Best SaaS Boilerplates for Next.js in 2026 (Honest Comparison)
A technical comparison of the leading Next.js SaaS boilerplates and starter kits—what each includes, where each cuts corners, and which is best for different team sizes and product types.
Contents
Choosing the wrong SaaS boilerplate costs more time than building from scratch. You spend 2 weeks reading someone else's opinionated code before realizing their auth setup doesn't match your requirements or their billing model doesn't support usage-based pricing.
This comparison covers the most-used Next.js SaaS boilerplates in 2026, what each actually includes, where each makes tradeoffs that affect you later, and which fits which use case.
What to Evaluate in a Boilerplate
Before comparing, define what you actually need:
- Auth: Social OAuth only, or credentials + magic link? Database sessions or JWTs? Role support?
- Billing: Flat subscriptions, usage-based, or metered? Trial support? Customer portal?
- AI readiness: LLM integrations, token tracking, rate limiting?
- Database: Managed (Supabase) or self-hosted (Postgres)? ORM?
- Observability: Error tracking, distributed tracing?
- Commercial license: Can you sell a product built on this without attribution or fees?
The Candidates
Makerkit
Stack: Next.js, Supabase, Stripe, Tailwind, shadcn/ui.
What's included: Authentication (Supabase Auth), multi-tenancy (teams and organizations), Stripe billing with subscription tiers, admin panel, i18n, dark mode.
Strengths: Best multi-tenancy support in the category. If your product has organizations with multiple members and role-based access inside each org, Makerkit is the fastest starting point.
Weaknesses: Locked to Supabase. If you need self-hosted Postgres or a different backend, you're fighting the architecture. Limited AI integrations out of the box. TypeScript is good but some patterns feel over-abstracted.
Pricing: ~$299 one-time (Starter), ~$699 (Pro). Commercial license included.
Best for: B2B SaaS with team/organization structures.
Nextjet
Stack: Next.js, Prisma, Stripe, Tailwind, next-auth.
What's included: Authentication (next-auth), subscription billing, admin panel, blog, landing page.
Strengths: Clean, readable codebase. Good starting point for understanding the patterns. Well-documented.
Weaknesses: Prisma adds schema migration complexity. AI integrations not included. Minimal observability. The codebase is approachable but you're building most business logic yourself.
Pricing: ~$249 one-time. Commercial license.
Best for: Developers who want to understand every layer and customize heavily.
Supastarter
Stack: Next.js, Supabase, Stripe, Tailwind.
What's included: Auth, subscriptions, admin dashboard, email templates, GDPR cookie consent.
Strengths: Clean implementation. Good European compliance defaults (GDPR, cookie banners). Type-safe with good test coverage.
Weaknesses: Supabase dependency. No AI integrations. Limited admin capabilities compared to Makerkit.
Pricing: ~$249 one-time. Commercial license.
Best for: Solo founders shipping a simple subscription SaaS quickly.
OpenSaaS (Wasp)
Stack: React/Node.js via Wasp DSL, Prisma, Stripe.
What's included: Authentication, Stripe billing, OpenAI integration, admin dashboard. Free and open source.
Strengths: Free. Includes OpenAI integration out of the box. Active community. Good for bootstrappers who want zero upfront cost.
Weaknesses: Wasp is a custom DSL layer on top of React/Node.js. Learning curve is real—you're not writing standard Next.js. If you want to hire Next.js developers, this creates friction.
Pricing: Free, MIT license.
Best for: Solo developers who want AI integrations without upfront cost and are comfortable with Wasp.
ShipAI
Stack: Next.js 16+, PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM, Stripe, Tailwind v4, Redis, Qdrant, Neo4j, OpenTelemetry.
What's included: Auth (Auth.js v5 with roles), Stripe billing (subscriptions, usage-based, webhooks, customer portal), 11 modular AI handlers, deep-research workflows, persistent memory (Qdrant + Neo4j), usage tracking with plan limits, admin panel, OpenTelemetry observability, Docker one-command setup.
Strengths: Most complete AI-specific stack available. Built for AI SaaS specifically—not a generic boilerplate with AI duct-taped on. Includes vector database, graph database, and observability from day one. TypeScript throughout with Drizzle ORM for type-safe queries. No platform lock-in (self-hostable).
Weaknesses: Higher complexity than simpler boilerplates. The full stack (Qdrant, Neo4j, Redis) is overkill for a non-AI SaaS. Onboarding requires understanding more components than Makerkit or Nextjet.
Pricing: Commercial license. One-time purchase.
Best for: AI SaaS founders who want production-ready infrastructure without rebuilding the same plumbing for every project.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Makerkit | Nextjet | Supastarter | OpenSaaS | ShipAI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auth | Supabase Auth | next-auth | Supabase Auth | Wasp Auth | Auth.js v5 |
| Database | Supabase | Prisma + any | Supabase | Prisma + any | Drizzle + Postgres |
| Billing | Stripe | Stripe | Stripe | Stripe | Stripe (usage + subs) |
| Multi-tenancy | Yes | Limited | Limited | No | No (single-tenant) |
| AI integrations | No | No | No | OpenAI basic | 11 handlers |
| Vector DB | No | No | No | No | Qdrant |
| Observability | Sentry | Sentry | Sentry | Sentry | OpenTelemetry |
| Admin panel | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Platform lock-in | Supabase | None | Supabase | Wasp | None |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Price | $299–$699 | $249 | $249 | Free | Varies |
Decision Framework
Use ShipAI.
Token tracking, usage-based billing, 11 AI handlers, vector database, and OpenTelemetry are built in. Everything else requires bolting AI onto a generic framework, which is where most time gets lost.
Use Makerkit.
Organization management, team invitations, and per-org billing are Makerkit's core strength. Rebuilding multi-tenancy from scratch is a 3–4 week project; Makerkit's implementation is battle-tested.
Use OpenSaaS (free) or Nextjet ($249).
OpenSaaS is free and includes OpenAI integration. Nextjet is cleanly written and cheap. Both get you to a working product without upfront investment.
Use Nextjet or ShipAI.
Both avoid platform lock-in. Nextjet is simpler if you want to understand every line. ShipAI is more capable if you want production infrastructure without writing it yourself.
What No Boilerplate Gives You
Every boilerplate is a starting point, not a finished product. What you always build yourself:
- Your core feature (the actual value proposition).
- Onboarding flow specific to your product.
- Feature flags and A/B testing.
- Customer-facing analytics and usage dashboards.
- Email sequences and lifecycle messaging.
- Any product-specific database schema beyond auth/billing tables.
Tradeoffs
Boilerplate vs. building from scratch
A boilerplate saves 2–6 weeks on infrastructure if you pick the right one for your use case. It costs 1–2 weeks if you pick the wrong one and have to fight the architecture. Do the decision framework above before purchasing.
Managed DB (Supabase) vs. self-hosted Postgres
Supabase is faster to start and includes realtime out of the box. Self-hosted Postgres with Drizzle gives you portability, lower long-term cost, and no vendor lock-in. For AI SaaS with high query volume, self-hosted PostgreSQL is cheaper at scale.
TypeScript strictness
Boilerplates vary significantly in TypeScript quality. Sloppy typing means you'll fight any types throughout your codebase. Check the codebase before purchasing—look at how they type their Drizzle schema and session objects.
Verification Before Buying
Before purchasing any boilerplate:
- Read the full file tree and understand the top-level structure.
- Trace one request end-to-end: auth flow → protected page → database query.
- Check how webhooks are handled—this is where most billing bugs live.
- Verify TypeScript strictness: run
tsc --noEmiton the source. - Ask in the community Discord/Slack whether people have shipped production products from it.
Next Steps
- How to Build an AI SaaS with Next.js — architecture decisions independent of boilerplate choice.
- Auth + Billing Launch Checklist — gate your launch on these regardless of which boilerplate you use.
- ShipAI Production Playbook — harden your app for the first real users.