A SaaS boilerplate provides prebuilt authentication, billing, and marketing layouts so you can build your product features immediately. The right option depends on what you are building, which programming language know and use, and how your customer accounts are structured.
For our full ranked list, read 8 Best SaaS Boilerplates in 2026. This guide explains the four questions that determine which boilerplate is best for your project.
1. What type of application are you building?
Many founders buy a SaaS boilerplate for a job it does not do. Different product models require completely different database structures and payment flows.
- Standard web software: If users create an account, pay a subscription, and use an online product, choose a general SaaS boilerplate. Options include ShipFast, supastarter, Makerkit, Nexty, Larafast, and SaaS Pegasus.
- Directories and listing marketplaces: If your business model charges sponsors for featured listings, tool profiles, or job posts, pick Dirstarter. It handles public submissions, category filters, and sponsor billing out of the box. It does not support team workspaces.
- Marketing sites and blogs only: If you need a landing page, a waitlist, and an MDX blog without a backend database or user login, choose Shipixen. You configure design tokens in a desktop application and export clean Next.js code.
2. Which programming language do you know and use?
Stay with the language you currently know. Seriously. Switching from Laravel or Django to Next.js because a JavaScript boilerplate looks prettier is a mistake that will cost you hours. The programming language simply doesn't matter as much for a SaaS as you might think. You will spend your first month debugging syntax and framework quirks, with little time left to speak to customers.
- If you write TypeScript and React, compare ShipFast vs supastarter, or look at Makerkit for complex team roles and Nexty for content sites.
- If you write PHP, choose Larafast. It includes Livewire 3 and Vue 3 with Inertia, and the administration dashboard runs on FilamentPHP.
- If you write Python, choose SaaS Pegasus. It generates a tailored Django 6 codebase with HTMX or React.
3. Do you need organization accounts?
This is the architectural decision that changes the entire database schema.
If your users are individuals, you do not need organization accounts. ShipFast and Nexty are built for that model. ShipFast is simpler and faster to deploy. Nexty adds PayPal checkout, a content management system, and an administration dashboard.
If customers invite colleagues into a shared team workspace, choose a boilerplate with native multi-tenancy. On Next.js, that means supastarter or Makerkit. On Laravel, team accounts require Larafast's $299 Multi-Tenancy plan. On Django, paid plans on SaaS Pegasus include teams.
Retrofitting team accounts onto a single-user boilerplate requires modifying every database model, authentication check, and billing webhook. If you think you might sell to companies, start with a multi-tenant codebase.
4. Single application or Turborepo monorepo?
Codebase organization determines how quickly you can make changes.
ShipFast is a single Next.js application. All your code sits inside one project directory, making it straightforward to inspect and deploy.
supastarter and Makerkit are Turborepo monorepos. They split your marketing site, user application, documentation, and email previews into dedicated packages. A monorepo keeps a growing codebase organized, but it takes time to learn how the packages inside the workspace depend on each other. We explain that structure in What is Turborepo?.
At a glance
| Product | Price | Score | Stack | Teams / organizations | Admin | Payments | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $199 | 4.3 | Next.js | No | No | Stripe or Lemon Squeezy | ||
| $299 | 4.6 | Next.js, Nuxt, or TanStack Start | Yes | Yes | Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem, Dodo | ||
| $349 | 4.5 | Next.js | Yes | Yes | Stripe, plus Lemon Squeezy and Paddle on Supabase boilerplates | ||
| $188 | 4.1 | Next.js | No | Yes | Stripe, Creem, PayPal | ||
| $199 | 4.6 | Laravel | On the $299+ plan | Yes | Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle | ||
| $449 | 4.4 | Django | Yes on paid plans | Yes | Stripe | ||
| $159 | 4.6 | Next.js | No | Yes | Stripe | ||
| $249 | 4.2 | Next.js | No | No | None |
Prices last checked:
Next.js SaaS boilerplates
ShipFast
Choose ShipFast if you are a solo founder launching one Next.js product for individual users. You clone the repository, set your environment variables, and start the app. The Starter tier costs $199 once. It contains no organization accounts, no administration panel, and no language translations.
supastarter
Choose supastarter if your users require a shared workspace. The Solo plan is $299 once and provides team invitations, an administration panel, language translations, and five payment providers. The Next.js boilerplate runs in a Turborepo.
Makerkit
Choose Makerkit if you need deep organization permissions, user impersonation, and a super-admin dashboard. The Pro license costs $349 once per stack. Makerkit Lite is a free open-source repository on GitHub, so you can inspect the monorepo architecture before you buy.
Nexty
Choose Nexty if you want Better Auth, multiple payment gateways (Stripe, Creem, PayPal), and a content management system for individual accounts. The Pro plan is $188 once.
For a side-by-side comparison between the two most popular options, read ShipFast vs supastarter.
Laravel and Django
Larafast
Choose Larafast if you build with Laravel and want a FilamentPHP administration dashboard. The $199 tier includes Livewire 3 and Vue 3 with Inertia. Team accounts require the $299 Multi-Tenancy plan.
SaaS Pegasus
Choose SaaS Pegasus if you write Django. You select your frontend and backend configuration, and Pegasus generates a tailored codebase. The Professional plan costs $449 once for one project and twelve months of community Slack access.
Directories and marketing sites
Dirstarter
Choose Dirstarter if your business model is a directory or curated tools listing. The Basic license is $159 once. It is configured for listing submissions, not team software accounts.
Shipixen
Choose Shipixen if you want a polished Next.js marketing site and an MDX blog. The one-year license is $249 for one computer. You add user authentication and payment processing yourself.
