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MERN SaaS Starter Kit vs Open SaaS
Short answer: Pick MERN SaaS Starter Kit if you want full-stack SaaS starter kit; pick Open SaaS if you want full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments. MERN SaaS Starter Kit is free and open source; Open SaaS has a free plan, paid from $9.99/month.
MERN SaaS Starter KitA open source free SaaS subscription starter kit 
Open SaaSAn open-source, 100% free, production-grade, React & Node.js SaaS starter!Which to pick
Pick MERN SaaS Starter Kit if you want…
- Full-stack SaaS starter kit
- A free, open-source tool
- Integrations with Express, MongoDB or AWS SES (on MERN SaaS Starter Kit's list, not Open SaaS's)
Pick Open SaaS if you want…
- Full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments
- React + Node SaaS starter with Postgres
- Integrations with Prisma, Polar.sh or Lemon Squeezy (on Open SaaS's list, not MERN SaaS Starter Kit's)
Side by side
- What it is
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:A free open-source MERN starter kit with auth, Stripe subscriptions, email, reCAPTCHA and TypeScript-based full-stack boilerplate.
- 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
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Full-stack SaaS starter kit
- Open SaaS:Full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments
- Who it’s for
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Developers building SaaS products with the MERN stack who want a production-ready foundation.
- Open SaaS:Developers building SaaS products who want a ready-made, type-safe stack.
- Pricing
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Open source
- Open SaaS:Freemium
- Starting price
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Free
- Open SaaS:$9.99/month (Hobby)
- Free plan or trial
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Free to use
- Open SaaS:—
- Plans
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:—
- Open SaaS:Hobby $9.99/month per month · Pro $19.99/month per month · 10 Credits $9.99
- Open source
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:Yes, 2 GitHub stars
- Open SaaS:Yes, 16,015 GitHub stars
- Works with
- MERN SaaS Starter Kit:React, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Stripe, AWS SES, Mailgun, Nodemailer
- Open SaaS:React, Node.js, Prisma, Stripe, Polar.sh, Lemon Squeezy, Plausible, Google Analytics
MERN SaaS Starter Kit features
- Authentication. Local email/password login with bcrypt and Google OAuth 2.0, plus email verification and password recovery.
- Payments & Subscriptions. Stripe integration supporting multiple plans, monthly/annual billing and webhook-driven subscription management.
- Email System. Configurable email sending via AWS SES, Mailgun or Nodemailer with templates and retry logic.
- Security. Rate limiting, CSRF protection, Google reCAPTCHA v3 and security headers for hardened endpoints.
- Modern Frontend. React 19 with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui components and React Query for cached API data.
- Backend Architecture. Express.js API written in TypeScript, MongoDB with Mongoose, and RESTful routes with role-based access.
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.
MERN SaaS Starter Kit vs Open SaaS FAQ
What is the difference between MERN SaaS Starter Kit and Open SaaS?+
Open SaaS is also a free React & Node starter but focuses on PostgreSQL instead of MongoDB and has a different UI stack.
Should I use MERN SaaS Starter Kit or Open SaaS?+
Pick MERN SaaS Starter Kit if you want full-stack SaaS starter kit, a free, open-source tool or integrations with Express, MongoDB or AWS SES (on MERN SaaS Starter Kit's list, not Open SaaS's). Pick Open SaaS if you want full-stack SaaS starter with built-in payments, React + Node SaaS starter with Postgres or integrations with Prisma, Polar.sh or Lemon Squeezy (on Open SaaS's list, not MERN SaaS Starter Kit's).
Is MERN SaaS Starter Kit or Open SaaS free?+
MERN SaaS Starter Kit is free and open source. Open SaaS has a free plan; paid plans start at $9.99/month (Hobby).
Which is cheaper, MERN SaaS Starter Kit or Open SaaS?+
MERN SaaS Starter Kit is free, so it costs less. Open SaaS starts at $9.99/month (Hobby).
Is MERN SaaS Starter Kit or Open SaaS open source?+
Yes, both are open source: MERN SaaS Starter Kit (viitormasc/SaaS-Subscription-Auth-Starter-Kit on GitHub) and Open SaaS (wasp-lang/open-saas on GitHub, MIT license).
Do MERN SaaS Starter Kit and Open SaaS integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list React, Node.js and Stripe. MERN SaaS Starter Kit also lists Express, MongoDB, AWS SES, Mailgun and 4 more; Open SaaS also lists Prisma, Polar.sh, Lemon Squeezy, Plausible and 4 more.
On DevHunt
MERN SaaS Starter Kit
0 upvotes · Launched on DevHunt on Jan 6, 2026
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.