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APIs · head to head

Increase vs Polar

Increase logo

Increase

APIs

Direct banking API for ACH, wires, real-time payments, accounts and cards

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Polar logo

Polar

Accounting

Billing and revenue platform for AI and infrastructure companies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Polar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Increase the published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.; Polar percentage-based fees higher than some specialized processors for high-volume transactions
  • They diverge on capability: Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Polar covers Usage Billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Increase and Polar actually diverge.

Attributes where Increase and Polar differ
AttributeIncreasePolar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePercentage of transaction plus per-transaction fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAPI, WebWeb, API
CategoryAPIsAccounting

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Increase

  • ACH origination and receipt
  • Domestic wires
  • Real-time payments
  • Bank accounts
  • Cards
  • Cheques
  • Sandbox and simulations
  • Audit and reconciliation data

Only in Polar

  • Usage Billing
  • Subscriptions
  • Seat Management
  • Prepaid Credits
  • Hosted Checkout
  • Cost Insights
  • Merchant of Record

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Increase

  • A payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ACH and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processornot Polar
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot Polar
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot Polar
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot Polar

Polar

  • Billing for token and API call consumption by LLM applicationsnot Increase
  • Managing tiered pricing for infrastructure usage-based servicesnot Increase
  • Handling subscription and usage hybrid modelsnot Increase
  • Monetizing AI APIs with usage metering and creditsnot Increase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Increase

  • The published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.
  • Free allowances are deliberately small at ten account numbers and five physical cards, so any programme issuing accounts or cards at volume moves to quoted pricing almost immediately.
  • Banking is provided through partner banks, so programme approval, compliance obligations and the ability to launch at all depend on a bank relationship you do not control, and post-Synapse bank risk appetite has tightened considerably.
  • The API deliberately exposes payment rail mechanics rather than smoothing them, which is correct engineering but means a team without payments expertise will build reconciliation and return handling wrongly and only discover it when funds go astray.
  • Coverage is United States only, so a company with international payout needs runs a second provider and reconciles two ledgers, and the single API argument disappears at the first cross border customer.

Polar

  • Percentage-based fees higher than some specialized processors for high-volume transactions
  • Merchant of record model may not suit companies preferring direct payment control
  • Free Starter tier limited with 5% fees reducing appeal for production use
  • Setup and integration effort required despite API simplicity

Pricing, plan by plan

Increase

On request
  • Increase Platform$undefined/month
    • Monthly fee quoted by use case and not published
    • Next-day ACH origination listed at 0.50 US dollars per transaction
    • Same-day ACH origination listed at 2.00 per transaction

Polar

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 5% + $0.50 per transaction
    • Free tier for testing
    • Basic features
  • Pro$20/month
    • 3.8% + $0.40 per transaction
    • Full platform access
    • Cost insights
  • Growth$100/month
    • 3.6% + $0.35 per transaction
    • Priority support
    • Volume benefits
  • Scale$400/month
    • 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Increase if

  • You need ach origination and receipt.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want domestic wires.
Increase review

Choose Polar if

  • You need usage billing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want subscriptions.
Polar review

Questions people ask

Is Increase or Polar better?
Neither clearly leads. Increase starts at On request and Polar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Increase or Polar?
Polar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Increase and Free for Polar.
Does Increase or Polar run on more platforms?
Increase runs on API, Web. Polar runs on Web, API.
Can I use Polar for free?
Yes. Polar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Increase starts at On request.
What is Increase best used for?
Increase is most often used for a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor, a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers, a fintech that wants fednow and rtp payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hours, an engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logic. Of those, a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor and a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers are not what Polar is typically brought in for.
What can Increase do that Polar cannot?
Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Real-time payments, Bank accounts. Polar covers Usage Billing, Subscriptions, Seat Management, Prepaid Credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Increase: Does Increase publish its pricing?

Partly. Per transaction fees for ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow and cards are listed publicly. The monthly platform fee is not, and it is described only as varying by use case.

Polar: Do you handle international payments and taxes?

Yes, Polar acts as merchant of record in 100+ markets, handling payment processing, tax collection, and compliance automatically.

Source
Increase: Who holds the deposits?

Partner banks, not Increase itself. That relationship determines your programme approval, your compliance obligations and your risk if the bank changes appetite.

Polar: Is there a free tier?

Yes, the Starter plan is free and charges 5% + $0.50 per transaction, ideal for testing and early-stage development.

Source
Increase: Is it international?

No. Increase covers United States rails only, so cross border payouts require a second provider.

Polar: Do you offer discounts for startups?

Yes, the Startup Program provides the Scale plan free for 12 months for early-stage AI companies.

Source
Increase: How is it different from a middleware BaaS platform?

It exposes the rails rather than abstracting them, showing real return codes and settlement timing. That suits teams who understand payments and punishes teams who do not.

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