start-ui-web vs twenty
Two of the top projects in SaaS and app starters, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
start-ui-web
TanStack Start web app starter with oRPC, Prisma, Better Auth and shadcn/ui
twenty
Open-source CRM extensible with objects, views and agents defined as code
Verdict
start-ui-web ranks higher, 72 to 69. Of the 4 score parts we measure for both, start-ui-web leads on 1, twenty on 2 and 1 is even.
- Adoptiontwenty leads by 78 points, 97 to 19: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- MaintenanceWe do not score start-ui-web on this; twenty has 96.
- Easy to runstart-ui-web leads by 100 points, 100 to 0: a wide gap.
- Agent-readytwenty leads by 55 points, 85 to 30: a wide gap.
Pick start-ui-web if you are
Teams starting a TypeScript React web app who want a full-stack base
- Auth, Prisma/PostgreSQL, S3-compatible storage and email run locally through a Docker Compose stack
- Includes Storybook, Vitest and Playwright E2E, plus react-email templates with a preview server
Pick twenty if you are
Technical teams building a custom, code-defined CRM
- Objects, fields and views defined in TypeScript and published with `npx twenty app:publish`
- Cloud and self-hosted options; Docker Compose guide in the docs
| What we compare | start-ui-web | twenty |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 19, niche | 97, widely used |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | Not scored for this kind | 96, healthy |
| Easy to run | 100, very easy | 0, hard |
| Agent-ready | 30, minimal | 85, ready |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 1.8k | 59.2k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | custom license (read the license) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | None published | Oct 2026 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Docker | Yes | No |
| GPU | Not needed | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Not stated |
start-ui-web
Full-stack web starter from BearStudio, scaffolded with `pnpm create start-ui -t web`. It combines TanStack Start, React, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, oRPC, Prisma on PostgreSQL and Better Auth, with Storybook, Vitest and Playwright set up. It has no AI features of its own; it is a general web app boilerplate.
Who it is for: Teams starting a TypeScript React web app who want a full-stack base
Strengths
- Auth, Prisma/PostgreSQL, S3-compatible storage and email run locally through a Docker Compose stack
- Includes Storybook, Vitest and Playwright E2E, plus react-email templates with a preview server
- Generates OpenAPI docs for the backend at /api/openapi/app
- Production Dockerfile runs as non-root user on port 3000 with a HEALTHCHECK
Weaknesses
- No AI or model integration in the README; it is a generic web starter
- Billing is not mentioned in the README
- Needs Node.js 22 or newer, pnpm, and Docker or a PostgreSQL database
- Uses the TypeScript 7 native compiler, so editors need a separate extension to match CI
- TypeScript
- Needs Node.js >= 22, pnpm, PostgreSQL, Docker, S3-compatible storage, SMTP server
- GitHub template
- Docker
twenty
Twenty is a CRM built on NestJS, React, PostgreSQL and Redis, with BullMQ for jobs. Teams define custom objects, fields and views in TypeScript with twenty-sdk, scaffold apps with `npx create-twenty-app`, and publish them to a workspace from the CLI. It also includes workflows, AI agents and chat, and runs as a cloud service or self-hosted via Docker Compose.
Who it is for: Technical teams building a custom, code-defined CRM
Strengths
- Objects, fields and views defined in TypeScript and published with `npx twenty app:publish`
- Cloud and self-hosted options; Docker Compose guide in the docs
- Official agent skills for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to build Twenty apps
- Standard stack: NestJS, PostgreSQL, Redis, React, Nx monorepo
Weaknesses
- License is reported as NOASSERTION; terms need manual checking
- README gives no RAM, CPU or port requirements for self-hosting
- Self-hosting needs PostgreSQL and Redis alongside the app
- README does not name supported AI providers or models
- TypeScript
- Needs PostgreSQL, Redis
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