Polar raised its fees 25% in 2026. Does your dashboard show the real impact?

On May 27, 2026, Polar moved from a flat 4% + $0.40 rate to a tiered model: 5% + $0.50 on the free Starter plan, with paid tiers (Pro at $20/mo, Growth at $100/mo, Scale at $400/mo) to buy the rate back down. Accounts created before May 27 keep the old "Early Member" rate — but lose it permanently the moment they upgrade to a paid plan.

What this change means for your net

• Starter (new account): 5% + $0.50, +1.5% on international cards, +0.5% on subscriptions.

• Early Member (account created before May 27, 2026): 4% + $0.40 + 0.5% on subscriptions — as long as you stay on the free plan.

• Paid tiers: Pro (3.8% + $0.40), Growth (3.6% + $0.35), Scale (3.4% + $0.30) — only worth it above a certain monthly volume.

• Chargeback: $15 per dispute, standard for most MoRs.

As a Merchant of Record, Polar handles VAT and sales tax on your behalf — that's the trade-off for the higher rate compared to a pure PSP like Stripe.

Worked example

Early Member account, $50 subscription: $50 × 4.5% (4% + 0.5% subscription) + $0.40 = $2.65 in fees → net $47.35. Same sale on a new Starter account: $50 × 5.5% + $0.50 = $3.25 in fees → net $46.75.

How it works

• Read-only OAuth connection to your Polar organization (60 seconds).

• Transaction pull with exact netAmount (Polar exposes net directly, unlike Stripe's separate gross/fee/net — Simeon handles the structural difference automatically).

• Consolidated view alongside your other providers, with AI insights on the impact of the tier change.