Best Free and Open Source SaaS Boilerplates in 2026

The premium SaaS boilerplate market charges $199–$349 for code that's mostly commodity: auth, Stripe, email, and Tailwind. The open source alternatives have closed the feature gap substantially. In 2026, you can launch production SaaS without spending a dollar on your starter kit — if you choose the right one.

This list covers the best genuinely free, open source SaaS boilerplates: MIT or similarly permissive licenses, active maintenance, and production-ready codebases with real GitHub community.

TL;DR

Open SaaS by Wasp is the most feature-complete free SaaS boilerplate — admin dashboard, analytics, background jobs, and file uploads included, powered by Wasp's full-stack framework. T3 Stack remains the best free foundation if you want to build on standard Next.js patterns with maximum ecosystem compatibility. Midday is the most impressive real-world open source SaaS — an actual commercial product you can clone. Next SaaS Starter is the cleanest minimal option for simple subscription SaaS.

Key Takeaways

• Open SaaS (Wasp): 14,000+ GitHub stars; most feature-complete free starter; MIT; React + Node.js + Prisma
• T3 Stack: 26,000+ stars; most popular free TypeScript foundation; MIT; Next.js + tRPC + Prisma
• Midday: 8,000+ stars; real production SaaS open-sourced; MIT; Next.js 15 + Supabase + Turborepo
• Next SaaS Starter: 4,000+ stars; minimalist Next.js App Router + Stripe + Postgres; MIT
• Nextacular: multi-tenancy out of the box; teams + workspaces + custom domains; MIT
• Wasp's approach: generates boilerplate from a config file — unique among all starters listed here
• None include commercial support — community help only; factor in debug time

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1. Open SaaS by Wasp — Most Feature-Complete Free Starter

GitHub: wasp-lang/open-saas | Stars: 14,000+ | License: MIT

Open SaaS is built on the Wasp full-stack framework, which takes a different approach than any other starter: instead of a pre-written codebase you clone and modify, Wasp uses a declarative config file that generates boilerplate code. You define your app's structure, Wasp handles the plumbing.

What's Included

✓ Authentication (email/password, Google, GitHub, Slack, Microsoft)
✓ Stripe integration (subscriptions, one-time payments, Polar.sh alternative)
✓ Admin dashboard with user management and statistics
✓ Analytics (PostHog or Google Analytics)
✓ Transactional email (SendGrid or Mailgun)
✓ Background jobs (cron-based)
✓ File uploads (S3)
✓ Blog (MDX)
✓ Landing page with testimonials and pricing
✓ React + Node.js + Prisma
✓ shadcn/ui components
✓ AI-ready (AGENTS.md for Claude Code, tailored skills)

Wasp Setup

# Install Wasp CLI
curl -sSL https://get.wasp-lang.dev/installer.sh | sh

# Create new project from Open SaaS template
wasp new -t saas

cd my-saas
cp .env.server.example .env.server
cp .env.client.example .env.client

Edit .env.server with your API keys, then:

wasp start
# ✓ Running at localhost:3000 (frontend) + localhost:3001 (backend)

The Wasp Difference

Wasp's config-driven approach means you define auth once:

// main.wasp
app MySaas {
  wasp: { version: "^0.15.0" },
  title: "My SaaS",
  auth: {
    userEntity: User,
    methods: {
      email: {},
      google: {},
      gitHub: {},
    },
    onAuthFailedRedirectTo: "/login",
    onAuthSucceededRedirectTo: "/dashboard",
  }
}

Wasp generates the login/signup pages, API routes, and database schema from this config. You don't maintain auth infrastructure — you declare it. The trade-off: you're tied to Wasp's framework and deployment model.

Best for: Founders who want maximum features for zero cost and are willing to learn Wasp's conventions. The AI-readiness (AGENTS.md, Claude Code plugin) makes it particularly good for vibe coding sprints.

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2. T3 Stack (create-t3-app) — Best Standard Foundation

GitHub: t3-oss/create-t3-app | Stars: 26,000+ | License: MIT

T3 Stack is the most-starred free Next.js TypeScript starter. It's not a SaaS boilerplate — it's a collection of best-in-class packages assembled to give you end-to-end type safety from database to frontend. You add SaaS features on top.

What T3 Includes (via CLI)

✓ Next.js (App Router or Pages Router — your choice)
✓ TypeScript
✓ tRPC v11 (type-safe API layer)
✓ Prisma (database ORM)
✓ NextAuth v5 (authentication)
✓ Tailwind CSS
✓ shadcn/ui (optional)

CLI Setup

npm create t3-app@latest

# Interactive prompts:
# ✓ TypeScript: Yes
# ✓ tRPC: Yes
# ✓ Prisma: Yes
# ✓ NextAuth: Yes
# ✓ Tailwind CSS: Yes
# ✓ App Router: Yes
# ✓ default import alias: ~/

cd my-saas
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Add DATABASE_URL, NEXTAUTH_SECRET, NEXTAUTH_URL, OAuth credentials
npm run dev

What T3 Doesn't Include

T3 is intentionally minimal — it's a foundation, not a finished product. You'll add:

• Stripe billing (there's no built-in billing)
• Transactional email
• Admin dashboard
• Multi-tenancy (no built-in org management)
• Landing page

The T3 ecosystem has filled many of these gaps with community extensions and companion libraries. create-t3-turbo (8,000+ stars) extends T3 into a Turborepo monorepo with Expo React Native support — useful for SaaS with a mobile companion app.

Best for: Developers who want full control over the SaaS features they add, use tRPC as their API layer, and want the most tutorial/community resources of any free starter.

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3. Midday — Real-World Open Source SaaS to Clone

GitHub: midday-ai/midday | Stars: 8,000+ | License: AGPL-3.0

Midday is different from every other entry on this list: it's a real, commercial SaaS product — a financial management platform for freelancers — that's been fully open-sourced. You're cloning a production codebase used by thousands of paying customers.

Tech Stack

✓ Next.js 15 App Router
✓ TypeScript
✓ Supabase (auth, database, storage)
✓ Drizzle ORM
✓ Turborepo monorepo
✓ shadcn/ui
✓ Resend (email)
✓ Trigger.dev (background jobs)
✓ Stripe
✓ Tinybird (analytics)
✓ Sentry (error tracking)
✓ Upstash (Redis/rate limiting)
✓ React Email
✓ Expo (mobile apps)

Midday's stack is the 2026 "dream stack" for modern SaaS — every service chosen for specific reasons, integrated thoughtfully.

License Note

Midday uses AGPL-3.0, not MIT. AGPL requires that if you modify and distribute the software (including as a web service), you must open-source your modifications. For most SaaS products building on Midday's architecture as a starting point, this is fine — you're not competing with Midday's exact product. But read the license carefully if you're in a similar space or planning to white-label.

Setup

git clone https://github.com/midday-ai/midday.git
cd midday
bun install  # Midday uses Bun as package manager

# Configure environment (more complex than other starters)
# Requires: Supabase project, Stripe, Trigger.dev, Tinybird, Upstash
cp apps/dashboard/.env.example apps/dashboard/.env

Best for: Developers who want to see how a real production SaaS is architected and want a sophisticated starting point. Expect 1–2 days of configuration before you can develop features.

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4. Next SaaS Starter — Clean Minimal Option

GitHub: leerob/next-saas-starter | Stars: 4,500+ | License: MIT

Built by Lee Robinson (VP of Product at Vercel), this starter prioritizes code clarity over feature breadth. It's the best option if you want to understand every line of your codebase and don't need multi-tenancy or complex billing.

What's Included

✓ Next.js 15 App Router
✓ Postgres + Drizzle ORM
✓ Auth (email/password, no OAuth by default)
✓ Stripe Subscriptions + Customer Portal
✓ Teams (basic multi-user)
✓ Tailwind CSS
✓ shadcn/ui
✓ Vercel-optimized deployment

Setup

git clone https://github.com/leerob/next-saas-starter.git
cd next-saas-starter
pnpm install

# Environment
cp .env.example .env
# Requires: Postgres URL, Stripe keys, auth secret

pnpm db:migrate
pnpm dev

The codebase is 3,000 lines — you can read the entire thing in an afternoon. Every pattern is explicit, nothing is hidden in a framework or abstraction layer.

Best for: Developers who learn by reading code, want a Vercel-blessed architecture, and are building simple subscription SaaS without complex multi-tenancy.

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5. Nextacular — Free Multi-Tenant Starter

GitHub: nextacular/nextacular | Stars: 3,000+ | License: MIT

Nextacular is the free multi-tenancy option — the gap that Open SaaS and T3 Stack don't fill. It ships with:

✓ Next.js App Router
✓ Team / workspace management
✓ Role-based access control
✓ Workspace switching
✓ Custom domains per workspace
✓ Stripe per-workspace billing
✓ NextAuth
✓ Prisma + Postgres
✓ Tailwind CSS

Setup:

git clone https://github.com/nextacular/nextacular.git
cd nextacular
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Best for: Developers building B2B SaaS where multi-tenancy is a core requirement and paying $299 for Supastarter isn't justified yet. Nextacular's multi-tenancy is less production-hardened than Supastarter but covers the essentials.

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6. SaaS Boilerplate by Apptension — Django + React Stack

GitHub: apptension/saas-boilerplate | Stars: 2,000+ | License: MIT

For teams that prefer Django on the backend, this is the most complete free option:

✓ React frontend
✓ Django REST Framework backend
✓ AWS deployment ready (CDK)
✓ Stripe billing
✓ SendGrid email
✓ Multi-tenant organizations
✓ RBAC
✓ Admin panel
✓ CI/CD with GitHub Actions

This is a full-stack framework choice, not just a frontend starter. Best for teams already invested in the Python/Django ecosystem.

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7. OpenSaaS by Gravity — Rails Alternative

GitHub: gorails-screencasts/opensaas | Stars: Variable

For Ruby on Rails developers, Jumpstart Pro (paid, $249) is the closest Rails equivalent to ShipFast. Free alternatives:

• Bullet Train (open source Rails SaaS): teams, RBAC, REST APIs, Stripe — most complete free Rails SaaS starter
• Rails Kickoff Tailwind: minimal Tailwind + auth + Stripe rails starter

See best Rails boilerplates 2026 for the full Rails breakdown.

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Comparison Table

Boilerplate	Stars	License	Auth	Billing	Multi-tenancy	Background Jobs
Open SaaS (Wasp)	14K+	MIT	✓ (5 providers)	✓ Stripe + Polar	✗	✓
T3 Stack	26K+	MIT	✓ NextAuth	✗ (add yourself)	✗	✗
Midday	8K+	AGPL-3.0	✓ Supabase	✓ Stripe	✗	✓ Trigger.dev
Next SaaS Starter	4.5K+	MIT	✓ (email only)	✓ Stripe	Basic teams	✗
Nextacular	3K+	MIT	✓ NextAuth	✓ per-workspace	✓	✗
Apptension SaaS	2K+	MIT	✓	✓ Stripe	✓	✓

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Free vs Paid: When to Pay

The free options are genuinely good. You should pay for a premium boilerplate ($199–$349) when:

1. Time is the constraint — You have a tight deadline and can't spend 2–3 days configuring a free starter
2. Enterprise features on day one — Metered billing, SSO, audit logs, and RBAC from day one save months of work
3. Support matters — Premium boilerplates include Discord communities where the maintainer actively helps
4. You need MakerKit's billing depth — No free boilerplate matches MakerKit's multi-provider, metered billing abstraction

If you're validating an idea on a budget, any of the top 3 free options will serve you well. The free tax is time, not money — budget an extra day to configure what premium boilerplates pre-configure.

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Community Resources

Beyond the boilerplates themselves, these resources help you extend free starters:

• create-t3-turbo — T3 in a Turborepo + Expo monorepo
• shadcn/ui — component library compatible with all options above
• Taxonomy by shadcn — example Next.js App Router patterns

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Browse all boilerplates by price on StarterPick. Related: ShipFast vs MakerKit vs Supastarter buying guide and best Next.js boilerplates 2026.