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Polar

An open-source merchant of record built for developers, with SDKs for frameworks like Next.js plus usage billing and license keys.

5% + $0.50 per transaction on the free Starter plan; Pro at $20/mo drops it to 3.8% + $0.40Free tier
Visit PolarSee all payments & billing

What it actually does

Polar is a merchant of record that handles global sales tax while offering API-first ergonomics: open-source code, clean SDKs, and a checkout you can wire into a Next.js app in minutes.

It ships modern SaaS primitives natively, including usage-based billing, license keys, customer portals, and entitlements. Paid plans buy the rate down: Pro at $20/mo drops the fee to 3.8% + $0.40, which beats Paddle and Lemon Squeezy once past roughly $1,400/mo in sales.

New organizations created after May 27, 2026 start at 5% + $0.50 on the free Starter plan, and its billing engine has gaps around proration, mid-cycle upgrades, and dunning that a multi-seat B2B SaaS may need. Hidden payout, cross-border, and dispute fees also add up.

Polar vs its main rivals

The tools people actually weigh against Polar: Dodo Payments, FastSpring, Fungies.io, Creem. Same criteria for every column, including where Polar loses.

Polar logoPolarDodo Payments logoDodo PaymentsFFastSpringFFungies.io
Pricing & access
Free tierYesNo monthly feeYesNo monthly feeYesNo monthly feeYesFree plan
Starting price5% + $0.50 (free tier)4% + $0.40Custom quote5% + $0.50
Tax & compliance
Merchant of recordYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Billing & checkout
Subscription billingYesYesYesYesYesDeepYesYes
Usage-based billingYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNo
License keysYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Developer & API
REST APIFreeFreeFreeFree
Framework SDKsFreeFreeFreeFree
Open sourceYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Scaling & support
Proration / dunningNoLimitedYesYesYesYesUnknownBasic
Countries supportedGlobal220+200+Global
Worth it for
  • Developer-first merchant of record: open source with clean SDKs and checkout live in minutes
  • Pro at $20/mo buys the rate down to 3.8% + $0.40, cheaper than Paddle past about $1,400/mo
  • Ships usage-based billing, license keys, portals, and entitlements natively
Watch out for
  • The old 4% + $0.40 rate is gone: new orgs pay 5% + $0.50 unless they add a paid plan
  • Hidden fees stack: $2/mo payout fee, 0.25% + $0.25 per payout, cross-border conversion, +1.5% non-US cards
  • Weaker proration, mid-cycle upgrade, and dunning logic than FastSpring or Dodo for multi-seat SaaS

Pay less for it

5 ways found
Free Starter plan

No monthly fee at 5% + $0.50, so a pre-revenue project pays nothing fixed

Pro plan rate buy-down

$20/mo drops the rate to 3.8% + $0.40, breaking even near $1,379/mo in sales

Higher tiers for scale

$100/mo gets 3.6% + $0.35 and $400/mo gets 3.4% + $0.30 for larger volumes

Legacy Early Member rate

Orgs created before May 27, 2026 keep 4% + $0.40, but lose it permanently if they upgrade

Cheaper swap

Creem — Merchant-of-record tax handling at a 3.9% + $0.40 headline rate with no monthly plan required

See this for your whole stack, with your real numbers

StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Polar and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.

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Is it the right tool for you

Pick it if
  • You build on Next.js and want the best API ergonomics in a merchant of record
  • You are doing at least ~$1.5k/mo to justify the Pro rate buy-down
  • You want usage-based billing or open-source transparency
Skip it if
  • You run a multi-seat B2B SaaS needing proration and dunning today → use Paddle
  • You just want the lowest flat rate with no monthly plan → use Creem

Track what Polar and the rest of your stack cost

StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.

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Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.