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PAYMENT PROCESSING · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from Stripe to Polar

Polar has a self-serve Stripe importer: connect with a restricted API key, import products, customers and subscriptions, and copy saved cards through Stripe.

Jump to migration steps Read the full comparison
By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 27, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team
Switching from Stripe to PolarVerified Sep 27, 2026
Bill Belcamino
Bottom line up frontby Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
Editorial assessment

Bottom line up front: Should you move your Stripe billing to Polar when Polar says you can't switch back?

Only if handing off sales tax and VAT is worth a higher rate for good, because Polar's own migration guide says switching is not reversible.

The importer is the easy part: connect Stripe with a restricted API key and Polar brings over products, prices, customers and the subscriptions you select, with saved cards copied through Stripe's own process. The cost is 3.8% + 40¢ plus $20 a month on Pro against Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢, and the first payout waits on a review that can take up to 14 days. Because you choose which subscriptions move, don't move them all at once. My advice: send new sales plus a small group of low-value subscriptions first, let one renewal cycle run, and check that webhooks, receipts and access inside your app all behave. Keep enough cash on hand to ride out that payout review, and take a full export of your Stripe data before you start.

My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 27, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —
Data Friction Rating —
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from Stripe to Polar

    Tax off your plate

    Polar takes on sales tax, VAT and GST liability as your reseller.

    Guided import

    Self-serve migration from Stripe in Polar’s dashboard, including saved cards.

    One price

    A plan fee plus a per-sale rate, from free Starter to Scale at $400 a month.

    How the migration actually works

    Polar recommends moving new sales first, then importing, so both run side by side until cut-over.

    StepWhat you do
    1Move new sales to PolarSend new checkouts to Polar’s checkout and API first, while existing subscriptions keep billing on Stripe.
    2Connect StripeIn Polar’s dashboard (Settings, Migrations), connect your Stripe account with a restricted API key; Polar asks for the minimum permissions and validates the account.
    3Import the catalog and customersLet Polar assess your Stripe data and create products, prices and customers.
    4Copy saved cardsThe owner of the Stripe account starts Stripe’s account-to-account copy of saved cards to Polar.
    5Switch billing for selected subscriptionsChoose which subscriptions move. Those renewing within 24 hours stay on Stripe for that cycle; Polar cancels the Stripe subscription when it takes over.
    6Reconcile and clean upUpdate your app to Polar webhooks, keep Stripe running for any exceptions, then retire what you no longer need.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    Polar’s docs say switching is not reversible, and your rate goes up (5% + 50¢ on Starter, 3.8% + 40¢ on Pro). Transaction fees are not returned on refunds, and payouts carry Stripe payout fees. The first payout follows an account review that can take up to 14 days.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanStripePolar
    Pricing basis% + fixed fee per salePlan fee plus % + fixed fee per sale
    Entry2.9% + 30¢, no monthly feeStarter: free, 5% + 50¢
    Paid plansNone; Billing 0.7%, Tax 0.5% per transactionPro $20/mo (3.8% + 40¢) to Scale $400/mo (3.4% + 30¢)
    Sales tax and VATYour job (Stripe Tax calculates and collects)Handled by Polar as merchant of record
    International cards+1.5%+1.5%
    Disputes$15.00 each$15 each

    Fees checked on polar.sh/resources/pricing and stripe.com/pricing on September 27, 2026.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilityStripePolar
    Merchant of recordOnly with Managed PaymentsYes
    Import from the otherData migration request (cards)Self-serve Stripe importer
    Subscriptions moveBilling migration toolkitSelected subscriptions imported

    Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?

    Read the Polar vs Stripe comparison Switching from Polar to Stripe instead?
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between Stripe and Polar. Rows where both tools are the same are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Stripe, Polar.

    What changesStripe (today)Polar (after)
    SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot published
    Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider), SOC 1 Type II, SOC 3, EMVCo Level 1 and 2 (Terminal)sourceNot published
    GDPR data processing agreementDPA offeredsourceNot published
    Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YessourceNot published
    SCIM user provisioningYessourceNot published
    Two-factor authenticationYesEnforcement: Any account (Administrator or Super Administrator setting)sourceNot published
    Admin audit logYessourceNot published
    EncryptionCard numbers AES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ required in transitsourceNot published
    Offline modePartialStripe Terminal can store in-person card payments locally on the POS device or smart reader during an outage and forwards them to Stripe automatically when the connection comes back.sourceNot documented
    Mobile appsiOS, AndroidsourceNot published
    Offline limitsOffline mode works only with supported Terminal readers; Tap to Pay on Android doesn't support itsource—
    Office & room hardwareStripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay.source—
    Editorial assessment

    Before you cut over

    • You have single sign-on in Stripe but we found none documented for Polar. Plan how people will sign in, and how you will remove leavers, before cut-over.
    • People who rely on Stripe offline will lose that: Polar doesn’t document an offline mode. Tell field and travelling staff before the switch.

    Checked September 27, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does Polar import my Stripe subscriptions?

    Yes, the ones you select. It also imports products, prices and customers, and copies saved cards through Stripe’s account-to-account process.

    Can I undo the move?

    Polar’s migration guide says switching is not reversible. Leaving later means Polar’s team transfers customers and cards and you recreate subscriptions.

    Will it cost more?

    On fees, yes: Polar Pro is 3.8% + 40¢ plus $20 a month against Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢. The difference buys merchant of record tax handling.

    How long until I get paid?

    Polar’s account review before the first payout can take up to 14 days.

    Canonical data for the tools on this page

    Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

    StripePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›PolarPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›
    Polar vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonStripe vs PayPalHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs PayPalHead-to-head comparison
    Polar to StripeSwitching guideSquare to StripeSwitching guideStripe to SquareSwitching guidePayPal to StripeSwitching guideStripe to PayPalSwitching guideClover to SquareSwitching guide

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

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    From shortlist to switched

    Built for the leader who owns the selection, answers for the spend, drives the rollout, and lives with the results. HelpCompare covers the whole decision, not just the first step.

    01 · CompareWhich tool fits your team, side by side.116 comparisons 02 · Price & approveSourced, dated pricing and a one-page brief for sign-off.Decision brief 03 · SwitchWhat moves, what you rebuild, what it costs.264 guides 04 · ShareDownload and cite the data. CC BY 4.0.Open data
    Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent nine years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 27, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

    Read Bill’s story How we verify pricingSpot an error? Tell Bill