Brick Starter and ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter represent opposite ends of the .NET Vue.js starter spectrum, enterprise SaaS platform versus lightweight prototype kit. This breakdown reveals exactly when each excels for real projects.
Core Purpose & Audience
Brick Starter
Brick Starter serves production SaaS founders, agencies, and teams building revenue-generating multi-tenant apps. It eliminates 6+ months of SaaS infrastructure work.
ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter
ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter targets solo developers prototyping MVPs or learning SPAs. Great for weekend projects but needs heavy extension for production.
Feature Comparison Table
Architecture Breakdown
Brick Starter Architecture:
- Frontend: Vue 3 + Vite + Tailwind + Shadcn/UI
- Backend: .NET 9 Core + EF Core + Clean Architecture
- Database: SQL Server/PostgreSQL (tenant-isolated)
- Cache: Redis
- Single API powers Vue/React/Angular/Blazor/Razor
ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter Architecture:
- Frontend: Vue 2 + Vue CLI + Bootstrap
- Backend: .NET Core 3.1 + basic controllers
- Database: SQLite/EF Core (single tenant)
- Vue 2 blocks modern Composition API + TypeScript
Production Readiness
Brick Starter: Battle-tested across 5+ live SaaS apps
- 100k+ users/tenant capacity
- HIPAA/SOC2 ready security
- 99.9% uptime architecture
- Horizontal scaling support
- Production monitoring included
ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter: Prototype quality
- Single database creates tenant coupling
- No audit logging
- Basic error handling
- Vue 2 security/support risks
- No monitoring capabilities
Time-to-Revenue Matrix
Brick recoups investment on first paying customer.
Detailed Feature Deep-Dive
- Multi-Tenancy: Brick includes tenant creation, data isolation via separate schemas, subdomain routing, and custom domains per tenant. aspnetcore-vue-starter uses single global database.
- Authentication: Brick offers MFA across Google/MS Authenticator/Email, social logins, tenant-scoped roles, and data encryption. aspnetcore-vue-starter provides only username/password JWT.
- Monetization: Brick handles Stripe Checkout/Billing, subscription tiers, upgrade flows, payment failures, and usage-based billing. aspnetcore-vue-starter requires full custom implementation.
Decision Matrix
Code Quality & DX
- Brick Starter uses Clean Architecture with domain-driven design, vertical slices, CQRS via MediatR, FluentValidation, 80%+ test coverage, and NSwag TypeScript clients.
- ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter relies on basic MVC controllers with minimal separation of concerns and no testing suite.
Cost Reality Check
- Brick Starter: Commercial licensing with support/updates. ROI hits on first month revenue. Avoids $30k+ dev cost.
- ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter: Free MIT license. Hidden cost equals 4-6 months senior dev time plus endless maintenance.
Migration Warning
Teams starting with aspnetcore-vue-starter hit walls at Week 4 (tenants), Week 8 (Stripe), Week 12 (admin UI), and Month 6 consider full Brick rewrite.
Performance & Scale
- Brick Starter: Redis caching, optimized EF queries, background job queues, load-balanced APIs, CDN-ready assets. Handles 100+ concurrent tenants.
- ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter: SQLite bottlenecks, in-memory sessions, synchronous operations, single instance limits.
Vue Implementation
- Brick Starter: Vue 3 Composition API + TypeScript, Tailwind + Shadcn/UI, dark mode, Vite builds, TanStack Query.
- ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter: Vue 2 Options API, Bootstrap 4, basic responsive, Vue CLI slow builds, legacy Vuex.
Final Scorecard
The Bottom Line
- Choose ASP .NET Core-Vue-Starter for throwaway prototypes, learning exercises, or tiny internal dashboards under 100 users.
- Choose Brick Starter for anything production-grade, SaaS ambitions, agency deliverables, or revenue expectations.
Most developers pick free and regret it. Smart ones pick Brick and ship first.
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