Best Boilerplates With Polar.sh Payments 2026

Polar.sh is the payments infrastructure platform gaining traction in the developer-tools and indie hacker space. It charges 4% + $0.40 per transaction — higher than Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 — but includes something Stripe doesn't: automatic tax collection and remittance in 40+ countries. Polar acts as the Merchant of Record, meaning you receive net payouts and never deal with VAT, GST, or sales tax compliance.

For solo developers and small teams shipping software products, that tax compliance feature is worth more than the fee difference. The best SaaS boilerplates have recognized this and ship with Polar.sh as an option (or primary) billing provider.

Polar.sh vs Stripe: The Real Comparison

Feature	Polar.sh	Stripe
Transaction fee	4% + $0.40	2.9% + $0.30
Merchant of Record	✅ You're not the seller	❌ You're the seller
Tax collection	✅ Automatic (40+ countries)	❌ Stripe Tax add-on (+0.5%)
VAT/GST compliance	✅ Handled	❌ You handle it
License key delivery	✅ Automatic	❌ Custom code
GitHub sponsor tiers	✅	❌
Subscription webhooks	✅	✅
Usage-based billing	✅	✅
Free tier	4% from first sale	$0 fees (just 2.9%)
Open source	✅ Core is open source	❌
One-time products	✅	✅

When Polar wins over Stripe:

• You're selling to global customers (VAT compliance worth the extra 1.1%)
• You're an indie hacker selling to developers who expect Polar checkout
• You ship digital goods that Polar auto-delivers (license keys, file downloads)
• Tax compliance overhead would require hiring an accountant

When Stripe wins over Polar:

• You're US-only with low-volume (simpler tax situation)
• You need Stripe-specific features (Stripe Connect for marketplace, Advanced Fraud Tools)
• Your target market is enterprise (Stripe's brand recognition)

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Quick Comparison

Boilerplate	Price	Primary Billing	Auth	Stack
Open SaaS	Free	Stripe + Polar.sh	Wasp Auth	Wasp + React + Node
RSK	Free	Polar.sh	Clerk	React Router v7 + Convex
Supastarter	$149	Stripe + Polar.sh	Better Auth	Next.js + Drizzle
v1.run	Free	Polar.sh	Better Auth	Next.js + Convex
xaas-cloud/polar-payment	Free	Polar.sh	N/A	Next.js

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1. Open SaaS — Best Free Polar.sh Boilerplate

Price: Free (MIT) | Creator: Wasp | Stack: Wasp + React + Node.js + Prisma

Open SaaS is a 100% free SaaS boilerplate that ships with both Stripe and Polar.sh billing out of the box — you choose which to use (or use both). It's the most complete free boilerplate that includes Polar.sh, and it comes with:

• Email/password + social auth (Google, GitHub)
• Stripe subscriptions (webhook handling included)
• Polar.sh subscriptions as alternative
• Background jobs via Wasp actions
• Email sending via SendGrid or Resend
• Admin dashboard
• Landing page with pricing section
• Analytics via Plausible or Google Analytics

Polar.sh integration in Open SaaS:

// src/payment/paymentProcessor.ts
import { PolarPaymentProcessor } from './polar';
import { StripePaymentProcessor } from './stripe';

// Switch between providers by changing this:
export const paymentProcessor: PaymentProcessor =
  process.env.PAYMENTS_PROVIDER === 'polar'
    ? new PolarPaymentProcessor()
    : new StripePaymentProcessor();

// Polar.sh webhook handler
// src/payment/polar.ts
import { Webhooks } from '@polar-sh/sdk/webhooks';

export async function handlePolarWebhook(req: Request) {
  const webhooks = new Webhooks({
    webhookSecret: process.env.POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
  });

  const event = await webhooks.constructEvent(
    await req.text(),
    req.headers.get('polar-signature')!
  );

  switch (event.type) {
    case 'subscription.created':
    case 'subscription.updated':
      await updateUserSubscription({
        polarCustomerId: event.data.customer_id,
        status: event.data.status,
        productId: event.data.product_id,
      });
      break;

    case 'subscription.canceled':
      await cancelUserSubscription({
        polarCustomerId: event.data.customer_id,
      });
      break;
  }
}

---

2. v1.run — Best Modern Stack with Polar.sh

Price: Free (MIT) | Stack: Next.js 15 + Convex + Better Auth + Polar.sh

v1.run uses Polar.sh as its only billing provider — not as an add-on alongside Stripe. This makes it the most Polar.sh-native free starter: the entire billing experience is built for Polar's SDK and webhook patterns.

Polar.sh checkout with the SDK:

// app/api/checkout/route.ts
import { Polar } from '@polar-sh/sdk';

const polar = new Polar({
  accessToken: process.env.POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN!,
  server: 'production',
});

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { priceId, userId } = await req.json();

  const checkout = await polar.checkouts.create({
    products: [{ productPriceId: priceId }],
    customerId: userId, // Link to your user ID
    successUrl: `${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_URL}/dashboard?checkout=success`,
    metadata: {
      userId, // Available in webhook payload
    },
  });

  return Response.json({ url: checkout.url });
}

---

3. RSK (React Starter Kit) — Best React Router v7 + Polar

Price: Free (MIT) | Stack: React Router v7 + Convex + Clerk + Polar.sh

RSK pairs React Router v7 with Polar.sh specifically because both are developer-community-oriented tools. The combination (React Router + Convex + Clerk + Polar) is modern, well-documented, and free to use.

RSK's Polar subscription management:

// app/routes/billing.tsx
import type { Route } from './+types/billing';
import { Polar } from '@polar-sh/sdk';

export async function loader({ request }: Route.LoaderArgs) {
  const user = await getUser(request);

  const polar = new Polar({ accessToken: process.env.POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN! });

  // Get customer's subscriptions
  const subscriptions = await polar.subscriptions.list({
    customerId: user.polarCustomerId ?? undefined,
  });

  // Get available products
  const products = await polar.products.list({
    organizationId: process.env.POLAR_ORGANIZATION_ID!,
    isArchived: false,
  });

  return { subscriptions: subscriptions.result.items, products: products.result.items };
}

---

4. Supastarter (Polar Edition) — Best Commercial Option

Price: $149 | Stack: Next.js + Better Auth + Drizzle + Polar.sh (optional Stripe)

Supastarter ships with both Stripe and Polar.sh integration — switch between them via environment variable. The Polar integration includes subscription creation, webhook handling, subscription portal (users manage their own subscriptions), and plan upgrade/downgrade flows.

Switching providers in Supastarter:

# .env
PAYMENTS_PROVIDER=polar  # or "stripe"
POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN=...
POLAR_ORGANIZATION_ID=...
POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET=...

# Supastarter detects PAYMENTS_PROVIDER at startup
# and loads the appropriate billing adapter

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Setting Up Polar.sh From Scratch

For any boilerplate you're adding Polar to:

# Install the Polar SDK
bun add @polar-sh/sdk
# or
npm install @polar-sh/sdk

// lib/polar.ts — Polar client setup
import { Polar } from '@polar-sh/sdk';

export const polar = new Polar({
  accessToken: process.env.POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN!,
  server: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'production' : 'sandbox',
});

// Create a checkout session
export async function createPolarCheckout(
  productPriceId: string,
  userId: string,
  email: string
) {
  return await polar.checkouts.create({
    products: [{ productPriceId }],
    customerEmail: email,
    metadata: { userId },
    successUrl: `${process.env.APP_URL}/dashboard?checkout=success`,
    embedOrigin: process.env.APP_URL, // For embedded checkout
  });
}

// Webhook handling (Next.js App Router)
// app/api/webhooks/polar/route.ts
import { validateEvent } from '@polar-sh/sdk/webhooks';

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const body = await req.text();
  const signature = req.headers.get('polar-signature') ?? '';

  let event;
  try {
    event = validateEvent(body, req.headers, process.env.POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET!);
  } catch {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Invalid signature' }, { status: 403 });
  }

  // Handle subscription events
  if (event.type === 'subscription.created') {
    await prisma.user.update({
      where: { polarCustomerId: event.data.customer_id },
      data: {
        subscriptionStatus: 'active',
        polarSubscriptionId: event.data.id,
        polarProductId: event.data.product_id,
      },
    });
  }

  return Response.json({ received: true });
}

---

Polar.sh Products to Sell From Your SaaS

Polar isn't just subscriptions — it handles multiple product types:

// Types of Polar products:

// 1. Subscriptions (monthly/annual)
await polar.products.create({
  name: 'Pro Plan',
  description: '...',
  prices: [
    { type: 'recurring', amount: 900, currency: 'usd', recurringInterval: 'month' },
    { type: 'recurring', amount: 7200, currency: 'usd', recurringInterval: 'year' },
  ],
});

// 2. One-time purchases (templates, licenses, ebooks)
await polar.products.create({
  name: 'Lifetime Access',
  prices: [{ type: 'one_time', amount: 29900, currency: 'usd' }],
  benefits: [
    { type: 'license_keys' }, // Auto-delivers license key on purchase
  ],
});

// 3. Free (with benefits for GitHub sponsors)
await polar.products.create({
  name: 'GitHub Sponsors',
  prices: [{ type: 'free' }],
  benefits: [{ type: 'github_repository' }], // Grant repo access
});

---

Find all Polar.sh compatible boilerplates at StarterPick.

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