Flowglad

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Flowglad is an open-source payment infrastructure platform designed for SaaS and subscription-based applications. Technically categorized as a payment gateway with integrated entitlement management, it operates as a middleware layer between applications and payment processors like Stripe.
2. Core Value Proposition: Flowglad eliminates webhook-dependent payment integrations by providing real-time API access to customer entitlements and usage data. Its primary purpose is to remove synchronization glue code, reduce payment integration complexity, and enable instant billing visibility for developers.

Main Features

1. Webhook-Free Real-Time Sync:
   Flowglad’s API directly exposes live billing data (subscriptions, usage metrics, entitlements) without relying on webhooks. How it works: Applications query Flowglad’s API on-demand using customer IDs, fetching real-time payment states. Built on WebSockets and serverless functions, it bypasses traditional webhook queues.
2. Entitlement & Usage Tracking Engine:
   Automatically maps customer IDs to granular entitlements (feature access tiers) and tracks usage-based billing metrics. Uses time-series databases to log events (e.g., API calls, feature usage) and calculates billing in sub-second latency via in-memory data grids.
3. Full-Stack React SDK:
   Provides pre-built React hooks (e.g., useBilling()) and server-side route handlers (Next.js/Node.js). The SDK auto-generates checkout sessions, manages subscription states, and embeds UI components like <CheckoutButton> with 10 lines of code.
4. MCP-First Integration:
   Machine-Codable Prompt (MCP) architecture allows AI coding agents to implement billing in one step. Exposes declarative configuration for pricing models (e.g., priceSlug: 'premium') instead of imperative code, compatible with LLM-based development tools.
5. Unified Test/Live Mode Pricing:
   Mirrors pricing structures (subscriptions, metered billing, volume tiers) across sandbox and production via version-controlled configuration files. Uses idempotent API design to prevent duplicate charges during testing.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: Eliminates brittle webhook pipelines that cause data drift between payment providers (e.g., Stripe) and application databases. Flowglad’s real-time sync prevents revenue leakage from failed webhook deliveries.
2. Target Audience:
   • React/Next.js developers building SaaS platforms
   • Startup founders needing rapid payment integration
   • Product teams implementing usage-based pricing
3. Use Cases:
   • Enforcing paywall restrictions via real-time entitlement checks
   • Displaying live usage dashboards for customers
   • Migrating from legacy billing systems without rebuilding sync logic

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike Stripe or Paddle, Flowglad decouples payment processing from entitlement logic. Competitors require custom webhook handlers; Flowglad provides direct API access to billing state.
2. Key Innovation: Patented "Entitlement Graph" database models customer access rights as real-time graph relationships, enabling sub-100ms permission checks. Open-source core allows auditing compliance workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does Flowglad process payments without webhooks?
   Flowglad’s API serves as a real-time source of truth for billing data, allowing direct queries instead of asynchronous webhook listeners. This reduces integration code by 70% compared to traditional providers.
2. What billing models does Flowglad support?
   Supports subscriptions, usage-based billing (per API call/feature), volume tiers, and hybrid models. Configurable via code or admin UI with test/prod parity.
3. Is Flowglad free for startups?
   Flowglad offers $1K/month free billing volume (excluding payment processor fees). Post-free tier, billing costs 0.65% of revenue, while payment processing uses Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ model.
4. Can Flowglad replace Stripe?
   Flowglad complements Stripe by abstracting billing logic. It delegates payment processing to Stripe but manages entitlements, dunning, and usage tracking internally.
5. Does Flowglad support international payments?
   Currently processes payments in 30+ countries via Stripe integration, with real-time currency conversion. Full country/currency list available in documentation.