Cleeng, Recurly, Chargebee & Paddle: Which Platforms Wins at Global Subscription Payments?

The direct-to-consumer subscription model has taken the world by storm. Industries like fitness, e-learning, and digital media are tapping into the growing trend, as recurring revenue and high customer engagement make it a winning strategy. For businesses aiming to scale internationally, subscriptions are becoming a go-to growth tactic. 

But taking a D2C subscription business global introduces complexity. Payment localization, compliance, integrations, and success rate optimization are all key to success. However, international payments are often an overlooked factor, which can make or break a subscription business. 

In this article, we compare leading platforms–Cleeng, Recurly, Chargebee, and Paddle–to check which is the best payment platform for D2C apps. 

What D2C subscription apps need in a payment platform 

Choosing a payment platform for a growing D2C business is about more than just picking a billing service. Subscription businesses require robust solutions that handle unique challenges, including:

• Local payment methods to accommodate customer preferences.

• Payment success optimization to reduce involuntary churn.

• Low engineering complexity through custom integration capabilities.

• Merchant of Record (MoR) options to offload compliance and tax burdens. 

• Fast market entry with regulatory and tax compliance baked in.

• Global payment providers that can scale seamlessly across regions.

Although there are many platforms offering subscription management solutions, not all of them address these payments equally. Below, we take a look at how Cleeng, Recurly, Paddle, and Chargebee perform when it comes to global payments.

Comparing the leading platforms: Key capabilities

1. Localized payment methods for global expansion

Expanding into new regions requires more than just translations and currency conversions; it demands seamless, localized payment experiences. In fact, 76% of consumers say they’re more likely to complete a purchase if they can pay with their preferred method.

That’s why D2C brands need flexible support for options like GCash, Bizum, or AliPay, beyond standard cards and PayPal. Without this, potential subscribers drop off at checkout.

Cleeng’s payment orchestration supports over 200 payment methods, 37 currencies, and 50+ gateways in 230+ territories. This gives teams flexibility and reach as they expand.

Recurly supports a wide range of currencies and major gateways, making it a strong choice for businesses with broad international ambitions. Its coverage of region-specific methods is more limited, but it excels in currency and gateway breadth.

Chargebee integrates well with cards and digital wallets and is a solid fit for SaaS brands. However, D2C brands needing fast-growing payment options may find its coverage patchy.

Paddle simplifies operations with a unified gateway, which is ideal for teams wanting simplicity over flexibility. However, it doesn’t integrate with third-party processors, so it’s less suited for businesses looking to choose which payment gateways to use or routing transactions dynamically. 

For subscription businesses entering new markets, localized payment flexibility is no longer optional. If your priority is broad local payment coverage, Cleeng’s orchestration is the most flexible. 

Learn more about local payment methods and why they matter.

2. Payment success optimization and retention

Optimizing payment success is vital for subscription businesses to retain happy customers; few things are more frustrating than losing satisfied subscribers to payment issues. 

Cleeng offers advanced payment orchestration with features like:

• Dynamic PSP selection for optimal payment routing

• A/B testing of payment flows to identify best-performing options

• Intelligent routing to reduce payment failures

• Customizable dunning settings for automated retries

• Local payment gateway integrations for seamless international transactions

These strategies allow subscription businesses to boost transaction success rates, for both initial and recurring payments. By reducing payment failures and minimizing involuntary churn, Cleeng ensures a smoother experience for both businesses and their customers, as well as increased retention rates, which directly impact the bottom line. This is all powered by strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Primer, Adyen, and Checkout.com.

Recurly and Chargebee excel in subscription management and recurring billing, providing robust integrations with a variety of payment service providers (PSPs). They offer reliable tools for managing subscriptions and billing cycles, making them strong choices for businesses focused on these areas. However, they do not offer the full capabilities of a dedicated payment orchestration platform, which dynamically optimizes transactions in real time across multiple PSPs. In simple terms, this means you won’t be able to automatically route a failed transaction to another provider that might succeed, potentially missing out on thousands of successful payments each month.

Paddle stands out with its all-in-one platform approach, combining payment processing, subscription management, and compliance features. It is particularly strong in handling global payments and VAT compliance, making it a good option for businesses expanding internationally. Nevertheless, Paddle does not provide the same level of dynamic PSP selection, intelligent routing, or real-time optimization that other platforms like Cleeng offer. 

Cleeng sets itself apart by focusing on subscriber retention through advanced payment optimization tools. 

3. Integration flexibility and developer experience

The ability to quickly adapt payment workflows and integrate with preferred partners is crucial for subscription businesses looking to scale globally. As companies scale or enter new regions, they often encounter unique regulatory, customer, and operational requirements. Flexible payment solutions allow businesses to:

• Rapidly integrate new payment service providers (PSPs)

• Customize payment flows to suit specific business models or customer journeys

• Respond quickly to market changes, such as new payment trends or compliance needs

Cleeng’s API-first architecture combines flexibility with speed. Whether you're a lean team launching fast or a global brand scaling complexity, Cleeng makes it easy to integrate new PSPs and tailor payment flows to your needs. With low-code options, clear documentation, and sandbox environments, teams can launch quickly while keeping full control to optimize over time.

Recurly offers robust APIs and supports over 20 gateways. It’s user-friendly and great for businesses wanting quick integrations with popular gateways, though it’s less flexible for custom or emerging payment methods, such as Pix in Brazil or GCash in Southeast Asia–both of which are growing rapidly but aren’t natively supported by Recurly.

Chargebee provides deep out-of-the-box integrations and a no-code product catalog. It’s ideal for teams who want to get started quickly with minimal coding. However, its simplicity comes at the cost of flexibility–it can be limiting for businesses that want to support newer payment methods or optimize payment performance beyond basic retries.

Paddle is the simplest for businesses that want to avoid technical complexity, but its developer options are limited. Businesses must adapt to Paddle’s flows rather than build their own. For example, Paddle controls how checkout pages look and behave, meaning you can’t fully tailor the experience to match your app’s brand or user journey.

TL;DR - Cleeng is best for teams needing flexibility and rapid adaptation. Recurly and Chargebee are ideal for those who want robust, straightforward integrations without heavy customization.

4. Compliance and tax management

Understanding the difference between a Merchant of Record vs payment processor is essential for D2C platforms to effectively manage compliance and tax requirements. 

Managing compliance, taxes, and fraud prevention internally can be costly and time-consuming, especially for subscription apps looking to expand globally. By outsourcing these tasks, you not only save valuable time and resources but also eliminate the burden of managing payments and the liabilities that come with them.

Cleeng’s Merchant of Record model manages taxes, fraud prevention, and compliance in over 13,000 jurisdictions. Integrations like Avalara help D2C brands operate smoothly, even in complex regions.

Recurly and Chargebee don’t provide native MoR capabilities. Subscription businesses using these platforms remain responsible for tax compliance, fraud management, and regulatory obligations themselves. This often necessitates additional solutions or partnerships to address these critical areas, adding complexity and operational overhead for companies seeking global expansion.

Paddle also offers MoR functionality and is well-regarded for SaaS and software businesses. It’s a strong choice for companies wanting to fully outsource compliance, though it provides less control over payment stack customization, such as integrating custom fraud tools or routing transactions through different gateways. 

For full-service compliance, Cleeng and Paddle both excel. Recurly and Chargebee are better for businesses that want more control and are willing to manage compliance directly.

5. Multi-channel billing support

Today’s audiences expect to subscribe and manage their accounts across web, mobile, and Connected TVs (CTV).

Cleeng unifies billing across web, mobile, and CTV, making it easy to manage offers and renewals from one platform. This is essential for brands delivering content on multiple devices.

Recurly and Chargebee offer multi-channel billing capabilities but often require additional configuration or integrations to unify payments across web, mobile apps, and connected devices. For example, setting up a separate billing logic for Apple/Google in-app purchases or building connectors to sync offers and entitlements across CTV platforms. Their solutions tend to be a bit more fragmented, which can complicate delivering a seamless subscriber experience across channels. 

Paddle focuses primarily on web and app, lacking the deep CTV and OTT integrations that set Cleeng apart. This limits its ability to support the full range of channels that modern subscription businesses rely on.

6. Subscriber lifecycle management

Subscriber retention is the backbone of any subscription business. 

Cleeng’s SRM® suite centralizes the entire subscriber lifecycle, from acquisition to retention and win-backs. Automated dunning management is built-in, with customizable retry logic and targeted communication to recover failed payments and reduce involuntary churn. Combined with AI-driven churn prediction and retention campaigns, as well as customer support solutions, Cleeng empowers brands to maximize lifetime value.

Recurly, Chargebee, and Paddle all offer dunning and basic lifecycle management. Recurly stands out for its analytics, which are especially valuable for B2B SaaS companies.

Learn about the benefits of opting for an integrated retention management solution.

Fit for D2C subscription apps 

Not sure which payment platform works best for subscription businesses?

Cleeng is purpose-built for consumer-centric subscription businesses, excelling in multi-device billing and complex D2C workflows. Recurly and Chargebee are better suited for B2B SaaS and straightforward e-commerce. Paddle is ideal for SaaS companies wanting simplicity and compliance handled out of the box.

Why Cleeng stands out for global D2C subscription growth 

Unlike general-purpose billing platforms, Cleeng is purpose-built for consumer-focused subscription apps across industries like streaming, wellness, and e-learning.

What sets it apart?

• Tailored for multi-device experiences

  Cleeng supports seamless billing across web, mobile, and connected TV—crucial for engaging subscribers across platforms.

• Optimized for retention-first growth

  With built-in churn prediction, dunning, and lifecycle management via the SRM® suite, Cleeng is specialized in helping brands grow subscriber lifetime value.

• Design for global payments

  Cleeng’s built-in MoR model and smart payment orchestration ensure high success rates and full compliance worldwide.

• Built for speed and flexibility

  Open APIs, fast onboarding of custom PSPs, and deep localization allow businesses to launch and scale quickly, without vendor lock-in.

Where Recurly and Chargebee excel at managing SaaS-style billing workflows, Cleeng is focused entirely on the growth needs of modern D2C subscription brands.

Your next step: Picking a global payments partner 

Global growth comes with complexity. For subscription apps, addressing payment needs proactively can mean the difference between thriving and stagnating. 

Choosing a platform purpose-built for scalability, flexibility, and consumer-centric workflows ensures your business is equipped to compete in 2025 and beyond. 

Discover how Cleeng’s payment orchestration tools can simplify operations and drive global success. Contact us today for more information or see our Merchant demo.