Why Your SaaS Doesn't Need 7 Tools

The typical early-stage SaaS stack looks like this:

• Auth provider ($30/month)
• CRM ($50/month)
• Form builder ($20/month)
• Booking tool ($15/month)
• Email marketing ($30/month)
• Analytics ($0-50/month)
• Payments (Stripe, obviously)

That's 7 tools, 7 accounts, 7 integrations, and $150+/month before you have a single customer.

This is insane.

The Hidden Costs of Tool Sprawl

1. Integration Tax

Every tool needs to talk to every other tool. Form submissions go to CRM. CRM triggers emails. Payments update CRM. Bookings sync to calendar.

Each connection is code you maintain. Each API is a dependency. Each webhook is a failure point.

2. Context Switching

Where's that lead? Check the CRM. Where's the form data? Check Typeform. Who paid? Check Stripe. Who booked? Check Calendly.

Your customer data is scattered across seven dashboards. You can't see the full picture without opening five tabs.

3. Vendor Lock-in

Migrating from one CRM to another? Good luck exporting your data in a format the new one accepts. Your history, your workflows, your automations—all trapped.

4. Monthly Burn

$150/month doesn't sound like much until you realize that's $1,800/year. For infrastructure. Before revenue.

The All-in-One Advantage

What if your production-ready SaaS came with:

• Auth built in (no external provider)
• CRM built in (no Salesforce, no HubSpot)
• Lead forms built in (no Typeform)
• Booking built in (no Calendly)
• Payments built in (just Stripe, wired correctly)

One codebase. One database. One source of truth.

No integration tax. No context switching. No vendor lock-in. No monthly tool burn.

When to Add External Tools

External tools make sense later, when you have specific needs:

• Scaling email — when you're sending 100k+ emails/month
• Enterprise CRM — when you need Salesforce integrations for enterprise sales
• Advanced analytics — when you need cohort analysis and funnels

But at launch? You don't need them. You need customers.

Simplicity as Strategy

LaunchKit is a Next.js SaaS starter with built-in CRM and payments. One template. Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

Get LaunchKit →