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Cenk KURTOĞLU
Cenk KURTOĞLU

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How I Wire Polar MoR Payments In A Next.js SaaS Without Stripe

#nextjs #saas #payments #webdev

How I Wire Polar MoR Payments In A Next.js SaaS Without Stripe

Hook

Stripe is great, but it is not always available or practical for indie SaaS founders outside the US/EU.

The part most founders underestimate is not the checkout button. It is the full revenue path:

  • product or subscription setup
  • checkout session
  • webhook verification
  • user access unlock
  • failed payment handling
  • customer portal
  • deployment secrets
  • testing the happy path and failure path

If one part is half-wired, you can get paid and still fail to unlock access correctly.

The Stack

For a small Next.js SaaS, my default stack is:

  • Next.js App Router
  • TypeScript
  • hosted auth or simple session auth depending on scope
  • Polar as Merchant of Record
  • webhook route for payment/subscription events
  • database flag for entitlement/access
  • Vercel deployment

The goal is not to build a giant billing platform. The goal is to get one paid offer working end to end.

The Minimum Payment Flow

A clean first version needs this:

  1. A product or subscription in the payment provider
  2. A checkout URL or generated checkout session
  3. A user identity attached to checkout metadata
  4. A webhook endpoint that verifies the event
  5. A database update that unlocks access
  6. A protected page that checks entitlement before rendering
  7. A manual test checklist before launch

Most bugs happen around steps 3-5.

The Webhook Checklist

Before I consider a payment flow production-ready, I check:

  • Is the webhook signature verified?
  • Is the event idempotent?
  • Can duplicate webhook delivery cause duplicate access or duplicate records?
  • Is the user mapped through a stable id, not just an email string?
  • What happens when payment succeeds but the browser tab closes?
  • What happens when payment fails?
  • Can the user regain access from a different device?
  • Are secrets only stored in environment variables?
  • Is there a simple admin/debug view for recent payment events?

Why I Like A Fixed Scope

For the first revenue version, fixed scope beats open-ended development.

A good first scope is:

  • one product or one subscription tier
  • one checkout path
  • one protected dashboard or download area
  • one webhook integration
  • one deployment
  • one test checklist

Not included:

  • complex multi-plan billing
  • custom accounting
  • marketplace payouts
  • advanced admin dashboards
  • weeks of product feature work

This keeps the project shippable.

Common Founder Mistakes

  1. Building product features before payment works
  2. Treating checkout success page as proof of payment
  3. Not testing webhook retries
  4. Using email as the only source of identity
  5. Forgetting cancellation/downgrade behavior
  6. Not writing down the manual test path
  7. Waiting too long to charge real money

Lightweight Audit Offer

If you are building a Next.js SaaS and payments are still unclear, I offer a small payment integration audit.

You send:

  • your stack
  • current payment provider or desired provider
  • pricing model
  • repo/screenshots if available
  • what should unlock after payment

I return:

  • exact integration path
  • missing pieces
  • risk points
  • suggested fixed-scope implementation
  • whether Polar/Stripe/LemonSqueezy makes sense for your case

Price: $49 / TRY 1,500.

If you want implementation after that, the audit fee can be credited toward the build.

CTA

If this is relevant, send me your stack and pricing model. I will tell you whether your payment flow needs a quick audit or a full implementation.

I also put the audit route and direct checkout products here:

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