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Polar

iScore61–75 · #2/5
polar.sh · Payments
SEPT 2026 audit

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

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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.
Free tierYes
CategoryPayments

Updated 6 criteria comparedSources last checked

01.Evaluation guide

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.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Each value below links to the page it was read from, with the sentence it came from. Criteria Polar does not publish are not listed.

Pricing
4 criteria
Free tierYes
Sources (1) →
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.
Sources (1) →
Pricing modelTiered: 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.
Sources (1) →
  • Fees — Polar Documentation ↗

    “PlanMonthly feePer transactionSupportIncludedStarterFree5% + 50¢Standard SupportPro$20 /mo3.8% + 40¢Prioritized Support”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official docs

Per-transaction fee5% + 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.
Sources (1) →
  • Fees — Polar Documentation ↗

    “PlanMonthly feePer transactionSupportIncludedStarterFree5% + 50¢Standard SupportPro$20 /mo3.8% + 40¢Prioritized Support”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official docs

Support
1 criteria
Support on entry paid planStandard 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.
Sources (1) →
  • Fees — Polar Documentation ↗

    “PlanMonthly feePer transactionSupportIncludedStarterFree5% + 50¢Standard SupportPro$20 /mo3.8% + 40¢Prioritized Support”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official docs

Compliance
1 criteria
Merchant of recordSupported
Sources (1) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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Every page here is sourced and dated.