Stripe vs Polar in 2026: Which Payment Provider for Indie SaaS?

Choosing a payment provider is one of the most consequential technical decisions you'll make for your SaaS. Get it wrong and you'll spend weeks untangling your billing logic when you want to switch. In 2026, most indie hackers default to Stripe — but Polar has become a serious contender worth understanding before you commit.

This is an honest comparison based on building with both.

What Each Provider Actually Is

Stripe is the incumbent. It has been the default payment processor for SaaS since roughly 2014 and for good reason: it is battle-tested, handles global tax compliance, and has the most comprehensive API in the industry. Its documentation is excellent. If your CTO says "let's use Stripe," no one will question it.

Polar is a newer, open-source-first monetization platform designed specifically for developers and indie makers. Think of it less as a raw payment processor and more as a "Gumroad for developers with a proper API." It wraps Stripe's payment infrastructure, handles license key delivery, and natively connects to GitHub for private repository access grants — which makes it exceptional for selling boilerplates, SaaS products, and digital goods to developers.

Developer Experience

Stripe

Stripe's API is deep but verbose. Setting up a product requires:

1. Creating a Product
2. Creating a Price (recurring or one-time)
3. Creating a Customer
4. Creating a Checkout Session or Payment Intent
5. Setting up webhook handlers for checkout.session.completed, customer.subscription.updated, invoice.payment_failed, etc.

The webhook model requires you to build and maintain idempotency handling yourself. Stripe's test mode is excellent and the CLI for forwarding webhooks locally is one of the best in the industry.

// Stripe webhook handler (simplified)
import Stripe from "stripe";

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const body = await request.text();
  const sig = request.headers.get("stripe-signature")!;

  let event: Stripe.Event;
  try {
    event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(body, sig, process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET!);
  } catch {
    return new Response("Webhook signature verification failed", { status: 400 });
  }

  switch (event.type) {
    case "checkout.session.completed":
      // provision access
      break;
    case "customer.subscription.deleted":
      // revoke access
      break;
  }

  return new Response(null, { status: 200 });
}

Polar

Polar's webhook model is simpler: one endpoint, a clear payload type per event. The JavaScript SDK handles signature verification with a single function call. For one-time purchases (the dominant model for boilerplates and digital products), the surface area is smaller.

// Polar webhook handler (simplified)
import { validateEvent, WebhookVerificationError } from "@polar-sh/sdk/webhooks";

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const body = await request.text();
  const headers = Object.fromEntries(request.headers.entries());

  try {
    const event = validateEvent(body, headers, process.env.POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET!);

    switch (event.type) {
      case "order.created":
        // provision access — grant GitHub repo invite, etc.
        break;
      case "subscription.revoked":
        // revoke access
        break;
    }

    return new Response(null, { status: 200 });
  } catch (e) {
    if (e instanceof WebhookVerificationError) {
      return new Response("Signature mismatch", { status: 403 });
    }
    throw e;
  }
}

Feature Comparison

| Feature | Stripe | Polar | |---|---|---| | One-time payments | ✅ | ✅ | | Recurring subscriptions | ✅ | ✅ | | Free trials | ✅ | ✅ | | Usage-based billing | ✅ | ❌ | | Tax automation (VAT/GST) | ✅ (with Tax) | ✅ (handled automatically) | | GitHub repo access grants | ❌ | ✅ | | License key delivery | ❌ | ✅ | | Customer portal | ✅ | ✅ | | Discount codes | ✅ | ✅ | | Analytics dashboard | ✅ | ✅ | | Open source | ❌ | ✅ | | Global reach | 47+ countries | Limited |

Pricing

Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (US cards). International cards incur additional fees. Stripe Tax is an add-on.

Polar charges 5% + Stripe's processing fee. The higher percentage funds Polar's platform features (GitHub integration, tax handling, license key management). For digital products where the margin is high, this is usually acceptable. For high-volume SaaS with thin margins, the extra percentage matters.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Stripe when:

• You're building a B2B SaaS with enterprise customers (Stripe's invoicing and quote features are far ahead)
• You need usage-based billing or complex metered pricing
• You're processing high transaction volumes where the percentage difference adds up
• You need to operate in markets where Polar doesn't support payouts
• Your team has existing Stripe expertise

Choose Polar when:

• You're selling a boilerplate, template, plugin, or digital product directly to developers
• You want GitHub repository access grants to be automatic after purchase
• You don't want to build your own license key delivery system
• You're bootstrapping and value simplicity over maximum configurability
• Tax compliance automation is important to you (Polar handles VAT/GST automatically as the merchant of record)

Use both (the Boltbase approach):

For many indie SaaS products, the answer is "both." Stripe handles subscriptions for the main product, Polar handles one-time purchases of digital goods or boilerplate access. Boltbase ships with a unified webhook handler that routes both, so you're not duplicating code.

The Merchant-of-Record Question

One underappreciated advantage of Polar: it acts as the merchant of record for transactions through its platform. This means Polar handles VAT, GST, and sales tax collection and remittance across jurisdictions. You don't have to register for VAT in the EU or file individual state sales tax returns in the US.

Stripe does not act as merchant of record. You're responsible for tax compliance everywhere you sell. For a solo developer without a tax advisor, this is a real operational burden that Polar eliminates.

Verdict

In 2026, the right answer for most indie hackers building SaaS is to default to Polar for one-time products and digital goods, and Stripe for recurring subscription revenue if you need the advanced billing features. If you're just starting out and want the simplest path to accepting money, Polar's smaller API surface and automatic tax handling will save you significant setup time.

The good news: you don't have to pick just one. Boltbase ships with both pre-integrated, so you can start with whichever fits your business model today and add the other later.