tiun
One API for auth, payments, customer data and analytics, built for AI and SaaS builders.
Overview
tiun positions itself against Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo by combining four normally-separate systems (auth, payments, a customer database and analytics) behind one API, aimed at builders who want to skip stitching those together and handling webhooks themselves. As a Merchant of Record it takes on international tax compliance (VAT/GST collection and remittance) so founders don't have to file it directly, and it's hosted in Europe with GDPR compliance by default.
Its main pricing claim is that, unlike Polar and Lemon Squeezy, it doesn't pass Stripe's underlying processing fees through to the customer on top of its own fee, landing at roughly 2.9-3.4% + $0.30 depending on whether the charge is one-time or subscription. It also ships as an MCP-installable skill so an AI coding agent can configure auth and checkout directly; a testimonial on tiun's own site describes a Cursor integration completed in an afternoon.
Key Features
Authentication: sign up/login/logout, multi-factor auth (SMS/email), social SSO
Merchant-of-Record payments: one-time, subscription and usage-based billing with pre-built checkout components
Unified customer database: subscription status, event logging, session tracking
Analytics dashboard on who's signing up, who's paying, and how they use the product
Transactional emails and invoice history
MCP server and npx-installable "skills" for AI coding agents (e.g. Cursor)
Optional full data export / AI-native analytics add-on
Pricing
Starting price
No flat paid tier - Free plan is usage-based (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 0.5% on subscription payments); the only fixed dollar price published is the $17/mo AI-Native analytics add-on; Enterprise is custom, contact sales
Free: $0/mo platform fee. Transaction fees 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 0.5% extra on subscription payments (roughly 3.4% + $0.30 all-in on recurring revenue, per tiun's own comparison page). International cards and currency conversion included at no extra charge. Tax compliance included (Merchant of Record). Payouts monthly, $200 minimum payout, 1.5% payout fee, $15 per dispute. 1 workspace, unlimited seats, community support. Full platform included: auth flows, checkout flows, customer database, self-serve portal, MCP/SDK integration, automated communications, all pricing models (one-time, subscription, usage, time), automated invoicing.
Add-on: AI-Native analytics (full data exports) - $17/mo on top of the Free plan.
Enterprise: Custom pricing ("best rates" on all fee lines). Unlimited workspaces and seats, multiple IBANs/payout accounts, SLA, dedicated technical team, custom integrations, priority support, custom payout schedule and dispute cost.
Only two tiers are published: Free (usage-based) and Enterprise (custom on request). There is no fixed-price mid-tier.
Source: tiun.io/pricing
Pros
Genuinely free to start: the Free plan has no monthly platform fee, you only pay when you actually process a transaction
Merchant-of-Record status means tiun absorbs international tax compliance (VAT/GST) rather than leaving it to the founder
Combines four typically-separate tools (auth, payments, database, analytics) behind one API, a real integration-time saver for a solo builder
European-hosted and GDPR-compliant by default, a genuine plus for EU-based founders
Transparent, published fee structure for the Free plan (no hidden markup claimed, unlike its stated criticism of Polar/Lemon Squeezy passing Stripe's fees through)
Cons
No published flat-fee paid tier exists between Free and Enterprise; Enterprise is "custom, contact sales" only, so there's no way to compare a mid-tier price against competitors
Brand-new public listing; no independent reviews found yet on G2, Capterra or Trustpilot
tiun's own comparison page admits "domestic transactions come in lower across the board" for competitors, meaning its fee advantage is strongest for international revenue and may not beat rivals on purely domestic sales
As with any Merchant-of-Record switch, the site doesn't detail what migrating customer and payment data off tiun later would involve
Handling live customer payments is a high-trust category, and tiun has no independent track record yet to weigh against its own claims
What Makes It Unique
tiun's core claim is that it doesn't pass Stripe's underlying processing fees through the way it says Polar and Lemon Squeezy do, and it ships as an MCP-installable "skill" so an AI coding agent can wire up auth, payments and checkout directly rather than a developer integrating each service by hand.
Kay Score
6
/ 10
Tool Information
Pricing
No flat paid tier - Free plan is usage-based (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 0.5% on subscription payments); the only fixed dollar price published is the $17/mo AI-Native analytics add-on; Enterprise is custom, contact sales
Category
Coding & Development
Platform
Web / iOS / Android
Last Updated
