Moonbase vs Paddle
Choosing Moonbase over Paddle brings a whole number of tools to increase revenue, and integrate better with your marketing stack.
Paddle is a strong payments and merchant-of-record layer, and Moonbase covers that too, but it is built specifically for companies selling downloadable audio software. With Moonbase your storefront is self-hosted on your own domain, so the full cart, checkout, customer accounts and download experience live inside your brand rather than around an embedded checkout.
For plugin and DAW makers the decisive piece is licensing. Moonbase ships software licensing as a core feature, with SDKs for JUCE, .NET and JavaScript that handle activation, floating licenses, offline activations and self-service seat management. Customers manage their own licenses from your site, and the same platform powers subscriptions and rent-to-own pricing for higher-value instruments and bundles.
On top of that, Moonbase is the merchant of record, collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT worldwide, and includes a built-in affiliate system plus marketing integrations so you can run loyalty-driven growth from the same place you process sales.
Feature comparison
MoonbaseFeatures
| Feature | Moonbase | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| E-Commerce | Yes | Yes |
| Software Licensing | Yes | *No Can only generate key codes, no built-in licensing solution |
| Marketing Integrations | Yes | No |
E-Commerce & Payments
| Feature | Moonbase | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| Global Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Tax Handling | *Yes Moonbase acts as a Merchant of Record to collect and remit sales tax world-wide | Yes |
| Embeddable Shopping Cart | Yes | Checkout only* Only supports embedding a checkout, no cart support |
| Subscriptions | Yes | Yes |
| Rent-to-Own | Yes | No |
| User Accounts for Customers | Yes | Limited* Only a simple customer portal on a Paddle hosted website |
| Coupon Codes | Yes | Yes |
Software Licensing
| Feature | Moonbase | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| Floating Licenses | Yes | No |
| Self-service Management | *Yes Customers can log in to your website to manage all their licenses | No |
| Offline Activations | Yes | No |
| Supports External Systems | Yes | Yes |
Marketing
| Feature | Moonbase | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter Integrations | *Yes Moonbase supports several popular newsletter platforms to sync data with | Limited* Relies on integrations going the other way, with varied data completeness |
| Campaign Revenue Tracking | Yes | No |
| Segmented Pricing & Discounts | *Yes Offer exclusive discounts to segments of your customers | No |
| Up-sells & Cross-sells | Yes | Limited* Paddle only offers displaying offers, no incentives like discounts are supported |
| Affiliate Revenue Sharing | Yes | *No You need to use external platforms that support Paddle to power affiliates |
This is Moonbase
A platform built to sell downloadable software at scale, direct to consumer, with a complete set of tools to handle payments, licensing and marketing.
Kick-ass customer experience
Full-featured storefront on your website
Use our embedded storefront to add all the features you need to your own website in minutes, so that you can build your story & brand identity using the tools you know.
- Shopping cart:
- Make the shopping experience smooth by having a user-manageable cart, all integrated with native buttons on your website.
- Overlay checkout:
- Keep visitors on your own website by using our overlay checkout to decrease any friction towards payment.
- Customer authentication:
- Let your customers log in to get personalized discounts applied, as well as access to their owned products and licenses.
- Customize to make it yours:
- Can be themed to match your brand & identity, to feel like a native part of your website.
Fully integrated with your website
Software licensing without the hassle
Offer a product activation journey that customers won't even notice, fully automatic, integrated with your website.
- Time-limited trials.
- Offer customers a taste of your app by allowing time-limited licenses on-demand.
- Secure cryptography.
- Our licensing tech is based on strong RSA key cryptography using industry standard formats.
- SDKs for integrations.
- Get integrated in minutes using our SDKs for JUCE, .Net or JavaScript apps.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Moonbase supports migrating existing customers and issuing licenses for products they already own. Because it can operate alongside external systems, activations can keep working while you transition your storefront and license management to Moonbase.
Yes. Moonbase acts as the merchant of record, collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT on your behalf worldwide, so you can sell globally without handling tax registration and remittance in each jurisdiction yourself.
No. Moonbase provides a self-hosted storefront with cart, checkout, customer accounts and downloads that you embed on your own domain, so you keep full control of branding without building payment or account flows from scratch.
Yes. Licensing is built into Moonbase, with SDKs for JUCE, .NET and JavaScript. It supports online and offline activations, floating licenses, and self-service management so customers can administer their own activations directly from your site.
Comparing other platforms? Compare Moonbase with FastSpring and Gumroad.
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We'll give you an honest assessment of whether Moonbase fits your needs. No pressure, no generic sales pitch.