Polar — Developer-first merchant of record
Polar is the best modern MoR if you'd build on something fresh and care about clean API ergonomics — common for open-source projects and dev tools.
Pricing summary
4% + $0.40 per transaction (lowest MoR fees on the market)
Estimated monthly cost
| Stage | Polar | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $0 (starting) | Free | Free |
| $5k MTR | ~$200 | ~$200 |
| $25k MTR | ~$1,000 | ~$1,000 |
| $100k MTR | ~$4,000 | ~$4,000 |
Estimates exclude payment processing fees and App Store / Google Play platform cuts. MTR = monthly tracked revenue.
Why this stack
- ✓Lower fees than Lemon Squeezy or Paddle
- ✓Clean, modern API designed by developers
- ✓Tax handled globally — no registrations
Tradeoffs
- —Younger product than the alternatives
- —Smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party integrations
Who this is for
Stage:Just getting started · Growing — past first revenue
Priorities:Lowest fees · Taxes handled for you
Best fit for saas web teams that value lowest fees and taxes handled for you.
Setup order
- 01
Create your Polar account
Sign up and complete the seller verification — Polar acts as merchant of record, so you'll provide business info for tax remittance.
Open docs → - 02
Create your first product and pricing plan
Define product name, recurring interval, currency, and any trial period. Keep your initial pricing simple — you can iterate later.
- 03
Install the SDK or use hosted checkout
Either embed the checkout JS, use a hosted checkout link, or call the API from your backend to create checkout sessions.
- 04
Test in sandbox and go live
Run end-to-end tests with test cards, confirm webhooks land in your backend, then flip the keys to production.
Alternatives to this stack
More mature MoR with a wider feature set.
5% + $0.50 per txn
Pick this if enterprise readiness matters more than fees.
5% + $0.50 per txn
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