Best SaaS Boilerplate in 2026: A Developer's Honest Guide

Full disclosure: I built Eden Stack. I'll try to be fair, but you should know my bias.

Every SaaS founder faces the same question: do I wire up auth, payments, email, and a database from scratch, or do I buy a boilerplate that has already done it? The answer, for most people, is obvious. The 40-80 hours you spend on plumbing is time you could spend building the thing that makes your product different.

The boilerplate market has matured significantly. There are now dozens of options across every major framework, from free scaffolds to premium starter kits. I have spent months researching, building, and competing in this space. This guide covers the ones that actually matter.

The Comparison Table

Before diving into each option, here is the high-level view:

1. Eden Stack

Stack: TanStack Start, Elysia, Eden Treaty, Neon PostgreSQL, Drizzle, Better Auth, Inngest, Stripe, Resend, PostHog, Sentry

Price: $199 one-time ($99 with early bird discount)

Best for: Technical founders building production-grade, AI-native SaaS products

This is my project, so take this section with a grain of salt. I built Eden Stack because I wanted a boilerplate that treated AI-assisted development as a first-class concern, not an afterthought.

Key strengths:

• End-to-end type safety. Eden Treaty gives you type-safe API calls from database to UI without code generation. Change a response shape on the server, and TypeScript catches the mismatch on the client instantly.
• AI-native development. 40+ Claude skills encode best practices for every integration. When an AI agent works on your codebase, it follows the same patterns you would.
• Production infrastructure. Background jobs with Inngest, error tracking with Sentry, analytics with PostHog, transactional email with Resend. These are not stubs; they are wired, tested, and documented.
• Deployment flexibility. TanStack Start runs anywhere: Vercel, AWS, your own server. No vendor lock-in.

Key weaknesses:

• Smaller community. ShipFast has 8,000+ users. Eden Stack is newer and has far fewer.
• Steeper learning curve. TanStack Start + Elysia is a less common stack. If you are coming from Next.js, there is a learning curve.
• No mobile app (yet). Unlike some competitors, there is no React Native or Expo integration included at the time of writing.

My honest take: If you are a technical founder who values type safety and wants AI to accelerate your development, Eden Stack is (obviously) my recommendation. If you need the largest possible community and ecosystem, look at the Next.js options below.

2. ShipFast

Stack: Next.js (App Router), Prisma/MongoDB/Supabase, Clerk, Stripe, Tailwind, Resend

Price: $199 (Starter), $249 (All-in with Discord), $299 (Bundle with course)

Best for: Solo founders and indie hackers who want the fastest path to a launched product

ShipFast, created by Marc Lou, is the most popular SaaS boilerplate in the indie hacker community, and it earned that position. With 8,100+ active users and a thriving Discord of 5,000+ builders, most edge cases and integration questions have already been solved by someone in the community.

Key strengths:

• Massive community. The Discord alone is worth the price of admission. You will rarely encounter a problem nobody has solved before.
• Battle-tested. Thousands of production apps have been built with ShipFast. The rough edges have been sanded down over years.
• Conversion-optimized. The included landing page templates are genuinely good at converting visitors. Marc knows marketing.
• Course included. The $299 bundle includes CodeFast, a 12+ hour video course on building with the stack.

Key weaknesses:

• No background jobs. If you need cron tasks, webhook processing, or durable workflows, you are on your own.
• Partial type safety. The stack does not provide end-to-end type inference like tRPC or Eden Treaty.
• Simple architecture. This is a feature for MVPs but a limitation for complex products. You may outgrow the patterns as your app scales.
• MongoDB default. While Supabase (PostgreSQL) is supported, the primary path uses MongoDB, which is a polarizing choice for SaaS.

My honest take: ShipFast is the "default" choice for a reason. If you are a non-technical or early-stage founder who just needs to validate an idea, it is hard to beat. The community support alone gives you a safety net that smaller boilerplates cannot match.

3. MakerKit

Stack: Next.js 16, React 19, Supabase/Drizzle/Prisma, Shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS 4, TypeScript 5

Price: $299 (Pro, individual), higher tiers for teams (up to 5 developers)

Best for: B2B SaaS products with complex billing and multi-tenancy requirements

MakerKit stands out for having the most sophisticated billing system of any SaaS boilerplate. It treats billing as a product system with seats, metered usage, complex pricing, and a provider gateway abstraction. If your SaaS needs per-seat pricing, usage-based billing, or the ability to switch payment providers, MakerKit handles this out of the box.

Key strengths:

• Advanced billing. Per-seat, metered, flat-rate, one-time, or hybrid pricing. Supports Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Paddle through a provider gateway abstraction.
• Admin dashboard. Monitor users, organizations, subscriptions, and revenue from one dashboard. Impersonate users, ban or delete accounts without touching the database.
• Active maintenance. Updated daily with new features, bug fixes, and improvements.
• Database flexibility. Choose between Supabase, Drizzle, or Prisma depending on your preference.

Key weaknesses:

• Per-developer licensing. The license is per-developer, not per-project. If you are a team of three, you need the Team license, which costs more.
• Next.js only. If you want to use a different framework, MakerKit is not an option.
• Higher price point. At $299+ per developer, it is one of the more expensive options.
• No background jobs. Like ShipFast, there is no built-in job queue or workflow engine.

My honest take: If you are building a B2B product where billing complexity is a core concern, MakerKit is probably the best choice. The billing system alone would take weeks to build from scratch.

4. SupaStarter

Stack: Next.js or Nuxt, Better Auth, Stripe/Lemon Squeezy/Polar/Creem/Dodo, Tailwind

Price: $299-$399 one-time (per framework)

Best for: Teams that want framework choice and maximum payment provider flexibility

SupaStarter is the most framework-flexible paid boilerplate. You can choose between Next.js and Nuxt, and both versions have full feature parity after a ground-up rewrite of the Nuxt version. With five payment providers supported, it also gives you the most flexibility on the payments side.

Key strengths:

• Framework choice. Next.js or Nuxt, both fully featured. Useful if your team has strong framework preferences.
• Five payment providers. Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem, and Dodo Payments. No other boilerplate matches this breadth.
• Better Auth integration. Passkeys, WebAuthn, 2FA, magic links, and social login with account linking.
• Internationalization. Built-in i18n support for multi-language applications.

Key weaknesses:

• Two separate purchases. If you want both Next.js and Nuxt, you pay separately for each.
• Smaller community. Around 600+ developers, compared to ShipFast's 8,000+.
• Higher total cost. At $299-$399 per framework, the total investment can add up quickly.

My honest take: If you need Nuxt support or want the widest selection of payment providers, SupaStarter is the clear winner. The dual-framework approach is genuinely unique in this space.

5. Create T3 App

Stack: Next.js, tRPC, Prisma, NextAuth, Tailwind (all optional)

Price: Free

Best for: Developers learning full-stack TypeScript, or starting a project where they want full control

Create T3 App is not a boilerplate in the traditional sense. It is a scaffolding tool that lets you pick the pieces you want (tRPC, Prisma, NextAuth, Tailwind) and generates a clean starting point. Once it scaffolds your app, it is entirely yours.

Key strengths:

• Free and open source. No cost, no license restrictions.
• Excellent type safety. tRPC provides end-to-end type inference that rivals any paid boilerplate.
• Modular. You only include what you need. No bloat.
• Large community. Backed by Theo and a passionate developer community.

Key weaknesses:

• Scaffold, not a product. You get a starting point, not a finished foundation. No payments, no email, no landing page, no admin dashboard.
• Significant assembly required. You will spend days or weeks wiring up the integrations that paid boilerplates include out of the box.
• Next.js only. Tied to the Next.js ecosystem.
• No ongoing updates. Once scaffolded, you are responsible for keeping dependencies current.

My honest take: Create T3 App is excellent for learning and for developers who genuinely enjoy wiring things up themselves. If you value understanding every line of code in your project, start here. But if time-to-market matters, the assembly cost is real.

6. Wasp (Open SaaS)

Stack: React, Node.js, Prisma, Stripe/Polar, Shadcn UI

Price: Free and open source

Best for: Developers who want a free, full-featured SaaS starter with a real framework behind it

Wasp is the most interesting free option. It is not just a boilerplate; it is a full-stack framework (think "Laravel for JavaScript") with its own compiler. Open SaaS is their free SaaS template built on top of it, and it is surprisingly complete for something that costs nothing.

Key strengths:

• Completely free. No payment, no license. Open source with 15,000+ GitHub stars.
• Full-featured. Auth (email, Google, GitHub, Slack, Microsoft), payments, email, background jobs, file upload, landing page. This covers more ground than some paid options.
• AI-ready. Ships with a tailored AGENTS.md, Claude skills, and a Claude Code plugin. The Wasp team clearly understands that AI-assisted development is the future.
• Framework benefits. Because Wasp is a framework (not just a template), it provides automatic type safety, a built-in RPC layer, and deployment tooling.

Key weaknesses:

• Framework lock-in. You are adopting the Wasp framework, not just a template. If Wasp development slows down, you cannot easily eject.
• Smaller ecosystem. Wasp's ecosystem is growing but still small compared to Next.js.
• Learning curve. Wasp has its own DSL (domain-specific language) on top of React and Node.js. That is another thing to learn.
• Less battle-tested. Fewer production apps built with Wasp compared to Next.js-based options.

My honest take: Wasp is the free option I respect the most. The Open SaaS template is genuinely impressive, and the framework approach solves real problems. If your budget is zero and you are comfortable adopting a newer framework, this is where I would start.

7. SaaSBold

Stack: Next.js, Auth.js, Prisma/Drizzle, Stripe, Resend, Tailwind

Price: Starting at $99 one-time

Best for: Budget-conscious developers who want a basic but solid foundation

SaaSBold hits the sweet spot for developers who want a paid boilerplate but do not want to spend $200+. Starting at $99, it includes auth, payments, a pre-built admin dashboard, and email, which covers the essentials.

Key strengths:

• Affordable. The lowest entry price of any paid option on this list.
• Figma source included. Useful if you want to customize the design before writing code.
• Drizzle and Prisma options. Choose your preferred ORM.
• OpenAI integration. Basic AI features included out of the box.

Key weaknesses:

• Less polished. The code quality and documentation are not at the level of MakerKit or SupaStarter.
• Limited community. Less community support compared to the larger players.
• No background jobs. Same limitation as ShipFast and MakerKit.
• Fewer integrations. The integration depth is shallower than premium alternatives.

My honest take: SaaSBold is a solid budget option. If you are price-sensitive and need more than Create T3 App but cannot justify $200+, it gets the job done.

8. Shipixen

Stack: Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind, Shadcn UI, MDX

Price: $149-$180 one-time

Best for: Content-driven products, blogs, and marketing sites

Shipixen is different from everything else on this list. It is a boilerplate generator focused on content sites and landing pages, not full SaaS applications. It ships with 63+ themes, 300+ usage examples, and 27+ landing page components, but it does not include payment integration.

Key strengths:

• Content-first. MDX-powered blogs, SEO optimization, and beautiful landing page components.
• Theme variety. 63+ themes and extensive component library.
• One-click deployment. Deploy to Vercel or Netlify instantly.
• Design quality. The generated output looks polished without much customization.

Key weaknesses:

• No payments. You will need to add Stripe or another payment provider yourself.
• No auth. Authentication is not included.
• Not really SaaS. If you need a full SaaS foundation, Shipixen is the wrong tool.
• Older Next.js version. Built on Next.js 14, not the latest.

My honest take: Shipixen is excellent at what it does, but it is a landing page and blog generator, not a SaaS boilerplate. Include it in your consideration only if content is your primary concern and you plan to add SaaS features separately.

How to Choose: A Decision Framework

The "best" boilerplate depends entirely on your situation. Here is how I would think about it:

By Budget

• $0: Wasp (Open SaaS) if you want the most complete free option. Create T3 App if you want maximum control.
• Under $100: SaaSBold for a basic paid foundation. Eden Stack at the early bird price if you want a premium option at a discount.
• $100-$200: ShipFast for community and battle-tested patterns. Eden Stack at full price for type safety and AI-native development.
• $200-$400: MakerKit for B2B billing complexity. SupaStarter for framework flexibility.

By Technical Skill

• Beginner: ShipFast. The community will carry you through the rough patches.
• Intermediate: MakerKit or SupaStarter. Well-documented, production patterns without too much complexity.
• Advanced: Eden Stack or Create T3 App. You will appreciate the type safety and architectural decisions (or want to make your own).

By Project Scope

• Weekend project or MVP: ShipFast or Wasp. Get to market fast, validate the idea.
• Funded startup: MakerKit, SupaStarter, or Eden Stack. You need a foundation that scales.
• Content site with SaaS elements: Shipixen for the content side, add payments separately.
• AI-native product: Eden Stack. The Claude skills and agent-ready architecture are purpose-built for this.

By Framework Preference

• Next.js: ShipFast, MakerKit, SupaStarter, SaaSBold, Create T3 App
• Nuxt: SupaStarter (the only premium option with Nuxt support)
• TanStack Start: Eden Stack
• Wasp (React + Node.js): Open SaaS

The Bottom Line

There is no single "best" SaaS boilerplate. There is only the best one for your specific situation.

If I were starting a new SaaS today and had no bias, I would narrow the decision down to three questions:

1. What is my budget? If zero, Wasp. If non-zero, keep reading.
2. What is my primary concern? If speed-to-market, ShipFast. If billing complexity, MakerKit. If type safety and AI, Eden Stack. If framework choice, SupaStarter.
3. How technical am I? The more technical you are, the more you will appreciate opinionated architectural decisions. The less technical you are, the more you need community support.

I built Eden Stack because I wanted a boilerplate that treated type safety and AI-native development as core features, not nice-to-haves. That is my bias. But every option on this list solves the fundamental problem: getting you past the plumbing and into the work that actually matters.

Pick one and start building. The worst decision is no decision.