# Apptension SaaS Boilerplate

Free, open-source Django + React SaaS boilerplate with 3k GitHub stars

https://topboilerplates.com/apptension-saas-boilerplate

Framework: Django | Pricing: Free | GitHub stars: 3000

## Verdict

Best for: Teams that want a completely free, actively-starred Django+React SaaS foundation with GraphQL, real-time features, and enterprise SSO already wired in.

Skip if: You want a simpler REST-only stack, or you're not prepared to run and maintain a GraphQL/Apollo layer alongside Django.

## Description

A free, MIT-licensed SaaS starter built and maintained by the software agency Apptension. The backend is Django 5 with Django REST Framework and GraphQL (Graphene), the frontend is React 19 with TypeScript, Apollo Client, and shadcn/ui, and infrastructure is Dockerized with an AWS CDK deployment setup. It ships authentication (including OAuth, passkeys, and enterprise SSO), Stripe subscriptions, multi-tenancy with role-based access, email templating, real-time notifications over WebSocket, a CRUD generator, and OpenAI integration.

## Pros and cons

+ Genuinely free and open source under MIT, with roughly 3,000 GitHub stars - a real, actively-used project rather than an abandoned template.

+ Built and backed by a software agency (Apptension) rather than a solo maker, which is a different risk profile for long-term maintenance.

+ Enterprise-grade auth out of the box: OAuth, WebAuthn/passkeys, and SSO, alongside the usual email/password flow.

+ Real-time notifications and a CRUD generator are included, which most free Django kits don't attempt.

- The stack is heavier than most competitors: Django + DRF + GraphQL/Graphene + React + Apollo + AWS CDK is a lot of moving parts to learn if you're not already familiar with all of them.

- No dedicated marketing site or hosted demo was found - the GitHub repo is the only entry point, which makes evaluating it before cloning harder than for paid competitors with live demos.

- This listing is built from the repo's own README and package files - independent reviews, issue-tracker health, and release cadence were not separately checked.

- As an agency side-project rather than a commercial product, support and roadmap depend on Apptension's own priorities rather than a dedicated team.

## Features

- auth-included
- social-login
- passkeys
- multi-tenant
- rbac-roles
- payments-included
- subscriptions
- email-templates
- background-jobs
- open-source
- mit-licensed
- free-tier

## Stack

- TypeScript
- Stripe
- Postgres
- Redis
- Docker
- Tailwind

## Links

- Website: https://topboilerplates.com/go/apptension-saas-boilerplate
- GitHub: https://github.com/apptension/saas-boilerplate

## Alternatives

- [IndieKit](https://topboilerplates.com/indiekit)
- [Carrot Seed](https://topboilerplates.com/carrot-seed)
- [ShipFast](https://topboilerplates.com/shipfast)