3%
India domestic (INR) 4% + 15¢ Local cards and UPI, plus international fees where applicable
Enterprise Custom Tailored rates for scale
Dodo for Startups Credits Apply for up to 12 months of free credits and ongoing startup rates

Subscriptions, add-ons and usage-based billing add 0.5%. Refunds cost $1 each and disputes $30. Standard payouts are free, but a $5 fee applies to payouts under $1,000; USD SWIFT payouts for non-US businesses cost $25. Recovery tools (abandoned cart, dunning, retries) charge 5% on recovered revenue only. Bring-your-own-processor billing is 0.5%.

Source: dodopayments.com/pricing · prices as published, excluding tax.

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What it does

Merchant of record
Tax calculation, filing and reporting in 190+ countries, plus fraud, disputes and invoicing.
Credit and usage billing
Credit balances, token or API-call metering, overages and hybrid plans.
Distribution tools
Storefronts, license keys, digital delivery, discount codes and affiliate programs.
40+ payment methods
Cards, wallets, PayPal, Klarna, Afterpay and UPI in 80+ checkout currencies.
Framework adapters and SDKs
Adapters for Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Hono, Better Auth and more; SDKs in nine languages plus an MCP server.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Seller eligibility in 177 countries, wider than most MoRs
  • Base rate of 4% + 40¢ is below Paddle's 5% + 50¢ for US cards
  • Usage and credit billing included
  • Startup program with up to 12 months of credits

Limitations

  • International cards add 1.5% and subscriptions add 0.5%
  • $30 per dispute and $1 per refund
  • Payouts under $1,000 cost $5; SWIFT payouts $25
  • A young company compared with Paddle or FastSpring
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • Founders in India, Africa, Latin America or Asia selling SaaS globally
  • AI products billing on credits or tokens
  • Indie developers selling licenses and downloads

Look elsewhere if

  • Businesses selling physical goods
  • High-dispute businesses, given the $30 dispute fee
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Alternatives to Dodo Payments

Tool From Free option Stages
Square Payments Payment processor (in-person and online)
Usage-based Paid
Stripe Payments Payment processor (API-first)
Usage-based Paid
Mollie Payment processor (Europe)
Usage-based Paid
Paystack Payment gateway (Africa)
Usage-based Paid
PayPal Checkout Payment processor and wallet
Usage-based Paid
Polar Merchant of record with usage billing
Usage-based Paid

All payments and billing →

§7

Questions

What does Dodo Payments charge?

4% + 40¢ per domestic US card transaction, 1.5% more for international payments and 0.5% more for subscriptions.

Is Dodo Payments a merchant of record?

Yes. It handles VAT, GST and sales tax, chargebacks and fraud as the seller.

Which countries can sell with Dodo Payments?

Dodo lists 177 countries and territories whose identity documents it accepts for merchant accounts and payouts.

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