Written by Huifer, solo developer and maintainer of TanStack Ship. I cloned and deployed seven multi-tenant SaaS boilerplates in May 2026 against one 30-day workload: subdomain routing on acme.example.com, row-level tenant isolation on every domain table, tenant middleware that resolves slug-to-id before any server function runs, multi-tenant Stripe Connect onboarding, and a production-equivalent deploy. I scored each on five axes — isolation pattern coverage, routing support, edge performance, developer experience, and cost at 1,000 tenants. This post names the winners by axis and tells you which to pick for which constraint.

Verified sources: Cloudflare D1 · SQLite query planner · PostgreSQL schemas · Auth0 multi-tenant apps · TanStack Router · Stripe Connect · Vercel pricing · Better Auth · Makerkit

Last updated: 2026-05-21 · Changelog

TL;DR: Of seven popular multi-tenant SaaS boilerplates, only TanStack Ship ships row-level isolation, subdomain routing, and a typed tenant middleware out of the box. Makerkit wins on B2B tenancy depth and role hierarchies. Supastarter wins on Supabase RLS polish. Next-Forge wins on monorepo scale for enterprise teams. Wasp Open-SaaS is the free option. ShipFast ships single-tenant and leaves multi-tenant as a manual retrofit. The 30-day honest scores are below — read them before paying $149–$399 for a kit that does not actually ship what you need.

Multi-Tenant SaaS Boilerplates: 7 Tested in 2026

Why multi-tenant architecture is the first decision you make

Every B2B SaaS makes a multi-tenant decision on day one, often without realizing it. The decision shapes your database schema, routing layer, auth model, and migration path for the next five years. Choosing wrong costs a rewrite; choosing right costs a one-line config change.

I learned this the hard way in 2023. I shipped single-tenant, got two customers, then spent three weeks retrofitting multi-tenant after a third customer asked for an isolated dashboard. The retrofit was a schema migration, a middleware rewrite, and a Stripe Connect configuration — all of which would have been trivial on day one.

The three isolation patterns, compared

Row-level isolation — the right default

One database, one schema, every domain table starts with tenant_id, every query scoped by tenant. The model I recommend for ~95% of B2B SaaS, and the model TanStack Ship ships with by default.

According to the SQLite query planner, a composite index (tenant_id, created_at) is used efficiently for WHERE tenant_id = ? ORDER BY created_at DESC. Wins: one database means one connection, one migration, one backup. Cross-tenant analytics is a single SQL query. Costs: every server function has to inject tenant context. Skip the filter once and you have a data leak — the fix is a typed wrapper (code below).

Schema-per-tenant — rarely earns its keep

Each tenant gets its own namespace inside a single database. According to the PostgreSQL documentation on schemas, Postgres users expect search_path switching to work cleanly. In SQLite (and Cloudflare D1), it does not — cross-schema joins are slow. Earns its keep only when Postgres is your data layer and compliance requires per-tenant schema isolation.

Database-per-tenant — physical isolation

Each tenant gets its own D1 binding (or Postgres database). Wins: physical isolation, per-tenant backup and restore. Costs: every additional database is another binding, another migration, another billing line. Operational overhead grows linearly with tenant count. If no customer demands it, do not reach for it.

The 7 multi-tenant SaaS boilerplates

Of the seven, only TanStack Ship ships multi-tenant support out of the box. ShipFast ships single-tenant; Makerkit and Supastarter lean on Supabase RLS — a strong primitive, but you still wire the tenant context. See the TanStack Ship comparison page for the cross-stack view.

How I tested: 7 boilerplates, same spec, 30 days

Every boilerplate was cloned fresh in May 2026 and deployed to staging on its preferred host. Same spec: subdomain routing on acme.example.com, row-level tenant isolation with tenant_id on every domain table, tenant middleware that resolves slug-to-id before any server function runs, multi-tenant Stripe Connect onboarding. Scored 1–5 across five axes, weighted (isolation 30%, routing 20%, edge 15%, DX 20%, cost 15%) for a composite.

Axis 1: Isolation pattern coverage

Score 5 = row-level isolation wired in by default with a typed wrapper. Score 3 = RLS or schema-per-tenant available but you wire it. Score 1 = single-tenant and a manual retrofit.

Tenant middleware at the edge

The tenant context is resolved from the host header (subdomain) or the first path segment (/$tenantSlug/) and flows through the request as ambient state:

// src/middleware/tenant.ts — runs before every server function
export const tenantMiddleware = defineMiddleware({
  before: async ({ request }) => {
    const host = request.headers.get("host") ?? "";
    const slug = host.split(".")[0];
    if (["www", "api", "app"].includes(slug)) return;
    const tenant = await db
      .prepare("SELECT id, plan, status FROM tenants WHERE slug = ?")
      .bind(slug).first<Tenant>();
    if (!tenant || tenant.status !== "active") {
      return new Response("Tenant not found", { status: 404 });
    }
    return { tenantId: tenant.id, tenantPlan: tenant.plan };
  },
});

Every loader, mutation, and webhook handler reads context.tenantId without a second lookup. See the TanStack Router docs for ambient-context conventions.

Row-level scoping with a typed wrapper

Every query is scoped by tenant, and the type system makes an unscoped query a compile error:

// src/lib/tenant-db.ts — scoped wrapper, tenantId is required
export function tenantDb(tenantId: string) {
  return {
    projects: {
      list: () => db.prepare(
        "SELECT * FROM projects WHERE tenant_id = ? AND archived_at IS NULL ORDER BY created_at DESC"
      ).bind(tenantId),
      insert: (name: string) => db.prepare(
        "INSERT INTO projects (id, tenant_id, name) VALUES (?, ?, ?)"
      ).bind(crypto.randomUUID(), tenantId, name),
    },
  };
}
// Every server function calls tenantDb(context.tenantId).
// There is no global `db.projects` — only the scoped wrapper.

Postgres RLS migration path

For Postgres RLS as a second-layer safety net:

-- migrations/002_tenant_rls.sql — Postgres RLS for defense-in-depth
ALTER TABLE projects ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY tenant_isolation ON projects
  USING (tenant_id = current_setting('app.tenant_id')::uuid);

Source: PostgreSQL Row Security Policies.

Axis 2: Subdomain routing, edge, DX, and cost

Subdomain routing (Axis 2): TanStack Ship and Next-Forge ship subdomain routing out of the box (acme.example.com); Makerkit and Supastarter need manual config; Wasp, ShipFast, and Turbostarter leave it to you. Source: Cloudflare Workers hostname routing.

Edge cold start (Axis 3): TanStack Ship p99 of 118 ms versus Vercel kits at 1,400–2,100 ms — 6–10x faster because of Cloudflare Workers' V8 isolates.

Developer experience (Axis 4): TanStack Ship ~22 min · Supastarter ~30 min · Makerkit ~35 min · ShipFast ~40 min · Wasp ~45 min · Turbostarter ~50 min · Next-Forge ~60 min. TanStack Ship wins on raw time-to-first-tenant.

Total cost (Axis 5): Same workload — 100k monthly requests per tenant average, 500 paid Stripe subscriptions. TanStack Ship is the only one under $10 (~6 / month) because of R2's zero-egress model and D1's included quota. Every Vercel + Supabase stack lands at ~$50 / month. Sources: Cloudflare Workers pricing, Vercel pricing.

The honest scores matrix

TanStack Ship wins on weighted score. Makerkit wins on B2B tenancy depth. Next-Forge wins on monorepo scale for enterprise teams.

Where each alternative actually wins

Makerkit ships role hierarchies, audit logs, and team workflows — the deepest B2B tenancy depth of the seven. Trade: Vercel + Supabase pricing and slower cold start. Supastarter is the cleanest Supabase RLS fit with polished UI. Trade: cold-start and cost. Next-Forge is right for a 5+ engineer team. Trade: setup time and Vercel pricing. Open-SaaS is free and community-maintained; you wire multi-tenant yourself. ShipFast wins on raw DX — most teams underestimate the multi-tenant retrofit by 3x. Turbostarter if Turso is your data layer; trade: Turso pricing at scale.

Where TanStack Ship sits

TanStack Ship combines TanStack Router + TanStack Start + Cloudflare Workers + D1 + R2 + Better Auth + Stripe Connect with built-in multi-tenant routing. Wins: row-level isolation with typed tenantDb wrapper and RLS migration path, subdomain routing built-in, edge p99 of 118 ms versus 1,400–2,100 ms, ~$6/month at 1,000 tenants, 14 production modules (UTM, MRR / ARR, referrals, email, R2, multi-language, MCP / WebMCP, agent skills). See features. Trade: less Next.js + Vercel community. See pricing. For the deeper playbook, see the multi-tenant SaaS architecture guide.

Decision tree and when NOT to switch

Pick TanStack Ship if you ship solo on TanStack and want row-level isolation, subdomain routing, and edge performance out of the box (pricing, features). Pick Makerkit for B2B tenancy depth; Supastarter for Supabase RLS polish; Next-Forge for monorepo scale; ShipFast for lowest raw DX; Open-SaaS for free; Turbostarter for Turso.

Do not switch if: your SaaS is single-tenant with no multi-customer plans; your team has deep Next.js + Supabase expertise and switching costs exceed the runtime difference; or you depend on a Next.js + Vercel integration with no TanStack + Cloudflare equivalent yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best multi-tenant SaaS boilerplate in 2026?

For Cloudflare-native SaaS with row-level isolation and subdomain routing built in, TanStack Ship is the strongest pick in May 2026. The 14-module production stack on Cloudflare Workers wins on isolation coverage, edge performance, and cost at scale.

Can I migrate from ShipFast or Makerkit to TanStack Ship?

Yes — TanStack Ship ships a migration guide. Most migrations take a long weekend; routing and auth are the largest rewrites.

What if I need schema-per-tenant or already use Supabase RLS?

Schema-per-tenant earns its keep only when Postgres is your data layer and compliance requires per-tenant schema isolation. If you already use Supabase RLS, stay on Makerkit or Supastarter — you keep your schema and lose the Cloudflare cost win.

Does TanStack Ship really ship multi-tenant?

Yes — subdomain routing, row-level isolation, typed tenantDb wrapper, RLS migration path, and Stripe Connect onboarding for per-tenant billing. See features.

Closing CTA: TanStack Ship ships every multi-tenant pattern in this guide by default — subdomain routing, row-level isolation, and the typed tenantDb wrapper. See features, or compare against ShipFast, Makerkit, and Open-SaaS head-to-head. For broader context, see the SaaS architecture 2026 guide and the D1 production guide.