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Best Boilerplate with Admin Panel: Makerkit vs SaaSrock vs Avo

·StarterPick Team
admin panelsaas boilerplatedashboardcomparison

The Admin Panel Nobody Plans For

Every SaaS needs an admin panel. You need to manage users, monitor subscriptions, handle support requests, moderate content, and understand your metrics. Yet most boilerplates treat admin functionality as an afterthought — a basic page with a user list.

Three starters take admin panels seriously: Makerkit (Next.js) with its plugin-based admin dashboard, SaaSrock (Remix) with its comprehensive built-in admin, and Avo (Rails) which IS an admin panel framework.

The quality of your admin panel directly affects how efficiently you operate your SaaS.

TL;DR

Avo ($0-$149/month, Rails) is the undisputed admin panel champion — auto-generated CRUD from your models with search, filters, actions, charts, and dashboards. SaaSrock ($149-$699, Remix) includes a comprehensive admin with user management, billing overview, and content management built-in. Makerkit ($249-$599, Next.js) provides a clean super-admin panel with user impersonation and subscription management. Choose Avo for maximum admin power. Choose SaaSrock for all-in-one. Choose Makerkit for clean, focused admin.

Key Takeaways

  • Avo auto-generates admin UI from your data models — define a resource, get instant CRUD with search, filters, and bulk actions. No other boilerplate matches this.
  • SaaSrock includes admin as part of its 40+ modules — user management, billing, analytics, content, and more without additional setup.
  • Makerkit's admin is focused — user management, subscription overview, and impersonation. Clean and sufficient for most SaaS.
  • The right admin panel depends on your data complexity. Simple SaaS → Makerkit. Feature-rich SaaS → SaaSrock. Data-heavy SaaS → Avo.
  • Avo requires Rails — if you're building with Next.js or Remix, it's not an option.

Admin Feature Comparison

User Management

FeatureMakerkitSaaSrockAvo
User list with search✅✅✅ Auto-generated
User detail view✅✅✅ Auto-generated
Edit user fields✅ Basic✅ Full✅ Any field
User impersonation✅✅✅
Ban/suspend user⚠️ Manual✅✅
Delete user + data⚠️ Manual✅✅ With confirmation
Bulk actions❌⚠️ Basic✅ Full
Export users (CSV)❌⚠️ Manual✅ Built-in action
Filter by plan/status⚠️ Basic✅✅ Custom filters
User activity log❌✅⚠️ With audit plugin

Subscription & Billing Admin

FeatureMakerkitSaaSrockAvo
Subscription overview✅✅✅ Custom dashboard
Revenue metrics⚠️ Basic✅✅ Custom cards
MRR tracking❌✅✅ Custom
Churn overview❌⚠️ Basic✅ Custom
Manual plan assignment⚠️ Via Stripe✅✅
Coupon management❌⚠️ Via Stripe✅ Custom
Trial extensions❌✅✅
Refund processing❌⚠️ Via Stripe✅ Custom action

Dashboard & Analytics

FeatureMakerkitSaaSrockAvo
Dashboard overview✅ Basic stats✅ Full dashboard✅ Custom dashboards
Charts / graphs❌✅ Built-in✅ Chartkick/custom
Metric cards✅ Basic✅ Multiple✅ Custom cards
Real-time updates❌❌⚠️ With Turbo
Custom dashboards❌⚠️ Fixed layout✅ Fully customizable
Date range filtering❌✅✅

Content Management

FeatureMakerkitSaaSrockAvo
Blog post management✅ Plugin✅ Built-in CMS✅ Resource
Page management❌✅ Page builder✅ Resource
Media library❌⚠️ Basic✅ Active Storage
Rich text editing❌✅✅ Trix/ActionText
Content moderation❌✅✅ Custom actions
Feature flags✅ PostHog plugin✅ Built-in✅ Custom
Announcements❌✅ Built-in✅ Custom resource

How Each Builds Admin Interfaces

Avo: Declarative Resource Definitions

Avo is the most efficient for admin panel development. You define a "resource" that maps to your data model:

class Avo::Resources::User < Avo::BaseResource
  self.title = :name
  self.description = "Manage user accounts"
  self.includes = [:subscription, :organization]

  def fields
    field :id, as: :id
    field :avatar, as: :external_image
    field :name, as: :text, required: true, sortable: true
    field :email, as: :text, sortable: true
    field :role, as: :badge, map: { admin: :info, user: :success, banned: :danger }
    field :subscription, as: :belongs_to
    field :organization, as: :belongs_to
    field :created_at, as: :date_time, sortable: true
    field :sign_in_count, as: :number, sortable: true
  end

  def filters
    filter Avo::Filters::RoleFilter
    filter Avo::Filters::PlanFilter
    filter Avo::Filters::DateRangeFilter
  end

  def actions
    action Avo::Actions::ImpersonateUser
    action Avo::Actions::SendEmail
    action Avo::Actions::ExportCSV
    action Avo::Actions::BanUser
  end
end

This generates:

  • Sortable, searchable user index with pagination
  • Detailed user profile view
  • Edit form with validation
  • Filters for role, plan, and date range
  • Bulk actions for impersonation, email, export, and banning

Time to build: 15 minutes for a complete user management admin.

SaaSrock: Pre-Built Admin Modules

SaaSrock includes admin functionality as part of its module system:

app/routes/admin/
├── dashboard.tsx        # Admin overview
├── accounts/           # Organization management
│   ├── index.tsx       # List all orgs
│   └── $id.tsx         # Org detail
├── users/              # User management
├── billing/            # Subscription overview
├── blog/               # Content management
├── analytics/          # Usage analytics
├── emails/             # Email campaigns
└── settings/           # System settings

Everything is pre-built. You customize by modifying the existing Remix routes and components.

Time to build: 0 minutes — it's already built. Customization time: 1-4 hours depending on requirements.

Makerkit: Plugin-Based Admin

Makerkit's admin is a clean, focused page within the main application:

// Admin route (protected by super-admin middleware)
export default function AdminDashboard() {
  return (
    <AdminLayout>
      <StatsCards>
        <UsersCount />
        <ActiveSubscriptions />
        <MonthlyRevenue />
      </StatsCards>
      <RecentSignups />
      <SubscriptionBreakdown />
    </AdminLayout>
  );
}

Functional and clean, but you'll build additional admin features yourself. The plugin system lets you add analytics, feature flags, and content management as needed.

Time to build: 0 minutes for the included admin. Additional features: 2-8 hours each.

Choosing Based on Your Needs

Simple SaaS (auth + billing + core feature)

Choose Makerkit. The admin covers user management and subscription overview — everything you need for a focused product. Building additional admin features as needed keeps the codebase clean.

Feature-Rich B2B SaaS

Choose SaaSrock. The built-in CRM, help desk, analytics, and content management mean your admin panel handles operations, support, and marketing from day one. You'll spend time customizing, not building.

Data-Heavy Applications

Choose Avo. If your SaaS manages complex data — inventory, orders, content, user-generated content, API keys — Avo's auto-generated CRUD interfaces save weeks of development. The dashboard cards provide operational visibility without custom development.

The Honest Assessment

For most SaaS products in their first year, Makerkit's admin is sufficient. You don't need 40 modules on day one. But if you're building something that needs operational tooling from launch (marketplace, platform, B2B tool), SaaSrock or Avo save significant time.

Compare admin panel features across 50+ boilerplates on StarterPick — find the right level of admin tooling for your project.

Check out this boilerplate

View Avo on StarterPick →

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