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Merchants of record · November 2026 Edition

FastSpring vs Cleverbridge

One of fourteen models named FastSpring first on the direct prompt; zero named Cleverbridge. FastSpring was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Cleverbridge by thirteen and FastSpring carries 48 labels and Cleverbridge 22, so the shares are not directly comparable.

FastSpring

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

Cleverbridge

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

First-choice share12%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#6A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels4822A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, FastSpring reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Paddle was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Paddle vs FastSpring · Paddle vs Cleverbridge · Creem vs FastSpring

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the merchants of record page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
FastSpringFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCleverbridge
Direct10
Paraphrase43
Comparative30
Budget-constrained001 against FastSpring
Scale-constrained10
Negative001 against FastSpring
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, FastSpring and Cleverbridge were named in the same answer seventy-six times, of the 161 answers naming FastSpring and the 85 naming Cleverbridge. In those answers Cleverbridge took the first choice twenty-two times and FastSpring six.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where FastSpring and Cleverbridge stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.20
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 Luna
Muse Glimmer 30B
FastSpring Cleverbridge first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, FastSpring on the left and Cleverbridge on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where FastSpring and Cleverbridge stood in it.

FastSpring first, Cleverbridge an alternative

1 of 14 modelsCleverbridge was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Gemini 3.5 FlashFastSpring, Paddle alternatives: Adyen, Anrok, Avalara, Cleverbridge, PayPro Global, Stripe

Neither was the first choice, one was named

11 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Claude Haiku 4.5Paddle alternatives: 2Checkout, Cleverbridge, FastSpring, PayPro Global
GPT-5.4 miniPaddle alternatives: FastSpring
Perplexity SonarPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, FastSpring
Grok 4.20Paddle alternatives: 2Checkout, Cleverbridge, FastSpring
Mistral SmallPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, FastSpring
DeepSeek V4 FlashPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, FastSpring, Nexway, PayPro Global
Llama 4 MaverickPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, EBizCharge, FastSpring
Qwen 3.7 FlashPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, FastSpring
Kimi K2Paddle alternatives: FastSpring, Nexway, PayPro Global
GPT-6 LunaPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, FastSpring
Muse Glimmer 30BPaddle alternatives: Cleverbridge, DualEntry, FastSpring, Nexway

Neither was named

2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
GLM 4.7 FlashXno first choice
MiniMax M2.52Checkout, Paddle alternatives: DualEntry

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
FastSpring leads by ten points.
FastSpring12%#3 of 12
Cleverbridge2%#9 of 12
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
FastSpring leads by six points.
FastSpring12%#3 of 12
Cleverbridge6%#6 of 12
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
The order flips: Cleverbridge leads at enterprise.
Cleverbridge35%#1 of 9
FastSpring10%#3 of 9
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about FastSpring

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.

“Avoid enterprise-heavy options like FastSpring (higher ~5.9% fees, older interface)” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“MoR model leads to higher costs (negotiated but often 4–6% effective) and less control over customer data/branding.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“FastSpring tends to be referenced more specifically for mid-sized B2B SaaS with both self-serve and sales-assisted motions” Muse Glimmer 30B · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Pick a Merchant of Record (Paddle or FastSpring) if your contract sizes are smaller ($1k–$25k ACV)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“For most SaaS and software companies, Paddle and FastSpring are the most common choices.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice

What the models said about Cleverbridge

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.

“Cleverbridge is a strong, well‑documented recommendation.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Primary Recommendation: Cleverbridge” MiniMax M2.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Top Recommendation: Cleverbridge” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.