Does Ruby on Rails Work With Paddle?
Ruby on Rails integrates seamlessly with Paddle for SaaS billing, with community gems and webhooks handling the heavy lifting.
Quick Facts
How Ruby on Rails Works With Paddle
Rails developers can integrate Paddle through the Paddle API and webhooks without official SDKs, but the process is straightforward. You'll typically use the `paddle_sdk` gem (community-maintained) or HTTP requests via `Net::HTTP` to interact with Paddle's REST API for creating subscriptions, managing customers, and handling transactions. The real power comes from webhook handling: Paddle sends events (subscription_created, payment_succeeded, etc.) to your Rails app, which you process in a dedicated controller to sync subscription state with your database.
The typical architecture involves storing Paddle IDs (customer ID, subscription ID) alongside your User model, then using Rails' ActiveJob for async webhook processing to prevent timeouts. Tax compliance becomes automatic—Paddle handles it as merchant of record, so you don't calculate or remit VAT yourself. Most Rails shops keep webhook processing simple by validating signatures, then queuing background jobs to update user subscription tiers or send confirmation emails through Action Mailer.
The developer experience is clean: a few API calls for initial setup, some model associations to track subscription state, and a webhook receiver. Rails conventions make this feel natural—it's just another external service integration like Stripe, but with better tax handling baked in.
Best Use Cases
Quick Setup
bundle add paddle_sdk && rails generate migration AddPaddleFieldsToUsers# app/models/user.rb
class User < ApplicationRecord
validates :paddle_customer_id, uniqueness: true, allow_nil: true
end
# app/controllers/paddle_webhooks_controller.rb
class PaddleWebhooksController < ApplicationController
skip_forgery_protection
def create
event = params.permit!.to_h
# Validate signature
unless valid_paddle_signature?(request.body.read, request.headers['X-Paddle-Signature'])
return render json: { error: 'Invalid signature' }, status: :unauthorized
end
case event['event_type']
when 'subscription.created'
user = User.find_by(email: event['data']['customer']['email'])
user.update(paddle_customer_id: event['data']['customer']['id'])
WebhookProcessJob.perform_later('subscription_created', event)
when 'subscription.updated'
WebhookProcessJob.perform_later('subscription_updated', event)
end
render json: { success: true }, status: :ok
end
private
def valid_paddle_signature?(body, signature)
digest = OpenSSL::Digest.new('sha256')
computed = Base64.strict_encode64(
OpenSSL::HMAC.digest(digest, ENV['PADDLE_WEBHOOK_SECRET'], body)
)
ActiveSupport::SecurityUtils.secure_compare(computed, signature || '')
end
endKnown Issues & Gotchas
Webhook signature validation failures due to timestamp drift or incorrect secret handling
Fix: Always validate Paddle's X-Paddle-Signature header using the shared secret from your Paddle dashboard. Allow 5-minute clock skew tolerance and log all validation failures for debugging.
Race conditions when processing webhooks before database state is ready
Fix: Use Rails transactions and idempotency keys (store webhook IDs) so re-delivery of the same event doesn't double-charge or create duplicate subscriptions.
Paddle's API response structure differs slightly between endpoints, causing inconsistent JSON parsing
Fix: Use the community `paddle_sdk` gem which normalizes responses, or write a thin wrapper to handle API inconsistencies.
Subscription state gets out of sync if webhooks fail silently or are missed
Fix: Implement a nightly reconciliation job that fetches subscription status from Paddle API and corrects local database state.
Alternatives
- •Stripe + rails-stripe-event gem: More developer-friendly API but requires manual tax compliance handling
- •Chargebee + chargebee-ruby gem: All-in-one billing platform with superior UI but steeper learning curve
- •Supabase + custom billing logic: Maximum control but you handle tax, PCI compliance, and payment processing yourself
Resources
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