# Polar

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/payments/polar/

Merchant of record for developers, with a tiered rate: a free plan at the standard cut and paid plans that buy the rate down.

## Who it suits

Developers who expect volume and would rather pay a subscription than a percentage. Polar is the only merchant of record here whose monthly fee buys the rate down — $20/month takes 5% + 50¢ to 3.8% + 40¢ — so the maths flips in its favour as revenue grows.

Consider something else if You are starting out or your volume is uneven. On the free Starter plan the rate is the same 5% + 50¢ everyone else charges, and the tiers only pay for themselves above the revenue where the percentage saved exceeds the monthly fee.

## iScore

68 / 100 (80% interval 61–75), rank 2 of 5 in payments — interval overlaps the next rank, so this is an ordering, not a finding.

inetGeek's own reading, computed from sourced facts against category peers by disclosed rules. Not a provider claim. Intervals are 80%; a provider with few documented facts is pulled toward the category middle rather than scored on what little is known.
Method: https://inetgeek.com/iscore/. Full output with every criterion's basis: https://inetgeek.com/scores.json. Every payments peer ranked: https://inetgeek.com/payments/polar/alternatives/

- Price: 40 (33–46), weight 44%, 2 of 2 criteria scored
- Capacity and limits: 50 (17–83), weight 6%, 0 of 1 criteria scored; scored for peers, not here — undocumented or stated without a number or a yes/limited/no: supported_countries
- Trust and compliance: 94 (67–100), weight 38%, 1 of 1 criteria scored
- Evidence: 100 (100–100), weight 13%, 4 of 4 criteria scored

## What the documentation says

### Pricing

- Free tier: Yes ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)
- Entry paid plan: $20/month for Pro, which is not an access fee — the free Starter plan is fully functional. It buys the transaction rate down from 5% + 50 cents to 3.8% + 40 cents, and prioritised support. ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)
- Pricing model: Tiered: the monthly fee buys the transaction percentage down rather than unlocking features. Starter is free at 5% + 50 cents, Pro is $20/month at 3.8% + 40 cents, Growth $100/month lower again. ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)
- Per-transaction fee: 5% + 40 cents on the free Starter plan; 3.8% + 40 cents on Pro at $20/month. A monthly fee that lowers the percentage, which is the opposite shape to the rest of this category. ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)

### Support

- Support on entry paid plan: Standard Support on the free Starter plan; Prioritized Support from Pro at $20/month. Support is one of the two things the monthly fee buys, the other being the lower transaction rate. ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)

### Compliance

- Merchant of record: Supported ([source](https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees), read 2026-09-15)

## Compared with

- [Polar vs Stripe](https://inetgeek.com/compare/stripe-vs-polar/)
- [Polar vs Paddle](https://inetgeek.com/compare/paddle-vs-polar/)
- [Polar vs Lemon Squeezy](https://inetgeek.com/compare/lemon-squeezy-vs-polar/)