✅ Explains why Laravel Spark is not suitable in certain use cases
✅ Clarifies the limitations of Stripe and Paddle
✅ Lists unsupported countries
✅ Guides developers toward the right approach

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🚫 Why You Should Avoid Laravel Spark and Stripe/Paddle for Certain Use Cases (Like in India)

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🧠 Introduction

Laravel Spark is a beautifully designed SaaS starter kit that works out of the box for subscription billing and team management — but only if you use Stripe or Paddle.

Here’s the catch:

❗ Laravel Spark is deeply integrated with Stripe and Paddle — both of which have country restrictions.

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❌ Why Laravel Spark May Not Be Right for You

Reason	Explanation
⚙️ Hard-Coded Stripe/Paddle Logic	Spark uses Laravel Cashier (Stripe/Paddle) to manage all subscriptions, billing, invoices. It’s tightly coupled — removing Stripe is painful.
❌ No Native Support for PayPal, PayTM, Razorpay	You cannot plug in alternate gateways easily. Replacing Stripe logic means rewriting large chunks of the code.
🌐 Does NOT Work Without Stripe/Paddle	Many Spark features (like subscription upgrades, invoices, payment retries) break or are useless if Stripe is not integrated.
🔐 Billing UIs Redirect to External Stripe Hosted Pages (optionally)	If you want tight UI/UX control, Spark fights you.
🧩 Vendor Lock-in	You are dependent on Stripe/Paddle’s availability and limitations.
🛑 No Support for Indian Businesses	If you’re based in India, Stripe does not allow you to receive payments from Indian customers. Paddle has similar restrictions.

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📍 Countries Where Stripe and Paddle Have Major Limitations

🚫 Stripe — Countries NOT Supported or Restricted for Payments

Type	Countries
❌ Completely Unsupported	Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central African Republic, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
⚠️ Partially Supported / Restrictions Apply	India (no Indian card support for Indian businesses), Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam

In India, Stripe only allows you to accept international payments — you CANNOT accept Indian credit/debit cards or UPI from Indian customers.

🚫 Paddle — Countries With Major Limitations

Type	Countries
❌ Unsupported for Seller Accounts	India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, UAE, Indonesia, Egypt
⚠️ Can Buy but Not Sell	Same countries — you can purchase from them, but cannot register as a seller/business to receive money.

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✅ Recommended Approach Instead of Spark + Stripe/Paddle

Layer	Tool/Stack	Why
🧩 App Structure	Laravel + Jetstream or Breeze	Gives you complete control of auth, teams, profiles.
💰 Payment Gateway	PayPal (global), PayTM/Razorpay (India)	Supports Indian and international payments easily.
🧾 Invoices	Laravel-Dompdf or Laravel-Snappy	Generate PDF invoices locally.
⚙️ Billing Logic	Custom Laravel Code	No vendor lock-in.
📊 Admin Panel	Laravel Nova or Voyager	Full control of users, plans, payments.

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🏗️ Use-Case Example: Build Your Own Laravel SaaS with Indian-Friendly Billing

1. 🛠️ User signs up via Laravel Breeze
2. 👨‍👩‍👧 Team management via Jetstream
3. 💳 User selects a subscription plan → triggers PayTM/PayPal payment
4. ✅ On payment callback, Laravel updates your subscriptions table
5. 📄 Laravel generates invoice using DomPDF
6. 📤 Invoice sent via email + available for download in dashboard
7. 🔁 You control renewals, cancellations, plan changes from your backend

This is how a modern SaaS app in India should be built 💡 — without relying on Stripe or Paddle.

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✅ Final Summary: Laravel Spark + Stripe/Paddle vs Custom Setup

Feature	Laravel Spark + Stripe/Paddle	Custom Laravel + PayTM/PayPal
Setup Time	✅ Fast	⏱️ Slower
Indian Payment Support	❌ NO	✅ YES
Full UI Customization	❌ Limited	✅ Complete control
Ownership & Hosting	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Flexibility	❌ Limited to Stripe/Paddle	✅ Any Gateway
Local Invoices, Offline Payments	❌ No	✅ Yes

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🔥 Final Word

If you want to build a SaaS product with complete control over billing, teams, and dashboards — especially in countries like India — then avoiding Laravel Spark and Stripe/Paddle is not just smart, it’s essential.

You’re better off with:

• Laravel Jetstream + Custom Billing
• PayPal for global, PayTM for local
• Your own UI, flow, and database logic
• Hosting everything on your own server ✅

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