Beginner 1-2 days with AI $0 to start

The Rapid MVP Stack

Launch your MVP in days, not months. This battle-tested stack combines Next.js, Supabase, and Vercel to give you everything you need to validate your idea quickly - completely free to start.

Stack Overview

Difficulty

Beginner

Cost to Start

$0 (free tiers)

Time to Launch

1-2 days with AI

Best For

MVPs, Side Projects

Stack Breakdown

Here's every layer of the stack with monthly costs and why each technology was chosen:

Layer Technology Monthly Cost Why This Choice
Frontend Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui $0 Fastest UI development with App Router
Backend Supabase (DB + Auth + Storage) $0 All-in-one backend, no servers to manage
AI Claude API ~$5-20 Pay per use, best reasoning
Payments Stripe 2.9% + 30c Industry standard, excellent DX
Hosting Vercel $0 Zero config, automatic deployments
Analytics Vercel Analytics $0 Built-in, privacy-focused
Email Resend $0 100 emails/day free, developer-friendly

What This Stack Gives You

Out of the box, you get enterprise-grade features without enterprise complexity:

Authentication

Email, OAuth, magic links - all pre-built with Supabase Auth

Database

PostgreSQL with real-time subscriptions and row-level security

File Storage

S3-compatible storage with CDN and automatic image optimization

Edge Functions

Serverless functions at the edge for low-latency APIs

Type-Safe APIs

Auto-generated TypeScript types from your database schema

Automatic Deployments

Push to GitHub, deployed in seconds with preview URLs

Architecture Diagram

Here's how all the pieces fit together:

                    +------------------+
                    |     Browser      |
                    +--------+---------+
                             |
                             v
                    +------------------+
                    |     Vercel       |
                    |   (Next.js 14)   |
                    |                  |
                    |  - App Router    |
                    |  - Server Comp   |
                    |  - API Routes    |
                    +--------+---------+
                             |
            +----------------+----------------+
            |                |                |
            v                v                v
    +-------+------+  +------+-------+  +-----+------+
    |   Supabase   |  |    Stripe    |  |   Claude   |
    |              |  |              |  |    API     |
    | - PostgreSQL |  | - Payments   |  |            |
    | - Auth       |  | - Webhooks   |  | - AI Chat  |
    | - Storage    |  | - Billing    |  | - Analysis |
    | - Realtime   |  |              |  |            |
    +--------------+  +--------------+  +------------+
                             |
                             v
                    +------------------+
                    |     Resend       |
                    |  (Transactional  |
                    |     Emails)      |
                    +------------------+

AI Build Process

Here's the recommended workflow to build your MVP in days using AI tools:

1

Scaffold with Claude Code

Use Claude Code to generate the initial Next.js + Supabase project structure. It will set up authentication, database schema, and basic CRUD operations in minutes.

2

Design UI with v0.dev

Generate beautiful landing pages and dashboard components using v0.dev. Copy the generated React/Tailwind code directly into your project.

3

Iterate with Cursor

Use Cursor IDE for day-to-day development. Its AI-powered autocomplete and chat features make adding features and fixing bugs incredibly fast.

Example Projects Built with This Stack

This stack is perfect for:

  • SaaS Landing Pages - Marketing sites with waitlist signups and early access forms
  • Internal Tools - Admin dashboards, CRMs, and data management apps
  • MVP Applications - Validate your startup idea before investing in custom infrastructure
  • Side Projects - Personal tools, portfolio sites, and hobby projects that might grow
  • Client Projects - Rapid prototypes for client demos and proof-of-concepts

Getting Started

Get up and running in under 5 minutes:

# Create a new Next.js project with Supabase
npx create-next-app@latest my-mvp --typescript --tailwind --eslint

# Navigate to project
cd my-mvp

# Install Supabase and other dependencies
npm install @supabase/supabase-js @supabase/auth-helpers-nextjs

# Install shadcn/ui for beautiful components
npx shadcn-ui@latest init

# Start development server
npm run dev

When to Upgrade This Stack

This stack will serve you well until:

  • 10,000+ monthly active users - Consider upgrading Supabase plan
  • Complex business logic - Add a proper backend service (Node.js, Go)
  • Multi-tenant SaaS - Implement proper tenant isolation
  • Heavy background jobs - Add a job queue (Inngest, Trigger.dev)

Related Tech Stacks

The Modern SaaS Stack

Production-ready SaaS with multi-tenancy and billing built in.

The AI-Native Stack

Build AI-powered apps with RAG, vector databases, and LLMs.