CREA.MBAA real-world comparison of the most-used Next.js boilerplates in 2026 (ShipFast, MakerKit, Saasrock, NextBase, IndieKit, CREA.MBA). No hidden affiliates. Which one fits your profile.
There comes a point when writing your own SaaS from scratch stops making sense. Auth with 2FA, recurring payments, transactional emails, admin panel, internationalization... It's months of setup before you touch the logic that makes your product unique.
That's why Next.js boilerplates exploded in the last few years. But the offering is now confusing. ShipFast, MakerKit, Saasrock, NextBase, IndieKit, and newer ones like CREA.MBA. Which one to pick?
This comparison goes through the 6 most used in 2026 with no hidden affiliates. What each one does, what it costs, and who it fits.
Before comparing, it's worth setting the bar. A modern boilerplate has to cover this:
If a boilerplate misses one of these, you'll feel it within two weeks.
Price: $249 (one-time license). Stack: Next.js 14 (App Router), MongoDB or Supabase, NextAuth, Mailgun. Community: active Discord, thousands of users.
ShipFast is the best-known boilerplate on the market. It's optimized for indie hackers who want to ship an MVP in a weekend. Has landing templates, basic Stripe integration, and a lot of supporting material.
Strength: the ecosystem. There are tutorials, courses, extra templates.
Weakness: older stack (Next.js 14, NextAuth instead of Better Auth), no native multi-tenancy, and the docs sometimes assume you already know Next.js.
Price: $199 (Starter) up to $499 (Pro). Stack: Next.js or Remix, Supabase or Firebase. Community: Discord, direct support from the author.
MakerKit is the most mature option for B2B SaaS. Ships with multi-tenancy out of the box, plan management, teams. It's the most complete in "enterprise" features.
Strength: if you're building a multi-account SaaS with teams, MakerKit saves weeks.
Weakness: high learning curve. The structure is opinionated and stepping out of it complicates things.
Price: $399. Stack: Remix (not Next.js).
Saasrock is not Next.js but deserves a mention. It's the most complete in admin features (built-in CRM, knowledge base, blog, customer support).
Strength: if you want everything inside the same package, nothing else matches.
Weakness: Remix is a minority. Coming from Next.js, you'll feel out of place.
Price: $299. Stack: Next.js 15, Supabase.
NextBase is the favorite for people who want Next.js + Supabase with good integration. Has auth, payments, blog, and dashboard.
Strength: Supabase integration done well, modern templates.
Weakness: little differentiation vs ShipFast. If you already know ShipFast, NextBase won't surprise you.
Price: $149. Stack: Next.js 15, Better Auth, Polar.
IndieKit is the most "minimalist" boilerplate. Just the essentials for a small SaaS: auth, payments with Polar, basic dashboard.
Strength: easy to read, easy to modify. Good starting point if you like understanding every line.
Weakness: no multi-tenancy or i18n. If your product grows, you have to add it all.
Price: €199 (regular) / €149 (early bird) / €99 (founder waitlist). Stack: Next.js 16 (cacheComponents), Better Auth, Polar or Stripe, Resend, Tailwind v4.
CREA.MBA is the newest of the six. Its difference is that it's designed so that the AI understands the project from the first prompt: 231-line CLAUDE.md, 18 skills, 2 agents, 16 claude.md per module, hooks, and 9 automated checks.
Strength: if you build with Claude Code or Cursor, CREA.MBA makes the AI hit much more often. And the stack is the most modern of the six (Next.js 16 with cacheComponents on, Better Auth, Polar, Tailwind v4).
Weakness: small community for now. If you value having thousands of users around, the more mature ones win.
| Boilerplate | Price | Stack | Multi-tenancy | i18n | AI-native |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShipFast | $249 | Next.js 14 | No | No | No |
| MakerKit | $199–499 | Next.js/Remix | Yes | Partial | No |
| Saasrock | $399 | Remix | Yes | No | No |
| NextBase | $299 | Next.js 15 | No | No | No |
| IndieKit | $149 | Next.js 15 | No | No | No |
| CREA.MBA | €99–199 | Next.js 16 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Three questions that save you trouble:
There's no "best" boilerplate in absolute terms. There's the one that fits your stack, your level, and your product. If you build with AI and want something modern, CREA.MBA is the bet. If you go B2B with teams, MakerKit. If you just want to ship an MVP in a weekend and don't mind the older stack, ShipFast.
Any of the six beats writing auth from scratch.
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