SaaS boilerplate starters became a very popular thing in the web dev community, and also a pathway to a luxury lifestyle for those behind them, sometimes making north of five figure amounts per month.
Paid, closed-source starters, again by definition, offer at best a fraction of these benefits. You can see the value proposition as the author designed it - some hand-picked testimonials, a demo and potentially have a peek at the docs.
With a paid starter, you become a member of an exclusive tribe (aka Air Jordans Effect)
The most popular paid boilerplates today often come from well-known developers, or “indie makers,” who've already built successful products. Buying their boilerplate feels a bit like joining an exclusive club—it's as if you're tapping into their expertise and using the same tools they once used to succeed.
Recently, there was a security incident with one of the popular paid starters that allowed external parties to send unauthorized web hook requests, which caused a lot of ripples in the online community of builders.
It is a good reminder that, while it's important to ship quickly, security isn't something that can be skipped over. And while nobody can guarantee the security of any SaaS starter, be it paid or open-source, the fact is that in open-source projects there are much more people involved in both development and code review. Since the code is freely available, you're also free to review it yourself, use any pen-testing tools on it or ask another expert to check it before committing to it.
With a paid SaaS starter, the bus factor is 1, with open-source you get the full community support!
A paid SaaS starter typically depends on a single maintainer. Since the code is closed source, nobody else has access nor rights to it, and if for any reason the author becomes unable or unwilling to continue working on it, that's the end of the story. No support, updates, nor anybody to turn to with questions.
On the other hand,
Another thing to account for is it takes a long time for SaaS starter business to become more than a side income, and only a fraction of builders will ever come to that point. That means most of boilerplate creators will still have a full-time job or other engagements going on. Which means they will have a limited time for customer support and adding new features.
Open-source SaaS starter === unlimited updates. Closed source? Sometimes.
An another direct benefit of the SaaS starter code being open-source is that you will have an immediate access to all the updates, as soon as they get released. That includes both security patches, version bumps and completely new features.
With a paid SaaS starter, you might need to buy a “license” for every new app
Another thing to be aware of is that, with paid starters, there often might be a limit to the number of apps you are allowed to start with a single starter purchase. It is typically phrased in terms of “licenses”, and if you exceed a limit you're legally required to buy a new one, although you already own the starter code.
Summary
Now that we have gone through the main differences between open-source and paid SaaS starters, let's give it a bird's-eye view:
| Cost | Lifetime updates | Unlimited apps | Maintainers | Community | Air Jordans Effect | Easily contribute | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source SaaS starter | $0 | YES | YES | Many | Big, public | Rarely | YES |
| Paid starter | $300+ | Depends | Depends | Typically one | Sometimes, private | Often | No |
This is a useful list to be aware of when making a decision which route to go, but in the end there is no one answer that will fit all. Your decision will depend on what exactly you're looking to build and which tech stack you prefer using.
Also, the factors above will not be equally weighted by everyone - one person might be excited about being a part of a wider community and being able to easily contribute to the project, while other most appreciate the fact there is a strong online personality they can follow and get inspired.
In the end, the only important thing is to take action and successfully ship that application you've been thinking about for so long. Good luck!
SOCIAL SHARE CARD GENERATOR