Caisson vs Open SaaS
Open SaaS is the free, open-source kit, built on the Wasp framework. Caisson is a compliance substrate on plain Next.js/Postgres. Here is the honest line between free-on-Wasp and audit-ready-on-your-stack.
Which should you use?
Pick Open SaaS to start free: it is a genuinely open-source (MIT) React + Node + Prisma template with auth, Stripe/Polar/Lemon Squeezy, an admin dashboard, and one-command deploy, built on the Wasp framework. Pick Caisson when you need a compliance substrate on plain Next.js/Postgres you fully control: fail-closed RLS with isolation tests, a WORM + hash-chained audit trail, per-tenant field encryption, and SOC 2 / HIPAA / EU AI Act evidence packs. Open SaaS is free but Wasp-framework-bound; Caisson is a paid, Apache-2.0-based library on the framework you already run.
What Open SaaS is
Free open-source SaaS template (Wasp). Facts below were read from opensaas.sh on 2026-07-07.
- React + Node + Prisma, built on and requiring the Wasp full-stack framework (a config/compiler layer).
- Auth you own, Stripe / Polar / Lemon Squeezy payments, an admin dashboard, analytics (Plausible or Google), AWS S3 file upload, email, an Astro blog.
- End-to-end Playwright tests and a GitHub Actions CI pipeline.
- Free and MIT-licensed, verified 2026-07-07; a Discord community backs it.
An honest comparison
Where Open SaaS has a capability, it is marked. Caisson is the compliance and tenant-isolation substrate; Open SaaS wins the rows it wins.
| Detail | Caisson | Open SaaS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid (one-time perpetual) | Free (MIT) |
| Framework | Plain Next.js + Postgres | Wasp (React + Node + Prisma) |
| Auth | ||
| Payments + admin dashboard | ||
| Fail-closed Postgres RLS + automated cross-tenant isolation tests | — | |
| WORM evidence store + append-only hash-chained audit trail | — | |
| SOC 2 / HIPAA / EU AI Act evidence packs + OSCAL export | — | |
| Per-tenant field encryption (envelope, per-tenant key) | — | |
| Apache-2.0 base you own | MIT (whole template) |
What Open SaaS is genuinely better at
A comparison that only flatters one side isn't worth reading. Here is what this kit does well.
Open SaaS is MIT-licensed and costs nothing: you own every line with no purchase. For learning, prototyping, or a budget-zero launch, that is a real and honest advantage no paid kit matches on price.
Built on Wasp, it gives you end-to-end type safety, auth, and one-command deploy from a concise config. If you are happy adopting Wasp, the developer experience is smooth and well-supported.
Where Caisson draws the line
The compliance and tenant-isolation substrate a launch kit leaves to you.
Open SaaS runs on Wasp, a DSL/compiler layer your app is built around. Caisson is a set of packages on plain Next.js and Postgres, so you are not adopting a new framework to get the substrate.
Open SaaS ships auth, billing, and an admin dashboard; it does not ship fail-closed RLS with isolation tests, a WORM audit trail, field encryption, or evidence packs. That regulated-backend layer is what you would pay Caisson for.
Which should you pick?
You want a free, open-source starting point and are comfortable building your app on the Wasp framework.
You need compliance controls and audit evidence on plain Next.js/Postgres without adopting a new framework.
They target different foundations: Open SaaS is Wasp-based. If you have chosen plain Next.js/Postgres and need the compliance layer, Caisson is the fit; if free-on-Wasp works for you, start there.
One-time, own the source.
Caisson is a one-time perpetual license — the price never recurs, and it includes 12 months of updates from your purchase date, renewable per entitlement afterward at 40% of list per year. The Base substrate is Apache-2.0; the compliance modules are commercial.
Compliance bundle
$1,649, one-time. Fail-closed RLS, WORM, the audit chain, evidence packs, and the framework and signing carves — the whole substrate this comparison is about.
À la carte
Take a single module from $49 — audit-worm, field-crypto, or compliance-core on their own, onto your existing Postgres app.
Everything bundle
$2,259 covers every bundle and every à-la-carte module, plus the open base, in one purchase.
Common questions.
Why pay for Caisson when Open SaaS is free?
Is Open SaaS really open-source?
Can I use Open SaaS and Caisson together?
Ship the compliant backend.
Explore the Compliance bundle, browse every module in the marketplace, or read another comparison.