2026 Q3 edition (frozen) · data as of Sep 26, 2026 ()
State of Starter Kits, 2026 Q3
We checked the public code of 88 open-source starter kits (and the public pages of 21 paid ones): commits, releases, and every core dependency against its latest version. Here's what a buyer should know.
Headline findings
- 64% of the 88 open-source starter kits we track had no commits in the last 90 days.
- 41% have been quiet for six months or more, or are archived.
- 66% are at least one major version behind on a core dependency.
- Prisma: 10 of 11 kits (91%) are behind the latest major version.
- 0 of 21 paid kits let buyers check maintenance activity before paying.
- No commits in the last 90 days
- 64%
- Quiet 6+ months or archived
- 41%
- 1+ major behind on a core dependency
- 66%
56 of 88 kits
36 of 88 kits
TypeScript, Stripe SDK, React Native not counted
Grades
Open-source kits only. A fixed lookup from maintenance and dependency freshness. How grades work.
Maintenance
Dependency freshness
Which dependencies kits fall behind on
| Package | Latest | Kits using it | 1+ major behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prisma | 7.10.0 | 11 | 10 (91%) |
| Expo | 57.0.25 | 10 | 9 (90%) |
| NestJS | 12.1.0 | 7 | 6 (86%) |
| TypeORM | 1.1.1 | 7 | 6 (86%) |
| Vercel AI SDK | 7.0.116 | 9 | 7 (78%) |
| Nuxt | 4.5.2 | 3 | 2 (67%) |
| Express | 5.2.1 | 10 | 6 (60%) |
| Next.js | 16.3.6 | 44 | 24 (55%) |
| Zod | 4.6.5 | 43 | 23 (53%) |
| Drizzle | 0.45.3 | 19 | 9 (47%) |
| Tailwind CSS | 4.3.3 | 57 | 24 (42%) |
| React | 19.3.0 | 67 | 23 (34%) |
| tRPC | 11.19.0 | 7 | 2 (29%) |
| Auth.js | 4.24.15 | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| Supabase JS | 2.117.2 | 11 | 0 (0%) |
| Better Auth | 1.7.6 | 10 | 0 (0%) |
Popular, but quiet
Well-known kits with no commits in over 6 months, or archived. They may still work, but you'll own the upgrades.
- Chatbot UIlast commit 826 days before this report · 33,346 stars
- create-t3-applast commit 287 days before this report · 29,145 stars
- Next.js SaaS Starter (Vercel)last commit 289 days before this report · 16,148 stars
- Next.js Subscription Payments (Vercel)archived · 7,720 stars
- Node Express Boilerplatelast commit 1141 days before this report · 7,660 stars
- create-t3-turbolast commit 288 days before this report · 6,108 stars
- Precedentlast commit 724 days before this report · 5,109 stars
- SaaS Boilerplate (Async Labs)last commit 554 days before this report · 4,516 stars
- GraphQL Starter Kit (Kriasoft)last commit 685 days before this report · 3,970 stars
- TS Next.js Tailwind Starterlast commit 429 days before this report · 3,414 stars
Paid kits: can buyers check before they pay?
0 of 21 paid kits let buyers see maintenance activity and dependency versions in code before purchase.10 publish a dated public changelog, and 17 list prices we could confirm on their own site.How makers can close the gap.
Most active
- Catalyst (Agentic Next.js)185 commits by 1 contributor in 90 days
- Cloudflare Workers SaaS Template183 commits by 2 contributors in 90 days
- NestJS Microservice Boilerplate API134 commits by 3 contributors in 90 days
- Next SaaS Stripe Starter95 commits by 1 contributor in 90 days
- Cove Stack83 commits by 2 contributors in 90 days
Cite this report
You're welcome to quote any number here with a link back. Journalists and bloggers: the data file has every figure.
kitproof, "State of Starter Kits, 2026 Q3", Sep 26, 2026. https://kitproof.dev/reports/2026-q3/