Does Orbit use Supabase?

No. Orbit runs on plain Postgres (locally via Docker, in production on Railway, Neon, RDS, Fly Postgres, etc.) with Prisma 7 or Drizzle. If Supabase is non-negotiable, Makerkit is the better fit.

Is RLS or branded-ID tenancy better?

Different trade-offs. RLS pushes the policy into the database — defense in depth. Branded IDs + repositories push it into the type system — cross-tenant queries don't compile, which catches bugs at PR time. Orbit picks the latter; Makerkit picks the former.

Can I use Orbit with Next.js?

Yes — Next.js 16 with App Router is one of the two frontend options. TanStack Start is the other. The CLI keeps whichever you pick.

How do the prices compare?

Makerkit's templates run from $299 to $799 one-time depending on tier. Orbit's paid tier is $50 one-time and unlocks every paid feature. The free Orbit starter is genuinely free — public repo, no payment required.

Orbit

Get access

Orbit vs Makerkit

Orbit vs Makerkit, feature by feature.

Both Orbit and Makerkit ship a multi-tenant SaaS scaffold — they just disagree on almost every architectural choice. Makerkit is Supabase-first, Next.js-only, and leans on RLS for tenancy. Orbit is Postgres + Prisma, ships a separate Hono API, supports Next.js or TanStack Start, and enforces tenancy in the type system. Here's how they line up.

$npx create-orb@latest

Get started

TL;DR

Pick Orbit if…

You want a separate API service (Hono) you can scale independently
You want a typed end-to-end stack with DDD bounded contexts
You want TanStack Start as a first-class option, not just Next.js
You'd rather express tenancy in code (branded IDs + repositories) than in SQL policies

Pick Makerkit if…

You're already deep in the Supabase ecosystem (RLS, Edge Functions, Storage)
You want Postgres, auth, storage, and realtime from one vendor
You're shipping Next.js only and don't need a separate API

Side-by-side

Feature	Orbit	Makerkit
Multi-tenancy
Multi-tenant workspaces / accounts	Yes	Yes
Nested teams + team-scoped roles	Yes	Yes
PBAC (permissions, not just roles)	Yes	Partial
Tenancy enforcement	Branded IDs + repositories	Postgres RLS
Auth
Auth library	better-auth	Supabase Auth
Magic links	Yes	Yes
OAuth	Google + Apple (extensible)	All Supabase providers
Email + password with verification gate	Yes	Yes
Admin impersonation + bans	Yes	Partial
Architecture
Frontend	Next.js 16 or TanStack Start	Next.js
API	Separate Hono REST + WebSocket service	Next.js Server Actions / API routes
Database	Postgres + Prisma 7 (or Drizzle)	Supabase Postgres
ORM choice	Prisma or Drizzle	Supabase client
DDD bounded contexts	Yes	No
Unit of Work + post-commit event bus	Yes	No
Realtime	In-process WebSocket hub	Supabase Realtime
Billing & operations
Billing providers	Stripe / Polar / Dodo	Stripe / LemonSqueezy
Switchable behind one port	Yes	Yes
Append-only billing event ledger	Yes	No
Audit log (tenant + admin)	Yes	Partial
Background jobs + cron	graphile-worker / QStash	Supabase pg_cron / Edge Functions
Rate limiting	Upstash / Unkey / memory	Partial
Pricing & licensing
Free public starter	Yes	No
Paid tier	$50 one-time	$299–$799 one-time
Source code access	GitHub repo	GitHub repo

The verdict

Orbit fits if you want the freedom to swap pieces. The Hono API is a separate service, ORMs are pluggable (Prisma or Drizzle), billing has three interchangeable adapters, and TanStack Start is a peer to Next.js — not a port. Tenancy is enforced by branded IDs and the repository layer, so cross-tenant queries don't compile.

Makerkit is the right pick if you've decided Supabase is your platform. Auth, Postgres + RLS, storage, realtime, and Edge Functions all come from one vendor — and Makerkit's templates are tuned for that. If you'd rather not run a separate API or pick your own ORM, that integration cost is real value.

FAQ

Does Orbit use Supabase?: No. Orbit runs on plain Postgres (locally via Docker, in production on Railway, Neon, RDS, Fly Postgres, etc.) with Prisma 7 or Drizzle. If Supabase is non-negotiable, Makerkit is the better fit.
Is RLS or branded-ID tenancy better?: Different trade-offs. RLS pushes the policy into the database — defense in depth. Branded IDs + repositories push it into the type system — cross-tenant queries don't compile, which catches bugs at PR time. Orbit picks the latter; Makerkit picks the former.
Can I use Orbit with Next.js?: Yes — Next.js 16 with App Router is one of the two frontend options. TanStack Start is the other. The CLI keeps whichever you pick.
How do the prices compare?: Makerkit's templates run from $299 to $799 one-time depending on tier. Orbit's paid tier is $50 one-time and unlocks every paid feature. The free Orbit starter is genuinely free — public repo, no payment required.