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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
Why You Should Avoid Laravel Spark and Stripe/Paddle for Certain Use Cases (Like in India)
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.
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. |
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. |
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. |
Use-Case Example: Build Your Own Laravel SaaS with Indian-Friendly Billing
User signs up via Laravel Breeze
Team management via Jetstream
User selects a subscription plan → triggers PayTM/PayPal payment- On payment callback, Laravel updates your
subscriptionstable 
Laravel generates invoice using DomPDF
Invoice sent via email + available for download in dashboard
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.
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 |
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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