Lemon Squeezy Review 2026: Deep Dive for Solo Devs & Small Teams
Free tier limits, real costs per team size, and honest "not for" warnings. Everything you need to decide if Lemon Squeezy fits your stack.
Quick Summary
💰 Monthly Cost by Team Size
🚫 Not Recommended For
- High-volume SaaS (5% fee eats into margins)
- Businesses needing full payment customization (use Stripe)
- Physical product sellers
Lemon Squeezy Pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Forever |
| Standard | $0/mo | monthly |
| Growth | $14/mo | monthly |
Pros & Cons
✅ What We Like
- Handles global sales tax automatically (huge for solo devs)
- Merchant of Record — they handle tax compliance, not you
- Built-in license key management for desktop/mobile apps
- No monthly fee — only pay per transaction
- Affiliate program management included
❌ What Could Be Better
- Higher per-transaction fee (5% + 50¢) vs Stripe (2.9% + 30¢)
- Fewer payment methods than Stripe
- Dashboard and DX not as polished as Stripe
- Limited customization for checkout flow
- Newer platform — smaller community and fewer integrations
Feature Breakdown
🏆 Our Verdict
Lemon Squeezy scores 4.5/5 in our evaluation. Solo Dev Score: 9/10. It's best suited for Solo devs selling digital products who don't want to deal with taxes, SaaS founders who want Merchant of Record (no tax headaches), Indie hackers selling desktop apps with license keys. We recommend it as a top choice in its category.
See how it compares: Stripe, Paddle, Gumroad
Try Lemon Squeezy Free →Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lemon Squeezy worth the price in 2026?
Lemon Squeezy starts at Free / $0/mo. Based on our evaluation, it scores 4.5/5 overall. Whether it's worth it depends on your team size and feature requirements — read our detailed breakdown above.
What are the main alternatives to Lemon Squeezy?
Several tools compete with Lemon Squeezy in its category. Check our comparison section above for head-to-head matchups with the top alternatives.
Does Lemon Squeezy offer a free plan?
Check our pricing section above for the most up-to-date information on Lemon Squeezy's free tier and paid plans.
Is Lemon Squeezy good for small businesses?
Lemon Squeezy can work for small businesses depending on your budget and requirements. Review our "Best For" section to see if it matches your use case.
📖 Read Next
More payments reviews you might find useful
Stripe
Payment processing platform for internet businesses with powerful APIs and developer tools.
Paddle
Complete payments, tax, and subscription management platform for SaaS. Merchant of Record model handles global tax compliance.
Gumroad
Sell digital products, memberships, and courses directly to your audience with a simple storefront.