What is Merchant of Record and Why It Matters

What is a Merchant of Record?

A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the legal entity that sells your product to the customer. They handle sales tax, VAT, compliance, and refunds. You get paid minus their fee. This is valuable because tax compliance across 100+ countries is a nightmare for solo founders.

MoR platforms compared

Paddle: 5%+$0.50, enterprise focus. Compare.
Lemon Squeezy: 5%+$0.50, acquired by Stripe. Compare.
Polar.sh: 4%+$0.40, dev-first, open source. Compare.
Creem: 3.9%+$0.40, cheapest MoR.
Teleport: effectively acts as MoR with its own infrastructure. Crypto from 1%. No company required.

Do you need a MoR?

If you sell to customers in the EU, UK, or other jurisdictions with VAT/GST requirements — yes. If you sell primarily via crypto — the tax landscape is different. Teleport handles compliance through its own infrastructure. Start free.