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Economico vs Paddle

Paddle and Economico aren't substitutes — they can run side by side. Paddle is a merchant of record: it sells your software, collects payment, and absorbs the global sales-tax, VAT, compliance, and fraud burden. Economico is the general ledger underneath: it records what Paddle remits to you as real double-entry books your agent can query. The only real conflict is if you mistake Paddle's revenue reports for your finances. Choose Paddle to outsource tax and checkout; choose Economico for the books, margin, and runway.

At a glance

	Economico	Paddle
Primary job	Keep the books & answer finance questions	Merchant-of-record billing, payments, tax & compliance
Double-entry general ledger & GAAP reports	✅	❌
Sells your software as merchant of record	❌	✅
Global sales-tax / VAT compliance & remittance	❌	✅
AR + AP + startup credits + revenue in one ledger	✅	❌
Balance sheet, income statement, cash position, runway	✅	❌
Native stablecoin settlement	✅	❌
Run by your own AI agent (MCP / CLI)	✅	❌

Choose Paddle if…

Paddle is the right call when selling SaaS globally and you want the merchant-of-record model to take on the hard parts: sales-tax and VAT across jurisdictions, compliance, fraud, and checkout. That genuinely removes a large operational and legal burden for a small team, and it's Paddle's core strength. The trade-off founders cite is losing some control of the customer and billing relationship — but for global tax relief, Paddle wins decisively. It is not, however, your accounting system.

Choose Economico if…

Choose Economico for the finance Paddle doesn't keep. Paddle can sell and tax the software; Economico tells you what that revenue means for the books, margin, runway, and investor reporting — a real double-entry ledger with balance sheet, income statement, and cash position, run by your agent. The clean pattern: Paddle handles checkout and remittance, and your agent records the payouts, fees, and revenue in Economico.

Frequently asked questions

Is Paddle an accounting system?

No. Paddle is a merchant-of-record billing and tax-compliance platform. Its reports cover revenue and payouts, not a general ledger, balance sheet, or runway. Economico is the books.

Can I use Paddle and Economico together?

Yes — that's the intended pattern. Paddle sells and taxes; your agent records Paddle's payouts, fees, and revenue in Economico so the books stay complete.

Does Economico handle sales tax or VAT?

No. Sales-tax and VAT compliance and remittance are exactly what Paddle's merchant-of-record model is for. Economico records the resulting numbers; it doesn't file tax.

Why not just use Paddle's dashboards as my finances?

Because they show revenue and payouts, not double-entry books. Expenses, AP, startup credits, accrual revenue, and runway live in the ledger — that's what Economico keeps.

How do I connect Economico to my agent?

Point an MCP-capable host at economi.co/mcp or install the @economico/cli. The setup guide is at economi.co/skill.md.