Dear IHers, what is your favourite SAAS tech stack?
You can share a link to your project and tech stack it's written in or just share the tech stack you feel most productive with.
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Laravel + Inertia.js + Vue.js + Tailwind CSS 🚀😉
Same, but swap out Vue.js for React. It's been a few years since I've used Vue. React just worked with my brain better for some reason.
I feel very productive with this stack.
An absolute joy to use, I feel very productive as well!
NextJS + TailwindCSS + Supabase + Clerk Auth + Vercel
In my opinion, this is the best stack to ship fast.
I am gonna try this - thank you!
Have you faced any challenges with Supabase in production? For me it was not reliable or stable enough, though I loved developing on it, ultimately switched to Node/Express/Postgrest.
I have not had any problems with Supabase, but I heard many negative reviews about its limitations.
The main reason I like this stack is because it lets you ship fast. As 90% of the projects fail, it has no sense to make everything perfect.
Later, if the project shows signs of potential success and you see something in your stack that is not as good as you thought, you can start working on optimization.
I agree. There a big difference between Supabase Auth vs Clerk Auth?
It takes 2 minutes to set up Clerk Auth. It also has UI components.
So, I would say it's just faster.
I might look into this. Never heard of it until this thread. thanks
Modern web frameworks like Next.js and Remix are in a league of their own at the moment. If you gain expertise in these frameworks you can deliver a user experience that is very difficult to reproduce. When done right, web applications should feel as close to native as the web currently allows.
do you find Next limiting on the BE side?
Remix covers off the backend too, its a server side rendered solution
I'm don't know what BE is so not sure :)
FE stands for Front-end and BE stands for Back-end :)
If that's the case I'm not sure I understand what it means for Next.js to be limiting on the backend side.
@achempion, can you clarify what you mean?
I used RoR + React, Vanilla RoR, Elixir LiveView, Elixir + React.
So far, I pretty like the LiveView because of it simplicity and documentation quality for the whole Elixir ecosystem.
For mobile, though, I think Elixir + GraphQL + React is the way to go for me.
Remember the "best" tech stack is often the one you are most familiar with.
For me it is
Vite + Typescript + Amplify + Serverless Framework
Nextjs + tailwind (UI) and supabase
For a proper web apps, I still can't find (and don't want) anything better and faster and more convenient than Ruby on Rails.
They have recently had many great changes for better frontend flow (hotwire). I don't think I'll ever need anything else.
For landings and more simple pages I use Next.js. Also, TailwindCSS (and TailwindUI) everywhere.
For deploying I usually go with Heroku for the first case and with Vercel for the second.
I browse job adverts on occasion (need a plan if my projects don't start making money!) and have noticed a lot more Ruby on Rails jobs popping up in my area, some of them quite well paying. Seems to be on an upwards as far as popularity goes... considering giving it some time to look at but not sure of the learning curve (background in web apps/websites/pwa's with React/.NET amongst others).
I wouldn't worry about this too much. If you are good software engineer, it doesn't matter what stack you are using for a job prospects in my opinion.
Frontend: TailwindCSS + React + Next.js + Typescript
Backend: Rust + Shell scripts + Docker + Postgresql
Cloud Provider: Fly dot io
Desktop apps: Tauri
Do you find Rust limiting in terms of productivity compared to more high level languages like Ruby/Python, even Golang
Unless they're just familiar with Rust or really need the performance benefits I'd say it would be. Most people on here would be completely fine with an Express or Flask/Django webserver for the foreseeable future, and those languages allow for quicker execution due to their ecosystems. In the past, I've even used Go for projects and it's noticeably slower compared to other options (it's not the worst tho).
It is a very personal choice when its comes to productivity, as reflected by many comments here. Other than the general sentiments like steep learning curve, sometimes writing Rust feels a lot more verbose than Ruby or Python.
That said, as projects evolve bigger, Rust really starts to shine. Adding new features, refactoring etc. becomes easier because compiler reduces cognitive burden of making sure all changes are done in all the required places. This ensures correctness of code - I'd say that helps with productivity long term when you have less bugs.
xkcd 303 comic of compiling does come to life :) however rust-analyzer is fast so you get almost immediate auto completion and feedback when writing code - helps with productivity.
Rust project made some of the good design choices like how to structure crates, tests, code documentation, error handling, pattern matching, optional value, cross compilation when targeting multiple OS and processors, updating Rust versions and so on .. all of which makes it productive.
Typescript
NodeJS
NestJS
Mongo or Firebase
Vue 3
Docker
What is docker's role in the tech stack? Asking as a newbie in backend (been a frontender all my life)
Docker is like a shipping container for your code. Just as a shipping container can hold all kinds of goods and can be moved from a ship to a truck to a train, Docker can "contain" your code, along with all the things your code needs to run, and move it from one machine to another easily. This makes it simpler and more reliable to work with your code, especially when you're working with others or deploying it to a live server.
Nice analogy, thank you @ramkr82
To add to ramkr82's answer, it also helps with security as it isolates your app in its image/container from other apps. More secure than running several web applications on the same shared sever, which was the way not too long ago (and still how some digital agency's do it). It helps with consistency across environments too as rather than just deploying your application logic the image can contain runtimes, libraries, etc.
The one I'm most productive in: Typescript, Postgres, Prisma, Next.js
The one I have the softest spot in my heart for: Laravel & PHP
Flask, postgresql, vuejs(optional), Docker
I used to create many PoC/prototypes/MVPs in a big firm for b2b clients. Some of them became very popular. So create -> Iterate -> Not good -> throw away. Good -> continue.
I found that for B2B and batch solutions sticking with serverless on aws (like lambda, ALB, dynamodb), python everywhere (even infra) is very good in terms of speed for MVPs.
For frontend it is always Vue.js because it is simple.
Again it is good for enterprise B2B and batch solutions. I would assume for high load traffic it is better to stick with standard Kubernetes/ECS and SQL stuff
React, Node.js, MongoDB, Render (for AyaIQ)
It's really a lot quicker to build a monolith as a solo founder and not use AWS :D
100%, was banging my head against the wall using google cloud. I was using firebase and as an extension was dipping into Cloud Run, Cloud Build, Functions etc. It took me a couple hours and refactoring to get Functions working out of the box. Ended up trying out Render for my project and was delighted by how quick it was to get a service up and running w/o even entering credit card details.
Absolutely! Render is nicer to use than Heroku and they keep adding new features. If you're working on an industry project definitely use Google Cloud or AWS. But that's overkill for indiehackers.
Totally, I think once your project is big enough to hire dedicated DevOps/Infra folks then you can try taking a stab at AWS/GCP haha. Otherwise those PaaS can do a really good job for smaller projects. I haven't really had a chance to test on the higher-end users wise but I'm sure you could probably support at least 10K users for a typical SaaS. There may be some implications choosing something like Render when making deals with Enterprise as they usually have stricter requirements around security (personally haven't looked into if something like Render would scare Enterprise but recall in companies I've worked at they were very picky during procurement)
Frontend: React JS + Chakra UI
Backend: Django (djoser for authentication)
Deployment: Heroku / Vercel
FE: React, MUI
BE: .NET (C#) (data exposed to FE via Entity framework/REST api)
DB: MS SQL Server
Hosting: Azure (static web apps, Azure app service)
CI/CD: Github actions
Not necessarily the stack I'd recommend to someone (except React), but it's what I use since it's what I can make things the quickest in due to existing knowledge. Bigest change I'll likely make on next project is switch to using GraphQL instead of REST APIs. Using a framework that lets me using JS on the BE is also a consideration... as much I like .NET switching between JS and C# constantly is a pain.
.NET with entity Framework really makes the most basic CRUD operations a no-brainer and saved me so much time
Sveltekit + tailwindcss + pocketbase + cloudflare workers.
almost no cost, and you move fast
I've been using django backend with nextjs frontend for quite some time.
But im migrating from django to supabase, it is just so easy and fast, and when paired with nextjs + tailwind, I can release mvps on turbo mode.
How does supabase help you to build faster compared to django?
Keeping it simple here with Laravel + Tailwind CSS.
This is also because I am familiar with Laravel but I do spin up cloud servers on-demand for some python scripts that utilize existing python libraries for example. Usually these services are paid, so I don't lose on spinning up the cloud server.
Indie Deep Tech processing Terabytes of data.
Backend: Python / Flask
DB: SQLite
Front-end: HTML+Bulma
Machine Learning: vanilla numpy.
Query Engine: Rust (but probably migrating to C)
❤️ My Fav is wordpress using it for Victrays(google it).
Mongo + Node + React with Mobx and Antd.
Tailwind + Nuxt + Golang + Postgres + Docker on DigitalOcean :)
Forge + Laravel + Inertia + Vite + Vue + Tailwind 🔥
Node + MongoDB + tRPC + Astro + React + Tailwind
Hosted on Railway (backends), and Cloudflare Pages (for frontends).
Nextjs+Nodejs+Firestore+Mysql
golang+postgresql+nextjs+docker and aws ec2 for hosting
Do your apps get traffic from all around the globe? If so, is it enough to have your ec2 deployed in a single region?
yes and yes. Considering that apps are SPA's i can deploy my frontend on something else while maintaining backend in a single region if there is really a need so far i have not seen any need for it.
Thanks. Could you please share where you deploy the frontend?
cloudflare
Rails + Hotwire. Even built a template for that (https://businessclasskit.com/).
Laravel, Cashier for billing, MySQL, Docker and DO for hosting
Nextjs + mysql
Can someone help find out what upvotes are because I need 5
Frontend: React with Nextjs, Chakra UI, React Data Table Component for tables, Framer Motion for animation.
Backend: Nodejs with Nestjs, Prisma
Database: Postgres
Deployment: DigitalOcean or Railway app
I use this stack for the majority of my projects.
I really love SvelteKit. It's like Next but with Svelte instead of React so it's faster, has smaller builds, and is a pleasure to develop. I find I have to write almost no boilerplate code which is amazing. I also love that the front-end and back-end are in the same language.
However, since SvelteKit is pretty new it doesn't have a lot of existing projects to accelerate SaaS development. I've had to code a lot of standard SaaS stuff so I decided to make all that it into a SvelteKit SaaS template.
I made a small tool to create icons in custom brand styles with AI. And our stack is Vercel + Svelte + Typescript + Tailwind
Django + Picocss can get you very far while keeping your code simple. I personally avoid adding FE frameworks (even light ones like htmx) unless it's strictly necessary for a particular feature and even then I try not to load them on every page.
Are all of you /any of you validating your idea before building? Or are these tech stacks allowing you to get a working prototype in front of customers?
SvelteKit + Prisma + PostgreSQL + AuthJS + TailwindCSS currently.
Use what you know, know what you use!
For my SaaS, I am using Go, Postgresql (+ PostGIS), VueJS (Quasar) using Typescript, RabbitMQ, with Docker to wrap things up. I plan to use DigitalOcean, but haven't started that stage yet.
I used to be a fan of RoR back in the day. Today, I go with Remix every time. I want to build progressively enhanced and performant apps (Lighthouse 100 on every page of my SaaS). For styling, I use plain old CSS (I find Tailwind to be pretty limiting) or Vanilla Extract. Server-wise, either Node.js on Fly.io or CF Workers.
Whichever of Typescript, Postgres, Prisma, and Next.js makes me most productive
Laravel & PHP are the technologies I love the most.
Huge fan of Prisma!
I like to have the frontend as static as possible, so I use static generators like Astro or Next for the pages.
For dashboards, a simple SPA built with react.
The backend, node, with a RPC appraoch with static client generation.
Everything strictly checked with typescript to reduce errors and ...production surprises.
I currently use the FRGB (pronounced "Frigbee") stack which is Firebase, React, Gatsby and Bootstrap. Though I will probably at some point transition to the FRNT (pronounced "Front") stack ... Firebase, React, Next, Tailwind.
I personally like to keep it all in one language and go for simple solutions I'm familiar with. Incurred tech debt is fine if you're moving quickly at the beginning so you don't overengineer a solution for no reason. I typically go for an Express BE (hosted on a PaaS like Render or Heroku) and a React Next.js FE on Vercel. For database, I just go for something low cost NoSQL database like firebase or mongo. I'd even suggest using it even if your data is fairly relational just so you're not bound by a schema and can move quickly.
Next, Nest, Postgres, Redis, GCP
A Rails monolith w/ Hotwire on the frontend is my go to. I’m still deploying to Heroku, but been meaning to checkout some of the newer less expensive deployment options.
Laravel + Hotwire or HTMX. The simplicity of a traditional MPA stack really does speed up development, and delivering HTML over the wire allows the UX to keep pace with what an SPA can offer.
That said, for certain applications using a JS framework does make sense – and in those cases I find Vue.js to be the most productive.
Typescript
NodeJS
NextJS / Expo
Postgres
Docker
VSCode
I have been experimenting with FastAPI and Vue3. Both allow good typing support and just the right amount of abstraction. I also always use Postgres but that is not very interesting.
Next.js + Tailwind CSS
DB: Supabase
Auth: Next-auth
Tracking: Splitbee
Host: Vercel
Primary work: aitools.fyi
Ruby on Rails and JS!
I am using Laravel right now. I've been learning it for 3 months. It was really easy to learn it (I only started to take coding courses for like 4 months)
Design: Figma
Front-end development: Webflow!!
Payment: Stripe
Project Management: Trello
MERN Stack!
you are doing good sharing amazing content with people i am just amaze to see your hardwork keep it up
I'm stay with the old good golang + react (boring material UI) + postgresSQL + local VPS provider
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