> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.paddle.com/llms.txt).

# What is Paddle?

Paddle Billing is the world's leading merchant of record, designed to make it easy to grow your revenue, reduce your risk, and scale your business.

---

Paddle Billing is the developer-first merchant of record, built for modern SaaS, app, and AI businesses. It takes care of payments, tax, localization, and subscription management for you, using one unified API that does it all.

You can integrate Paddle using our API, handcrafted SDKs and JavaScript library, and using AI with our model context protocol (MCP) server.

## Create product catalog {% step=true %}

Your [product catalog](https://developer.paddle.com/build/products/create-products-prices.md) includes subscription plans, recurring addons, one-time charges, and things like additional seats.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="No rigid hierarchy" %}
No need to spend time thinking about whether an item is an addon, accessory, bundle, plan, or seat — in Paddle everything is a product.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Modular prices" %}
Products have related prices that describe how they're charged, letting you easily create products with multiple billing periods.
{% /card %}
{% card title="All kinds of pricing" %}
Build flat, good-better-best, per-user, and feature based pricing easily. Bill for one-time charges and offer recurring addons, too.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## Drop in a checkout {% step=true %}

Start transacting in minutes. Use [Paddle.js](https://developer.paddle.com/paddlejs/overview.md) to drop [an overlay checkout](https://developer.paddle.com/paddlejs/overview.md) into your app with a few lines of code, or build integrated checkout experiences using [inline checkout](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/sell/branded-integrated-inline-checkout.md).

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Optimized for conversion" %}
Short purchase journey and intelligent routing to the best acquirer for payment success.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Fully brand and customize" %}
Add your brand colors and choose your theme, or seamlessly integrate into your app.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Get started in minutes" %}
Include Paddle.js and launch an overlay checkout with just a few lines of code.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## Handle all parts of the subscription lifecycle {% step=true %}

Let Paddle automatically create a subscription for you when a checkout completes. As a total subscription management solution, Paddle handles renewals, upgrades and downgrades, pauses and cancellations, and other subscription lifecycle events.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Keep your app in sync" %}
Comprehensive [webhooks](https://developer.paddle.com/webhooks/overview.md) for all parts of the subscription lifecycle keep your app in sync with Paddle, or poll [the event stream](https://developer.paddle.com/api-reference/events/list-events.md).
{% /card %}
{% card title="Prorate when making changes" %}
Paddle calculates [proration](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/subscriptions/proration.md) to-the-minute when making changes to a subscription. Preview charges before choosing to apply now or later.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Stay compliant" %}
Paddle handles sending emails for subscription lifecycle events where legally required, so you're covered.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## Transition to billing by invoice {% step=true %}

Conquer upmarket and downmarket — all from the same integrated platform.

[Create invoices](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/sell/sales-assisted-invoice.md) for subscriptions, or transition customers who pay for renewals automatically using a saved payment method to payment by invoice, offering enterprise plans to customers who have scaled with you.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Fully integrated" %}
Create invoices and let customers pay by [bank transfer](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/payment-methods/wire-transfer.md), using the same product catalog and customers that you use for [Paddle Checkout](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/sell/self-serve-checkout.md).
{% /card %}
{% card title="Accept bank transfers" %}
No need to create local bank accounts. Accept bank transfers and offline payments, as well as card, PayPal, and [other payment methods](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/payment-methods/overview.md).
{% /card %}
{% card title="Handle subscription changes" %}
Paddle automatically creates invoices for subscription changes, like renewals or plan changes. No need to manually make changes or create invoices.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## Win new markets {% step=true %}

Take your price localization strategy to the next level with [country-specific pricing](https://developer.paddle.com/build/products/offer-localized-pricing.md), automatic currency conversion, localized checkout, and [local payment methods](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/payment-methods/overview.md) that you can enable in a couple of clicks.

Increase conversion rates, maximize revenue in markets where willingness-to-pay is higher, and grow your sales by pricing according to purchasing power in emerging markets.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Sell in over 200 countries and territories" %}
Expand into [popular markets](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/sell/supported-countries-locales.md), while protecting your company from countries under international sanctions.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Boost conversion rates" %}
Offering [local currencies](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/sell/supported-currencies.md) and payment methods can increase sales and reduce FX fees for customers.
{% /card %}
{% card title="No extra engineering effort" %}
All supported countries, currencies, and payment methods are ready-to-use as part of [the Paddle API](https://developer.paddle.com/api-reference/overview.md) and [Paddle.js](https://developer.paddle.com/paddlejs/overview.md).
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## Effortlessly reduce churn {% step=true %}

Paddle Billing [integrates with Retain](https://developer.paddle.com/concepts/retain/overview.md), which uses algorithms built on data collected from hundreds of thousands of payments to systematically reduce churn from payment failure.

Retain intelligently retries payments at the best time for success, and sends tried and tested notifications to help you recover revenue.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Frictionless retries" %}
Prompt customers for payment on your commercial website, letting them pay for overdue subscriptions in one-click with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Intelligent retries" %}
Retain automatically retries payments at the best time for success based on the date, failure code, payment method, bank, customer location, and other factors.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Easy to integrate" %}
Add Retain to your website or app when you're building a checkout and integrating Paddle. There's no need to call a separate library or build a separate integration.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}

## We do it for you {% step=true %}

Paddle provides more than just the infrastructure for subscription billing. As a merchant of record, we do it for you.

{% card-group cols=3 %}
{% card title="Fully tax compliant" %}
Paddle calculates, collects, and remits taxes for you across the world. We handle sales tax liability for all payments, so you're totally protected.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Fraud protection" %}
As merchant of record for every transaction, Paddle prevents card attacks, fights illegitimate chargebacks, and screens fraudsters.
{% /card %}
{% card title="Payment routing" %}
With a high volume of successful payments for thousands of SaaS companies, we're more trusted by global acquirers than you would be as a solo merchant.
{% /card %}
{% /card-group %}