Framework The foundation of your app. Next.js has built-in server routes (safe for secret keys); Vite is a client-only single-page app.
Next.js App Router + server API routes. Recommended for AI & payments. Vite + React Fast client-only SPA. No server — secret keys are exposed.
Backend / Database Optional Where your data and users live.
None Frontend only. Supabase Postgres + auth + storage. Firebase Firestore + auth + hosting. Neon Serverless Postgres. Pairs with Drizzle/Prisma. Turso Edge SQLite (libSQL). Convex Reactive backend + database in one.
Authentication Optional How users sign in.
None No login. Supabase Auth Built on Supabase. Firebase Auth Built on Firebase. Clerk Drop-in auth, works with any backend. Auth.js (NextAuth) Open-source OAuth for Next.js. Better Auth Typed, self-hosted, owns your data.
AI Provider Optional The model your app talks to.
None No AI. Anthropic Claude models. Needs a secret key. OpenAI GPT models. Needs a secret key. Google Gemini Gemini models. Needs a secret key. Mistral Open European models. Needs a secret key. Groq Very fast open models. Needs a secret key. Ollama (local) Runs models on your machine. No API key.
Database Toolkit Optional Type-safe queries and schema for a SQL database.
None Use the raw driver. Drizzle Lightweight, SQL-like, TS-first. Prisma Batteries-included, great DX.
Payments Optional Charge your users.
None Free app. Stripe Industry standard. Needs a secret key. Polar Built for indie devs. Needs a secret key. Lemon Squeezy Merchant of record — handles tax. Paddle Merchant of record for SaaS.
Component Library Optional Prebuilt UI components.
None Build your own. shadcn/ui Copy-paste components on Tailwind. Mantine Full library, no Tailwind needed.
Data / State Optional Fetching and managing state.
None useState / fetch. TanStack Query Server-state caching & mutations. Zustand Tiny global client state. SWR Stale-while-revalidate fetching.
Email Optional Send transactional email.
None No email. Resend Modern API, pairs with React Email. Postmark Great deliverability.
Analytics Optional Understand your users.
None No analytics. PostHog Product analytics + replays + flags. Vercel Analytics Zero-config on Vercel.
Styling How you write CSS.
Tailwind Utility-first CSS. Plain CSS No build step, just CSS. CSS Modules Locally-scoped CSS files.
Deploy Target Where you ship it.
Vercel Best for Next.js. Netlify Great all-rounder. Cloudflare Edge network, generous free tier. Railway Simple full-stack hosting.