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Kribana: a Paddle alternative.

Paddle is a merchant of record handling payments, tax and compliance for software sellers.Here’s how Kribana compares if you’re evaluating both.

PD
Paddle
VS
K
Kribana
Focus
PaddleActs as the reseller of record — handles tax, compliance and chargebacks for you
KribanaBilling infrastructure you run under your own merchant account
Customer relationship
PaddlePaddle is the merchant of record on the transaction
KribanaYou remain the merchant of record; Kribana is infrastructure
Usage-based pricing
PaddleSupported, secondary to subscription checkout
KribanaNative usage metering as the foundation of the pricing engine
Merchant control
PaddlePaddle owns the customer and merchant relationship
KribanaYou remain merchant of record with automation handling the busywork
Usage pricing depth
PaddleUsage support is secondary to subscription checkout flows
KribanaUsage metering is the foundation the pricing engine is built on
Bottom line

Paddle trades control for simplicity by becoming your merchant of record. Kribana keeps you as the merchant with the automation to make that easy.

Why teams switch from Paddle
  • Being merchant of record means giving up the direct customer billing relationship
  • Usage-based pricing is possible but not the primary design center
  • Less flexibility on invoice format and payment terms than owning it yourself
How the switch works
01Connect one event streamPoint your usage events at Kribana alongside your current tool. Nothing changes for customers yet.
02Mirror pricing & validateRecreate your current plans in the dashboard and run a full billing cycle side-by-side to confirm invoices match.
03Cut overSwitch billing at the start of the next cycle. Historical usage and invoices carry over into the portal.
Questions about switching

Will my historical usage data carry over from Paddle?

Yes — we import historical usage and invoice history during onboarding, so your ledger and customer portal have continuity from day one.

Do I need to switch payment processors to move off Paddle?

No. Kribana is processor-neutral — keep Stripe, Razorpay, Adyen or Braintree, or run more than one at once.

What happens if I'm still under contract with Paddle?

Most teams run Kribana in parallel until the existing contract lapses, then cut over billing at the start of a cycle with no gap in invoicing.

How long does switching from Paddle actually take?

Most teams go live in one to two weeks: connect your event stream, mirror your current pricing, validate a billing cycle side-by-side, then cut over.

Bring your current stack to the call.