LaunchKit vs WordPress: Best for SaaS in 2025?

The Core Difference

WordPress is a content management system that evolved into a general-purpose website builder. It's plugin-dependent—you bolt on functionality piece by piece.

LaunchKit is a purpose-built SaaS starter with revenue features baked in. It's a codebase you own and extend, not a platform you configure.

This fundamental difference affects everything: performance, security, maintenance, and total cost of ownership.

Built-in Revenue Features

To match LaunchKit's functionality with WordPress, you need multiple premium plugins:

• Lead capture forms: WPForms or Gravity Forms ($49-299/year) — included in LaunchKit
• CRM/Pipeline: Jetpack CRM or FluentCRM ($99-299/year) — included in LaunchKit
• Booking integration: Amelia or Calendly embed ($59-249/year) — included in LaunchKit
• Stripe payments: WooCommerce + extensions — included in LaunchKit
• Email notifications: WP Mail SMTP + email service — included in LaunchKit
• AI chat widget: Third-party plugin ($29-99/month) — included in LaunchKit

WordPress total for equivalent features: $300-900/year in plugins alone. LaunchKit: $0 additional—everything is included.

Performance Comparison

Performance directly impacts SEO rankings and conversion rates. Here's how they compare:

• Lighthouse score: WordPress typically 40-70 (plugin-dependent) vs LaunchKit 90-100
• Time to First Byte: WordPress 800ms-2s on shared hosting vs LaunchKit under 100ms on Edge/CDN
• Page load: WordPress 3-8 seconds vs LaunchKit under 1 second
• Core Web Vitals: WordPress often fails vs LaunchKit passes by default

WordPress is slow because PHP renders every page server-side, plugins add database queries (often 50-200+ per page), and shared hosting compounds the problem.

LaunchKit is fast because of static generation with edge caching, React Server Components, no runtime database queries for public pages, and tree-shaking that eliminates unused code.

Security Considerations

43% of the web runs WordPress, making it the #1 target for hackers. Security requires constant vigilance:

• Attack surface: WordPress has a massive surface (core + themes + plugins) vs LaunchKit's minimal surface (your code only)
• Plugin risks: Abandoned plugins create security holes. LaunchKit has no third-party runtime code
• Updates required: WordPress needs constant updates (core, themes, plugins). LaunchKit needs occasional dependency updates
• Authentication: wp-admin is a constant brute force target. LaunchKit uses Supabase Auth with OAuth and magic links

With WordPress, one vulnerable plugin compromises everything. LaunchKit's architecture—serverless functions, Supabase row-level security, no admin panel—minimizes attack vectors.

Total Cost of Ownership

Year 1 Costs

WordPress requires quality managed hosting ($120-300/year), a theme ($50-200), essential plugins ($300-600/year), performance plugins ($49-99/year), security plugins ($99-299/year), and backup plugins ($49-99/year). Plus 20-40 hours of setup time and 5-10 hours per month of maintenance.

WordPress Year 1: $800-2,500 + significant time

LaunchKit runs on Vercel's free tier, includes everything built-in, requires 2-4 hours of setup, and 0-2 hours per month of maintenance.

LaunchKit Year 1: $0-300 + minimal time

At Scale

WordPress at scale needs VPS or managed hosting ($50-200/month), a CDN ($20-100/month), plugin licenses ($50-150/month), and security monitoring ($20-50/month). Total: $150-500/month.

LaunchKit at scale needs Vercel Pro ($20/month) and Supabase Pro ($25/month). Total: $45-90/month.

Developer Experience

For developers, the coding experience differs dramatically:

• Language: WordPress uses PHP (2004 patterns) vs LaunchKit's TypeScript (modern)
• Frontend: WordPress uses jQuery + PHP templates vs LaunchKit's React 19 + Server Components
• Type safety: WordPress has none, LaunchKit has full TypeScript
• Hot reload: WordPress requires page refresh, LaunchKit is instant
• Git workflow: WordPress is awkward (database state), LaunchKit is native (everything in code)
• Deployment: WordPress uses FTP or complex CI, LaunchKit uses git push

WordPress pain points include mixing PHP, HTML, CSS, and JS in single files, global state everywhere, "hook hell" with implicit actions and filters, and local dev that requires mimicking production databases.

Customization & Flexibility

WordPress constrains you to what plugins offer. Customization often means finding a plugin that's "close enough," using hooks to modify behavior, overriding templates in child themes, or writing custom plugins.

With LaunchKit, you own the code. Change anything directly:

• UI: Edit React components
• Logic: Modify API routes
• Data: Update Supabase schema
• Style: Adjust Tailwind classes

No plugin limitations. No template hierarchy confusion. Direct, explicit control over everything.

Data Ownership & Portability

WordPress data is fragmented. WooCommerce orders are in a different format than Easy Digital Downloads orders. Each form plugin stores submissions differently. Migrating between CRM plugins requires manual work.

LaunchKit stores all data in standard Postgres tables. Export anything with SQL queries. Switch hosts without data migration. No vendor lock-in on data format.

When WordPress IS Better

WordPress wins when:

• Non-technical users need to edit content — WordPress has Gutenberg editor
• You need a specific plugin that doesn't exist elsewhere — WooCommerce for complex e-commerce, BuddyPress for social networks
• Content-heavy sites with many editors — Multi-author blogs, news sites, magazines
• Budget is extremely limited and time is not — Free themes + free plugins can work

When LaunchKit IS Better

LaunchKit wins when:

• You're building a SaaS or lead-generation business — CRM, payments, booking built-in
• Performance matters — Sub-second load times, Core Web Vitals compliance
• You're technical or have a developer — Unlimited customization, modern DX
• Security is a concern — No plugin vulnerabilities, minimal attack surface
• You want low maintenance — No constant updates, no compatibility issues
• Total cost of ownership matters — No plugin fees, cheaper hosting

The Bottom Line

WordPress is a Swiss Army knife—it can do everything, but nothing exceptionally well for SaaS use cases.

LaunchKit is a scalpel—purpose-built for one job: helping you capture leads, manage pipeline, take payments, and ship your SaaS fast.

Choose WordPress if: You need a simple blog or content site, you're non-technical and need a visual editor, or you need a very specific WordPress plugin.

Choose LaunchKit if: You're building a business that captures leads and takes payments, you're a developer or have access to one, and you value modern tech, fast performance, and low maintenance.