Sell Memberships with Polar
A merchant of record that collects, taxes and pays out for you, with automatic renewals, for communities on Telegram and Discord
Polar sells on your behalf: the buyer pays Polar, Polar handles sales tax and VAT in every country it sells into, and pays you out through its own Stripe Connect rail in more than 120 countries, including many where a creator cannot open a Stripe account. Your plans become Polar products, renewals run on Polar's side, and the only thing you paste is one organization access token.
- Region
- Global
- Sellers in 120+ countries, buyers almost anywhere
- Buyers pay with
- Cards
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Local methods by country
- Currencies
- 36 currencies
- AED, ARS, AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF and 30 more
- Renewals
- Automatic renewals
- Monthly and yearly plans charge the next cycle on their own.
- Test mode
- Live and test
- A test method can run beside its live twin.
- Plan sync
- Plans sync to Polar
- One click from the method's menu pushes your active plans across.
Why creators pick Polar
Tax is Polar's problem, not yours
As the merchant of record Polar is the seller on every receipt: it registers, calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT wherever your members are, and you receive a payout with the tax already handled.
Payouts where Stripe will not onboard you
Polar pays sellers out in more than 120 countries through its own Stripe Connect Express accounts, so a creator in a country Stripe does not serve directly can still sell by card to a global audience.
Renewals on Polar's side
A recurring plan becomes a recurring Polar product. Polar charges every cycle, retries a failed renewal on its own schedule, and tells Subscriby by webhook when a subscription is active, past due, cancelled or revoked, so access follows the money without you doing anything.
One token, and the webhook registers itself
Polar is connected with one organization access token. Subscriby creates the webhook endpoint on your organization the first time a plan syncs, keeps its secret, and verifies every delivery; if Polar refuses the registration the method is switched off and you are told.
How to connect Polar
- 1
Create a Polar organization, complete its payout onboarding, and under Settings, then Developers, create an organization access token with the scopes Subscriby lists beside the field.
- 2
For a dry run first, create the token on Polar's sandbox instead; a sandbox token works only against the sandbox and a production token only against production.
- 3
In your dashboard open Payment Methods, choose Set Up a Payment Method, pick Polar and select Live or Test to match where the token was created.
- 4
Paste the token, switch the method on and save; leave the webhook secret empty, Subscriby registers the endpoint for you.
- 5
Choose Sync Subscription Plans from the method's menu so your plans exist in Polar as products; every later change to a plan on sale is pushed on its own.
Best for
- Creators who do not want to handle sales tax or VAT
- Sellers in countries Stripe does not serve directly
- Monthly and yearly plans that must renew on their own
Often paired with
Every active method is offered at checkout, so a second one widens who can pay you.
Common Questions
Read the setup guide- What does merchant of record mean for me?
- Polar is the seller on every transaction: it collects the payment, calculates and remits the tax, handles the buyer's invoice and refund, and pays you the proceeds. You never register for VAT in a country because a member there bought a plan.
- Which currencies can I price plans in with Polar?
- Any of the 36 currencies Polar presents, among them USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, INR and BRL. Price the plan in one of them and attach Polar; Polar presents the price to the buyer and pays you out in your payout currency.
- Do coupon codes work with Polar?
- Yes, on one-time and recurring plans. A coupon applied at checkout becomes a once-only Polar discount for that purchase, so a recurring plan is discounted on its first charge and renews at full price.
- Do I have to set up a webhook in Polar?
- No. Subscriby registers the endpoint on your organization the first time a plan syncs and verifies every delivery with the secret Polar issued. If registration fails, the method is switched off and the project owner is emailed what to do.
- Can I test with Polar's sandbox first?
- Yes. Create the token at sandbox.polar.sh, add Polar as a Test method and pay with Stripe's test card through a real checkout, then add a Live method beside it with a production token.
Start Free — Sell with Polar Today
Free Plan includes 3 projects. No monthly fee — card on file required to charge transaction fees.
Set Up Free in 30 Minutes