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Merchant of record with usage billing

Polar

Open-source merchant of record for software and AI products, with usage metering, credits and subscriptions, and plans that trade a monthly fee for lower transaction rates.

Visit polar.sh ↗ Alternatives Paid Open source
Polar homepage
§1

Overview

Polar is a merchant of record: customers buy from Polar, which handles sales tax and VAT, payment processing, refunds, chargebacks and fraud screening, then pays you out. Its codebase is open source under Apache 2.0, though sellers use the hosted service rather than running it themselves.

Since May 27, 2026 new organizations start on Starter at 5% + 50¢ per transaction with no monthly fee. Pro ($20/mo), Growth ($100/mo) and Scale ($400/mo) swap part of the percentage for a fixed fee, reaching 3.4% + 30¢, and Polar publishes the monthly sales at which each pays off. Older organizations keep the Early Member rate of 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% on subscriptions.

Beyond one-time sales and subscriptions, Polar meters usage events, sells credits and seats, and can wrap AI SDK calls to bill tokens per customer while tracking LLM cost and margin. Because payouts use Stripe Connect Express, sellers in countries where Stripe Payments is invite-only, such as India, can still get paid.

§2

Pricing and plans

Plan Price What you get
Starter Free + 5% + 50¢ Standard support
Pro $20/mo + 3.8% + 40¢ Prioritized support; breakeven about $1,379/mo in sales
Growth $100/mo + 3.6% + 35¢ Breakeven about $5,634/mo
Scale $400/mo + 3.4% + 30¢ Slack channel, SSO; breakeven about $19,048/mo
Early Member (legacy) 4% + 40¢ + 0.5% on subscriptions Kept by organizations created before May 27, 2026 until they upgrade

Add 1.5% for non-US cards on every plan. Disputes cost $15 each regardless of outcome. Payouts pass on Stripe's fees without markup: $2 per month with an active payout, 0.25% + $0.25 per payout, and 0.25% (EU) to 1% currency conversion. Transaction fees are not returned on refunds. Polar may refund buyers at its discretion up to 60 days after purchase to prevent chargebacks.

Source: polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Merchant of record
Polar is the seller and takes on international sales tax liability.
Usage billing
Ingest events, aggregate them into billable units and invoice automatically, including LLM token metering.
Subscriptions, seats and credits
Recurring plans with trials, proration and dunning, seat-based pricing and prepaid credits.
Cost and margin insights
Per-customer revenue, LLM cost and gross margin.
Open-source codebase
Apache 2.0 repository on GitHub with Python and TypeScript SDKs.
Manual withdrawals
Choose when to pay out your balance; Stripe payout fees are passed through at cost.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Published breakeven points make the plan choice easy to calculate
  • Scale plan rate of 3.4% + 30¢ is among the lowest published MoR rates
  • Payouts to sellers in more than 100 countries
  • Usage and AI billing built into the MoR

Limitations

  • Non-US cards add 1.5% on every plan
  • Disputes cost $15 each even when you win
  • Payout fees ($2/month plus 0.25% + $0.25 per payout) are passed on
  • New organizations no longer get the older 4% + 40¢ Early Member rate
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • AI products billing per token or credit
  • Developers selling SaaS, licenses or digital downloads
  • Sellers in countries without direct Stripe accounts

Look elsewhere if

  • Businesses that need physical goods or services sold
  • Teams that want to self-host billing rather than use a hosted MoR
§6

Pricing history

  • Polar introduces paid plans; new sellers start at 5% + 50¢

    Organizations created from May 27, 2026 start on Starter at 5% + 50¢ (previously 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% on subscriptions), with Pro, Growth and Scale plans at $20, $100 and $400 a month lowering rates to 3.4% + 30¢. Older organizations keep the old rate. Source ↗

§7

Alternatives to Polar

Tool From Free option Stages
Dodo Payments Merchant of record with usage billing
Usage-based Paid
Stripe Payments Payment processor (API-first)
Usage-based Paid
Paystack Payment gateway (Africa)
Usage-based Paid
Square Payments Payment processor (in-person and online)
Usage-based Paid
Mollie Payment processor (Europe)
Usage-based Paid
PayPal Checkout Payment processor and wallet
Usage-based Paid

All payments and billing →

§8

Questions

How much does Polar charge?

The free Starter plan is 5% + 50¢ per transaction; Pro, Growth and Scale cost $20, $100 and $400 a month with rates down to 3.4% + 30¢. Non-US cards add 1.5%.

Is Polar a merchant of record?

Yes. Polar is the seller and handles international sales tax, refunds and chargebacks.

Can I use Polar in India?

Yes. Polar pays out through Stripe Connect Express, which covers India even though Stripe Payments is invite-only there.

Is Polar open source?

Yes, the Polar repository is Apache 2.0 licensed on GitHub.

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