MakerKit vs supastarter: the short answer
Choose MakerKit if you want personal, team, or hybrid account modes behind a flag, tenant isolation enforced by Postgres Row Level Security on the Supabase kits, an MCP server for your coding agent, a wired Playwright suite, and an Expo app for iOS and Android. Choose supastarter if you need Nuxt or SvelteKit. Its Solo tier lists a little cheaper; the difference buys RLS tenant isolation, hybrid accounts, an MCP server, and an Expo app.
We build MakerKit, so check our sources: supastarter pricing below was checked on its site in September 2026, features in July 2026.
Why developers look for a supastarter alternative
- They want tenant isolation in the database. On the MakerKit Supabase kits, every tenant table carries an account_id and Postgres RLS policies decide who can read or write it. A missed check in application code cannot leak another team's rows.
- The product serves individuals and teams. MakerKit supports personal-only, team-only, and hybrid account modes, with billing on either the personal or the team account. Start B2C, turn on teams when the first company buys.
- They need mobile, or React Router. MakerKit ships an Expo kit for iOS and Android against the same Supabase project and RLS policies, and a React Router 8 kit. supastarter did not offer a native app when we checked.
- Their agent needs more than instructions. Both kits ship agent instructions. MakerKit adds an MCP server that gives Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex structured access to the kit.
MakerKit vs supastarter: feature comparison
MakerKit features are documented in its public docs. supastarter features are marked from its public site and docs, checked in July 2026, with pricing checked in September 2026. Check their docs for anything you depend on.
| Feature | MakerKit | supastarter |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One-time license, lifetime updates | One-time, $299 Solo to $1,499 Agency (listed September 2026) |
| Web frameworks | Next.js, TanStack Start, React Router | Next.js, Nuxt, TanStack Start, SvelteKit |
| Native mobile app | Expo (React Native) kit for iOS and Android | Not offered when we checked |
| Auth and data layer | Supabase Auth + RLS, or Better Auth with Drizzle or Prisma | Better Auth with Drizzle or Prisma |
| Multi-tenancy (orgs/teams, invites, roles) | Team accounts with invitations and role-based permissions | Organizations with role-based access |
| Account modes (personal/team/hybrid) | Personal-only, team-only, or hybrid via feature flags | Organization settings are configurable; no documented hybrid switch found |
| Seat-based billing | Per-seat plans documented in every kit | Seat-based subscriptions supported |
| Metered / usage billing | Metered usage; credit-based billing recipe on the Supabase kits | Positioned as something you add, not first-class |
| Payment providers | Stripe or Lemon Squeezy (Supabase kits); Stripe or Polar (Drizzle, Prisma) | More providers out of the box, including Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar |
| Standalone typed API layer | Server actions and route handlers instead | Hono API |
| AGENTS.md and agent rules | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, Windsurf | AGENTS.md and agent skills |
| MCP server for coding agents | Included and configured in .mcp.json | Not documented |
| Playwright E2E tests | Suite covering auth, billing, and team flows | Basic Playwright setup documented |
| Internationalization (i18n) | Fully translatable UI | i18n included |
| Docker deployment | Documented in every Next.js kit | Docker deployment available |
| Cloudflare deployment guide | Next.js Supabase kit | Not documented |
Legend: green check, documented first-class feature. Yellow minus, partial or limited. Grey circle, not documented when we checked.
Where MakerKit wins, and where supastarter wins
MakerKit is the better buy if
- You want Supabase, with tenant isolation enforced by RLS policies in Postgres rather than only in application code. The Supabase RLS best practices guide shows the pattern.
- Some customers are individuals and some are companies, and you want hybrid account modes without a redesign.
- Your pricing has a usage component: metered billing, or credits, with a documented recipe on the Supabase kits.
- You need an iOS and Android app, or a React Router 8 codebase.
- You want a Playwright suite that already covers sign-up, invitations, and billing, and an MCP server for your agent.
supastarter is the better buy if
- You build with Nuxt or SvelteKit. MakerKit is React only.
- You want Lemon Squeezy with Better Auth. MakerKit's Better Auth kits (Drizzle and Prisma) ship Stripe or Polar.
- Entry price decides it. At the listed dollar prices, supastarter Solo costs less than MakerKit Pro.
- You want a standalone Hono API that other clients call, rather than server actions and route handlers.
What you get with MakerKit
- The license: a one-time purchase that adds you to the private GitHub repository, with lifetime updates and unlimited products for your own business. Sharing the code with employees or building for clients needs a Team license; see the license terms.
- Changing stacks: a license covers one data stack (Supabase, Drizzle, or Prisma) across its frameworks, and switching to another stack is discounted.
- Try before you buy: the documentation is public, so you can read the architecture before paying. Because you receive the full source, refunds are generally not offered once repository access is redeemed; details in the FAQ.
The rows that decide supastarter vs MakerKit: metered billing and upkeep
Both kits cover the basics; the difference shows in the maintain-forever rows and in the billing models you will need later. With AI coding tools, that is still 49-81 hours of senior developer time, including fixing the patterns AI got wrong.
Build once
Infrastructure every SaaS needs before its first feature
- Authentication (email, OAuth, MFA)6-10 hoursPre-built
- Stripe subscription billing5-8 hoursPre-built
- Teams, roles & invitations6-10 hoursPre-built
- Super admin dashboard4-6 hoursPre-built
- Transactional emails3-5 hoursPre-built
- Marketing pages2-4 hoursPre-built
- Blog & documentation3-5 hoursPre-built
- Project setup (monorepo, CI, TypeScript)2-3 hoursPre-built
- E2E tests (auth and billing flows)3-5 hoursPre-built
Maintain forever
Work that keeps coming after launch
- Refactoring AI-generated patterns15-25 hoursNot needed
- Next.js/React version upgradesEvery major releaseIncluded
- Security patches & fixesOngoing, unpredictableIncluded
- Dependency updatesOngoingIncluded
49-81 hours
With AI tools, including rework
Day 1
Start building your product immediately
$7,350-$12,150
In developer time and opportunity cost
Estimates for a senior developer building from scratch with Claude Code or Cursor at $150/hour, including 15-25 hours refactoring AI-generated patterns. Read the methodology
Our customers love Makerkit ❤️
Rob, founder at Provider.app
Watch the full interview with Rob.Sebastian, founder at Watchthis
Watch the full interview with Sebastian.Michael, founder at ChatFlow
Watch the full interview with Michael.Choosing MakerKit over supastarter? Pick your stack
One-time purchase: lifetime license, continuous updates, unlimited projects of your own.
- Lifetime access to your stack of choice
- Build unlimited applications
- Continuous updates
- Access to the Discord community
- The best support in the SaaS Starter kits market, period.
- Community and Chat support
- Community-based feature requests and Request for Comments. You have a say in what Makerkit should build next.
- One-time payment, no subscriptions
- Includes access to our free Figma UI kit
Choose your Stack
Select the technology stack that best fits your project
Questions about licensing?
Read the MakerKit license terms and the MakerKit FAQ, or contact me.
SaaS products built with MakerKit
A selection of products MakerKit customers have built on the kits.
I help founders launch faster - because life’s too short to write boilerplate code.
I am a software engineer with almost 15 years of experience writing code for both startups and enterprises.
My love for creating digital products inspired me to build Makerkit, a SaaS Starter Kit that helps you launch the SaaS you have always dreamed of.
My job is to help you achieve your goals, and I work hard to make it happen.
You can find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub.
Need personal and team accounts, or usage billing? Choose MakerKit.
Hybrid account modes, metered billing, and agent tooling are already in the kit, so the pricing model you add next year does not force a rewrite. Get lifetime access today.
Why supastarter is popular
supastarter ships real multi-tenancy: organizations, members, roles, and seat-based subscriptions. It is framework-flexible, with Next.js, Nuxt, TanStack Start, and SvelteKit editions, and database-agnostic through Better Auth with Drizzle or Prisma and a Hono API layer.
It is also priced to compete. In September 2026 its site listed $299 Solo, $799 Startup, and $1,499 Agency, one-time with lifetime updates; prices show in dollars or euros depending on your region. It ships AGENTS.md and agent skills, so it takes coding agents seriously too.
Migrating from supastarter to MakerKit
Of all the kits we compare against, supastarter is the easiest to move from, because both sides can run Better Auth with Drizzle or Prisma on Postgres. There is still no automatic converter.
| In supastarter | In MakerKit | What you rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| Better Auth users, OAuth accounts, sessions | Better Auth in the MakerKit Drizzle and Prisma kits | Compare the generated Better Auth tables and import users and linked OAuth accounts. Sessions end, so users sign in once after the cutover. |
| Organizations, members, invitations | Team accounts, memberships, roles, and invitations | Map organization IDs to team accounts and members to memberships, then map your roles onto MakerKit roles. Reissue pending invitations. |
| Drizzle or Prisma schema for your product | The same ORM in the matching MakerKit kit | Port your product tables and scope them to the owning account. Keeping the ORM means most queries move with small changes. |
| Hono API routes | Server actions and route handlers | Rewrite the handlers. Input validation schemas usually carry over; the transport and auth context change. |
| Payment provider and plans | MakerKit billing: Stripe or Polar (Drizzle, Prisma); Stripe or Lemon Squeezy (Supabase kits) | Recreate plans in the billing config, repoint the webhook, and link existing customer IDs to accounts. Subscriptions stay in your provider. |
| Nuxt or SvelteKit frontend | React (Next.js, TanStack Start, or React Router) | A full UI rewrite. If your supastarter app is on Nuxt or SvelteKit, weigh that cost honestly before switching. |
- Keep your ORM: the Next.js Drizzle kit or the Next.js Prisma kit keeps Better Auth, so the auth import is a table mapping. Moving to the Next.js Supabase kit for RLS also means moving users to Supabase Auth.
- Choose the account mode, then map organizations to team accounts. The multi-tenant SaaS architecture guide explains the account and membership model you are mapping onto.
- Port product tables and features, then billing plans.
- Rehearse the data import on staging, then switch DNS and the payment webhook together.
supastarter alternative FAQ
Which has better multi-tenancy, MakerKit or supastarter?
Both ship real multi-tenancy with organizations, members, and roles, so either works for B2B. MakerKit adds personal, team, and hybrid account modes, and on the Supabase kits enforces tenant isolation with Postgres Row Level Security.
Is supastarter cheaper than MakerKit?
At the solo tier, yes: supastarter Solo was listed at $299 one-time in September 2026, below MakerKit Pro. For teams it flips. supastarter listed Startup at $799 and Agency at $1,499, while the MakerKit Team license is $649 one-time and covers employees, contractors, and client work.
Do both kits use Better Auth?
supastarter uses Better Auth. MakerKit uses Better Auth in its Drizzle and Prisma kits and Supabase Auth in its Supabase kits, so you can pick either model.
Does MakerKit support Nuxt or SvelteKit?
No. MakerKit ships Next.js, TanStack Start, and React Router kits, plus an Expo kit for mobile. If you need Vue or Svelte, supastarter is the better choice.
How hard is it to move from supastarter to MakerKit?
Easier than from most kits if you stay on the same ORM, because both use Better Auth on Postgres. Budget time for the organization-to-team mapping, the API layer rewrite, and a rehearsed data import.
Spotted something out of date about supastarter or MakerKit? Please contact us and we will correct it.