Developer builds accountless paid SaaS in 3 days using license keys and signed cookies
A developer launched Keyword Brief, a paid SEO keyword analysis tool, in three days without building any user account or login system. Instead of traditional authentication, the tool uses HMAC-signed cookies to track free-tier usage and Lemon Squeezy license keys to manage paid subscriptions. The $19.90/month Pro tier activates automatically via a one-click link after checkout, requiring no manual key entry from users. Building the product surfaced three notable bugs, including incorrectly rejecting new customers because fresh license keys start as 'inactive' before first activation, and a Zod schema validation error that discarded valid AI-generated outlines for exceeding array length limits. The developer notes the accountless approach trades minor abuse risk, such as users clearing cookies for extra free checks, in exchange for significantly reduced signup friction.
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