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Polar vs Gumroad
Only Gumroad · 51
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Onboards businesses in United States
Polar
AvailableGumroad
AvailableAccept payments
Polar
Polar is merchant of record for software, SaaS and digital products, handling checkout, subscriptions, usage billing and international sales tax, and pays out through Stripe Connect Express.Gumroad
Gumroad hosts your store and checkout and acts as merchant of record for all sales, collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT. Mainly digital products, memberships and some digital services.Pay people abroad
Polar
Not offeredGumroad
Not offeredMulti-currency account
Polar
Not offeredGumroad
Not offeredBusiness cards
Polar
Not offeredGumroad
Not offeredStablecoins
Polar
Not offeredGumroad
Not offeredYield on idle cash
Polar
Not offeredGumroad
Not offeredYield on idle cash
A return on money you are not using. How safe it is depends on where the return comes from, not on how high the rate is.
Where the return comes from
Polar
No yield offeredGumroad
No yield offeredIs the money protected?
Polar
–Gumroad
–Does the rate change?
Polar
–Gumroad
–Fees
Published prices only, with the date we read them. Many providers negotiate prices instead.
How pricing works
Polar
Starter: free, 5% + $0.50 per transaction. Pro $20/month (3.8% + $0.40), Growth $100/month (3.6% + $0.35), Scale $400/month (3.4% + $0.30). Plus 1.5% for non-US cards and $15 per dispute. Organisations created before 27 May 2026 keep the Early Member rate of 4% + $0.40 (+0.5% on subscriptions). Seen 2026-10-24.Gumroad
10% + $0.50 per direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30) or PayPal fees; 5% + $0.50 on new direct sales after $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month; flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales. PayPal payouts 2%; US instant payouts 3%. No monthly fee. Seen 2026-10-24.Published prices
Polar
Not publishedGumroad
Not publishedPlatform & marketplace
Run payments for other businesses: sign them up, take a cut, pay them out.
Sub-accounts for your users
Polar
NoProducts that let other sellers sell through Polar are prohibited.Gumroad
NoReselling products you did not create is not allowed, and no sub-account feature was found.Split payments and platform fees
Polar
NoSelling others’ products for an upfront payment or revenue share is prohibited; no revenue-split feature was found in the pages checked.Gumroad
PartlyAffiliate commissions are split from each sale, with fees shared in proportion. No general marketplace split was found.Embeddable UI
Polar
YesEmbedded checkout on your own site via a code snippet or JavaScript library.Gumroad
YesOverlay and Embed widgets open the Gumroad product page or checkout on your own site.Pay out to your users
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Embedded finance for your users
Give your users financial products under your brand.
Accounts that hold money
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Cards for your users
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Financing for your users
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Consumer apps
Build for individuals, not just businesses, the way Bridge allows.
End users can be individuals
Polar
YesRead as "the seller can be an individual": individuals can sell where Stripe Connect Express supports individual accounts.Gumroad
YesRead as "the seller can be an individual": individuals sell with a photo ID and proof of residence; US sellers give an SSN.Consumer wallets or accounts
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Consumer cards
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Stablecoins
Dollar-backed tokens as a payment and treasury rail.
Accept stablecoins
Polar
Not confirmedNo stablecoin payment method found; NFTs and crypto assets are prohibited products.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Hold stablecoin balances
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Pay out in stablecoins
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Issue your own stablecoin
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Regulatory risk in United States
Polar
No stablecoin productsGumroad
No stablecoin productsAI agents
Build with AI tools, and let AI agents shop and pay.
Official MCP server
Polar
YesOfficial remote MCP server (mcp.polar.sh) with OAuth, with production and sandbox endpoints.Gumroad
YesOfficial Gumroad MCP server (custom connector URL gumroad.com/claude/v1/mcp) for reading products, sales and payouts and creating drafts.Checkout for AI agents
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedThe Gumroad MCP connector cannot take payments or run checkout (customers always pay through Gumroad checkout). No official page addresses agent-buying protocols or agent-initiated checkout.Cards for AI agents
Polar
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked.Working with them
How easy it is to get started.
Self-serve signup
Polar
Not confirmedNot researched yet.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot researched yet.Published pricing
Polar
YesStarter: free, 5% + $0.50 per transaction. Pro $20/month (3.8% + $0.40), Growth $100/month (3.6% + $0.35), Scale $400/month (3.4% + $0.30). Plus 1.5% for non-US cards and $15 per dispute. Organisations created before 27 May 2026 keep the EaGumroad
Yes10% + $0.50 per direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30) or PayPal fees; 5% + $0.50 on new direct sales after $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month; flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales. PayPal payouts 2%; US instant payouts 3%Public API and sandbox
Polar
Not confirmedNot researched yet.Gumroad
Not confirmedNot researched yet.In short
Countries onboarded
Polar
111 of 170Gumroad
111 of 170Designed for
Polar
Developers in countries without Stripe Payments who sell software, licences or paid repo access.Gumroad
Individual creators selling e-books, courses, templates or memberships with little setup.Limitations
Polar
Payout only to a domestic bank account via Stripe Connect Express in a listed country; no PayPal, Payoneer or Wise payouts.Gumroad
Highest headline fee of the group, and outside bank-payout countries you need a PayPal account that can receive money.| Polar Merchant of record | Gumroad Merchant of record | |
|---|---|---|
| Onboards businesses in United States | Available | Available |
| Accept payments | Polar is merchant of record for software, SaaS and digital products, handling checkout, subscriptions, usage billing and international sales tax, and pays out through Stripe Connect Express. | Gumroad hosts your store and checkout and acts as merchant of record for all sales, collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT. Mainly digital products, memberships and some digital services. |
| Pay people abroad | Not offered | Not offered |
| Multi-currency account | Not offered | Not offered |
| Business cards | Not offered | Not offered |
| Stablecoins | Not offered | Not offered |
| Yield on idle cash | Not offered | Not offered |
| Yield on idle cashA return on money you are not using. How safe it is depends on where the return comes from, not on how high the rate is. | ||
| Where the return comes from | No yield offered | No yield offered |
| Is the money protected? | – | – |
| Does the rate change? | – | – |
| FeesPublished prices only, with the date we read them. Many providers negotiate prices instead. | ||
| How pricing works | Starter: free, 5% + $0.50 per transaction. Pro $20/month (3.8% + $0.40), Growth $100/month (3.6% + $0.35), Scale $400/month (3.4% + $0.30). Plus 1.5% for non-US cards and $15 per dispute. Organisations created before 27 May 2026 keep the Early Member rate of 4% + $0.40 (+0.5% on subscriptions). Seen 2026-10-24. | 10% + $0.50 per direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30) or PayPal fees; 5% + $0.50 on new direct sales after $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month; flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales. PayPal payouts 2%; US instant payouts 3%. No monthly fee. Seen 2026-10-24. |
| Published prices | Not published | Not published |
| Platform & marketplaceRun payments for other businesses: sign them up, take a cut, pay them out. | ||
| Sub-accounts for your users | NoProducts that let other sellers sell through Polar are prohibited. | NoReselling products you did not create is not allowed, and no sub-account feature was found. |
| Split payments and platform fees | NoSelling others’ products for an upfront payment or revenue share is prohibited; no revenue-split feature was found in the pages checked. | PartlyAffiliate commissions are split from each sale, with fees shared in proportion. No general marketplace split was found. |
| Embeddable UI | YesEmbedded checkout on your own site via a code snippet or JavaScript library. | YesOverlay and Embed widgets open the Gumroad product page or checkout on your own site. |
| Pay out to your users | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Embedded finance for your usersGive your users financial products under your brand. | ||
| Accounts that hold money | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Cards for your users | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Financing for your users | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Consumer appsBuild for individuals, not just businesses, the way Bridge allows. | ||
| End users can be individuals | YesRead as "the seller can be an individual": individuals can sell where Stripe Connect Express supports individual accounts. | YesRead as "the seller can be an individual": individuals sell with a photo ID and proof of residence; US sellers give an SSN. |
| Consumer wallets or accounts | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Consumer cards | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| StablecoinsDollar-backed tokens as a payment and treasury rail. | ||
| Accept stablecoins | Not confirmedNo stablecoin payment method found; NFTs and crypto assets are prohibited products. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Hold stablecoin balances | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Pay out in stablecoins | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Issue your own stablecoin | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Regulatory risk in United States | No stablecoin products | No stablecoin products |
| AI agentsBuild with AI tools, and let AI agents shop and pay. | ||
| Official MCP server | YesOfficial remote MCP server (mcp.polar.sh) with OAuth, with production and sandbox endpoints. | YesOfficial Gumroad MCP server (custom connector URL gumroad.com/claude/v1/mcp) for reading products, sales and payouts and creating drafts. |
| Checkout for AI agents | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedThe Gumroad MCP connector cannot take payments or run checkout (customers always pay through Gumroad checkout). No official page addresses agent-buying protocols or agent-initiated checkout. |
| Cards for AI agents | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. | Not confirmedNot found on the official pages checked. |
| Working with themHow easy it is to get started. | ||
| Self-serve signup | Not confirmedNot researched yet. | Not confirmedNot researched yet. |
| Published pricing | YesStarter: free, 5% + $0.50 per transaction. Pro $20/month (3.8% + $0.40), Growth $100/month (3.6% + $0.35), Scale $400/month (3.4% + $0.30). Plus 1.5% for non-US cards and $15 per dispute. Organisations created before 27 May 2026 keep the Ea | Yes10% + $0.50 per direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30) or PayPal fees; 5% + $0.50 on new direct sales after $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month; flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales. PayPal payouts 2%; US instant payouts 3% |
| Public API and sandbox | Not confirmedNot researched yet. | Not confirmedNot researched yet. |
| In short | ||
| Countries onboarded | 111 of 170 | 111 of 170 |
| Designed for | Developers in countries without Stripe Payments who sell software, licences or paid repo access. | Individual creators selling e-books, courses, templates or memberships with little setup. |
| Limitations | Payout only to a domestic bank account via Stripe Connect Express in a listed country; no PayPal, Payoneer or Wise payouts. | Highest headline fee of the group, and outside bank-payout countries you need a PayPal account that can receive money. |
Common questions
Is Polar or Gumroad available in more countries?
Gumroad. Of the 170 countries we track, Polar onboards businesses in 111 and Gumroad in 111 (and 51 more with limits). Both serve businesses in 111. Only Gumroad: Brazil, China, Belize, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, Venezuela, Georgia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Lebanon and 39 more.
What do Polar and Gumroad offer?
Accept payments: Polar yes, Gumroad yes. Pay people abroad: Polar no, Gumroad no. Multi-currency account: Polar no, Gumroad no. Business cards: Polar no, Gumroad no. Stablecoins: Polar no, Gumroad no. Yield on idle cash: Polar no, Gumroad no.
How do Polar and Gumroad differ for platforms and embedded finance?
Split payments and platform fees: Polar no, Gumroad partly.
Who is Polar designed for?
Developers in countries without Stripe Payments who sell software, licences or paid repo access. Limitations: Payout only to a domestic bank account via Stripe Connect Express in a listed country; no PayPal, Payoneer or Wise payouts.
Who is Gumroad designed for?
Individual creators selling e-books, courses, templates or memberships with little setup. Limitations: Highest headline fee of the group, and outside bank-payout countries you need a PayPal account that can receive money.
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