Compare
Electron AppStack vs Open SaaS
Short answer: Pick Electron AppStack if you want ready-to-sell Electron boilerplate; pick Open SaaS if you want full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments. Electron AppStack is free; Open SaaS has a free plan, paid from $9.99/month.
Electron AppStackFree, production-ready boilerplate to sell Electron apps
Open SaaSAn open-source, 100% free, production-grade, React & Node.js SaaS starter!Which to pick
Pick Electron AppStack if you want…
- Ready-to-sell Electron boilerplate
- A free, open-source tool
- Integrations with Electron, TypeScript or Vite (on Electron AppStack's list, not Open SaaS's)
Pick Open SaaS if you want…
- Full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments
- Open-source SaaS starter
- Integrations with Node.js, Prisma or Polar.sh (on Open SaaS's list, not Electron AppStack's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Electron AppStack:Electron AppStack is a free full-stack boilerplate for building and selling production-ready Electron desktop apps.
- Open SaaS:Open SaaS is a free, open-source full-stack React + Node.js starter kit with built-in auth, payments and AI-ready features.
- Best for
- Electron AppStack:Ready-to-sell Electron boilerplate
- Open SaaS:Full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments
- Who it’s for
- Electron AppStack:Developers who want a ready-made Electron stack to ship commercial desktop apps quickly.
- Open SaaS:Developers building SaaS products who want a ready-made, type-safe stack.
- Pricing
- Electron AppStack:Free
- Open SaaS:Freemium
- Starting price
- Electron AppStack:Free
- Open SaaS:$9.99/month (Hobby)
- Free plan or trial
- Electron AppStack:Free to use
- Open SaaS:—
- Plans
- Electron AppStack:—
- Open SaaS:Hobby $9.99/month per month · Pro $19.99/month per month · 10 Credits $9.99
- Open source
- Electron AppStack:Yes, 1 GitHub stars
- Open SaaS:Yes, 16,015 GitHub stars
- Works with
- Electron AppStack:Electron, React, TypeScript, Vite, tRPC, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, Tailwind CSS
- Open SaaS:React, Node.js, Prisma, Stripe, Polar.sh, Lemon Squeezy, Plausible, Google Analytics
Electron AppStack features
- Typed full-stack stack. React 19, TypeScript, tRPC IPC and SQLite with Drizzle give end-to-end type safety.
- Auto update & signing. Built-in electron-updater, GitHub Actions workflow signs and notarizes installers for macOS, Windows and Linux.
- Source code protection. Main process compiled to V8 bytecode, Electron fuses and ASAR integrity keep code unreadable.
- License management. Integrated LicenseManager.dev and Stripe enable activation windows, offline use and gated updates.
- Hot reload & DX. Vite provides instant hot reload; Biome handles linting/formatting and 16 guides cover setup to sales.
- Design system & theming. Tailwind CSS v4 with shadcn/ui components and dark/light/system themes out of the box.
Open SaaS features
- Full-stack Type Safety. TypeScript types are auto-generated across the entire stack without extra configuration.
- Pre-configured Auth. Ready-to-use authentication flow that you own and can customize.
- Payment Provider Integration. Stripe, Polar.sh and Lemon Squeezy checkout and webhook setup out of the box.
- Admin Dashboard & Analytics. Built-in dashboard with graphs, tables and Plausible/Google Analytics support.
- File Uploads via AWS S3. Example code for presigned S3 uploads, fully documented.
- Built-in Blog with Astro. Markdown-based blog powered by Astro, with SEO-friendly rendering.
- E2E Tests & CI. Playwright tests and GitHub Actions CI pipeline included.
- Deploy Anywhere. No vendor lock-in; deploy yourself or use Wasp’s one-click deploy.
Electron AppStack vs Open SaaS FAQ
What is the difference between Electron AppStack and Open SaaS?+
Open SaaS is a React & Node.js SaaS starter, not a desktop Electron environment with licensing and code protection.
Should I use Electron AppStack or Open SaaS?+
Pick Electron AppStack if you want ready-to-sell Electron boilerplate, a free, open-source tool or integrations with Electron, TypeScript or Vite (on Electron AppStack's list, not Open SaaS's). Pick Open SaaS if you want full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments, Open-source SaaS starter or integrations with Node.js, Prisma or Polar.sh (on Open SaaS's list, not Electron AppStack's).
Is Electron AppStack or Open SaaS free?+
Electron AppStack is free. Open SaaS has a free plan; paid plans start at $9.99/month (Hobby).
Which is cheaper, Electron AppStack or Open SaaS?+
Electron AppStack is free, so it costs less. Open SaaS starts at $9.99/month (Hobby).
Is Electron AppStack or Open SaaS open source?+
Yes, both are open source: Electron AppStack (nick-keller/electron-appstack on GitHub) and Open SaaS (wasp-lang/open-saas on GitHub, MIT license).
Do Electron AppStack and Open SaaS integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list React and Stripe. Electron AppStack also lists Electron, TypeScript, Vite, tRPC and 5 more; Open SaaS also lists Node.js, Prisma, Polar.sh, Lemon Squeezy and 5 more.
On DevHunt
Open SaaS
98 upvotes · Launched on DevHunt on Jan 23, 2024
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.