Forge Stack vs ShipFast
Two different answers to "I want to ship a SaaS this weekend, not write auth again." Same $199-$249 price tier. 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 (Indie/popular tier) | $249 one-time | $199 one-time |
| 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 |
| 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 (Pedro 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
- 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
- Marketing-page-first products. If your "launch day" looks like a polished landing page, blog, and SEO setup, ShipFast is faster.
- 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 →