DEV Community

Royce
Royce

Posted on • Originally published at starterpick.com

What to Look for in a SaaS Boilerplate

#checklist #buyersguide #evaluation #boilerplate

TL;DR

Most developers buy boilerplates without a systematic evaluation. This checklist covers 50+ criteria across 6 categories: technical quality, features, documentation, community, business, and fit. Score each boilerplate before buying to avoid the most common mistake: realizing 2 weeks in that the boilerplate doesn't match your needs.

Category 1: Technical Quality (Most Important)

Code Quality

  • [ ] TypeScript throughout (not just types for auth/billing)
  • [ ] Environment variables validated on startup (t3-env, Zod)
  • [ ] No any types in critical paths (auth, billing, data access)
  • [ ] Consistent error handling (not mix of throw + return null)
  • [ ] ESLint + TypeScript strict mode enabled
  • [ ] Imports organized, no circular dependencies

Security

  • [ ] Stripe webhook signature verified before processing
  • [ ] Sessions use httpOnly, secure, sameSite cookies
  • [ ] No SQL injection vectors (ORM used throughout)
  • [ ] CSRF protection in place
  • [ ] Sensitive data not logged
  • [ ] Auth state validated server-side (not just client-side)

Performance

  • [ ] Images optimized (Next.js Image component or equivalent)
  • [ ] No N+1 queries in auth or billing flows
  • [ ] Database indexed on frequently queried fields
  • [ ] Bundle size reasonable (check Vercel build output)

Testing

  • [ ] Any tests at all (many boilerplates have zero)
  • [ ] Auth flows tested
  • [ ] Billing flows tested
  • [ ] CI runs tests on PRs

Category 2: Features

Authentication

  • [ ] Email + password
  • [ ] OAuth providers (Google minimum)
  • [ ] Magic link / passwordless
  • [ ] Email verification
  • [ ] Password reset
  • [ ] 2FA/TOTP (if needed for your market)

Billing

  • [ ] Stripe checkout
  • [ ] Subscription management
  • [ ] Customer portal (update card, cancel)
  • [ ] Webhook handler (all relevant events)
  • [ ] Plan tiers (free, pro, etc.)
  • [ ] Trial period support
  • [ ] Annual billing option
  • [ ] Per-seat billing (if B2B)

Multi-tenancy (if needed)

  • [ ] Organization/team creation
  • [ ] Member invitations
  • [ ] Role-based permissions (member/admin/owner)
  • [ ] Per-organization billing

Communication

  • [ ] Transactional email (welcome, password reset)
  • [ ] Email templates (HTML, not plain text)
  • [ ] Notification system

Content

  • [ ] Blog/MDX (if needed)
  • [ ] SEO meta tags
  • [ ] Sitemap generation
  • [ ] OG images

Admin

  • [ ] Admin panel (user management, subscription management)
  • [ ] Basic analytics/metrics

Category 3: Documentation

Getting Started

  • [ ] Clear prerequisites listed
  • [ ] Setup guide covers local development
  • [ ] All environment variables documented
  • [ ] Common errors + solutions

Architecture

  • [ ] Project structure explained
  • [ ] How to add a new feature (cookbook)
  • [ ] How the auth flow works
  • [ ] How billing is structured

Deployment

  • [ ] At least one deployment platform covered
  • [ ] Database migration guide
  • [ ] Environment variable management in production

Category 4: Maintenance and Updates

  • [ ] Last commit within 2 months
  • [ ] Active PRs and issues
  • [ ] Changelog or release notes
  • [ ] Dependencies not critically outdated (< 6 months)
  • [ ] Responds to security issues quickly
  • [ ] Version history shows consistent updates

Category 5: Community and Support

  • [ ] Discord or forum exists
  • [ ] Response time in community < 24 hours
  • [ ] Creator active in community
  • [ ] Tutorial content (blog, YouTube, examples)
  • [ ] Stack Overflow presence (for common questions)
  • [ ] GitHub stars (relative signal)

Category 6: Business Fit

Price

  • [ ] Purchase price matches budget
  • [ ] License type acceptable (lifetime vs annual vs MIT)
  • [ ] Refund policy (30-day is industry standard)
  • [ ] No hidden costs (some boilerplates require paid services)

License

  • [ ] Can use in commercial products
  • [ ] Can deploy to client projects (if agency)
  • [ ] Open source vs proprietary code
  • [ ] Can customize without attribution

Stack Match

  • [ ] Framework matches your preference (Next.js, Remix, SvelteKit, etc.)
  • [ ] Database matches (PostgreSQL, SQLite, MongoDB)
  • [ ] ORM matches (Prisma, Drizzle, TypeORM)
  • [ ] Auth provider matches (NextAuth, Clerk, Supabase)
  • [ ] UI library matches (shadcn, Tailwind, Radix)
  • [ ] Deployment target matches (Vercel, Railway, Fly.io, custom)

Scoring Your Evaluation

Use this scoring template:

Category Weight Your Score (1-10) Weighted
Technical Quality 30%
Features 25%
Documentation 20%
Maintenance 10%
Community 10%
Business Fit 5%
Total 100%

Interpretation:

  • 8.0+: Buy with confidence
  • 6.5-7.9: Acceptable, with known trade-offs
  • 5.0-6.4: Consider alternatives
  • Below 5.0: Avoid

Quick Disqualifiers (Instant No)

Any of these is an automatic elimination:

  1. No commits in 6+ months — Not maintained
  2. Webhook without signature verification — Security hole
  3. No documentation — Setup will be painful
  4. No refund policy on paid product — Red flag
  5. Real credentials in repository — Bad security practices
  6. Only handles checkout.session.completed — Incomplete billing
  7. Licensing that prevents commercial use — Deal breaker for SaaS

The Final Question

After scoring, ask: "Does the creator build products with this boilerplate?"

Marc Lou (ShipFast) has launched 10+ products with ShipFast. Kent C. Dodds built epicweb.dev on Epic Stack. Creators who dog-food their own tools make better tools.

A boilerplate built by someone who's never shipped a product with it will have different blind spots than one built by a serial founder.

Use StarterPick's comparison data to score boilerplates against this checklist at StarterPick.

Top comments (0)