Next.js SaaS Boilerplates Compared: 4 Free Starters vs 3 Paid Kits

If you want a free Next.js SaaS starter with auth and Stripe already wired, start with Vercel's Next.js SaaS Starter (MIT). If you want to pick each piece yourself, create-t3-app is a CLI, not a full template. The paid kits — ShipFast, supastarter and Makerkit — are one-time purchases from $199 to $1,499 that add more wiring, more payment providers and support, not a different kind of product.

Everything below was checked against each project's GitHub repo, README or pricing page on 11 November 2026. Last-commit dates come from the GitHub API for the default branch.

What counts here

Each entry is a starter you clone or buy to begin a SaaS product, built on Next.js or close to it. For each one we record five things: how users sign in, which payment providers are wired, the database, the license, and what it costs. For the free ones we also record the last commit, because an unmaintained boilerplate ages fast when Next.js majors land.

There are no rankings and no "best overall". Star counts are listed as a popularity signal, not a quality one. Paid kits are private repos, so they have no public commit date.

Side by side

Starter	Auth	Payments	Database	License	Price	Last commit
Next.js SaaS Starter	Email/password, JWT cookies	Stripe	Postgres + Drizzle	MIT	Free	11 Dec 2025
create-t3-app	NextAuth.js or Better Auth (optional)	None	Prisma or Drizzle (optional)	MIT	Free	13 Dec 2025
Open SaaS (Wasp)	Wasp auth (email + social)	Stripe, Polar or Lemon Squeezy	Prisma	MIT	Free	11 Nov 2026
Next.js Boilerplate (ixartz)	Clerk	None in free version	Drizzle, PGlite locally	MIT	Free; paid tiers exist	21 Aug 2026
ShipFast	Google OAuth, magic links	Stripe or Lemon Squeezy	MongoDB or Supabase	Commercial	$199–$299 one-time	Private
supastarter	Better Auth	Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem, Dodo	Postgres, Prisma or Drizzle	Commercial	$349–$1,499 list, one-time	Private
Makerkit	Supabase Auth or Better Auth	Stripe, Lemon Squeezy or Paddle	Supabase, Drizzle or Prisma	Commercial	$349 / $649 list, one-time	Private

Free and open-source starters

Next.js SaaS Starter (Vercel)

nextjs/saas-starter is the smallest complete loop: a landing page, a pricing page connected to Stripe Checkout, a dashboard with users and teams, basic Owner/Member roles, and subscription management through the Stripe Customer Portal. Auth is email and password with JWTs stored in cookies (to filter throwaway addresses, see blocking disposable emails at sign-up); the database is Postgres through Drizzle, and the UI is shadcn/ui.

MIT, around 16,000 stars. The last commit was 11 December 2025, so check the Next.js version before you build on it. It suits someone who wants to read every line of the billing code rather than inherit a large codebase.

Vercel's older nextjs-subscription-payments template (Supabase + Stripe) is archived on GitHub; don't start new work from it.

create-t3-app

create-t3-app is an interactive CLI (npm create t3-app@latest) that scaffolds a typesafe Next.js app from optional parts: tRPC, Tailwind, Prisma or Drizzle, and auth. The repo ships installers for both NextAuth.js and Better Auth. The README is plain that it is not an all-inclusive template — there is no billing, no landing page and no dashboard.

MIT, around 29,000 stars, last commit 13 December 2025, latest release 7.40.0. It suits a developer who wants a clean typed base and plans to add payments themselves.

Open SaaS

Open SaaS is the most feature-complete free option here, with one catch: it is built on Wasp, a full-stack React, Node.js and Prisma framework, not on Next.js. In return you get Wasp's built-in auth (email verification and social logins), Stripe, Polar.sh or Lemon Squeezy for payments (compared in Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy alternatives), an admin dashboard, S3 file uploads, email sending, an OpenAI example, Playwright tests and an Astro Starlight docs site. Start with wasp new -t saas.

MIT, around 16,000 stars, and committed to on 11 November 2026, the day we checked. It suits someone who wants a lot out of the box and is fine learning Wasp's config file.

Next.js Boilerplate (ixartz)

ixartz/SaaS-Boilerplate is a free, MIT starter with Clerk for auth, Drizzle ORM (PostgreSQL, SQLite or MySQL) and PGlite as a local database, plus a broad tooling setup: tests, Sentry, Codecov and Drizzle Studio.

Read its own comparison table before you pick it for billing: Stripe is not in the free version, only in the paid Plus, Pro and Max versions, and the source carries PRO comments marking code that is missing. Around 7,500 stars; the last commit to main was 21 August 2026. It suits a project that is happy with Clerk and will add payments later.

Paid kits

All three are one-time payments for access to a private repo, with unlimited projects and lifetime updates. None of them offers refunds once you have access, so read the docs and demo first.

ShipFast

ShipFast is a Next.js boilerplate (JavaScript or TypeScript, App or Pages router) with Google OAuth and magic-link sign-in, Stripe or Lemon Squeezy, MongoDB or Supabase, Mailgun emails, an SEO-ready blog and UI components. On 11 November it listed Starter at $199 and All-in at $249 (both shown as discounts from higher list prices), and a $299 bundle that adds the author's CodeFast course. The sales page lists the same features for Starter and All-in without saying what separates them.

It suits a solo maker shipping a simple product quickly, especially one already on MongoDB.

supastarter

supastarter ships for Next.js, Nuxt and TanStack Start. Auth is Better Auth (email/password, passkeys, magic links, OAuth, 2FA). It supports five payment providers — Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem and Dodo Payments — and lets you choose Prisma or Drizzle on Postgres.

List prices are $349 for Solo (one developer), $799 for Startup (up to 5) and $1,499 for Agency (up to 10, client projects and white-label use); the site showed a discount code on the day we checked. It suits a team that wants the widest payment-provider choice or works for clients.

Makerkit

Makerkit sells three kits: a Supabase kit (Supabase Auth, Postgres, RLS), a Drizzle kit and a Prisma kit, the last two with Better Auth. Each ships for Next.js 16 and TanStack Start; the Supabase kit also for React Router. Billing works with Stripe, Lemon Squeezy or Paddle, chosen by one environment variable.

Pro is $349 for one developer and Teams $649 for up to five (the page also showed lower sale prices). Paid kits may not be republished as open source. The free Makerkit Lite (MIT, last commit 15 October 2026) gives you the Turborepo and Supabase auth base without billing, which is a fair way to read the code before you buy.

How to choose

• You want auth and Stripe working today, for free: Next.js SaaS Starter. Accept that it is small and was last updated in December 2025.
• You want a typed base and will wire billing yourself: create-t3-app.
• You want the most features for free and don't need Next.js specifically: Open SaaS.
• You need Paddle or a merchant of record: Makerkit (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy) or supastarter (Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem, Dodo). ShipFast offers Lemon Squeezy too.
• You'll self-host auth and keep user data in your own Postgres: a Better Auth option — create-t3-app, supastarter, or Makerkit's Drizzle and Prisma kits.
• You're a team or agency: compare seat limits, not just price. Makerkit Teams covers five developers; supastarter Startup five and Agency ten.
• Check the last commit before cloning a free starter. A gap of a year usually means a Next.js major upgrade is yours to do.

FAQ

Is there a free alternative to ShipFast?

Yes. Vercel's Next.js SaaS Starter covers auth, Stripe and a team dashboard under MIT, and Open SaaS covers more (admin, emails, file uploads, three payment providers) but runs on Wasp rather than Next.js. Both are free to use commercially.

Do free Next.js boilerplates include Stripe?

Some do. Next.js SaaS Starter and Open SaaS include it. create-t3-app has no billing at all, and the free ixartz boilerplate keeps Stripe for its paid versions.

Are paid SaaS boilerplates one-time or subscription?

All three paid kits here — ShipFast, supastarter and Makerkit — are one-time payments with lifetime updates and unlimited projects. Seat limits differ, and none refunds after you get repo access.

Can I use an MIT boilerplate in a commercial product?

Yes. MIT allows commercial use, modification and closed-source products; keep the license notice in the code. The paid kits allow commercial use too, but you may not republish their source.

How current is this comparison?

Prices, features and commit dates were checked on 11 November 2026. Sale prices on the paid kits change often, so confirm at checkout.

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For the backend half of a SaaS, see our PocketBase alternatives, which covers Supabase and other self-hostable options. When the product is ready, the launch-day SEO checklist and where to launch your side project pick up from here. More starters and tools are in the Developer tools directory.