Lanternbee vs Lemon Squeezy

Lanternbee as a Lemon Squeezy alternative

A checkout for software and digital products that handles tax as merchant of record. Its prices and features sit next to Lanternbee’s below, including where Lemon Squeezy does better.

Not open yet. We’re letting authors in from the waitlist, a few at a time.

What Lemon Squeezy is

Lemon Squeezy sells digital downloads, subscriptions and software licenses. It is the merchant of record, so it collects and pays sales tax and VAT on each sale.

Who it suits

Authors who sell digital products worldwide and want tax off their hands, and who don’t need print or a book-shaped store.

What Lemon Squeezy costs

US prices, checked against the sources at the bottom of this page.

Plan	Price	Fee on sales
Lemon Squeezy	Free	5% + 50¢ per sale; some sales outside the US cost a little more

Lemon Squeezy and Lanternbee side by side

Lemon Squeezy and Lanternbee, feature by feature
What you need	Lemon Squeezy	Lanternbee
One book in several formats	YesFormats or prices as options of one product.	Yes. Ebook, audiobook, paperback and hardback live on one book page.
Bundles and box sets	Not listed	Yes. Readers who own book one pay less for the rest.
Ebook and audiobook delivery	YesSigned download links.	Yes. Download links by email, and a reader library.
Send to Kindle	Not listed	Yes, from the reader library.
Print on demand for books	NoPhysical goods are not allowed.	Partly. Printed formats are set up for BookVault or Lulu; sending orders to the printer is being built.
Your reader list	YesEmail marketing.	Yes. Every buyer lands on your reader list, with tags.
Your own domain	YesYour own domain for your store.	Yes. yourname.lanternbee.shop or shop.yourname.com.
Monthly cost	Lemon Squeezy: Free	Free: nothing a month. Author: US$39 a month, or US$29 paid yearly.
Fee on sales	Lemon Squeezy: 5% + 50¢ per sale; some sales outside the US cost a little more	None, on every plan.

Lemon Squeezy prices in US dollars. “Not listed” means we could not find it on Lemon Squeezy’s own pages or in the sources below, so check with them. Rows we could not check at all are left out. Card fees apply everywhere; on Lanternbee they are Stripe’s, with nothing added.

What Lemon Squeezy does better

Fair reasons to stay where you are.

Lemon Squeezy is the merchant of record. It deals with sales tax and VAT, so you don’t file it. Lanternbee plans to do this for EU VAT on ebooks, but it is not live yet.
Affiliate tools and license keys.
No monthly fee.

Moving from Lemon Squeezy

There’s no importer for Lemon Squeezy. Moving by hand takes these steps.

Add your books on Lanternbee, with every format on one page.
Download your Lemon Squeezy customers if you need them and keep them in your email tool. Lanternbee cannot import that list yet.
Swap your checkout links for your Lanternbee book links in your back matter and newsletter.

Questions about Lemon Squeezy and Lanternbee

Who pays the VAT on my ebooks?

On Lemon Squeezy, Lemon Squeezy does, as the merchant of record. On Lanternbee you are the seller: Stripe Tax works out the tax at checkout and you report and pay it. We plan to take EU VAT on ebooks off your hands later.

Which costs less per sale?

On a US$5 ebook, Lemon Squeezy takes US$0.75 (5% plus 50¢). Lanternbee takes nothing on any plan beyond Stripe’s card fees.

Can I sell print books on Lemon Squeezy?

It is made for digital products. Lanternbee sells print editions too, and sending those orders to BookVault or Lulu is being built now.