Side-by-side roundup
Best supastarter alternatives, compared
Where supastarter buyers look when one framework per licence stops paying off, with prices and gaps.
- Teams billing in credits, above ten seats$249 one-time
GenerateSaaSTop pickThat is us - Teams whose next release is mobile or an extension$249 one-time
TurboStarter - Teams that want Supabase Auth and RLS-native code$349 one-time
MakerKit - Solo builders billing usage in credits$79 one-time
IndieKit - Solo builders who left the team layer switched off$199, from $299
ShipFast - Builders taking on Wasp in exchange for a free kit$0
Open SaaS
Why teams look beyond supastarter
- Not available: A licence buys one framework, and a second costs again
- Not available: The Agency tier at $1,499 still stops at ten seats
- Not available: Usage billing meters what is consumed, with no balance granted
- Not available: Neither audit logging nor user API keys reaches its documentation
- Not available: No refund policy is published in their terms
At a glance
Every option, side by side
Tap a name to hide or show its column
| Feature |  supastarter |  GenerateSaaS | TurboStarter | MakerKit | IndieKit | ShipFast | Open SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing & licence | |||||||
| Pricing model | Included: One-time, updates included | Included: One-time, updates included | Included: One-time, lifetime updates | Included: One-time, updates included | Included: One-time, updates included | Included: One-time; updates from All-in | Included: Free, MIT |
| Projects per licence | Included: Unlimited, per framework | Included: Unlimited, per seat | Included: Unlimited, one seat each | Included: Unlimited, per kit | Not available | Included: Unlimited | Included: Unlimited, MIT |
| Client work | Included: Allowed, no client licence | Partial: Agency tier to deliver source | Included: Unlimited clients, no source | Partial: Team tier; client buys a licence | Not available | Not available | Included: Allowed, MIT |
| White-label | Partial: Agency tier | Partial: Agency tier | Not available: Notices must stay in code | Not available | Not available | Not available: Notices must stay | Included: Allowed, keep the notice |
| Refund policy | Not available | Not available: All sales final | Not available: None once access redeemed | Not available: No refunds, stated | Partial: 3 days, before access shared | Not available: No refunds, stated | Not available |
| Tech stack | |||||||
| Frameworks | Included: Next.js 16.3, Nuxt, TanStack | Included: Next.js 16.3 | Included: Next.js 16.3, Expo, WXT | Included: Next.js 16.3, React Router 8, TanStack | Included: Next.js 16, React 19 | Included: Next.js, either router | Included: Wasp 0.25, React 19, Node |
| Database | Included: Postgres, MySQL, SQLite | Included: Postgres, Neon, Supabase | Included: Postgres, MySQL, SQLite | Included: Supabase, Drizzle, Prisma 7 | Included: Neon, Supabase, PlanetScale | Included: MongoDB, Supabase Postgres | Included: Prisma 5.19, Postgres |
| Authentication | Included: Better Auth, passkeys, 2FA | Included: Better Auth, passkeys, 2FA | Included: Better Auth, passkeys, OTP, 2FA | Included: Supabase Auth, Better Auth | Included: Better Auth, Google, magic links | Partial: Google login, magic links | Included: Wasp auth, email, OAuth |
| Billing features | |||||||
| Payments | Included: Five providers, one API | Included: Stripe, Polar | Included: Four web, two store providers | Included: Three on Supabase kits, two elsewhere | Included: Six providers documented | Included: Stripe, Lemon Squeezy | Included: Stripe, Polar, Lemon Squeezy |
| Subscriptions | Included: Plans, seat-based pricing | Included: Month, year, lifetime | Included: Plans, trials, per-seat, metered | Included: Flat, per-seat, metered, one-off | Included: Plans, one-time, LTD campaigns | Included: Stripe subscriptions | Included: Plans, customer portal |
| Usage credits | Partial: Metered usage, no balance | Included: Balances, grants, optional top-up | Partial: Core guide, AI Kit example | Partial: Build-it guide | Included: Balances, grants, expiry, top-up | Not available | Partial: Counter, one-off top-up |
| Finance dashboard | Not available | Included: Revenue, vendor cost, margin | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Core features | |||||||
| Organizations | Included: Organizations, roles, invites | Included: Organizations, roles, invites | Included: Organizations, RBAC, invites | Included: Organizations, roles, invites | Partial: Separate B2B kit and licence | Not available | Not available |
| Admin panel | Included: Users, organizations, bans | Included: Eight admin tabs | Included: Users, organizations, customers | Included: Users, organizations, RBAC, metrics | Included: Super admin dashboard | Not available | Included: Users, analytics, messages |
| Admin login as user | Included: Admin acts as user | Included: Admin acts as user | Included: Impersonate from admin | Included: Admin acts as user | Included: Admin acts as user | Not available | Not available |
| Onboarding | Included: Multi-step, org, avatar | Included: Profile, first org, welcome drip | Partial: Empty slots, build-it recipe | Partial: Recipe, build yourself | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Notifications | Included: Notification centre, preferences | Included: In-app bell, email | Partial: Expo push, no web centre | Partial: Realtime, Supabase kits | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| File storage | Included: S3, R2, Supabase, UploadThing | Included: S3-compatible, local disk | Included: S3-compatible, presigned uploads | Included: S3, filesystem, Supabase Storage | Included: S3 | Not available | Included: AWS S3, presigned URLs |
| Multiple languages | Included: Locales, language switcher | Included: Locales, language switcher | Included: i18next, switcher, three apps | Included: Locales, language switcher | Partial: Recipe: marketing, auth, email | Not available | Not available |
| Legal pages | Included: Terms, privacy, i18n | Included: Terms, privacy pages | Partial: Three pages, shipped empty | Included: Terms, privacy, cookies | Included: Terms, privacy pages | Partial: ChatGPT prompts | Not available |
| Marketing & growth | |||||||
| Included: Resend, Postmark, Nodemailer | Included: SMTP, SES, Resend | Included: Resend, Postmark, Plunk, Mailgun | Included: Resend, SMTP | Included: Resend, SES, Mailgun, more | Included: Resend, Mailgun | Included: SendGrid, Mailgun, SMTP | |
| Newsletter | Partial: Signup section, no provider | Included: Listmonk, Resend sync | Partial: Homepage section, waitlist page | Partial: Signup form, no provider | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Blog | Included: MDX blog | Included: Categories, tags, RSS | Included: MDX per locale, tags | Included: Blog in every kit | Included: Blog posts, SEO | Included: Authors, categories, schema | Included: Astro Starlight, Markdown |
| SEO tools | Included: Meta tags, sitemap | Included: OG images, JSON-LD, sitemap | Included: Meta helper, sitemap, robots | Partial: Sitemap, robots, metadata | Included: Sitemap, metadata, Search Console | Included: Tags, sitemap, schema | Included: Meta tags, JSON-LD, llms.txt |
| Analytics | Included: Eight providers | Included: Eight providers | Included: Eight providers, consent-gated | Included: GA, PostHog, Umami, Meshes | Partial: PostHog built in, three by recipe | Partial: DataFast script, pasted | Included: Plausible, Google |
| Support chat | Not available | Included: Crisp, Chatwoot | Not available | Not available | Included: Crisp | Included: Crisp, one config key | Not available |
| Affiliate tracking | Not available | Included: Refgrow, Affonso, PromoteKit | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Cookie consent | Included: Consent banner | Included: GDPR banner, four legal policies | Included: c15t banner, regional packs | Included: Banner, consent hook | Included: Consent gate before PostHog | Not available | Included: Consent modal |
| Operations | |||||||
| Audit log | Not available | Included: With an admin viewer | Not available | Not available: Supamode, sold separately | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| User API keys | Not available | Included: Per-key rate limits | Partial: Recipe, not shipped | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| SMS | Not available | Included: Broadcast SMS, Twilio, SNS | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Error reporting | Included: Sentry | Included: Sentry, PostHog | Included: Sentry, PostHog | Included: Sentry, SigNoz, PostHog, Honeybadger | Included: Sentry | Partial: Error and 404 pages | Not available |
| Rate limiting | Not available | Included: Per-route, per-key | Partial: AI Kit middleware only | Included: Drizzle, Prisma kits | Not available | Partial: Upstash tutorial, self-installed | Not available |
| Background jobs | Included: trigger.dev, QStash, Queuebase | Included: Inngest | Included: Trigger.dev, QStash, Inngest, Workflows | Not available | Included: Inngest, n8n | Not available | Included: Wasp Jobs, cron |
| Deploy targets | Included: Vercel, Docker, Fly, Railway, VPS | Included: Docker, Vercel, Fly, Railway, more | Included: Vercel, Cloudflare, Docker, Fly | Included: Vercel, Cloudflare, Docker, VPS | Included: Vercel, Netlify, Render, Sherpa | Included: Vercel, Netlify, Render | Included: Fly.io, Railway, manual |
| AI | |||||||
| AI assistant | Included: Chatbot, history, streaming | Included: Chat, files, web search | Partial: Core chat, AI Kit templates | Partial: Teams tier, separate templates | Not available: Build-it guide, Inngest or n8n | Not available | Partial: OpenAI demo app |
| User-supplied AI keys | Not available | Included: Users add provider keys | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| MCP server | Not available: Agent Skills, no MCP | Included: For your app's users | Included: Docs MCP for coding agents | Included: Kit, CLI servers | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Tooling & updates | |||||||
| Project setup CLI | Included: npx supastarter new | Included: generatesaas init | Included: turbostarter new | Included: @makerkit/cli new | Included: npx indiekit@latest | Not available | Included: wasp new -t saas |
| Version updates | Partial: Updates included, manual merge | Included: CLI update, AI merges | Included: CLI runs git merge | Included: CLI update, git merge | Partial: Git remote, manual merge | Partial: Updates included, All-in only | Not available: Docs advise against updating |
| End-to-end tests | Included: Playwright, pre-configured | Included: Playwright, pre-configured | Included: Playwright on three platforms | Included: Playwright, pre-configured | Not available | Not available | Partial: Playwright, no unit tests |
| Desktop app | Not available | Partial: Electron app, Pro tier | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Mobile app | Not available: Listed as work in progress | Partial: Expo, iOS and Android, Pro tier | Included: Expo, iOS and Android | Partial: Expo plugin, Supabase only | Not available | Not available | Not available |
- Included
- Partial
- Not available
The ranking
Every alternative, reviewed
GenerateSaaS
That is us$249 one-timeTeams billing in credits, above ten seats
A $249 Next.js kit that ships credit balances, an audit trail and per-user API keys. It takes over when the billing model and the seat cap are what you outgrew.
Why people pick it
- Included: Credit balances, plan grants, optional top-ups
- Included: An audit log an admin can read in-app
- Included: User API keys, each with its own rate limit
- Included: Unlimited seats once you reach the Agency tier
- Included: A finance dashboard: revenue, vendor cost, margin
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: Next.js alone: no Nuxt, no TanStack Start
- Not available: Postgres alone: neither MySQL nor SQLite
- Not available: The desktop and mobile apps start at the $499 Pro tier
- Not available: One framework here, where supastarter publishes three
- Not available: No refunds: every sale is final
- Compare with supastarter
- Compare with TurboStarter
- Compare with MakerKit
- Compare with IndieKit
- Compare with ShipFast
- Compare with Open SaaS
- See the best GenerateSaaS alternatives
Bottom line: GenerateSaaS is the supastarter alternative for a team that bills in credits and needs an audit trail.
TurboStarter
$249 one-timeTeams whose next release is mobile or an extension
One $249 purchase covers the web, the phone and the browser toolbar, compiled from a single codebase by Next.js, Expo and WXT. It takes over when the extension and the app stores, not a second framework, are what comes next.
Why people pick it
- Included: Web, mobile and extension under a single purchase
- Included: Better Auth with passkeys, OTP and 2FA
- Included: Polar, Dodo Payments, Lemon Squeezy or Stripe on the web
- Included: RevenueCat and Superwall handle the app stores
- Included: Organizations with RBAC, invitations and impersonation
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: A seat per developer, with no larger tier
- Not available: Metered usage ships, but Core grants no balances
- Not available: Their docs carry no audit log
- Not available: User API keys are a recipe, not a package
- Not available: No refund is offered after access is redeemed
- Compare with GenerateSaaS
- Compare with supastarter
- Compare with MakerKit
- Compare with IndieKit
- Compare with ShipFast
Bottom line: Where supastarter sells you a framework, TurboStarter sells three app targets, which makes it the supastarter alternative for a mobile roadmap.
MakerKit
$349 one-timeTeams that want Supabase Auth and RLS-native code
Supabase at the centre, with Drizzle and Prisma variants beside it, at $349 for each stack. It takes over when Supabase is what you actually want underneath.
Why people pick it
- Included: Supabase Auth, and code written around RLS
- Included: Mobile through the Expo plugin on Supabase
- Included: A plugin catalogue, each installed by one command
- Included: Four error providers wired, SigNoz among them
- Included: Rate limits ship with the Drizzle and Prisma stacks
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: $349 is the highest entry price on this page
- Not available: Stacks are licensed one at a time
- Not available: Their FAQ requires a licence per client project
- Not available: Credits ship as documentation, not as code
- Not available: Refunds: their licence says there are none
- Compare with GenerateSaaS
- Compare with supastarter
- Compare with TurboStarter
- Compare with IndieKit
- Compare with ShipFast
- See the best MakerKit alternatives
Bottom line: For Supabase Auth with RLS in the code, MakerKit is the supastarter alternative.
IndieKit
$79 one-timeSolo builders billing usage in credits
A $79 Next.js kit built around a working credits system. It takes over when credit billing matters more than the team layer you are paying for.
Why people pick it
- Included: A credits system that is complete: grants, expiry, top-ups
- Included: Payments through six providers, per its docs
- Included: $79, the lowest paid entry on this page
- Included: Three days to ask for a refund
- Included: An i18n recipe, though the dashboard stays English
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: The B2B edition is a $119 purchase of its own
- Not available: No audit log documented, and no user API keys
- Not available: Version upgrades are yours to merge from a remote
- Not available: No notification centre, no SMS, no rate limits
- Compare with GenerateSaaS
- Compare with supastarter
- Compare with TurboStarter
- Compare with MakerKit
- Compare with ShipFast
- See the best IndieKit alternatives
Bottom line: IndieKit is the supastarter alternative when credit billing outweighs the team layer.
ShipFast
$199, from $299Solo builders who left the team layer switched off
A single-framework starter at $199 one-time, with no cap on projects. It takes over when one framework was always enough and the team layer went unused.
Why people pick it
- Included: No project limit on the single licence
- Included: Pages Router and JavaScript both on the table
- Included: Documents in MongoDB, rows in Supabase Postgres
- Included: A blog and 27 components for the marketing site
- Included: Crisp, switched on with one config key
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: Teams, roles and invites are nowhere in its docs
- Not available: Its docs name no admin panel and no audit log
- Not available: One language ships, and nothing switches it
- Not available: No credit balances, no SMS, no announcements
- Not available: No refund once you have access
- Compare with GenerateSaaS
- Compare with supastarter
- Compare with TurboStarter
- Compare with MakerKit
- Compare with IndieKit
- See the best ShipFast alternatives
Bottom line: ShipFast answers supastarter with one framework, one tenant and a smaller bill.
Open SaaS
$0Builders taking on Wasp in exchange for a free kit
Free and MIT, on the Wasp framework, with three payment providers and S3 storage. It takes over when paying per framework has stopped making sense.
Why people pick it
- Included: Nothing to pay, under an MIT licence
- Included: Every project, client work included, at no cost
- Included: Payments: Stripe, Polar, Lemon Squeezy
- Included: Admin screens for users, analytics and messages
- Included: Background jobs on Wasp, with S3 file uploads
The trade-off vs supastarter
- Not available: Adopting Wasp is the condition of the price
- Not available: Teams are absent from the documentation entirely
- Not available: Their update guide says not to merge changes
- Not available: No 2FA, no language switcher, no rate limiting
- Not available: Neither unit tests nor a CI workflow in the output
Bottom line: Open SaaS is the supastarter alternative when a per-framework licence is one licence too many.
FAQ
supastarter alternatives, answered
Short answers to the questions people actually ask.
What is the best supastarter alternative?
It depends what stopped fitting. GenerateSaaS adds credits and an audit log, MakerKit is Supabase-native, and IndieKit is the cheapest way to bill in credits.
Does one supastarter licence cover every framework?
No. A licence covers one framework, so a Nuxt kit beside a Next.js one is a second purchase.
Which supastarter alternative is cheapest?
Open SaaS charges nothing, being MIT. After that the order runs IndieKit $79, ShipFast $199, GenerateSaaS $249, MakerKit $349.
Can supastarter grant credit balances?
No. Billing there meters what a customer consumed, so nothing is granted up front to draw down. IndieKit and GenerateSaaS both ship balances instead.
How many developer seats does supastarter allow?
One on Solo, five on Startup, ten on Agency. GenerateSaaS's Agency tier is unlimited seats.
Ready to decide?
Pick the plan that fits and start today.
Lifetime updates
Unlimited projects