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    SaaS PlatformsBeginner

    Startup MVP Stack

    A lean, launch-ready MVP stack for startups who need to move fast. Next.js frontend deployed on Vercel, Node.js API on AWS, PostgreSQL for data, Stripe for payments, and S3 for media. Designed to validate ideas quickly and scale later.

    0 – 5Kusers supported
    $50 – $300/month infrastructure

    Architecture Diagram

    Interactive — hover over any node to see its role and description.

    UserNext.jsVercel EdgeNode APIExpress + TSPostgreSQLPrisma ORMAWS S3MediaStripePaymentsSendGridEmailSentry + GTMMonitoringUserFrontendAPIDatabaseStorageExternal

    Use Cases

    SaaS product MVP for seed fundraising
    Marketplace or platform initial launch
    B2B tool to validate product-market fit
    Consumer app beta launch
    Internal tool for a startup's own operations

    Technology Stack

    frontend

    Next.js 15ReactTypeScriptTailwind CSS

    backend

    Node.jsExpressTypeScript

    database

    PostgreSQLPrisma ORM

    infrastructure

    VercelAWS EC2AWS RDSAWS S3

    integrations

    StripeSendGridSentry

    Scalability Roadmap

    Stage 10 – 500 users· Vercel + EC2 t3.small + RDS

    Vercel free/pro tier for frontend. t3.small EC2 for API. RDS db.t3.micro. Total ~$50/month.

    Stage 2500 – 5K users· EC2 t3.medium + RDS t3.small

    Upgrade instance sizes. Add Redis for session caching. Set up RDS automated backups and failover.

    Stage 35K – 50K users· Auto scaling + RDS Multi-AZ

    Horizontal EC2 scaling. RDS Multi-AZ for availability. Redis for heavy caching layers.

    Stage 450K+ users· Evolve to multi-tenant SaaS architecture

    Graduate to full multi-tenant SaaS architecture with per-tenant data isolation, CDN, and microservices.

    Cost Breakdown

    Development Cost

    $5,000 – $15,000 (4–8 weeks)

    Infrastructure Cost

    $50 – $300/month (Vercel + EC2 + RDS + S3)

    Maintenance Cost

    $500 – $1,500/month for hosting, bug fixes, and iterative feature development

    Security Considerations

    HTTPS enforced everywhere — Vercel and AWS handle TLS termination
    JWT with httpOnly cookies — no token in localStorage
    Stripe handles all card data — no PCI scope for the application
    Environment variables for all secrets — never in source code
    Basic rate limiting on auth endpoints to prevent brute force

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