What each one costs
TrialValid Starter is $29 a month for accounts under $10,000 of monthly recurring revenue, starting with a 14-day trial for $1; larger bands follow your revenue: Growth is $95 a month, Scale $295, Pro $595 and Max $995, and Enterprise from $1,995 a month. Lemon Squeezy: 5% + 50 cents per transaction for ecommerce, with no monthly charge (read 2026-10-19, see the pricing table below).
| At a glance | Lemon Squeezy |
|---|---|
| What it is | An all-in-one platform for selling digital products and subscriptions, acting as merchant of record with checkout, tax handling, fraud protection, license keys, affiliates and optional email marketing. |
| Who it suits | Makers and software sellers who want one platform to take payments and handle sales tax for them. |
| Starting price | 5% + 50 cents per transaction for ecommerce, with no monthly charge |
| Free tier | The page says it is free to start with no trial and no contract, and email marketing is free for up to 500 subscribers. |
| Date checked | 2026-10-19 |
Lemon Squeezy pricing
| Plan | Price | Billing basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce | 5% + 50 cents per transaction | No monthly charge; contact the company for volume-based pricing; some payments may carry additional fees | vendor page |
| Email marketing | $0 per month up to 500 subscribers | Charges rise with the number of subscribers | vendor page |
The Lemon Squeezy prices above come from www.lemonsqueezy.com, read on 2026-10-19. Lemon Squeezy can change them at any time.
What Lemon Squeezy is
An all-in-one platform for selling digital products and subscriptions, acting as merchant of record with checkout, tax handling, fraud protection, license keys, affiliates and optional email marketing.
Feature comparison
| Capability | TrialValid | Lemon Squeezy | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card hold at sign-up before a trial starts | yes | not stated | none |
| Trial subscription created in your own Stripe account | yes | different approach | source |
| Capture before the trial ends with retries | yes | not stated | none |
| Exact agreement text stored with time, IP and terms version | yes | not stated | none |
| Statement descriptor rules | yes | not stated | none |
| First-touch attribution per signup | yes | not stated | none |
| Automatic recovery after a failed charge | no | yes | source |
| Free trials on recurring subscriptions | yes | yes | source |
Where TrialValid and Lemon Squeezy overlap
Lemon Squeezy and TrialValid both lead to a recurring charge, but they decide who sells. Lemon Squeezy takes the role of merchant of record, with tax liability, fraud checks and checkout bundled into the transaction fee. TrialValid changes none of that ownership: your Stripe account keeps the subscription, and TrialValid adds the card hold before the trial and the capture before the first invoice. The practical question is where you want the sale booked.
When to pick which
Pick Lemon Squeezy when
- You would like a merchant of record to calculate and pay sales tax for you.
- You also sell license keys, downloads or email subscribers alongside subscriptions.
- A flat 5% plus 50 cents per transaction with no monthly charge fits your volume.
Pick TrialValid when
- You want the sale to stay in your Stripe account under your own name.
- You want a card held when the visitor signs up and captured shortly before the trial ends, with retries.
- You want every signup to hold a record of the agreement shown, with its timestamp and terms version.
- You would rather pay a flat monthly plan tied to connected MRR than a share of every sale.
Sourced facts
| Fact | Read on | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce is priced at 5% plus 50 cents per transaction with no monthly charges for ecommerce features. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| The page invites you to contact the company for volume-based pricing. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| The page notes that some payments may be subject to additional fees and that transactions outside the US may encounter small extra fees. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| The page describes itself as free to start, with no trial, no contract and no risk. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| Lemon Squeezy states it is your merchant of record, takes on tax collection and calculation liability and pays taxes on your behalf. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| Recurring billing is offered on weekly, monthly or yearly schedules, with upgrades, downgrades, cancels, free trials and discounts. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| The page lists up to 21 payment methods, including PayPal, and support for up to 95 currencies. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| A recover lost payments feature is described as covering abandoned carts and failed payment recovery, beyond plain card retries. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| An AI fraud protection system is listed as part of the ecommerce fee. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| Email marketing is priced by subscriber count and is free for up to 500 subscribers. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| License key management and secure, throttled download links are listed as included features. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
| A banner on the page links to a 2026 update about Lemon Squeezy and Stripe Managed Payments. | 2026-10-19 | vendor page |
Questions
What does Lemon Squeezy charge?
The page lists 5% plus 50 cents per transaction for ecommerce, no monthly charge, and volume pricing on request.
Who is the merchant of record?
Lemon Squeezy says it is, and that it takes on tax collection and calculation liability and pays taxes on your behalf.
Do Lemon Squeezy subscriptions allow trials?
Recurring billing lists weekly, monthly or yearly schedules together with free trials and discounts.
Does Lemon Squeezy chase failed payments?
A recover lost payments item covers abandoned carts and failed payment recovery.
Does TrialValid suit a Lemon Squeezy store?
TrialValid connects to a Stripe account you own, so it targets sellers who take payments through Stripe rather than through a merchant of record.
What we could not verify
- Whether a Lemon Squeezy free trial needs a card at signup: free trials are listed, but the mechanism is not.
- What the 2026 Stripe Managed Payments update changes: only a banner link appeared on the page.
- The volume-based rate: the page says to contact the company and prints no number.
- Whether it stores agreement wording, descriptor rules or attribution per signup: none of this is described.