What steep ships — and where to verify everything

Buying a starter kit is a trust exercise. So we don't make claims about what other kits do or don't do — we list what steepships and link straight to each competitor's own pricing and feature pages so you can compare yourself. Last hand-verified 2026-05-17.

Capability	What steep does	Where to verify in this repo
Stripe one-time payments	Hosted Stripe Checkout, all 4 saved payment methods.	`src/app/api/checkout/route.ts`
Stripe Subscriptions (trial, dunning, customer portal)	Trial period, 5 lifecycle emails, self-serve portal.	`src/lib/subscriptions/`
Stripe Tax (US sales tax)	Opt-in via STRIPE_AUTOMATIC_TAX env.	`.env.example`
LemonSqueezy adapter (EU VAT merchant-of-record)	Opt-in via PAYMENT_PROVIDER=lemonsqueezy.	`src/lib/payments/lemonsqueezy-adapter.ts`
Digital downloads (Supabase Storage signed URLs)	Per-buyer signed URL, expiring, download-count tracked.	`src/lib/download-link.ts`
GitHub auto-collaborator invite	Issues invite on order paid, retry button on failure.	`src/lib/github/server.ts`
License keys auto-issued + emailed	Generated on paid order, watermark-signed, included in email.	`src/lib/license/`
Physical products + shipping	Shippo label purchase + tracking webhook.	`src/lib/shipping/`
Per-buyer demo tenant (24h)	Spawn-on-demand isolated tenant, daily cleanup cron.	`src/lib/demo/, /api/demo/spawn`
Coupons + BOGO + tiered discounts	Admin-editable, applied at checkout.	`src/lib/coupons/`
Wishlists	Per-buyer, also for guests via cookie.	`src/components/store/wishlist/`
Reviews + rating histogram	Verified-buyer flag, photo uploads.	`src/components/store/reviews/`
Affiliate program (referral codes, commissions)	Auto-issued referral codes, Stripe Connect payouts.	`src/lib/referrals.ts`
Back-in-stock notifications	Per-variant email queue, triggers on inventory > 0.	`src/lib/inventory/notify-restock.ts`
MFA enrollment UI (TOTP)	Account settings flow, recovery codes.	`src/app/(store)/account/security/`
WebAuthn passkey step-up for admin	Required for sensitive admin actions.	`src/lib/webauthn/`
Strict CSP with nonces	Env-driven frame-ancestors, no unsafe-inline.	`middleware.ts / proxy.ts`
Per-IP rate limiting	Token bucket, applied to public POST routes.	`src/lib/rate-limit.ts`
Email header injection guard	CR/LF/NUL stripped at sending boundary.	`src/lib/security.ts`
Open-redirect-safe ?redirect= param	Rejects absolute / protocol-relative / scheme URLs.	`src/lib/security.ts safeRedirect()`
Audit log for admin actions	Every privileged write logged with actor + diff.	`src/lib/audit.ts`
Service-role allowlist test	Build fails if any new file uses the service-role client unreviewed.	`tests/unit/admin-client-audit.test.ts`
GDPR delete-my-account flow	Self-serve from account settings.	`src/app/(store)/account/delete/`
14-day buyer-initiated refund flow	From /account/orders, admin queue at /admin/refunds.	`src/app/(store)/account/orders/`
Saved address book	Auto-prefills Stripe Checkout.	`src/app/(store)/account/addresses/`
Auto-link guest orders to new accounts	Email match on signup, retroactive linking.	`src/lib/orders/link-guest-orders.ts`
VAT-grade invoice PDF (browser-print)	Per-order, configurable tax ID + invoice prefix.	`/orders/[id]/invoice route`
Unit tests (vitest + coverage)	316 tests across 32 files; coverage badge in trust pillars.	`tests/unit/, npm run test:coverage`
E2E tests (Playwright)	17 specs covering admin + storefront flows.	`tests/e2e/`
CI/CD (GitHub Actions)	Lint + typecheck + tests on every PR.	`.github/workflows/`

Compare prices yourself

Listed prices change frequently. Click through to the source page — and check the live one before deciding. Last hand-verified 2026-05-17.

Kit	Price quoted	Verify on their site
steep	$199 first 10 buyers → $250	This site — pricing on each PDP.
ShipFast	$199 – $299	shipfa.st/#pricing · features
MakerKit	$299 – $649	makerkit.dev/pricing · features
Achromatic	see site	achromatic.dev · features
Supastarter	see site	supastarter.dev/pricing · features

The cost math after 12 months

Buyer doing $5,000/mo revenue, ~200 orders, $25 average order value. Shopify pricing per shopify.com/pricing, verified 2026-05-17.

Cost	Shopify Basic	steep
Platform monthly ($29 × 12)	$348	$0
Transaction fee (2% on non-Shopify-Payments)	$1,200	$0
One-time kit purchase	—	$250
Infra (Vercel + Supabase free tier covers this volume)	—	$0
12-month total	$1,548	$250

When NOT to buy steep

If your shape doesn't match the bullets below, one of these alternatives will probably serve you better. We'd rather you find that out before checkout.

You're not technical and want a store live in 30 minutes — stay on Shopify. Don't buy code you can't read.
You're building a B2B SaaS with teams + RBAC + per-seat billing — check MakerKit or Supastarter. Multi-tenant + teams is what those kits pitch — verify on their pages.
You need i18n for 6+ EU locales —steep ships English-only today. Check Supastarteror pair steep with LemonSqueezy (their checkout is localized).
You want it free / open-source — pick Open SaaS (MIT, Wasp framework) or Medusa (commerce-specific).
You're building a multi-vendor marketplace — different shape. Medusa or Vercel Commerce are closer to that pattern.
Selling physical retail at scale with 1,000+ SKUs— Shopify's inventory + app ecosystem still wins. steep handles physical with Shippo for small-to-mid catalogs.

See steep products

Every claim on this page is about steepand is verifiable from the repo you'll receive on purchase. Competitor links go to each vendor's own pages — we don't restate their feature sets here. Spot something stale? shipsteep@gmail.com.

Capability

What steep does

Where to verify in this repo

Stripe one-time payments

Hosted Stripe Checkout, all 4 saved payment methods.

src/app/api/checkout/route.ts

Stripe Subscriptions (trial, dunning, customer portal)

Trial period, 5 lifecycle emails, self-serve portal.

src/lib/subscriptions/

Stripe Tax (US sales tax)

Opt-in via STRIPE_AUTOMATIC_TAX env.

.env.example

LemonSqueezy adapter (EU VAT merchant-of-record)

Opt-in via PAYMENT_PROVIDER=lemonsqueezy.

src/lib/payments/lemonsqueezy-adapter.ts

Digital downloads (Supabase Storage signed URLs)

Per-buyer signed URL, expiring, download-count tracked.

src/lib/download-link.ts

GitHub auto-collaborator invite

Issues invite on order paid, retry button on failure.

src/lib/github/server.ts

License keys auto-issued + emailed

Generated on paid order, watermark-signed, included in email.

src/lib/license/

Physical products + shipping

Shippo label purchase + tracking webhook.

src/lib/shipping/

Per-buyer demo tenant (24h)

Spawn-on-demand isolated tenant, daily cleanup cron.

src/lib/demo/, /api/demo/spawn

Coupons + BOGO + tiered discounts

Admin-editable, applied at checkout.

src/lib/coupons/

Wishlists

Per-buyer, also for guests via cookie.

src/components/store/wishlist/

Reviews + rating histogram

Verified-buyer flag, photo uploads.

src/components/store/reviews/

Affiliate program (referral codes, commissions)

Auto-issued referral codes, Stripe Connect payouts.

src/lib/referrals.ts

Back-in-stock notifications

Per-variant email queue, triggers on inventory > 0.

src/lib/inventory/notify-restock.ts

MFA enrollment UI (TOTP)

Account settings flow, recovery codes.

src/app/(store)/account/security/

WebAuthn passkey step-up for admin

Required for sensitive admin actions.

src/lib/webauthn/

Strict CSP with nonces

Env-driven frame-ancestors, no unsafe-inline.

middleware.ts / proxy.ts

Per-IP rate limiting

Token bucket, applied to public POST routes.

src/lib/rate-limit.ts

Email header injection guard

CR/LF/NUL stripped at sending boundary.

src/lib/security.ts

Open-redirect-safe ?redirect= param

Rejects absolute / protocol-relative / scheme URLs.

src/lib/security.ts safeRedirect()

Audit log for admin actions

Every privileged write logged with actor + diff.

src/lib/audit.ts

Service-role allowlist test

Build fails if any new file uses the service-role client unreviewed.

tests/unit/admin-client-audit.test.ts

GDPR delete-my-account flow

Self-serve from account settings.

src/app/(store)/account/delete/

14-day buyer-initiated refund flow

From /account/orders, admin queue at /admin/refunds.

src/app/(store)/account/orders/

Saved address book

Auto-prefills Stripe Checkout.

src/app/(store)/account/addresses/

Auto-link guest orders to new accounts

Email match on signup, retroactive linking.

src/lib/orders/link-guest-orders.ts

VAT-grade invoice PDF (browser-print)

Per-order, configurable tax ID + invoice prefix.

/orders/[id]/invoice route

Unit tests (vitest + coverage)

316 tests across 32 files; coverage badge in trust pillars.

tests/unit/, npm run test:coverage

E2E tests (Playwright)

17 specs covering admin + storefront flows.

tests/e2e/

CI/CD (GitHub Actions)

Lint + typecheck + tests on every PR.

.github/workflows/

Kit

Price quoted

Verify on their site

steep

$199 first 10 buyers → $250

This site — pricing on each PDP.

ShipFast

$199 – $299

shipfa.st/#pricing · features

MakerKit

$299 – $649

makerkit.dev/pricing · features

Achromatic

see site

achromatic.dev · features

Supastarter

see site

supastarter.dev/pricing · features

The cost math after 12 months

Buyer doing $5,000/mo revenue, ~200 orders, $25 average order value. Shopify pricing per shopify.com/pricing, verified 2026-05-17.

Cost	Shopify Basic	steep
Platform monthly ($29 × 12)	$348	$0
Transaction fee (2% on non-Shopify-Payments)	$1,200	$0
One-time kit purchase	—	$250
Infra (Vercel + Supabase free tier covers this volume)	—	$0
12-month total	$1,548	$250

When NOT to buy steep

If your shape doesn't match the bullets below, one of these alternatives will probably serve you better. We'd rather you find that out before checkout.

You're not technical and want a store live in 30 minutes — stay on Shopify. Don't buy code you can't read.

You're building a B2B SaaS with teams + RBAC + per-seat billing — check MakerKit or Supastarter. Multi-tenant + teams is what those kits pitch — verify on their pages.

You need i18n for 6+ EU locales —steep ships English-only today. Check Supastarteror pair steep with LemonSqueezy (their checkout is localized).

You want it free / open-source — pick Open SaaS (MIT, Wasp framework) or Medusa (commerce-specific).

You're building a multi-vendor marketplace — different shape. Medusa or Vercel Commerce are closer to that pattern.

Selling physical retail at scale with 1,000+ SKUs— Shopify's inventory + app ecosystem still wins. steep handles physical with Shippo for small-to-mid catalogs.