What it does
Polar combines software payment collection with subscriptions, usage meters and prepaid credits. Developers send events for activity such as API requests, then use meters to turn those events into billable quantities. Cost Insights can attach service costs to the same events, helping compare customer revenue with the cost of providing the product. Starter has no monthly subscription, but transaction and payout fees still apply.
A usage bill needs a clear definition of what is being counted. In Polar, start at Meters > Create Meter, filter by event name or metadata, then choose an aggregation such as count or sum. Preview the matching events before saving. A unit label makes the meter easier to read but does not change the billing calculation.
Credits can cover prepaid usage, with excess usage charged when the balance runs out if the product includes a metered price. For a credits-only offer without that overage charge, Polar instructs you to leave the metered price off the product. Your application still needs to implement the access rules you want customers to encounter.
Cost Insights adds another useful view. An event can carry a cost amount and currency, allowing the dashboard and Metrics API to show revenue minus recorded service costs for each customer. For an AI product, that might mean comparing subscription revenue with the model calls attributable to the same account.
Polar now offers four standard plans:
| Plan | Monthly subscription | Base transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | 5% plus 50 cents |
| Pro | $20 | 3.8% plus 40 cents |
| Growth | $100 | 3.6% plus 35 cents |
| Scale | $400 | 3.4% plus 30 cents |
Non-US cards add 1.5%. Current plans do not add a separate recurring-payment surcharge. Older Early Member accounts have different terms; upgrading permanently gives up that legacy rate, so compare the account's actual schedule first.
Getting revenue to your bank
Seller availability follows Polar's Stripe Connect Express coverage, which is separate from the countries where ordinary Stripe payments are available. Slovenia is listed. Before the first payout, submit the business information through Finance > Account, complete the requested identity check and connect the payout account.
New organizations created from May 12, 2026 normally have a seven-day settlement period. Payout minimums vary by currency. The fee guide lists $2 for each month in which a payout occurs, plus 0.25% and $0.25 per payout; cross-border charges can also apply.
For bookkeeping, open Finance > Payouts, use the payout's menu and choose Download invoice. You can set the seller details and invoice information, but a generated reverse invoice cannot subsequently be edited. Review those fields before creating it.
Strengths
- Meter previews help check which events will contribute to a usage charge.
- Credits can cover usage before a separately configured overage price applies.
- Cost events provide customer-level profit figures alongside revenue.
Watch out for
- Non-US card and payout charges are additional to the base transaction rate.
- Moving from an Early Member rate to a current paid plan is irreversible.
- Generated payout reverse invoices cannot be edited.
Best for
- Software businesses billing requests, tokens or other measured activity
- Developers selling prepaid usage alongside subscriptions
- Teams comparing customer revenue with recorded service costs
Sources
- Polar current plans, fees and legacy-account terms (Oct 27, 2026)
- Create Polar usage meters (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar meter previews and aggregation controls (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar prepaid credits and overage billing (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar Cost Insights and customer profit metrics (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar supported seller countries (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar account reviews (Oct 27, 2026)
- Polar payouts, fees and reverse invoices (Oct 27, 2026)