Polar.sh

Manages recurring subscription billing with support for multiple pricing models (fixed-price, pay-what-you-want, free with optional minimums) across daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and custom intervals. Implements automatic billing cycle management, trial period configuration for recurring products, and currency-aware pricing with tax-inclusive calculations. Handles dunning management for failed payments and integrates with payment processors to execute recurring charges.

Implements consumption-tracking billing where charges accumulate based on measured usage metrics (API calls, storage, bandwidth, seats). The system tracks usage events sent via API, aggregates them over billing periods, and calculates charges based on configured rate cards. Supports multiple pricing tiers and can combine metered charges with base subscription fees for hybrid pricing models.

Creates and manages discount codes and coupons that customers can apply during checkout to reduce prices. Supports fixed-amount and percentage-based discounts with configurable constraints (usage limits, expiration dates, applicable products). The system validates discount codes at checkout time, applies discounts to order totals, and tracks discount usage for analytics and fraud prevention.

Provides dashboards and reports for tracking key business metrics including revenue, customer acquisition, subscription churn, refunds, and payment failures. The system aggregates billing data across all products and customers, visualizes trends over time, and exports data for external analysis. Includes cost insights (beta feature) for understanding profitability after payment processing fees.

Automatically handles failed payment recovery through configurable dunning workflows. When a payment fails, the system retries the charge according to a configured schedule, sends customer notifications, and manages subscription status during recovery attempts. Supports customizable retry policies and can trigger alternative actions (downgrade, suspension) if payment recovery fails after maximum attempts.

Implements OAuth 2.0 authentication for secure API access and third-party integrations. Developers obtain OAuth credentials (client ID, client secret) and exchange authorization codes for access tokens to call Polar.sh APIs on behalf of users. Supports scoped permissions to limit API access to specific resources and actions.

Supports integration via Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI assistants and language models to interact with Polar.sh billing data and operations. MCP provides a standardized interface for AI tools to query customer information, create orders, manage subscriptions, and access analytics without custom API bindings. Enables natural language interaction with billing operations through AI assistants.

Generates shareable checkout URLs without requiring code implementation. The system creates pre-configured checkout pages with product details, pricing, and payment fields embedded, allowing merchants to distribute links via email, social media, or documentation. Checkout links are customizable with merchant branding and support all product types (one-time, subscription, usage-based). No backend integration required for basic checkout flow.

Embeds a fully-functional checkout form directly into a merchant's website or application with customizable styling and branding. The embedded checkout handles payment collection, customer data capture, and subscription/product selection while maintaining visual consistency with the host site. Implements iframe-based isolation for security while allowing CSS customization for brand alignment. Supports all product types and pricing models.

Exposes REST API endpoints to create and manage checkout sessions programmatically, enabling dynamic pricing, customer pre-population, and conditional checkout flows. Developers can create checkout sessions with specific products, quantities, and customer data, then redirect users to the generated checkout URL or embed the session in their application. Supports passing customer context (email, name, metadata) to pre-fill checkout forms and enable post-purchase automation.

Automatically delivers digital benefits and entitlements to customers upon successful purchase without manual intervention. Supports multiple benefit types: license key generation and delivery, file downloads (software, documentation), GitHub repository access provisioning, and Discord role assignment. The system executes benefit delivery rules configured per product, enabling 'set it and forget it' automation that scales with customer volume.

Provides a self-service customer portal where buyers can view subscription status, manage billing information, update payment methods, and access purchase history. The portal is hosted by Polar.sh and accessible via customer-specific URLs, reducing support burden by enabling customers to self-serve common tasks. Integrates with the billing system to reflect real-time subscription and order data.

Emits webhook events for all significant billing and customer lifecycle events (subscription created, payment succeeded, payment failed, refund issued, customer updated). Developers register webhook endpoints in the Polar.sh dashboard, and the system delivers signed JSON payloads to those endpoints when events occur. Enables real-time synchronization of customer data with external systems (CRM, analytics, email platforms) and triggers custom business logic.

Handles refund creation, processing, and tracking for orders and subscriptions. Supports full and partial refunds with configurable refund policies. The system processes refunds through the payment processor, updates customer account status, and triggers refund-related webhooks and notifications. Maintains audit trail of all refund transactions.

Supports pricing and billing in multiple currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, CHF, SEK, INR, BRL) with automatic currency detection based on customer geography. The system converts prices across currencies while maintaining consistent pricing structure, applies region-specific tax rates, and handles payment processing in the customer's local currency. Requires identical price structure across all currencies for a single product.