"PADDLE.NET" Charge on Your Bank Statement — What It Is & How to Get a Refund

What Is the PADDLE.NET Charge on Your Bank Statement?

If you see PADDLE.NET on your bank or credit card statement, it refers to a payment processed by Paddle, a payment infrastructure company that serves as the Merchant of Record (MoR) for thousands of software and SaaS companies worldwide. Paddle handles billing, payments, sales tax compliance, and subscription management on behalf of software vendors — which means when you buy software through a company that uses Paddle, the charge on your statement shows "PADDLE.NET" rather than the actual software company's name.

Paddle is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and was founded in 2012. The company processes payments for well-known software products including 1Password, CleanMyMac (MacPaw), Framer, Setapp, PDF Expert, Notion (historically), iStatistica, Screens, and thousands of other apps and SaaS tools. As a Merchant of Record, Paddle takes on full liability for tax collection, compliance, and payment processing, making it the legal seller of the product even though another company built it.

The reason you see "PADDLE.NET" instead of the software product's name is that Paddle is the entity that actually processes your credit card charge. This is similar to how you might see "PAYPAL" on your statement when you buy something from a small online shop. If you want to look up other unfamiliar charges on your statement, try our descriptor lookup tool.

Why Does PADDLE.NET Appear on Your Statement?

There are several common reasons this descriptor shows up on your bank statement:

• Software subscription renewal: You subscribed to a software product or SaaS tool that uses Paddle for billing, and your subscription has automatically renewed (monthly or annually). This is the most common reason for PADDLE.NET charges.
• One-time software purchase: You bought a software license, app, or digital product from a company that uses Paddle as its payment processor. Even one-time purchases show as PADDLE.NET.
• Free trial conversion: You signed up for a free trial of a software product that uses Paddle, and the trial period ended. Your payment method was charged for the first billing cycle of the paid subscription.
• Subscription price increase: A software vendor you subscribe to raised their prices, and the new amount was charged through Paddle. You may have been notified by email but missed it.
• Multiple software subscriptions: You may have several different software subscriptions all processed through Paddle, resulting in multiple PADDLE.NET charges on your statement.
• Upgrade or add-on: You upgraded your plan tier or purchased an add-on for a software product that bills through Paddle.
• Family or team member's purchase: Someone with access to your payment card purchased software through a Paddle-powered checkout.

Is PADDLE.NET Legitimate or a Scam?

PADDLE.NET is a legitimate payment processor — Paddle is a well-established fintech company founded in 2012, headquartered in London, UK, with offices in New York. The company has raised over $290 million in venture funding and processes payments for thousands of software companies globally. Paddle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified payment processor, meaning it meets the highest security standards for handling credit card data.

However, the legitimacy of the specific charge on your statement depends on whether you actually purchased software through a Paddle-powered checkout:

• Legitimate: You recently purchased or subscribe to a software product, app, or SaaS tool, and the vendor uses Paddle for billing.
• Forgotten subscription: You signed up for a software trial or subscription months ago and forgot about it. The charge is real but unexpected.
• Free trial expired: You started a free trial and forgot to cancel before it converted to a paid subscription.
• Shared payment method: A family member, colleague, or someone with access to your card purchased software through a Paddle checkout.
• Potentially fraudulent: If you have never purchased any software online and do not recognize the charge at all, your card details may have been compromised. Contact your bank immediately.

How Much Are Typical PADDLE.NET Charges?

Because Paddle processes payments for thousands of different software companies, charge amounts vary widely:

• Small app subscriptions: $3 – $15/month (utilities, productivity tools, small SaaS products)
• Mid-range software: $10 – $30/month or $50 – $200/year (developer tools, design apps, writing tools)
• Premium SaaS subscriptions: $30 – $100+/month (business software, team tools, professional apps)
• One-time software licenses: $20 – $200 (Mac/Windows apps, lifetime licenses)
• Annual renewals: $50 – $500/year (annual billing is common for SaaS products)
• Setapp subscription: $9.99/month (a popular Mac app bundle processed through Paddle)
• CleanMyMac/MacPaw products: $30 – $90/year (popular Mac utility apps billed through Paddle)

How to Identify Which Software Was Charged

Since PADDLE.NET doesn't show the actual product name, here's how to figure out which software triggered the charge:

1. Check your email for a Paddle receipt: Search your inbox for emails from "paddle.com" or "paddle.net". Paddle sends a purchase receipt for every transaction that includes the product name, vendor name, and amount. This is the fastest way to identify the charge.
2. Match the amount: Compare the charge amount to known software subscriptions you use. If you pay $9.99/month for Setapp, for example, a $9.99 PADDLE.NET charge is likely your Setapp renewal.
3. Check your software accounts: Log into the software products you use and check their billing or subscription pages. Many will show Paddle as the payment processor along with your payment history.
4. Visit paddle.net: The domain paddle.net redirects to Paddle's contact page where you can reach their support team to look up the charge using your email address.
5. Use Paddle's help center: Visit paddle.com/help and submit a request with the charge amount and date. Paddle can identify the transaction and tell you which vendor it was for.
6. Check recent software downloads: Review your recent app downloads or installations — especially Mac App Store alternatives, direct downloads, or browser-based SaaS signups.

How to Get a Refund for a PADDLE.NET Charge

Since Paddle is the Merchant of Record, refund requests should go through Paddle:

1. Reply to the Paddle receipt email: The easiest way to request a refund is to find the purchase receipt email from Paddle and reply to it directly, requesting a refund. Include the transaction ID if available.
2. Contact Paddle support: Visit paddle.com/help and submit a refund request. Provide your email address, the charge amount, the date of the charge, and the reason for the refund.
3. Contact the software vendor directly: While Paddle handles the payment, the software vendor sets the refund policy. Find the vendor's website and contact their support team. Many vendors are happy to process refunds through Paddle on your behalf, especially within the first 14-30 days.
4. Cancel the subscription first: If you want to stop future charges, cancel the subscription through the software product's account settings or through the subscription management link in your Paddle receipt email. Note: canceling stops future charges but does not automatically refund past charges.
5. Check the vendor's refund policy: Most software vendors using Paddle offer a 14-30 day money-back guarantee. Some offer prorated refunds for annual subscriptions canceled mid-term.

How to Dispute an Unauthorized PADDLE.NET Charge

If you've confirmed that you did not purchase any software and the charge is unauthorized:

1. Contact Paddle first: Visit paddle.com/help and report the unauthorized charge. Paddle can look up the transaction and may reverse it directly, which is faster than a bank dispute.
2. Contact your bank or card issuer: Call the number on the back of your card. Explain that you see an unauthorized charge from "PADDLE.NET" and want to file a dispute.
3. Provide transaction details: Give the bank representative the exact date, amount, and descriptor. Specify that you did not purchase any software or subscribe to any service through Paddle.
4. Credit card disputes: Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days from the statement date to file a dispute for unauthorized charges on credit cards. The issuer must investigate and resolve within two billing cycles (maximum 90 days).
5. Debit card disputes: Under Regulation E, report unauthorized debit card charges within 60 days. Your bank must provide a provisional credit within 10 business days and complete the investigation within 45 days.
6. Secure your accounts: If your card was used without your authorization, request a new card number from your bank. Review recent transactions for other unauthorized charges. Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file.

Paddle is a legitimate, well-established payment processor for software companies. Most PADDLE.NET charges are real software subscriptions or purchases. The fastest way to identify the charge is to search your email for a Paddle receipt. For help identifying other unfamiliar charges on your bank statement, visit DidIBuyIt.com.