Our take
Pick Polar if indie / small product teams who will stay on Starter Free $0 (5% + 50¢, no Polar monthly fee) while they sell a first SKU, then buy Pro at $20/month when sales pass the ~$1,379/month breakeven and they want 3.8% + 40¢. Pick Stripe if product teams who will stay on no monthly platform fee (2.9% + 30¢ per successful US card) while they open a first Payments analytics chart, instead of a $25–$99 billing
Best for
Polar Selling software you start on Starter at $0 (5% + 50¢)
Stripe Success rate you chart at a public $
Free plan
Polar $0 · /month. 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Standard support. New orgs on or after 27 May 2026 start here
Stripe No free plan
Lowest paid
Polar Payouts $2/mo
Stripe Not published by the vendor
Next step up
Polar Extras $15
Stripe
Runs where
Polar
Stripe Hosted
Watch out
Polar Starter is 5% + 50¢
Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ is per successful card, not a seat
Last checked
Polar 2026-10-22 · polar.sh/resources/pricing
Stripe 2026-10-23 · stripe.com/pricing
indie / small product teams who will stay on Starter Free $0 (5% + 50¢, no Polar monthly fee) while they sell a first SKU, then buy Pro at $20/month when sales pass the ~$1,379/month breakeven and they want 3.8% + 40¢.
Read the Polar pageproduct teams who will stay on no monthly platform fee (2.9% + 30¢ per successful US card) while they open a first Payments analytics chart, instead of a $25–$99 billing seat.
Read the Stripe page
