FastSpring was founded in 2005 in Santa Barbara, California. The company started as a digital commerce solution for software companies that needed a reliable way to sell downloads and license keys internationally without building their own payment infrastructure.
The platform operates as a merchant of record — FastSpring is the legal seller, handling payment processing, tax collection and remittance, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance across 200+ countries. Software companies connect via API or pop-up storefronts and receive their earnings after FastSpring handles all the financial complexity.
FastSpring supports one-time purchases, subscriptions, usage-based billing, free trials, and complex pricing models. Its checkout experience is highly customizable and supports 20+ payment methods including region-specific options like iDEAL, Boleto, and Alipay.
The platform processes payments in 20+ currencies with localized pricing — it can automatically adjust prices based on the buyer’s location to match local purchasing power. This localization extends to the checkout UI, which adapts language, currency, and payment methods based on geography.
FastSpring serves thousands of software companies globally, particularly in the gaming, SaaS, and creative tools segments. The company has been profitable and self-sustaining for years — it hasn’t taken significant venture capital, which is unusual in the payments space. FastSpring employs around 300 people with its primary office in Santa Barbara and additional teams across North America and Europe.
