An open source alternative to Lemon Squeezy with better pricing. Built for developers to offer crowdfunding, memberships, digital products and SaaS within minutes. Stay focused on shipping your passion - leave upsales, billing and international taxes to us.
Dear builders,
After over a year of building Polar, we’re thrilled to launch v1.0 on Product Hunt today 🎉
We started Polar with the mission of getting open source developers paid. By building a fully open source (GitHub) funding & monetization platform designed for them. Today, Polar is trusted by thousands of developers and is an official GitHub funding option.
However, as we’ve been building, countless developers have been laid off all over the world, and an endless list of AI startups are emerging with the promise of replacing even more developers. Painting a grim picture of the future for developers.
We wanted to build towards a different future.
A future of developers thriving independently.
Shipping more open source, solo products and indie startups.
Getting paid to code on their passions.
So for our v1.0, we’ve expanded to focus on all developers who seek to ship independent software - builders, indie hackers and open source maintainers alike.
Polar v1.0 now offers:
- Donations, crowdfunding, memberships, digital products and SaaS
- Built-in product and subscription benefits. From license keys, file downloads, private GitHub repository access, Discord invites, and more.
- Powerful custom integrations using our API, Webhooks, OAuth & SDKs
- Powered by Polar as the Merchant of Record - handling sales tax & EU VAT
So you can focus on building your passion. We’ll focus on the infrastructure to get you paid.
We really hope you like the product & appreciate the support today 🙏🏼
But more importantly, we’d love to hear your feedback and how we can better serve you. Let’s build the best monetization platform for developers, together 💪🏼
Just so I understand the value proposition. What is the difference with Stripe for example?
And the 4% why it seems like Stripe is less expensive. What is the upside of using that project?
Congrats on the launch, @birk! I'm curious, how does Polar ensure compliance with international tax regulations for users in different countries? Also, what specific features set it apart from existing fundraising tools? Looking forward to exploring more!
Congrats on the launch and must say I am impressed with the video. Your sincerity worth thousands of upvotes.
Btw, hope the payment support country like Vietnam, where we have many talented builder.
Congrats on launching Polar v1.0! 🎉 It's exciting to see a platform that empowers developers to thrive independently, offering everything from crowdfunding to SaaS solutions. Your mission to support developers, indie hackers, and open-source maintainers is timely, especially with the rapidly changing tech landscape. Can't wait to see how Polar helps developers get paid for their passions! 💪
🎉 Congrats on the launch, been looking for something like this for ages, super helpful for getting developers paid while focusing on their passions, wondering though, any plans for additional integrations with other platforms or specific tools, keep up the great work!
Found your platform from an old friend and tried it out, I'm a bit skeptical though, feels like a mix of Lemon Squeezy and GitHub Sponsors with slightly better pricing, but what about transparency on fees, also are there plans for more customization options or expansions to different payment methods, it would be great to see more flexibility compared to existing platforms
Kang, you've clearly put a ton of effort into this, but I'm wondering about the focus on solo devs when many are also looking for team solutions, maybe adding features for small teams or collaborators could widen the appeal. Also, with the rise of AI tools, how do you plan to stay ahead in such a fast-moving space, maybe something to think about for future updates, more data privacy options or built-in AI integrations maybe.
🐈 Hi @birk! You have a very nice product!
I have something similar in my product - https://www.feedfund.space - app for donations with goals ($)
Just in case somebody is interested😻
Interesting launch, but this new platform just seems like another app trying to cash in on developers, not sure why I would switch from what I'm already using, I'd love to see more unique features or better integration with existing services, what makes this stand out from the rest?
That's THE thing we need for the developers, why not monetize your passion. Shared with my tech enthu friends, I'm sure they'll love it
Great work, team. Polar looks like a game-changer! 🚀 How does it handle multi-device synchronization? Excited to see how it boosts productivity! 🙌
This Apk Ideal For:
Indie developers who want control over how they monetize their apps.
Developers who prioritize user experience without relying on ads.
Projects that need customization or specific monetization models not supported by mainstream platforms.
In summary, Polar is a strong choice for developers looking for a flexible, privacy-friendly monetization solution. Its open-source nature makes it highly customizable, though it might not offer the depth of features or support that proprietary platforms provide.
What’s the most unique feature you’re excited about? How do you see it fitting into your daily workflow?
Congrats on launching an open-source alternative to Lemon Squeezy. Your platform's focus on better pricing and supporting developers with crowdfunding, memberships, digital products, and SaaS offerings is impressive. It’s great to see a solution that simplifies upselling, billing, and handling international taxes, helping developers stay focused on building their products.
Love the mission and dedication to helping indie developers! Like how you have an open roadmap too!
Is the main pain point for indie developers and open source builders that they lack expertise and funding to handle the payments side of things?
Congrats @birk and team!
Congrats on the launch! This is a useful platform to me. I logged in and saw some modules, but I don’t know how to get more income. It would be perfect if there is this marketing or promotion action!
About Polar on Product Hunt
“An open source monetization platform for developers”
Polar launched on Product Hunt on September 5th, 2024 and earned 1.2k upvotes and 173 comments, earning #1 Product of the Day. An open source alternative to Lemon Squeezy with better pricing. Built for developers to offer crowdfunding, memberships, digital products and SaaS within minutes. Stay focused on shipping your passion - leave upsales, billing and international taxes to us.
Polar was featured in Open Source (68.3k followers), Developer Tools (511k followers), GitHub (41.2k followers) and E-Commerce (41.4k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 110.8k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted Polar?
Polar was hunted by Birk Jernström. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how Polar stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Birk Jernström