Payments
Polar
Merchant of record and usage billing for software, with subscriptions, credits, and metered events.
Pricing as seen
Free plan listed at 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Paid plans listed at $20, $100, and $400 per month with lower transaction fees (3.80% + 40¢ down to 3.40% + 30¢). A startup program was also listed.
Checked 16 Oct 2026. Prices change. Confirm on the vendor site before you buy.
Pricing sourceUpdated
16 Oct 2026
Added
16 Oct 2026
Supported builders
Works from any of these builders via Polar’s API or checkout link. Keep access tokens on the server. Usage events should be recorded on the server, not trusted from the browser.
What it is
Polar’s site describes billing for AI companies: usage meters, subscriptions, credits, and checkout, and says Polar sells as the merchant of record so sales tax is their liability. Checkout is hosted. You get payouts after they collect.
The public pricing table on 16 Oct 2026 showed a free plan at 5% + 50¢ per transaction, then monthly plans at $20, $100, and $400 with lower percentages. Confirm the table before you model revenue. A generated app that only redirects to a success page has the same bug here as it does with Stripe.
Best for: A developer selling software or usage-priced AI features who wants merchant-of-record checkout without building tax logic.
Watch-outs
- Transaction fees on the free plan are easy to underestimate. Run the numbers.
- Entitlements still have to be enforced in your app after Polar says the customer paid.
Our take
Opinion from ShipSafeStack. Not a score, not a certification, and not a sponsorship.
A closer fit than a generic card processor if you sell seats, licenses, or metered AI usage and want someone else to be the merchant. Still verify entitlements from Polar’s webhooks or API, not from the redirect. Fees are high enough on the free plan that you should do the math on a $10 product.