Skip to main content
Lovable’s built-in payments let you monetize your app with subscriptions and one-time payments. Lovable handles the infrastructure, including creating accounts, connecting everything, and managing the technical setup, so you can focus on building your product. Built-in payments are currently powered by two payment gateways: Paddle and Stripe. When you ask Lovable to add payments, it analyzes your project and either presents both options or recommends a specific provider based on what you are selling.

​
Eligibility

Built-in payments support digital products and software:
  • SaaS apps with subscription tiers
  • Consumer apps with premium unlocks or one-time purchases
  • Memberships and communities with recurring access fees
  • Digital downloads such as e-books, templates, courses, or music
  • Developer tools with API access or usage-based plans
Physical products can use the Shopify integration which provides a full e-commerce suite. Built-in payments powered by Stripe can also be used, but inventory and logistics will need to be managed separately.
Restricted and forbidden productsSome product categories are restricted or forbidden by Paddle and Stripe. Restricted products (such as certain financial services or regulated industries) may require additional review and are not guaranteed approval. Forbidden products (such as illegal goods) will be rejected outright.See Paddle’s acceptable use policy and Stripe’s restricted businesses list for details.

​
Before you start

​
Requirements

  • Pro plan or higher: built-in payments require a paid Lovable plan.
  • Lovable Cloud: built-in payments use Lovable Cloud for webhooks and subscription data. If Cloud is not already enabled, Lovable will ask you to activate it during setup.
  • Authentication recommended: your app should have authentication so purchases can be linked to individual users.

​
How setup works

The setup flow has two parts:
  1. Set up and test: enable a payment provider, create products and prices, and test everything in the preview using test cards. No real money is charged.
  2. Go live: complete your provider’s verification process, run a readiness check, and publish. After going live, your test environment stays available for safe testing alongside the live environment.

​
Test and live environments

Lovable manages two separate payment environments that map to how you already use your project: Test mode applies when you use your project in the preview. Checkout only accepts test card numbers. Real cards will not work and no money is charged. Use this to build your payment flow and verify that everything works before going live. Live mode applies to your published app. Checkout processes real cards and customers are charged real money. Each environment has its own products, prices, and transaction history. When you publish your project, products and prices sync from test to live automatically (see Publishing and product sync). Payments in the preview work right away after setup. Checkout on your published app will not process real payments until you complete the go-live steps. The Payments tab has a toggle to switch between test and live data. In your app, Lovable adds a test mode banner that only appears in the preview and is hidden on your published site. After going live, both environments stay active. You can continue testing new products and changes in the preview before syncing them to live.

​
Set up payments

​
Choose your provider

Lovable analyzes your project and either presents both providers or gives a recommendation. If your product is restricted under one provider’s policies, Lovable will guide you to the other. Here is how they compare:
PaddleStripe
Who is eligibleDigital products and software in supported countriesDigital products, services, and physical products in Stripe-supported countries
BenefitsDedicated merchant of record with global tax collection, invoicing, and receipts. Simple, predictable per-transaction pricing.Optional merchant of record on a per-transaction basis. Lower processing cost for domestic sales. Supports services in addition to digital products.
Cost5.0% + 50¢ per transaction, no monthly feeStandard Stripe pay-as-you-go rates
Best forSaaS apps and digital products selling to a global audienceProjects selling services, targeting domestic markets, or needing per-transaction control over MOR
Both Paddle and Stripe offer reduced rates for microtransactions. See Paddle’s pricing and Stripe’s pricing for details.
What is merchant of record (MOR)?A merchant of record is the legal entity responsible for processing payments and handling tax compliance. When a provider acts as MOR, they are legally the seller. They calculate, collect, and remit taxes automatically, and handle invoices and receipts. You receive payouts after fees.Paddle is a dedicated MOR. All transactions are processed through their merchant of record service. Stripe offers optional MOR (Managed Payments) that can be enabled on a per-transaction basis for digital products. Managed Payments is available in fewer countries than Stripe’s standard payment processing.

​
Enable payments

1

Ask Lovable to add payments

Tell Lovable you want to accept payments. Examples:
Add a pricing page to my app with a $29/month subscription.

I want to sell my digital course for $197. Set up checkout and make sure I can test it before going live.
Lovable will suggest the provider it finds best for your use case and help you enable the integration.
2

Review the feature overview

An Enable payments dialog appears summarizing the provider’s features and pricing. Click Continue to proceed.
3

Fill in the account setup form

Lovable displays a short form to create your payment provider accounts.For Paddle:
  • Email address: must not already be registered with Paddle. If it is, use a plus alias like yourname+lovable@gmail.com. Emails sent to a plus alias automatically arrive in your main inbox (yourname@gmail.com), so you don’t need a separate account.
  • First and last name: your legal name (pre-filled from your Lovable account).
  • Project name: used as your business name and statement descriptor on bank statements.
  • Acceptable use policy: you must agree to Paddle’s acceptable use policy, terms of use, and privacy policy.
For Stripe:
  • Email address: used to register your Stripe account (cannot be changed after setup).
  • Name: your business or personal name.
  • Country: where your business is registered.
4

Create products and prices

Tell Lovable what you want to sell:
Create three pricing tiers: Starter at $9/month, Pro at $29/month, and Enterprise at $99/month.

Create a one-time payment of $49 for lifetime access.
Lovable creates the products and prices, builds your checkout flow, and adds the UI components to your app. You can also set up discounts and trials:
Add a 14-day free trial to the Pro plan.

Create a 20% discount code LAUNCH valid for the first 3 months.

​
The payments tab

Once payments are enabled, a Payments tab appears in your project toolbar. It includes:
  • Environment toggle: switch between test and live data
  • Revenue analytics: net revenue, active subscriptions, and charts over 7/30/90-day ranges
  • Transactions: product, customer, amount, status, and date for each transaction
  • Adjustments: refunds, credits, and chargebacks. Each entry shows action type, amount, reason, status, and date
  • Go-live checklist: tracks your progress toward accepting real payments
You can also open your provider’s dashboard directly from the Payments tab for settings that Lovable does not manage, such as checkout appearance (fonts, colors, logo) and payment method configuration.
Transaction and subscription statuses (such as active, trialing, canceled, or past_due) appear in the Payments tab. The available statuses depend on your provider.

​
Customer portal

Both Paddle and Stripe provide a hosted customer portal where end users can cancel subscriptions, update payment methods, and view invoices. To add it: 
Add a Manage subscription button that opens the customer portal.
The customer portal opens in a new browser tab and cannot be embedded in an iframe. It will not function inside the Lovable preview panel. Test it by opening your deployed site in a standalone browser tab.

​
Checkout display modes

Paddle supports two checkout modes:
  • Overlay (default): a modal appears on top of the current page.
  • Inline: checkout is embedded inside the page layout.
Ask Lovable to switch. 
Show the checkout inline on my pricing page instead of as a modal.
Stripe uses embedded checkout only. The checkout form is embedded directly on the page. It cannot be customized through Lovable. Styling changes must be configured in the Stripe dashboard.

​
Testing

Your test environment is active immediately after setup. Use the preview to test the full payment flow before going live.

​
Test cards

Card numberResult
4242 4242 4242 4242Successful payment
4000 0000 0000 3220Payment with 3D Secure
4000 0000 0000 0002Failed payment
Use any future expiry date, any 3-digit CVV/CVC, and any billing address.
Lovable automatically adds a test mode banner to your app that only appears in the preview.

​
What to test

Verify that your business logic works end-to-end:
  1. Complete a test purchase and confirm the correct features unlock.
  2. Check that entitlements, modals, notifications, and redirects all behave as expected.
  3. Review transactions in the Payments tab.
In test mode, you can simulate subscription renewals without waiting for a full billing cycle. Ask Lovable: “How do I test a subscription renewal?”

​
Scenarios to consider

  • Upgrades and downgrades: does switching tiers grant the correct features?
  • Cancellations: does the user retain access until the end of their billing period?
  • Renewals: does the subscription renew and continue granting access?
  • Failed payments: does the app handle past_due status gracefully?
  • Trials: does a trialing user get access, and does billing start correctly after the trial ends?
  • Discount codes: does the discounted price apply correctly at checkout?

​
Go-live

When your app is ready to accept real payments, open the Payments tab and follow the go-live checklist.
Until all go-live steps are completed, live checkout will not work.

​
Going live with Paddle

1

Readiness check

Click Run check. Lovable reviews your live site to confirm:
  • Privacy policy exists
  • Terms of service exist
  • Refund policy exists
  • Site content is genuine and complies with Paddle policy
If a check fails, the dashboard explains what to fix. Ask Lovable to resolve the issue and run the check again.
2

Project setup

Lovable checks that at least one product with a price exists and your latest changes are published.
3

Verification (KYC/KYB)

Click Complete verification to open Paddle’s seller verification form. The form collects product information, compliance screening questions, and personal or business details.Business types include Individual (sole trader), Private company, and Public company. Starting as Individual is faster. You can upgrade later through the Paddle dashboard.Verification processing time depends on your location and product. Most users are approved within a day, but it can take several days. Paddle may contact you by email or through the Paddle dashboard to request additional identity or business documentation.While waiting, you can:
  1. Ask Lovable to hide the checkout button in production until verification completes
  2. Wait to publish your project
  3. Publish anyway (checkout will not function until approved)
See Paddle’s account verification documentation for details.
4

Domain review

Paddle reviews your live domain to confirm it represents a legitimate product with real content and legal pages. Make sure your deployed site is complete before submitting.
5

Approval

Once all steps pass, your production app can accept real payments. A Set up payouts banner will appear prompting you to add bank account details in the Paddle dashboard.

​
Going live with Stripe

The Stripe go-live process happens partly in the Stripe dashboard, not in Lovable. You will need to complete steps directly on Stripe’s site.
1

Claim your Stripe account

Click the link in the Payments tab to claim the Stripe account that Lovable created for you. Stripe refers to this as your “sandbox” account. This opens Stripe’s claim page where you take ownership.
2

Complete go-live steps in Stripe

Complete the onboarding checklist in the Stripe dashboard:
  • Set up your Stripe account
  • Verify your email
  • Complete account onboarding
Stripe will prompt you to copy products, prices, and the Lovable app from your test account to your live account as part of this process. This also installs the Lovable app on your live account, which connects your live API keys and webhooks.
3

Readiness check

Lovable reviews your live site to confirm:
  • Privacy policy exists
  • Terms of service exist
  • Refund policy exists
  • Site content is genuine and substantive
Once all steps are completed, your production app can accept real payments. Payout configuration is managed directly in the Stripe dashboard.

​
Publishing and product sync

When you publish your project, products and prices created through Lovable automatically sync to your live environment for both Paddle and Stripe. You do not need to recreate them manually.
Avoid editing products directly in your provider’s dashboard. This may cause lost context in Lovable and ID mismatches between test and live environments. Always manage products through Lovable.
Discounts are not included in the publish sync. If you create a discount code in test, you must create it separately in your live environment.

​
Limitations

  • Digital products by default: for physical products, use the Shopify integration or built-in payments powered by Stripe.
  • One payment provider per project: you cannot run Paddle and Stripe in the same project.
  • One subscription per user per environment by default: each user can have one active subscription. If you need add-ons or multiple subscriptions, ask Lovable to adjust this.
  • Projects with payments cannot be remixed: once payments are enabled, the project cannot be forked.
  • Checkout styling and payment methods: these must be configured in your provider’s dashboard, not through Lovable.
  • Do not create webhooks manually: Lovable registers webhook endpoints automatically. Duplicates can cause issues.

​
Best practices

  • Run the readiness check before submitting verification: fixing issues early prevents delays.
  • Use a custom domain before going live: providers review your live domain. A custom domain looks more legitimate than .lovable.app.
  • Test the full subscription lifecycle in the preview: purchase, cancellation, renewal, failed payments, and trials.
  • Choose a clear statement descriptor: customers should recognize the charge on their bank statement.
  • Do not revoke access immediately when a subscription is canceled: the user has already paid through the end of their current billing period and should retain access until then.
  • Handle failed renewals gracefully: prompt the user to update their payment method rather than immediately revoking access.
  • Manage products through Lovable: manual changes in the provider dashboard can create mismatches between environments.

​
FAQ

No. Lovable creates and manages your payment provider accounts automatically. For Paddle, you complete their verification form before going live. For Stripe, you claim the account Lovable created and install the Lovable app.
Paddle is a dedicated merchant of record that handles tax compliance, invoicing, and receipts for all transactions. Stripe offers an optional MOR service that you can enable on a per-transaction basis. See the comparison table above for details on eligibility, cost, and best-fit scenarios.
Use a different email address. A plus alias like yourname+lovable@gmail.com is an easy option. Any email sent to a plus alias automatically arrives in your main inbox (yourname@gmail.com), so you don’t need to create a separate account. It’s just a way to use a variant of your existing address.
Some countries are excluded because the provider cannot create seller accounts there due to international sanctions or regulatory restrictions. If your country is not listed for one provider, try the other.
Fix the issues listed in the dashboard and run the check again. Common failures include missing privacy policy, missing terms of service, missing refund policy, or an unpublished site.
Yes. Ask Lovable to create multiple prices for the same plan.
Yes. Trials appear with trialing status and should grant access like active subscriptions.
Yes. Lovable can create discount codes through your payment provider.
Yes, but these settings must be configured directly in your provider’s dashboard.
If your account has not completed verification, live checkout will not function. Check the go-live checklist in the Payments tab.
Most reviews complete within a day, but it can take several days depending on your location and product. Track progress in the Payments tab.
Adjustments are financial corrections applied after a transaction. Examples include refunds, credits, or chargebacks.
The portal must open in a new browser tab. If you are testing inside the Lovable preview panel, open your deployed site in a standalone tab.