LaunchKit vs DIY SaaS Stack
The real cost of assembling your own stack vs starting with everything built.
Every developer thinks "I'll just build it myself" — until they calculate the true cost in time, money, and delayed revenue.
The DIY Stack Trap
What seems like a simple integration project quickly compounds into weeks of work:
| Component | Cost | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|
| Next.js | Free | Setup: 1 day |
| Auth (Clerk/Auth0/Custom) | $0-$35+/mo | Setup: 2-4 days |
| Database (Supabase/Planetscale) | $0-$25+/mo | Setup: 1-2 days |
| Stripe Integration | Free + dev time | Setup: 1-2 weeks |
| CRM (HubSpot/Pipedrive) | $0-$50+/mo | Integration: 2-3 days |
| Booking (Cal.com/Calendly) | $0-$12+/mo | Integration: 1-2 days |
| Analytics (Mixpanel/Posthog) | $0-$25+/mo | Setup: 1-2 days |
| Email (Resend/SendGrid) | $0-$20+/mo | Setup: 1 day |
| Total | $50-150+/mo | 4-8 weeks |
And that's just the setup. You still need to maintain, debug, and update each piece.
Hidden Costs of DIY
Integration Debugging
+1-2 weeksEach service has its own quirks, rate limits, and edge cases. Budget extra time for things that should just work.
Ongoing Maintenance
+2-4 hrs/weekAPIs change, dependencies update, security patches happen. Your DIY stack requires constant attention.
Context Switching
Mental overheadJumping between different documentation, dashboards, and support channels for each tool.
Delayed Revenue
Opportunity costEvery week spent building infrastructure is a week you're not acquiring customers or making money.
What LaunchKit Gives You Instead
DIY Reality:
- ✗4-8 weeks of setup work
- ✗Multiple vendor relationships
- ✗Integration complexity
- ✗Ongoing maintenance burden
- ✗$50-150+/mo in tool costs
LaunchKit Reality:
- ✓1-2 days to launch
- ✓Single integrated codebase
- ✓Already wired together
- ✓Updates included
- ✓$249 one-time payment
Feature Comparison
| Feature | LaunchKit | DIY Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | ✅Pre-built with Supabase | ⚠️2-4 days to implement |
| Stripe integration | ✅Production-ready flows | ⚠️1-2 weeks to build properly |
| CRM system | ✅Included | ⚠️1-2 weeks or external tool |
| Booking system | ✅Built-in | ⚠️1 week or external tool |
| Admin dashboard | ✅Complete system | ⚠️1-2 weeks |
| SEO blog | ✅Ready to publish | ⚠️3-5 days |
| Total time to MVP | ✅1-2 days | ⚠️4-8 weeks |
| Custom architecture | ✅Adaptable foundation | ✅Full control |
The Real Math
If you value your time at $50/hour (conservative for a developer):
DIY Cost (6 weeks × 40 hrs × $50)
$12,000
+ monthly tool fees
LaunchKit Cost
$249
One-time, everything included
DIY makes sense if you have more time than money. Most founders have neither — and need revenue faster than DIY allows.
When Each Approach Makes Sense
DIY makes sense if:
- ○You have 2-3 months before you need revenue
- ○You want complete architectural control
- ○You're building something highly custom
- ○You enjoy infrastructure work
- ○You have dev time but not $249
LaunchKit makes sense if:
- ●You want revenue in days, not months
- ●You'd rather build product than infrastructure
- ●You value integrated, tested code
- ●You want to skip the integration headaches
- ●$249 is cheaper than your time
The Bottom Line
DIY = Months of work, ongoing maintenance, delayed revenue
LaunchKit = Days to launch, everything integrated, start earning immediately
Unless you specifically need to build custom infrastructure, LaunchKit saves you thousands in development time and gets you to revenue faster.
Skip the DIY trap
Start with everything built. Focus on your product and customers.
