Stripe vs Polar
Stripe vs Polar: 2.9% + 30¢ (Payment processor) and 5% + 50¢ (Merchant of Record). Compare seller eligibility, tax responsibilities, payouts and subscription portability.
The useful answer
These products have different roles: Stripe is a payment processor, while Polar is a merchant of record. Investigate Stripe for teams building a custom payment and billing experience; investigate Polar for developers selling software or digital products. Neither wins for every country or workflow.
| Decision factor | Stripe | Polar |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Payment processor | Merchant of Record |
| Public headline | 2.9% + 30¢ US domestic cards · Payments | 5% + 50¢ Starter · new organizations |
| Best investigated for | Teams building a custom payment and billing experience Businesses in supported merchant markets | Developers selling software or digital products Teams prepared to compare plan cost against transaction volume |
| Stripe relationship | This is the Stripe Payments baseline. Stripe also offers Managed Payments, a separate merchant-of-record product. | Confirmed infrastructure dependency: Stripe processing and Stripe Connect payouts. A standalone merchant Stripe Payments account and a Polar payout configuration are different. |
| Seller eligibility | The country filter uses a documented subset of Stripe merchant markets, not all buyer countries. India is conditional/preview. Approval, legal entity, owners and bank requirements still apply. | Buyer acceptance and seller payout-country lists differ. Polar explicitly notes that payout eligibility can exist where a standalone Stripe Payments account is unavailable. Individual business types require separate verification. |
| Payout considerations | Standard payout timing and first-payout delays depend on market, business and account. Stripe can set reserves. Standard scheduled payouts and optional instant payouts have different fees and eligibility. | Stripe Connect is part of the payout flow. The reviewed fee documentation lists an active payout-month charge and per-payout charges, with additional cross-border costs. These are separate from the checkout headline. |
| Refunds and disputes | Original processing, Connect and currency-conversion fees are not returned on refunds under the US pricing reviewed. Dispute-received and dispute-response charges are separate; review the current product-specific rules. | Original fees are not returned for refunds under the reviewed rules. Disputes cost $15 regardless of outcome. Preventive refunds can affect the balance; verify current agreement and supported product type. |
| Portability | Payment-data migration must follow a supported secure process between processors. CSV customer export alone does not move card credentials or make subscriptions continue automatically. | Export your product, customer, entitlement and subscription records. Payment credentials and an MoR contract need a separate migration plan; confirm what is supported before switching. |
Before you decide
- Confirm seller, owner and payout-bank eligibility for the exact product.
- Identify who is the contractual seller and who handles taxes, refunds and disputes.
- Model your real checkout and payout volume, including fixed and add-on fees.
- Check subscription portability, data access and retained balances on exit.
Compare fees at your sales volume → · Compare tax responsibilities →
Primary sources
Sources: Stripe US pricing · Stripe merchant availability · Stripe Managed Payments · Stripe reserves · Stripe: compatibility review source · Stripe: supporting feature documentation · Polar current fees and plan generations · Polar supported countries · Polar processing partners · Polar: compatibility review source · Polar: supporting feature documentation