Dodo Payments vs Lemon Squeezy vs Polar 2026

On the headline US card rate, Dodo Payments undercuts the other two at 4% + 40¢ against their 5% + 50¢, which makes it look like the obvious pick. It usually is not that simple. All three are merchants of record that fold global tax compliance into the fee, so the deciding number is the effective rate once add-ons for international cards, payment methods, and subscriptions stack on. This guide gives the verified fees and the surcharges that change the real cost. Figures were checked against vendor pages on May 26, 2026, including a Polar fee change effective May 27, 2026.

1. The headline fees

Provider	Base fee (US card)	Merchant of record
Dodo Payments	4% + 40¢[1]	Yes
Lemon Squeezy	5% + 50¢[2]	Yes
Polar (new orgs)	5% + 50¢[3]	Yes
Polar (pre-May-27 orgs)	4% + 40¢ + 0.5% subs[3]	Yes

Dodo Payments has the lowest base rate at 4% + 40¢ for domestic US cards^[1]. Lemon Squeezy sits at 5% + 50¢^[2]. Polar is 5% + 50¢ for new organizations, but organizations created before May 27, 2026 keep the older 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% subscription rate^[3]. On base US card rate, Dodo is the cheapest of the three.

2. All three are merchants of record

What you are buying with the percentage is a change in who is legally selling. Under the merchant-of-record model, the provider, not you, is the seller of record on every transaction, so its name appears on the customer's statement and it owns the tax obligation that comes with the sale. From there it calculates, collects, and remits VAT and sales tax wherever your buyers are, and handles processing and fraud^[1][2][4]. For a solo founder selling internationally, that means never registering for or filing tax across jurisdictions yourself.

So the choice among the three is not whether you get tax handling, since all three provide it, but which one offers the best effective rate and product fit for your sales.

3. Polar's May 2026 fee change

Polar is the one to read carefully right now. For organizations created on or after May 27, 2026, the fee is a single 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Organizations created before that date keep the earlier Early Member rate of 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% on subscriptions, indefinitely^[3]. So the rate you see depends on when your Polar organization was created, and older reviews quoting 4% + 40¢ apply to grandfathered accounts, not new sign-ups.

If you are evaluating Polar today and will create a new organization, budget for 5% + 50¢, which puts it level with Lemon Squeezy and above Dodo's base rate.

4. Add-on fees that stack

The base rate is not the whole bill. All three add surcharges that depend on how you get paid:

• International cards: roughly +1.5% across all three^[1][2][4].
• Payment method: Dodo adds +3% for PayPal and BNPL; Lemon Squeezy adds for PayPal and other methods^[1][2].
• Subscriptions and disputes: small subscription surcharges and per-dispute fees (for example Polar's $15 dispute fee) apply^[2][4].

So your effective rate depends on your mix of domestic versus international and one-time versus subscription sales. Model it against your pricing with the SaaS pricing strategy calculator and fold the processor cost into your stack with the AI stack cost calculator.

5. Which to pick

• Lowest base US rate: Dodo Payments at 4% + 40¢.
• Established, polished MoR: Lemon Squeezy at 5% + 50¢.
• Already on a pre-May-27 Polar org: grandfathered 4% + 40¢ + 0.5% subs is competitive.
• Creating a new Polar org: budget for 5% + 50¢, level with Lemon Squeezy.
• Heavy international or PayPal sales: compare effective rates after add-ons, not headlines.

Re-verify each fee page before committing; merchant-of-record fees and add-ons change, as Polar's May 2026 update shows. For a two-way version, see Polar vs Creem and Polar vs Lemon Squeezy.

All fee figures verified against official pricing and fee pages as of 2026-05-26.

Frequently asked questions

What are the fees for Dodo Payments, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar in 2026?

All three are merchants of record with similar headline rates. Dodo Payments charges 4% + 40¢ per transaction for domestic US cards. Lemon Squeezy charges 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Polar charges 5% + 50¢ for organizations created on or after May 27, 2026, while organizations created before that date are grandfathered at 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% on subscriptions, all verified May 2026. Dodo is the lowest base rate of the three. Each also has add-on fees for international cards, certain payment methods, and disputes, so compare the effective rate for your real sales mix, not just the headline.

Are Dodo Payments, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar merchants of record?

Yes, all three operate as merchants of record. The practical effect is that each becomes the legal seller of record on your sales, so its name, not yours, carries the tax obligation. It then calculates, collects, and remits VAT and sales tax wherever your customers are, and runs the processing and fraud handling, all in exchange for the percentage fee. For a solo founder this removes the burden of registering for and filing tax in multiple jurisdictions, which is the main reason to pay this fee instead of using a bare processor like Stripe directly. The tradeoff is the higher percentage over raw card processing, which is what buys the compliance.

Did Polar change its pricing in 2026?

Yes. For organizations created on or after May 27, 2026, Polar's fee changed to a single 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Organizations created before May 27, 2026 keep the earlier Early Member rate of 4% + 40¢ plus 0.5% on subscriptions indefinitely, per Polar's fee documentation. So the rate you pay depends on when your Polar organization was created. If you are evaluating Polar now and creating a new organization, budget for the 5% + 50¢ rate rather than the older grandfathered numbers you may see in older reviews.

Which merchant of record is cheapest for a solo founder?

On base US card rate, Dodo Payments is the lowest at 4% + 40¢, versus 5% + 50¢ for Lemon Squeezy and for new Polar organizations, verified May 2026. But the cheapest in practice depends on your sales mix, because add-on fees differ: international cards add roughly 1.5% across all three, and each has its own surcharges for certain payment methods, subscriptions, and disputes. Compute your effective rate by applying the base fee plus the relevant add-ons to your actual mix of domestic versus international and one-time versus subscription sales, then compare. Do not pick on the headline number alone.