supastarter

supastarter is a comprehensive starter kit for building SaaS applications with Next.js.

It provides a complete foundation of core SaaS functionality out-of-the-box.

The goal?

To save developers weeks or even months of time building common features.

So you can focus on your unique product offering instead.

Some key things supastarter includes:

• Authentication system
• Subscription billing with Stripe
• User and team management
• Transactional emails
• Internationalization
• Landing page
• Dashboard UI

We'll dive deeper into the specific features shortly.

But first...

Who is supastarter for?

supastarter is designed for developers and indie hackers looking to launch SaaS products quickly.

It's especially well-suited for:

• Solo developers
• Small teams
• Agencies building client projects
• Startups looking to validate ideas fast

Essentially, anyone who wants to skip weeks of boilerplate setup and get straight to building their core product.

The ideal user has experience with React and Next.js.

While supastarter abstracts away a lot of complexity, you'll still need to customize and build on top of it.

So some development skills are required.

Now, let's look at what you actually get with supastarter.

Key Features of supastarter

Authentication

Authentication is the foundation of any SaaS app.

And supastarter doesn't disappoint here.

It uses Lucia Auth as the authentication framework.

This gives you full control and flexibility over the auth flow.

Some key authentication features include:

• Email/password login
• Magic link (passwordless) login
• OAuth with providers like Google
• Forgot/reset password flow
• User roles and permissions

All the core components like login, signup, and password reset are included.

And they're fully customizable to match your brand.

Payments and Billing

Implementing subscriptions and billing is often one of the most time-consuming parts of building a SaaS.

supastarter handles this for you with Stripe integration.

You get:

• Subscription management
• Usage-based billing
• Invoicing
• Tax collection
• Multiple pricing plans
• Trials

The Stripe integration is production-ready out of the box.

This alone can save you weeks of development and testing time.

Internationalization (i18n)

Want to reach a global audience?

supastarter comes with built-in internationalization support.

This allows you to easily translate your app into multiple languages.

It uses next-intl, a popular i18n library for Next.js.

All you need to do is add your translations.

The framework for switching languages and managing localized content is already set up.

Email Functionality

Email is crucial for user engagement in most SaaS apps.

supastarter includes integration with popular email service providers.

You can easily send:

• Transactional emails (welcome, password reset, etc.)
• Marketing emails
• Notifications

The email templates are customizable to match your brand.

And you can trigger emails programmatically from anywhere in your app.

UI and Design System

First impressions matter.

That's why supastarter includes a polished UI kit out of the box.

It uses Tailwind CSS for styling.

This gives you a great starting point while still being highly customizable.

Key UI features include:

• Responsive design
• Dark/light mode
• Custom components
• Landing page template
• Dashboard layout

You're not locked into any design decisions.

But you have a solid foundation to build on.

Backend and Database

On the backend, supastarter uses Prisma as an ORM.

This gives you a type-safe database layer that's easy to work with.

You can use any database supported by Prisma, including:

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• SQLite
• MongoDB

The database schema for users, teams, and subscriptions is included.

Along with migrations to easily update your schema as your app evolves.

AI Integration

AI is rapidly becoming a must-have for many SaaS products.

supastarter doesn't leave you behind here.

It includes examples of AI integration using OpenAI's GPT models.

This gives you a starting point for adding AI-powered features to your app.

Additional Features

Some other notable features of supastarter:

• Team management
• Admin panel
• Analytics integration
• Testing setup
• CI/CD configuration
• Documentation

Pros of supastarter

1. Comprehensive Feature Set

supastarter truly lives up to its name.

It includes pretty much everything you need to get a SaaS off the ground.

This can save you months of development time.

2. Production-Ready

This isn't just a basic boilerplate.

The included features are robust and production-ready.

Things like auth, payments, and emails are implemented to a high standard.

3. Flexibility and Customization

While supastarter provides a lot out of the box, it's not overly opinionated.

You can easily customize or replace any part of it.

This makes it suitable for a wide range of SaaS ideas.

4. Solid Tech Stack

supastarter uses modern, widely adopted technologies.

Next.js, React, Tailwind, Prisma - these are all excellent choices for building scalable web apps.

5. Regular Updates

The team behind supastarter actively maintains and updates it.

This means you benefit from ongoing improvements and bug fixes.

6. Lifetime Access

For a one-time fee, you get lifetime access to updates.

This provides excellent long-term value.

Cons of supastarter

1. Learning Curve

While supastarter saves time overall, there is an initial learning curve.

You'll need to understand how the different pieces fit together.

2. Potential for Bloat

If you only need a small subset of the included features, you might end up with unnecessary code.

However, you can always remove what you don't need.

3. Upfront Cost

The $299 price tag might be steep for some solo developers or early-stage projects.

However, it can quickly pay for itself in time saved.