How to Choose the Right Boilerplate for Your SaaS MVP

Authentication Requirements

Do you need just email/password login, or social authentication too? If you're building for consumers, Google and GitHub OAuth are almost mandatory—people hate creating new passwords. For B2B SaaS, you might need SSO or SAML down the line, which affects your architecture choices now.

Two-factor authentication isn't optional anymore, especially for SaaS handling sensitive data. Check if the boilerplate includes it or at least makes it easy to add. Email verification should be built-in, not a TODO comment. Password reset needs to work, including the email templates and token expiration logic.

Payment and Subscription Needs

Are you selling subscriptions, one-time purchases, or usage-based billing? Each requires different payment integration complexity. Subscriptions need webhook handling for renewals, cancellations, and failed payments. One-time purchases are simpler but still need proper receipt handling.

Choose your payment provider before choosing your boilerplate. Stripe offers maximum flexibility but requires more tax compliance work. Paddle and Lemon Squeezy act as merchants of record, simplifying global sales but taking a larger cut. Make sure the boilerplate actually supports your chosen provider with working webhook handlers, not just API imports.

User Interface Components

Does your SaaS need a user dashboard where customers manage their account? An admin panel for you to support users and manage the business? Team features where multiple users share an account? Each of these significantly affects the data model and code architecture.

Team features are especially tricky to bolt on later. They require role-based permissions, invitation systems, and billing that handles multiple seats. If there's any chance you'll need teams, choose a boilerplate that includes them from the start. Retrofitting team features into a single-user architecture takes weeks.

Technical Stack Preferences

Your framework choice matters more than you think. Next.js dominates the SaaS boilerplate space for good reason—built-in SEO, API routes, and simple deployment. But if your team knows Laravel or Django better, fighting with an unfamiliar framework wastes the time the boilerplate was supposed to save.

Database choice affects scalability and hosting costs. PostgreSQL is the safe choice for most SaaS applications. MongoDB works for specific use cases but limits your query flexibility. Check what the boilerplate uses and whether you can easily switch if needed. Some boilerplates tightly couple to a specific database, making migration painful.

Documentation Quality

Good documentation isn't just a nice-to-have—it's the primary quality indicator. If the creator can't explain how to set up their own product, the code is probably a mess too. Look for clear setup instructions you can find in under 2 minutes. Environment variable explanations with example values. Deployment guides for at least one platform.

The best boilerplates include architecture documentation explaining why they made certain choices. This helps you understand the codebase when customizing it. Avoid boilerplates where documentation is just a README with "coming soon" sections or links to external paid courses.

Update Frequency and Maintenance

Check the last update date. Within the last 3 months is ideal. Last 6 months is acceptable if the boilerplate is mature and stable. Over 6 months old? Probably abandoned. You'll spend days updating dependencies and fixing breaking changes.

Look at GitHub activity beyond just the last commit. Are issues being addressed? How many are open versus closed? A repo with 50 open issues and slow responses tells you about future support quality. Check if the creator responds to questions in discussions or Discord. Unresponsive creators mean you're on your own when stuck.

Code Quality Indicators

TypeScript support is non-negotiable for serious SaaS projects. It catches bugs before they reach production and makes the codebase easier to understand and modify. If a boilerplate doesn't use TypeScript in 2024, the creator isn't following modern best practices.

Check for proper error handling. Look at a few API routes or server functions. Do they have try-catch blocks? Proper error messages? Or do they just assume everything works? Production code needs defensive programming. Boilerplates without it will crash in unexpected ways.

Code organization matters for customization. Look for clear separation between business logic, UI components, and data access. Avoid boilerplates with everything in one giant file or overly complex abstractions that make simple changes difficult.

Real User Reviews

A 5-star boilerplate with 3 reviews means less than a 4.5-star option with 50 detailed reviews. Read what people actually say, not just the rating. Look for comments about documentation quality, support responsiveness, and whether people actually shipped products with it.

Check for red flags in reviews: "setup didn't work," "features are broken," "creator doesn't respond," "had to rewrite most of it." One or two negative reviews happen, but patterns indicate real problems. Also look for positive patterns: "shipped in 2 weeks," "great support," "clean code."

The 30-Minute Setup Test

A well-documented boilerplate should be running locally in 15-30 minutes. Clone the repo, install dependencies, configure environment variables, run migrations, and see the app work. If this takes hours or requires debugging, the documentation is poor or the code is broken.

Time-to-first-run is a quality indicator. If you can't get it running quickly, you'll waste days on every feature you add. The setup process reveals documentation quality, dependency management, and whether the creator actually tested their own product.

Test Core Features

Once running, actually test the features. Try signing up with email. Does the verification email arrive? Try logging in. Does it work? Try resetting your password. Does that email arrive and the flow complete? If authentication—the most basic feature—is broken, everything else probably is too.

Test payment integration in test mode. Can you complete a test purchase? Do webhooks fire correctly? Can you see the subscription in the dashboard? Many boilerplates claim Stripe integration but only have the checkout form, not the webhook handling that makes subscriptions actually work.

Review the Codebase

Open a few files and read the code. Does it make sense? Are there helpful comments? Or is it a mess of unclear variable names and complex logic? You'll be modifying this code, so it needs to be readable.

Check for TODO comments. A few are fine, but if core features are marked TODO, the boilerplate isn't production-ready. Look at the git history. Regular, meaningful commits indicate active development. Huge commits with "initial commit" or "updates" suggest the creator dumped code without proper version control.

Choosing Based on Feature Count

"100+ features!" sounds impressive until you realize 80 of them are half-implemented or just links to documentation. A boilerplate with 15 production-ready features saves more time than one claiming 100 that you have to finish yourself.

Focus on the features you actually need. Authentication, payments, user dashboard, admin panel—these are the time-consuming parts. Everything else you can add yourself. A boilerplate that nails these core features is worth more than one with dozens of half-baked extras.

Ignoring the Tech Stack

Choosing a boilerplate in an unfamiliar framework because it looks good wastes the time savings. If your team knows Laravel, fighting with Next.js conventions for weeks defeats the purpose. Pick a boilerplate in a stack you're comfortable with, even if it has fewer features.

The exception: if you're solo and learning anyway, choose the framework with the best ecosystem. For SaaS, that's usually Next.js. The larger community means better boilerplates, more resources, and easier hiring later. Check our React vs Next.js guide for details.

Skipping the Demo

If a boilerplate has a demo, use it. Click everything. Try to break it. See how it handles errors. A polished demo usually means polished code. A buggy demo means buggy code. No demo at all? The creator doesn't trust their own product enough to show it.

Pay attention to the details in demos. Are error messages helpful or generic? Does the UI feel responsive? Are there obvious bugs? These details reveal the creator's attention to quality. A demo with broken links or placeholder text suggests rushed, incomplete work.

Not Checking the License

Some boilerplates restrict you to a single project or prohibit reselling. If you're building multiple SaaS products or planning to white-label, check the license carefully. The cheapest option might cost more if you need to buy it again for each project.

Verify commercial use is allowed. Most paid boilerplates include this, but some free ones don't. Also check if you can modify and redistribute the code. For SaaS, you need full rights to customize and deploy without restrictions.

The 80% Rule

If a boilerplate covers 80% of your requirements and the code quality is good, buy it. Waiting for 100% perfect means you're not shipping. The last 20% you can build yourself, and it'll be easier with 80% already done.

The exception: if authentication or payments are in the missing 20%, keep looking. These are the hardest features to add correctly. Everything else—specific UI components, particular integrations, custom features—you can add yourself without too much pain.

Budget Considerations

For serious SaaS projects, the $150-300 range offers the best value. You get comprehensive features, good documentation, and support. Cheaper options ($50-150) work for MVPs on tight budgets but expect to spend more time configuring things yourself.

Free boilerplates are fine for learning or side projects, but they rarely save time on real products. Hidden costs include missing features, poor documentation, and no support when you're stuck. Calculate opportunity cost: if your time is worth $50/hour, a $300 boilerplate saving 100 hours is a 15x ROI.

Trust Your Gut

After all the analysis, your gut feeling matters. If setup felt smooth and the code made sense, that's a good sign. If you fought with dependency errors and confusing documentation, even if features look good on paper, move on.

The setup experience predicts the development experience. A boilerplate that's painful to set up will be painful to customize. One that works smoothly from the start usually has clean, well-organized code throughout.

Start Building

Once you've chosen, commit. Don't keep shopping around. Buy it, set it up, and start building your unique features. The perfect boilerplate doesn't exist—the right one is the one that gets you shipping faster. Browse our directory of SaaS boilerplates to find options that match your requirements.