Indie Developer Payouts 2026

Compiled 2026-11-05. This order is an OBPAI editor ranking for an indie developer charging customers outside their home country. The three rulers are the published account footprint, the published fee, and the published payout cadence, using the rate that covers the wider set of countries. Stripe is No. 1. US domestic cards are 2.9% + $0.30, and US standard settlement is written as T+2. Mainland China is absent from the country list. That limit stays in the No. 1 opening cell. The rank still follows fees and payout speed for a global seller. On the tier image, Nos. 1–10 sit in S and A. Nos. 11–19 sit in B, C, and D.

Editor ranking of payout channels, 2026

The main table has 19 channels. The first 10 are the head of the list. The next 9 add storefronts, gateways, and quote-only merchants of record that publish a fee page. Checkout cells copy the charge rate. Wise, PayPal, and Payoneer copy receive and withdrawal rates.

The first five

Stripe is No. 1 because the published fee and the published payout sit in the front rank, and listed countries can register on their own. The US price page is 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards, +1.5% for international cards, and +1% when conversion is required. Instant Payouts are 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum. The first payout is typically 7–14 days. The same-day manual table writes US standard settlement as T+2. The global page includes Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States, and omits mainland China. Sales-tax remittance is not in that price. The country settlement table was collapsed, so Hong Kong and Singapore day counts are not copied.

PayPal is No. 2 because the US and mainland China both publish a merchant fee page, the signup map is wider than Stripe’s country list, and the money sits in the balance first. US checkout is 3.49% plus a fixed fee. The USD fixed fee is $0.49. International commercial transactions add 1.50%. The mainland China merchant page was last updated on 2025-06-18 and prints 4.40% + $0.30 for international receiving, plus $35.00 per wire to a mainland China bank. Those page dates stay separate from the compile date. Neither page prints a wire day count.

Creem is No. 3. Among the merchants of record in this table, it still prints the clearest tax-inclusive platform fee: 3.9% + $0.40, and the pricing page says there is no international card surcharge. The France example at 20% VAT is a $24 total and a $1.33 platform fee. Payouts run on the 1st and the 15th, and payments may sit 7–12 days. China is one of 87 countries, and individuals are paid through Alipay. The fee is higher than Stripe, and the cadence is slower, so it sits behind the processor. The previous edition put it at No. 1 by using a mainland China account as the gate. This title is for indie developers selling abroad, so the three rulers are read together again.

Wise is No. 4. China is on the hold-money list. Local receiving is free for most currencies. Swift charges $6.11 for USD and 28.70 for CNY. It has no checkout. The page link is https://wise.com/invite/dic/1ndm9w4.

Dodo Payments is No. 5. A Chinese government ID is on the accepted list, the rate is 4% + $0.40, and the default payout dates are the 18th and the 4th. The rate is 0.1 percentage point above Creem, and this payout doc does not print an Alipay cap.

Nos. 6–10

Lemon Squeezy is No. 6. The pricing page is still 5% + 50¢, plus 1.5% outside the US. Mainland China is absent from the bank list. Sales sit 13 days and pay out on the 14th and the 28th. The 2026 update post body did not come back, so the rank stays with the pricing page.

Paddle is No. 7. Checkout is 5% + $0.50. China is off the unsupported list. Balances convert on the 1st and are sent by the 15th, with a $100 minimum.

Mollie is No. 8. EEA consumer cards are 1.80% + €0.25, below the US domestic Stripe line, but the page splits European cards from others. Cards from outside the EEA are 3.25% + €0.25. Payouts can run every business day at no extra fee. The account map is narrower than Stripe’s global list, so it stays out of the first five.

Polar is No. 9. Organizations created after 2026-05-27 start at 5% + $0.50, plus 1.5% for a non-US card. Mainland China is absent from the payout list. The fee page was modified on 2026-07-22.

Waffo is No. 10. Cards and mobile wallets print 2.90% + $0.50, and that line does not include sales tax. A payout to an individual in China adds 1.00% + $3.50. Pancake does not print a percentage, and it does not print a fixed date. The banner says $30 million in total funding, including a Series A above $15 million. The rank does not follow that round. The 2.90% sits near Stripe, and the page does not finish the tax line or the payout date, so Waffo stays at the end of the top 10.

Outside the top 10

No. 11, Braintree, prices cards at 2.89% + $0.29. The fee page was last updated on 2026-05-07. A non-USD presentment and a card issued outside the United States each add 1%. That page does not print a payout day, so the percentage alone does not move it into the top 10. No. 12, Square, prints 2.9% + 30¢ for US online payments and does not print a day count. No. 13, Payoneer, charges 1% to receive a non-local currency. China is on the same-country local-currency row at $1.50. No. 14, 2Checkout, prices 2SELL at 3.5% + €0.30 and 2SUBSCRIBE at 4.5% + €0.40, writes payouts as weekly, and adds 2% in some countries when the shopper is abroad.

No. 15, Gumroad, charges 10% + $0.50 on direct sales and has handled sales tax since 2025-01-01. Weekly payouts wait at least 7 days, with a $100 minimum. Eligible US creators can take a minutes-level payout at 3% after 60 days and a prior payout, up to $10,000. No. 16, Payhip, adds 5% on the free plan, PayPal and Stripe still charge their own rates, and the sale is deposited when the transaction completes. No. 17, Ko-fi, charges a 5% service fee on the free plan, and the $12 monthly plan sets the tip service fee at 0. No. 18, Sellfy, prints a 0% transaction fee, with plans from $29 a month, and still runs on PayPal or Stripe. No. 19, FastSpring, is a merchant of record. China is in the headquarters menu on the quote form, and the pricing page does not print a percentage.

How this ranking was made

The order is an editor judgment. The three rulers have equal weight: which countries the official page covers, what the official fee prints, and what the official payout cadence prints. The title is for indie developers selling abroad, so a missing mainland China line does not by itself send a channel to the bottom. Stripe is therefore No. 1. The mainland China limit stays in the opening cell of that row. Creem is No. 3 because 3.9% + $0.40 includes tax and payouts are twice a month, which fits a merchant of record, while the fee and the speed both sit behind Stripe. Waffo is No. 10 because the gateway rate does not finish the tax line or a fixed payout date.

The tier image puts Nos. 1–5 in S, Nos. 6–10 in A, Nos. 11–14 in B, Nos. 15–17 in C, and Nos. 18–19 in D. The empty board a reader opens is still S through D, with the candidates in the pool. PayPal’s mainland China page was last updated on 2025-06-18. Creem’s payout doc was modified on 2026-10-08. Polar’s fee page was modified on 2026-07-22. Braintree’s fee page was last updated on 2026-05-07. Those four dates stay separate from the compile date.

By the country you are already in

This table is separate from the overall rank. It only answers which channel to open once you already sit in a given country.