Recova vs Paddle Retain: Stripe vs Paddle Payment Recovery Compared
Paddle Retain is built for Paddle merchants. Recova is built for Stripe. If you are on Stripe, Recova is the relevant choice. Here is what each does and for whom.
Contents
Paddle Retain and Recova serve different billing ecosystems. Paddle Retain is the churn reduction product built into Paddle's merchant-of-record platform. Recova is built specifically for Stripe Connect merchants.
If your business runs on Stripe, this comparison resolves quickly: Paddle Retain does not integrate with Stripe. If you are on Paddle and considering switching to Stripe, the comparison is more relevant.
What Paddle Retain does
Paddle Retain is Paddle's native payment recovery and churn reduction product. It includes smart retries for failed payments, dunning email sequences, and voluntary churn tools including cancel flows.
Because Paddle operates as a merchant of record (it handles the billing relationship and tax compliance on behalf of the seller), Paddle Retain is deeply integrated with Paddle's billing infrastructure. It cannot be used independently of Paddle.
Paddle Retain is powered by data from billions of data points across Paddle's merchant base. Their site reports that "billions of data points reduce churn automatically."
Pricing: Included with Paddle's merchant-of-record fee, which is a percentage of revenue. Exact pricing requires contacting Paddle.
What Recova does
Recova connects to Stripe via Stripe Connect and manages the full payment recovery workflow from the invoice.payment_failed webhook. Decline code classification, retry timing calibrated to the specific code, AI-generated brand-voice emails, proactive expiring card alerts 30 days out, and dispute handling.
Recova is built exclusively for Stripe merchants and cannot be used with Paddle, Braintree, or other billing systems.
Pricing: 20 percent of recovered revenue, 20 percent of won disputes. No monthly minimum.
Key differences
| Recova | Paddle Retain | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing platform | Stripe only | Paddle only |
| Merchant of record | No (you retain billing) | Yes (Paddle bills your customers) |
| Dispute handling | Yes | Handled by Paddle as MoR |
| Pricing | 20% of recovered | Included in Paddle MoR fee |
| Tax compliance | Your responsibility | Handled by Paddle |
The platform choice question
The more important decision is usually whether to be on Stripe or Paddle, not which recovery tool to use on each.
Stripe gives you control of the billing relationship, full Stripe data access, and a broader ecosystem of tools. You handle tax compliance and disputes directly, which matters more on Stripe than on Paddle where Paddle manages disputes as merchant of record.
Paddle operates as merchant of record: it handles tax collection, compliance, and disputes on your behalf. You give up some control and data access in exchange for operational simplicity.
For subscription SaaS with international customers and complex tax situations, Paddle's MoR model reduces operational overhead. For businesses that want full control of billing data and the Stripe ecosystem, Stripe is the right choice.
If you are on Stripe and looking for payment recovery, Recova is the comparison to Paddle Retain. Paddle Retain simply does not apply.
- Does Paddle Retain work with Stripe?
- No. Paddle Retain is built into Paddle's merchant-of-record platform and cannot be used with Stripe.
- Does Recova work with Paddle?
- No. Recova is built exclusively for Stripe Connect merchants.
- What is the main difference between Stripe and Paddle?
- Stripe is a payment processor where you maintain the billing relationship and handle tax compliance. Paddle is a merchant of record that handles billing, taxes, and disputes on your behalf.
- If I am on Stripe, what is the equivalent of Paddle Retain?
- Recova is the closest equivalent for Stripe: payment recovery, expiring card alerts, and dispute handling. Churnkey and Churn Buster also compete in this space.
- How much does Paddle Retain cost?
- It is included within Paddle's merchant-of-record fee. Exact pricing requires contacting Paddle directly.
