Cancel Paddle the easy way

Overview

Paddle is a payments and billing platform that acts as a merchant of record for digital sellers, offering checkout, subscription management, global tax compliance, fraud prevention and chargeback handling for software and digital product businesses.

Who uses Paddle

Paddle targets digital-first businesses: SaaS vendors, software publishers, and digital product creators that need global payments, tax and subscription infrastructure without running their own merchant operations.

Company facts

Web / Receipt link

1. Open the Transaction confirmation email you received at purchase.
2. Click the 'View receipt' or 'Manage subscription' link inside the email.
3. On the Paddle billing page, find the subscription and select Cancel or Manage to stop future payments.
4. Save or screenshot the on-screen confirmation and keep the confirmation email.
5. If you cannot find the email, search your inbox for 'Paddle' or the vendor name and request a new receipt from the merchant.

Paddle account billing page

1. Sign in to the account you used to purchase the subscription at the merchant or Paddle site.
2. Navigate to Billing or Subscriptions in account settings.
3. Locate the subscription and choose Cancel. Note that cancellation will usually take effect at the next payment date.
4. Record any confirmation number and keep the confirmation email.

Support request (email / help centre)

1. Open the receipt or account billing page and use the 'Request refund' or 'support' link listed there to submit a ticket.
2. Provide the order number and the email address used to buy.
3. Ask explicitly to Cancel the subscription and request confirmation of cancellation date.
4. Keep the support ticket number and any reply from Paddle for proof.

Developer API

1. If you are the merchant or developer use the API endpoint documented at Paddle's developer site to cancel subscriptions: see developer cancel docs.
2. Provide subscription_id and/or order_id and call the cancel endpoint. Confirm API response shows cancelled status.
3. Store API response logs and any confirmation emails sent to the customer.

Post (registered letter)

1. Write a clear cancellation statement including order number, full name, email used and request to Cancel the subscription.
2. Send by registered post to: Paddle, 160 City Road, EC1V 2NX London, United Kingdom.
3. Keep proof of postage and monitor for confirmation from Paddle; allow up to 10 working days for processing.

Cooling-off period (new subscription or first payment)

UK consumers in the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK area have a 14-day statutory right to withdraw from a distance contract for the first payment under a subscription or for one-off purchases. Exercise your right by sending a clear cancellation statement to the trader within 14 days starting the day of the contract or first payment. If the service has started and you gave express consent to begin and waived your right, the right to withdraw may not apply. Applicable law: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights 2024 cooling-off rights.

Annual subscription auto-renewal

If a subscription in the UK auto-renews annually you have a fresh 14-calendar-day withdrawal period from the day the subscription renews for another year. To benefit, notify Paddle within 14 days of the renewal. Source: Paddle's refund policy and the withdrawal rules in research.

Price increase

If the price for a subscription is increased mid-contract and you do not accept the new price, you may cancel. Provide a copy of the notice of price increase from Paddle or the merchant and your prior subscription invoice as proof. Applicable law: Consumer Contracts Regulations and Consumer Rights Act 2015 protections on unfair terms.

Moving abroad / change of circumstances

Moving country or changing billing details is not an automatic contractual ground for immediate refund. To cancel, provide new address proof and request cancellation via support with your order number and email. Evidence accepted: proof of new country address such as a utility bill or tenancy agreement. Paddle's policies do not list moving as an automatic refund ground; cancellation prevents future billing.

Death of subscriber

For subscriptions in the name of a deceased person, provide a copy of the death certificate and the order number and email used. Request cancellation and refund where statutory rights apply. Paddle may process on a discretionary basis after receiving the documentation.

Legitimate grounds Paddle accepts

Paddle will consider refunds or cancellations where a transaction was fraudulent, made in error, or where a chargeback risk exists. Provide evidence such as bank or card statements showing unauthorised activity, or correspondence proving an incorrect charge. Applicable law: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, Consumer Rights Act 2015.

End of commitment / regular cancellations

For subscriptions, cancel at least 48 hours before the end of the billing period to stop the next payment. Provide your order number and the email used at purchase. Cancellation is effective from the time of confirmation and prevents future billing. Applicable law: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Before you cancel: how to negotiate

Paddle itself is a payments platform rather than the merchant for every purchase. Retention or discount offers are normally controlled by the merchant that sold you the service. Paddle's public documentation does not list standard retention offers. To ask for retention you should contact the merchant who billed you first, providing the order number and email, and request a discount or downgrading to a cheaper plan. If the merchant cannot help, submit a support ticket to Paddle asking for a discretionary refund citing fraud, error or statutory right.

What cancellation saves you - sample math

Use known prices and fees to compute yearly costs. Paddle's standard Pay-as-you-go fee is 5% + 50 cents per transaction. For UK display we use a fixed fee of £0.50 per transaction as quoted in the pricing notes. Payment processing fees typically range 1.5% to 3.5%.

Example comparison using competitor published prices:

• AgentaOS: £49 monthly = £49 x 12 = £588 annually.
• Lemon Squeezy (example from research): £700 monthly = £700 x 12 = £8,400 annually.
• Fungies: 5% + £0.50 per transaction, no monthly fee.

Example saving if you replace a merchant paying a £49/month platform fee (AgentaOS) with Paddle on pay-as-you-go depends on volume. If you process 1,000 monthly transactions at £10 each, Paddle's per-transaction platform fee at 5% + £0.50 equals (5% of £10 = £0.50) + £0.50 = £1.00 per transaction = £1,000 per month = £12,000 per year. Compare to AgentaOS £588/year: switching to Paddle at low volumes may cost more in fixed per-transaction fees; at very high volumes Paddle custom pricing reduces percentage to 2.5% to 4.5% and may become cheaper. Use your own transaction count to compute exact savings.

Relevant UK laws

Key protections come from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The new Consumer Rights Act 2024 includes Chapter 2 Cooling-off rights relevant to subscription contracts; see the cooling-off rights text at Consumer Rights Act 2024 - cooling-off rights.

Cooling-off and refunds

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 you have 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract and obtain a refund for the first payment of a subscription or for a one-off purchase. This right is lost if you expressly consent to immediate performance of digital content and acknowledged the waiver. See the Regulations text: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.

Escalation route

If Paddle or the merchant refuses a valid right, complain to Citizens Advice for next steps and consider card chargeback or Section 75 where the payment was made by card. The Competition and Markets Authority highlights that unclear auto-renewal or hard-to-cancel subscriptions can be an unfair practice; you can escalate to CMA guidance or trading standards if required.

Confirm access and final billing

Keep the cancellation confirmation email and note the date the cancellation takes effect. Cancellation usually stops future charges but does not automatically refund the current billing period unless a statutory right applies or a discretionary refund is granted.

Data and account re-activation

If you want to keep your data, export account data before access ends. To re-activate later, sign in and resubscribe. If the merchant handles subscriptions, contact them to restore access or request data export.

Monitor bank statements

Check your bank or card statement for any unexpected charges after the cancellation effective date. If an unauthorised charge appears, contact your card issuer promptly to request a chargeback or Section 75 claim where applicable.

Use this checklist to cancel and protect your consumer rights.

• Find your Transaction confirmation email from Paddle or the merchant and click 'Manage subscription' or 'View receipt'.
• Cancel via the link and save the confirmation screen or confirmation email.
• If no link, open the merchant account Billing or Subscriptions page and cancel there.
• If you need a refund within 14 days, submit a refund request citing the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
• Record order number, subscription ID and the email used for purchase.
• If you must send a letter, post it registered to Paddle, 160 City Road, EC1V 2NX London, United Kingdom and keep proof of postage.
• Keep copies of all communications and monitor bank statements for unexpected charges.