Forge Stack vs saas-starter
Both built on Next.js + Supabase + Stripe. Both target solo founders shipping their first SaaS. Both say "production-ready" on the README. The difference is what that word means to each project.
30-second verdict
PICK FORGE STACK IF
You want infra extracted from a paying SaaS that's live now. Every line of code has been debugging-tested against real users, real webhook edge cases, real RLS edge cases.
PICK SAAS-STARTER IF
You want a clean, well-organized OSS template you can fork and modify freely, with a clear extension pattern. It's MIT-licensed and a great starting point — you'll debug edge cases yourself.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Forge Stack | saas-starter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99-$499 one-time | Free (MIT-licensed) |
| Auth (Supabase SSR + RLS) | ✅ Production-tested on FitForge | ✅ Clean implementation |
| OAuth providers | ✅ Google + GitHub wired | ✅ Google + GitHub wired |
| Email/password auth | ✅ With confirmation flow | ✅ With confirmation flow |
| Billing (hosted checkout) | ✅ Lemon Squeezy, 4 tiers wired | ✅ Stripe Checkout |
| Webhook (signature verified) | ✅ HMAC-SHA256, customer + subscription events | ✅ Stripe signature verified |
| Subscription tier + metered usage hooks | ✅ Included | ⚠️ Stripe-only, no metering pattern |
| Admin endpoints | ✅ /api/admin/stats, /api/admin/feedback | ❌ Not included |
| Email-gated admin routes | ✅ Middleware pattern included | ❌ Not included |
| RLS policies | ✅ Enforced + tested | ✅ Included |
| OG image generation | ✅ Satori edge runtime | ❌ Not included |
| PWA install + iOS safe-area CSS | ✅ Manifest + service worker + tests | ❌ Not included |
| Database migrations | ✅ Migrations folder + CLI scripts | ✅ Migrations included |
| Sentry (errors + traces) | ✅ Client + server + edge configs | ⚠️ Bring your own |
| Resend transactional email | ✅ Helper + 2 templates | ✅ Helper included |
| SEO (sitemap, robots) | ✅ Both generated as App Router routes | ⚠️ Basic Next.js defaults |
| JSON-LD Product schema | ✅ Inline on homepage | ❌ Not included |
| Tabbed code samples on homepage | ✅ 3 snippets (webhook + auth + OG) | ❌ Not included |
| Testimonials + screenshots on homepage | ✅ 3 quotes, 2 screenshots | ❌ Not included |
| Demo route (try the auth + admin live) | ✅ /demo with sample data | ❌ Not included |
| TypeScript strict | ✅ Strict mode enforced | ✅ Strict mode enforced |
| License | Tiered (1 product per license) | MIT — fork freely |
| Source-code comments | Explain why, not what | Sparse |
| Refund window | 14 days, no questions | N/A (free) |
| Updates cadence | Monthly | As-needed, community PRs |
| Production track record | ✅ FitForge (live, paying) | ⚠️ Reference implementations, not a live product |
When Forge Stack wins
- You want to ship in days, not weeks. Forge Stack includes the marketing-site pieces most templates skip (OG images, JSON-LD, testimonials, demo route) so you're not stuck building those from scratch.
- You plan to charge for your SaaS. Lemon Squeezy integration with 4 tiers wired up means you have a checkout flow live the day you deploy, not the day you finish writing Stripe boilerplate.
- You want admin tooling without writing it yourself. Email-gated routes, /api/admin/stats, /api/admin/feedback — these aren't glamorous but they're 3-5 days of work to build from scratch, and most templates skip them.
- You want SEO done right from day one. Sitemap + robots + canonical tags + Product JSON-LD inline. Google indexes you like a real product, not a Next.js boilerplate demo.
When saas-starter wins
- You want to fork a known-good OSS template. MIT license means you can fork, modify, redistribute. No license tracking, no per-product tiers, no "contact for volume pricing."
- You prefer Stripe over Lemon Squeezy. saas-starter uses Stripe directly. If you have an existing Stripe account, prior Stripe integration, or need Stripe-specific features (Connect, Tax, Invoicing), this is closer to your stack.
- You don't need admin tooling yet. You're shipping a v1 and your users are the only ones using the admin UI. You'll build that when you need it.
- You want to learn the patterns by extending them. saas-starter's code is shorter and easier to read end-to-end. Forge Stack is more code per feature because it has more features.
Where we're the same
- Next.js 15 App Router + TypeScript strict + Tailwind
- Supabase for auth + Postgres + RLS
- Stripe-class hosted checkout (Lemon Squeezy sits on top of Stripe)
- Email + OAuth authentication flows
- You bring your own domain + DB
If you've decided on Forge Stack.
$99-$499 once. 14-day refund. Code running in production today.
See pricing →