specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: Polar
providerId: polar-sh
created: '2026-06-21'
modified: '2026-06-21'
reconciled: true
tags:
- Billing
- Payments
- Merchant of Record
- Monetization
- Subscriptions
- Usage Based Billing
- Plans
description: >-
  Polar is a Merchant of Record. The Polar API itself is free to use; revenue is
  earned through per-transaction Merchant of Record fees taken from each sale.
  Polar offers tiered monthly plans that trade a fixed monthly fee for a lower
  variable per-transaction rate. Surcharges apply for international cards and
  disputes, and Stripe-based payout fees apply on withdrawal. Organizations
  created before 2026-05-27 are grandfathered onto an "Early Member" rate.
notes: >-
  Fees verified against the Polar pricing and Merchant of Record fees pages on
  2026-06-21. Percentages and fixed amounts change; verify on the pricing page
  at reconciliation. Amounts are in USD.
sources:
- https://polar.sh/resources/pricing
- https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees
- https://polar.sh/blog/introducing-polar-plans
plans:
- id: polar-starter
  name: Starter
  type: usage
  description: >-
    Free monthly plan with the standard Merchant of Record fee taken per
    transaction. No monthly minimum; full API access.
  entries:
  - label: Monthly Platform Fee
    name: starter_monthly
    type: flat
    metric: subscription
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $0 / month
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Merchant of Record Transaction Fee
    name: starter_transaction
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 5% + $0.50 per transaction
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Products & Prices
  - name: Checkouts
  - name: Customers
  - name: Subscriptions
  - name: Orders
  - name: Benefits & License Keys
  - name: Meters & Events
  - name: Webhooks
- id: polar-pro
  name: Pro
  type: subscription
  description: >-
    $20/month plan with a reduced per-transaction Merchant of Record rate.
    Cost-effective above roughly $1,379/month in sales.
  entries:
  - label: Monthly Platform Fee
    name: pro_monthly
    type: flat
    metric: subscription
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $20 / month
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Merchant of Record Transaction Fee
    name: pro_transaction
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 3.8% + $0.40 per transaction
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Everything in Starter
  - name: Lower Transaction Rate
- id: polar-growth
  name: Growth
  type: subscription
  description: >-
    $100/month plan with a further reduced per-transaction rate.
    Cost-effective above roughly $5,634/month in sales.
  entries:
  - label: Monthly Platform Fee
    name: growth_monthly
    type: flat
    metric: subscription
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $100 / month
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Merchant of Record Transaction Fee
    name: growth_transaction
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 3.6% + $0.35 per transaction
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Everything in Pro
  - name: Lower Transaction Rate
- id: polar-scale
  name: Scale
  type: subscription
  description: >-
    $400/month plan with the lowest published per-transaction rate.
    Cost-effective above roughly $19,048/month in sales.
  entries:
  - label: Monthly Platform Fee
    name: scale_monthly
    type: flat
    metric: subscription
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $400 / month
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Merchant of Record Transaction Fee
    name: scale_transaction
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Everything in Growth
  - name: Lowest Transaction Rate
- id: polar-early-member
  name: Early Member (Grandfathered)
  type: usage
  description: >-
    Legacy rate honored indefinitely for organizations created before
    2026-05-27. Free monthly fee with a 4% + $0.40 transaction rate, plus an
    additional 0.5% on subscription payments.
  entries:
  - label: Monthly Platform Fee
    name: early_member_monthly
    type: flat
    metric: subscription
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $0 / month
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Merchant of Record Transaction Fee
    name: early_member_transaction
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 4% + $0.40 per transaction (plus 0.5% on subscriptions)
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Grandfathered Rate
- id: polar-surcharges
  name: Surcharges & Payout Fees
  type: usage
  description: >-
    Additional fees that apply across all plans on top of the base Merchant of
    Record transaction fee.
  entries:
  - label: International Card Surcharge
    name: intl_card_surcharge
    type: usage
    metric: transactions
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: +1.5% of transaction value
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Dispute / Chargeback Fee
    name: dispute_fee
    type: usage
    metric: disputes
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: $15 per dispute (regardless of outcome)
    userMultiplied: false
  - label: Payout Fee (Stripe)
    name: payout_fee
    type: usage
    metric: payouts
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: global
    unit: 1
    price: 0.25% + $0.25 per payout, plus $2 per active payout month and cross-border conversion fees
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: International Cards
  - name: Disputes
  - name: Payouts
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com