Forge Stack vs ShipFast
Two different answers to "I want to ship a SaaS this weekend, not write auth again." Forge Stack's cheapest tier undercuts ShipFast's by $100. Different bets on what to include. Honest comparison below.
30-second verdict
PICK FORGE STACK IF
You want real production-tested infra (auth, billing, admin) extracted from a paying SaaS. You'll write your own landing page and UI components — they take 2 hours and you have total control.
PICK SHIPFAST IF
You want a polished marketing site out of the box (landing, pricing, blog, SEO-ready) and don't mind the auth/billing being less battle-tested. Faster to "looks-like-a-product," slower to "is-a-product."
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Forge Stack | ShipFast |
|---|---|---|
| Price (entry tier) | $99 one-time (Personal) | $199 one-time (Starter, was $299) |
| Price (top tier) | $499 one-time (Team) | $249 one-time (All-in, was $349) |
| Production track record | ✅ FitForge (live SaaS) using it | ✅ Multiple customer launches cited |
| Founder audience | Solo builder | Marc — 135K Twitter followers, Product Hunt Maker of the Year 2023 |
| AI-agent compatibility (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) | ✅ Works (no special config) | ✅ AGENTS.md + agent rules included |
| Auth (Supabase SSR, RLS, email + OAuth) | ✅ Production-tested on FitForge | ✅ NextAuth.js setup included |
| Billing (hosted checkout + verified webhook) | ✅ Lemon Squeezy, HMAC-SHA256, 4 tiers wired | ✅ Stripe Checkout, signature verified |
| Lemon Squeezy focus | ✅ Native (LS-only, since Aug 6) | ⚠️ One of two supported providers (Stripe + LS) |
| Admin endpoints (email-gated, dashboard stats) | ✅ /api/admin/stats, /api/admin/feedback | ⚠️ Minimal — one stats endpoint |
| OG image generation (Satori) | ✅ Works (with gotchas solved) | ✅ Works |
| PWA install + iOS safe-area CSS | ✅ Included + tested | ✅ Included |
| Database migrations | ✅ Migrations folder included | ⚠️ Bring your own |
| Landing page template | ❌ One component, you customize | ✅ Multiple polished variants |
| Pricing page | ❌ One layout, you customize | ✅ Pre-styled, conversion-tuned |
| Blog/CMS | ❌ Not included | ✅ MDX blog included |
| SEO setup (sitemap, robots) | ⚠️ Basic Next.js defaults | ✅ Pre-configured |
| Email transactional (Resend) | ✅ Helper included | ✅ Helper included |
| Error tracking (Sentry) | ✅ Client + server + edge configs | ⚠️ Manual integration |
| License terms | MIT-style, tiered | Per-product, stricter than advertised |
| Refund window | 14 days, no questions | Varies — check current terms |
| Updates cadence | Monthly | Frequently (Marc ships a lot) |
| Production track record | ✅ FitForge (live, paying) using it | ✅ Multiple customer launches cited |
| Source-code style | TypeScript strict, comments explain why | Tutorial-style, works but less idiomatic |
When Forge Stack wins
- You want the cheapest entry tier. Forge Stack's Personal tier is $99; ShipFast's Starter is $199. For validating an idea with a real Lemon Squeezy checkout, $100 saved is real.
- You're LS-native, not Stripe-first. Forge Stack is Lemon Squeezy only. If you've already decided LS is your payment processor (or you want the LS-only simplicity), Forge Stack is the more focused choice.
- Your product IS the auth/billing layer. If you're shipping something where users log in, get billed, and use admin tools, Forge Stack's depth there beats ShipFast's breadth.
- You've shipped a SaaS before and learned what broke. You know what production-grade webhook signatures, RLS policies, and session refresh look like — Forge Stack's code reads that way.
- You're not building a content site. You don't need MDX blogs, multiple landing-page variants, or SEO-optimized blog templates. You need to ship and start collecting revenue.
When ShipFast wins
- You want the founder credibility. ShipFast's Marc has 135K Twitter followers and Product Hunt Maker of the Year 2023. If "who's behind this" matters to you (or your client), ShipFast's founder brand is bigger.
- You want a polished marketing site out of the box. ShipFast ships landing page variants, MDX blog, conversion-tuned pricing page. Faster to "looks-like-a-product" out of the box.
- You want a polished UI you can ship in a weekend. If "good looking out of the box" matters more than "production-grade internals," ShipFast's templates save time.
- You're comfortable writing Stripe webhooks yourself. ShipFast's billing works, but if you hit a webhook edge case you'll debug it. Forge Stack's billing is battle-tested on real money.
Where we're the same
- Next.js 15 App Router + TypeScript + Tailwind
- One-time payment model, no subscription
- Email support included
- Lifetime updates policy
- You bring your own domain and DB
Pick Forge Stack if you've decided.
$249 once. Refund within 14 days. Code running in production today.
See pricing →