Polar
Open-source merchant of record for selling software, with subscriptions and usage-based billing.
Updated · AppBreakup editorial · Web
Is Polar free?
Free plan, plus paid plans
- Pro plan:
- $20/month, 3.8% + 40¢
- Free plan fee:
- 5% + 50¢ per transaction
Checked on Polar's site Nov 8, 2026
Full Polar pricing and plansSwitch from Polar to
All 5
PaddlePaid
Lemon SqueezyFree
Dodo PaymentsPaid
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 5
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Polar
Polar is a payments and billing platform for software makers, especially AI and developer-tool companies, that acts as merchant of record. Polar resells your product to customers in more than 100 markets and takes care of sales tax and VAT, fraud screening, refunds and chargebacks, then pays out the balance. On top of checkout it handles subscriptions, seats, trials, discounts, prepaid credits and event-based usage metering, so token or API usage can land on the same invoice as a base plan. There are SDKs, webhooks and an MCP server for managing billing from AI coding agents. The codebase is open source under Apache 2.0, though in practice you use the hosted service. Pricing is per transaction: a free plan has higher fees, and monthly plans lower the percentage. It suits indie developers and startups selling software globally; low-level control and the lowest fees still favour plain Stripe.
Best for: Developers and AI startups selling software globally who want tax handled for them.
Polar pricing (checked Nov 8, 2026)
Each line is quoted from Polar's own site, with the page it came from.
| Plan or term | What it says | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan fee | 5% + 50¢ per transaction | Nov 8, 2026 | polar.sh |
| Pro plan | $20/month, 3.8% + 40¢ | Nov 8, 2026 | polar.sh |
Pros and cons
What works
- Handles global sales tax, fraud, refunds and chargebacks as merchant of record
- Built-in usage metering and credits alongside subscriptions
- Open-source codebase under Apache 2.0
- Free plan with no monthly fee
Why people leave
- Per-transaction fees are higher than a plain payment processor
- Less control over checkout and payments than using Stripe directly
- Focused on software and digital products, not physical goods
Polar vs Paddle, Lemon Squeezy and Dodo Payments
From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.
| Attribute | Polar | Paddle | Lemon Squeezy | Dodo Payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan + paid | Paid | Free | Paid |
| Verified price | $20/month, 3.8% + 40¢ | — | — | — |
| Free plan | 5% + 50¢ per transaction | No | Free app | No |
| Open source | Yes | No | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No | No | No |
| Platforms | Web | Web | Web | Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
Top Polar alternatives
See all 5- 1Paddle68.8
Longer-established merchant of record with stronger B2B invoicing and SaaS revenue tools.
- 2Lemon Squeezy64.8
Merchant of record with a built-in storefront, affiliates and email marketing for creators.
- 3Dodo Payments61.8
Merchant of record with wide local payment method support and pay-as-you-go pricing.
- 4
Gumroad57.5Simplest way to sell digital products to an audience, with a public marketplace.
- 5
Stripe Billing51.2Lower fees and full control, if you're willing to handle sales tax yourself.
Why people left Polar
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Polar, review the app you switched to and tell us why.
Reviews
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Polar: common questions
What is Polar?
Polar: Open-source merchant of record for selling software, with subscriptions and usage-based billing. Best for developers and AI startups selling software globally who want tax handled for them. Available for Web.
Is Polar free?
Polar has a free plan and paid plans. Free plan fee: 5% + 50¢ per transaction (checked on Polar's own site).
How much does Polar cost?
Polar is free with paid plans. Free plan fee: 5% + 50¢ per transaction; Pro plan: $20/month, 3.8% + 40¢. Checked on Polar's own site, November 2026.
Is Polar open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at polarsource/polar.
What platforms does Polar run on?
Polar is available for Web.
What are the best alternatives to Polar?
The highest-ranked Polar alternatives right now are Paddle, Lemon Squeezy and Dodo Payments. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.
Polar vs Paddle: what's the difference?
Polar is free with paid plans; Paddle is a paid product. Polar is open source and Paddle is not. Both run on Web.