Replace Payhip?

KINDA · weekend project
catalog price reference variescategory 🛍️ creator commercereported replacement votes 0

The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Payhip, sell downloads and simple courses through Stripe or PayPal. The hard boundary is payment integration, eu and uk vat handling, affiliates, courses, and hosted delivery, plus payments, tax, distribution, and operations.

the prompt
Build a personal replacement for Payhip in an empty repository.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, Stripe Checkout, and S3-compatible storage; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: sell a small catalog of downloads and simple courses through Stripe or PayPal, deliver purchased files or lessons, and manage customers from a user-owned storefront.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Implement products, variants, prices, files or lessons, coupons, customers, orders, and entitlements.
Use Stripe-hosted Checkout and verify every webhook signature and idempotency key.
Grant access only after confirmed payment and revoke it on refund or chargeback.
Create a customer library with signed short-lived download or lesson URLs.
Add order search, resend receipt, refund handoff, export, and an immutable event log.
Document taxes as the creator's responsibility and do not calculate unsupported jurisdictions.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out merchant-of-record tax remittance.
Deliberately leave out a buyer marketplace or affiliate network.
Deliberately leave out advanced communities, certificates, mobile apps, and enterprise learning features.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter) or copy it raw · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR

why people still pay

People still pay for Payhip because creators pay to outsource the dangerous and tedious parts around money, delivery, tax, and customer access. The recurring cost buys checkout, webhooks, tax, refunds, fraud, entitlements, storage, email, accessibility, backups, and customer support, not just the visible interface.

what you lose

xpayment integration, EU and UK VAT handling, affiliates, courses, and hosted delivery

xmarketplace discovery

xtax remittance

xfraud operations

xadvanced course and community tooling

prior art to inspect before buildingMedusaActive open-source commerce platform with modular checkout and fulfillment primitives.
reported replacements · 0share on X ↗"Payhip replacement research and build prompt"
questions
What does the Payhip verdict mean?

The core job looks buildable, with meaningful gaps: payment integration, EU and UK VAT handling, affiliates, courses, and hosted delivery, marketplace discovery. Read the full tradeoff list before committing. This research record is not a hosted IVCIFY tool.

What price does this directory record show for Payhip?

Payhip's pricing is usage-based or varies by plan. Official Plus monthly tier plus reduced transaction fee..

What do I lose by replacing Payhip?

Honestly: payment integration, EU and UK VAT handling, affiliates, courses, and hosted delivery; marketplace discovery; tax remittance; fraud operations; advanced course and community tooling. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Payhip?

The listed prior art includes Medusa (Active open-source commerce platform with modular checkout and fulfillment primitives.). Inspect those projects before starting from a blank prompt.