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Merchants of record · November 2026 Edition

FastSpring vs Lemon Squeezy

One of fourteen models named FastSpring first on the direct prompt; zero named Lemon Squeezy. FastSpring was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Lemon Squeezy by thirteen and FastSpring carries 48 labels and Lemon Squeezy 36, so the shares are not directly comparable.

FastSpring

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

Lemon Squeezy

criticized challenger

Named in three categories this edition.

First-choice share12%10%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%31%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels4836A 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 Lemon Squeezy · 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 modelsLemon Squeezy
Direct101 against Lemon Squeezy
Paraphrase40
Comparative31
Budget-constrained041 against FastSpring · 3 against Lemon Squeezy
Scale-constrained11
Negative001 against FastSpring · 7 against Lemon Squeezy
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 Lemon Squeezy were named in the same answer sixty-six times, of the 161 answers naming FastSpring and the 101 naming Lemon Squeezy. In those answers Lemon Squeezy took the first choice nine times and FastSpring three.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where FastSpring and Lemon Squeezy 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 Lemon Squeezy first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, FastSpring on the left and Lemon Squeezy on the right.

The direct prompt

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

FastSpring first, Lemon Squeezy not the choice

1 of 14 modelsLemon Squeezy 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 eight points.
FastSpring12%#3 of 12
Lemon Squeezy4%#5 of 12
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
FastSpring leads by two points.
FastSpring12%#3 of 12
Lemon Squeezy10%#4 of 12
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
FastSpring leads by ten points.
FastSpring10%#3 of 9
Lemon Squeezy0%#– 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 Lemon Squeezy

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

“Sharp decline in reputation—Trustpilot score around 1.2/5... High dispute rates can freeze accounts; some merchants report it as unreliable for scaling.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Lemon Squeezy is winding down toward Stripe Managed Payments, so do not start anything new on it.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid starting a new integration if its transition toward Stripe Managed Payments is confirmed” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · hard negative
“for a limited budget, Lemon Squeezy and Creem are among the best choices due to their low fees and ease of use” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose Lemon Squeezy if: You are a solo developer, indie founder, or creator launching a project quickly” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Lemon Squeezy is generally the best Merchant of Record (MoR) for companies with a limited budget” Grok 4.20 · budget 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.