djaodjin Review 2026: Open Source Django SaaS

TL;DR

djaodjin is a battle-tested open-source Django SaaS framework with 10+ years of production use. It handles multi-tenancy, subscription billing, RBAC, and email — all the hard parts of SaaS — in a conventional Django package. Free and MIT licensed. Best for Python teams building B2B SaaS who want conventions and a mature codebase over a fresh startup stack.

What djaodjin Is

djaodjin is not a starter template — it's a set of reusable Django apps:

• djaodjin-saas: Subscription billing, multi-tenancy, plans
• djaodjin-signup: Authentication with magic links + social auth
• djaodjin-pages: Editable landing pages
• djaodjin-rules: Rule-based access control
• djaodjin-survey: Survey and form builder

Used together, they form a complete SaaS platform.

---

Installation and Setup

# settings.py — adding djaodjin components
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    # djaodjin apps
    'saas',
    'signup',
    'rules',
]

# saas configuration
SAAS = {
    'PROCESSOR_BACKEND': 'saas.backends.stripe_processor.StripeProcessor',
    'BROKER': {
        'GET': 'saas.utils.get_broker',
    },
}

---

Multi-Tenancy Model

djaodjin uses an "organization" model for multi-tenancy:

# models are provided by djaodjin-saas
from saas.models import Organization, Subscription

# Get all active subscribers for a plan
active_subscribers = Organization.objects.filter(
    subscriptions__plan__slug='professional',
    subscriptions__ends_at__gte=timezone.now(),
)

# Create a new organization subscription
from saas.utils import get_broker, get_or_create_stripe_customer
from saas import settings as saas_settings

def subscribe_organization(organization, plan):
    subscriber = Subscription.objects.new_instance(
        organization,
        plan=plan,
    )
    subscriber.save()
    return subscriber

---

Plan and Billing Configuration

# Define plans in the database via fixtures or admin
# fixtures/plans.json
[
  {
    "model": "saas.plan",
    "fields": {
      "slug": "starter",
      "title": "Starter",
      "description": "For individuals and small teams",
      "period_amount": 2900,  # $29.00 in cents
      "interval": 4,          # Monthly
      "unit": "mo",
      "max_subscribers": 1,
      "is_active": true
    }
  },
  {
    "model": "saas.plan",
    "fields": {
      "slug": "professional",
      "title": "Professional",
      "period_amount": 9900,  # $99.00
      "interval": 4,
      "unit": "mo",
      "max_subscribers": 5,
      "is_active": true
    }
  }
]

---

Access Control

# djaodjin-rules: URL-based access control
# urls.py
from rules.urldecorators import is_authenticated, is_contributor_to

urlpatterns = [
    # Requires authentication
    path('dashboard/', is_authenticated(DashboardView.as_view())),

    # Requires organization membership
    path(
        'organizations/<slug:organization>/billing/',
        is_contributor_to('organization')(BillingView.as_view())
    ),
]

# In views.py — programmatic access check
from rules.mixins import RulesMixin

class ProjectView(RulesMixin, DetailView):
    model = Project
    rule_prefixes = ['project']

    def get_accessible_projects(self):
        return Project.objects.accessible_to(self.request.user)

---

API Views

djaodjin integrates with Django REST Framework:

# api/v1/organizations.py
from rest_framework.viewsets import ModelViewSet
from rest_framework.decorators import action
from rest_framework.response import Response
from saas.models import Organization
from saas.serializers import OrganizationSerializer

class OrganizationViewSet(ModelViewSet):
    serializer_class = OrganizationSerializer

    def get_queryset(self):
        return Organization.objects.accessible_to(self.request.user)

    @action(detail=True, methods=['post'])
    def invite_member(self, request, pk=None):
        organization = self.get_object()
        # Invitation logic via djaodjin-signup
        email = request.data['email']
        from signup.utils import invite_user
        invite_user(email=email, organization=organization)
        return Response({'status': 'invited'})

---

djaodjin vs FastAPI Template vs Node.js

Factor	djaodjin	FastAPI Template	Next.js (ShipFast)
Maturity	10+ years	3+ years	3+ years
Multi-tenancy	Built-in	Manual	Manual or Makerkit
Billing	Built-in	Manual	Built-in
Frontend	Django templates	React SPA	Next.js
Type safety	Python typehints	Pydantic	TypeScript
Admin	Django admin	Basic	Varies
Learning curve	Medium	Low-Medium	Low-Medium
Community	Python/Django	Python/FastAPI	JavaScript

djaodjin's 10-year production track record is its biggest advantage.

---

The Django Advantage in 2026

Django's strengths remain relevant:

1. ORM: Django ORM is still excellent for complex relational queries
2. Admin: Django admin + djaodjin conventions give powerful admin tools
3. Security: Django's security defaults are battle-tested
4. Conventions: Any Django developer can navigate a djaodjin app
5. Data science: Seamless integration with pandas, numpy, sklearn

# Example: complex business logic is readable in Django
from django.db.models import Sum, Count, Avg, Q
from django.utils import timezone

def get_mrr_report():
    return Subscription.objects.filter(
        ends_at__gte=timezone.now(),
        plan__interval=Plan.MONTHLY,
    ).aggregate(
        mrr=Sum('plan__period_amount') / 100,
        subscriber_count=Count('organization'),
        avg_plan_value=Avg('plan__period_amount') / 100,
    )

---

Limitations

• Not a starter kit: More of a framework extension — requires Django knowledge
• Frontend: Django templates by default (React requires extra setup)
• Documentation: Functional but less polished than commercial alternatives
• Deployment: Requires a server (no serverless)
• Slower API: Django REST Framework is slower than FastAPI for pure API work

---

Who Should Use djaodjin

Good fit:

• Python/Django teams building B2B SaaS
• Products where billing + multi-tenancy are complex (enterprise)
• Teams who want proven, production-hardened SaaS code
• Applications with significant data analysis requirements

Bad fit:

• Teams new to Django (learning curve before productivity)
• Products needing modern JavaScript frontend
• Serverless deployment environments
• Teams choosing between Python and JavaScript (JavaScript ecosystem is larger)

---

Final Verdict

Rating: 3.5/5

djaodjin is underrated in the boilerplate ecosystem — it's one of the most mature open-source SaaS frameworks available. The billing, multi-tenancy, and access control are production-proven. The trade-offs are documentation quality and the Django learning curve. For Python teams building serious B2B SaaS, it's worth serious consideration.

---

---

Getting Started with djaodjin

djaodjin installs as Django packages into an existing project:

# Create a Django project
pip install django psycopg2-binary
django-admin startproject myapp .
cd myapp

# Install djaodjin packages
pip install djaodjin-saas djaodjin-signup djaodjin-rules

# Run migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Load initial fixture data (plans, etc.)
python manage.py loaddata plans.json
python manage.py runserver

Unlike JavaScript boilerplates that you clone and modify, djaodjin is a set of packages you install into your Django project. This means you keep full control of your project structure while adding pre-built SaaS functionality. The trade-off: there's more integration work upfront compared to a clone-and-run starter.

---

Deployment

djaodjin requires a persistent server — not serverless:

# Docker deployment
# Dockerfile
FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
RUN python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
CMD ["gunicorn", "myapp.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000"]

Hosting options:

• Railway: Docker-native, PostgreSQL add-on, straightforward Django deployment
• Render: Free tier supports Django; PostgreSQL managed service available
• Fly.io: Works well for persistent Django containers
• DigitalOcean App Platform: Django-specific configuration available

The lack of serverless support isn't a Django-specific limitation — it's by design. Django's ORM connection management and middleware stack are optimized for persistent process deployment, not cold-start serverless environments.

---

djaodjin vs Other Python SaaS Options

	djaodjin	FastAPI Template	Wagtail + plugins
Maturity	10+ years	3+ years	15+ years
Multi-tenancy	✅ Built-in	Manual	Partial
Billing	✅ Stripe + Paddle	Add yourself	Add yourself
Admin	Django admin	Basic	Wagtail admin
Frontend	Django templates	React SPA	Django templates
API	DRF included	Native FastAPI	DRF
Free	✅ MIT	✅ MIT	✅ BSD

For Python teams who need billing and multi-tenancy built-in, djaodjin is the most complete option. FastAPI Template is faster for pure API work but requires you to build the SaaS layer yourself. Wagtail excels at CMS and content-heavy products but isn't designed around subscription SaaS.

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Key Takeaways

• djaodjin is 10+ years of production-proven Django SaaS code — billing, multi-tenancy, and RBAC are built-in, not add-ons
• Free and MIT licensed — no per-seat fees or license costs; ideal for bootstrapped projects
• Installation is package-based (pip install), not clone-and-fork — requires more Django integration knowledge than clone-based starters
• Requires persistent server deployment (Railway, Render, Fly.io); not serverless-compatible
• Best for Python teams with existing Django knowledge who need B2B SaaS features without rebuilding from scratch
• Documentation is functional but less polished than commercial alternatives; the trade-off for a free, mature project with a decade of production use
• Django's ORM is genuinely excellent for complex relational queries and reporting — if your product involves significant data analytics alongside SaaS features, the Python ecosystem (pandas, SQLAlchemy queries) integrates seamlessly with djaodjin's model structure in ways that JavaScript ORMs don't match
• djaodjin's GitHub repository has active commits and issue responses; for a 10-year-old open source project, the maintenance cadence is reassuring for teams evaluating long-term sustainability
• The package-based installation approach (versus clone-and-fork) means your application code stays clean and separate from the SaaS framework code — you apply Django conventions on top of djaodjin, rather than modifying a starter's interleaved code
• Teams coming from a Rails background will find Django + djaodjin familiar: convention over configuration, mature ORM, and built-in admin that matches active record patterns

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Building a Frontend with djaodjin

The most common friction point with djaodjin is the frontend question. By default, djaodjin uses Django templates — server-rendered HTML with Bootstrap. In 2026, many teams want a React or Vue frontend. The options are:

Option 1: Django templates with htmx. htmx adds interactive behavior to server-rendered pages without requiring a full JavaScript framework. For SaaS applications where most interactions are form submissions and data display, htmx covers the majority of use cases. The result is a lighter stack that pairs well with Django's server-side strengths. Teams choosing this path report faster initial development than React SPA setups.

Option 2: React SPA with Django REST Framework. djaodjin includes DRF integration, so the backend serves API endpoints and a React frontend consumes them. This requires significantly more frontend configuration: routing, state management, auth token handling on the client. The benefit is full React capability for complex interactive UI.

Option 3: Next.js + Django API. Some teams use Next.js as the frontend with a Django/djaodjin backend serving a JSON API. This combines Next.js's SEO and SSR capabilities with Django's battle-tested backend. The complexity is higher — two separate codebases and two deployment targets — but for teams with strong Next.js experience alongside Python backend experience, it's workable.

For teams starting fresh without frontend expertise, Option 1 (Django templates + htmx) is the pragmatic choice. Django's templating system is well-understood, and htmx reduces the need for JavaScript knowledge while delivering modern-feeling interactions.

The Case for Python SaaS in 2026

JavaScript dominates the SaaS boilerplate ecosystem — ShipFast, Makerkit, Supastarter, and most alternatives are Next.js-based. The Python options (djaodjin, Wagtail, SaaSBoilerplate) serve a smaller market but a genuinely different one. Python teams at companies already using Django for data pipelines, ML models, or internal tooling have a compelling reason to keep the entire stack in Python: code reuse, reduced operational complexity, and unified data access without API boundaries.

If your product involves machine learning inference, recommendation systems, or data science workflows as core features, Django + djaodjin lets you call scikit-learn or pandas directly from your Django views. The equivalent in Next.js requires a separate Python API service and HTTP calls. For data-heavy B2B SaaS, this distinction matters.

The boilerplate ecosystem reflects the team demographics building products: JavaScript-first indie hackers ship JavaScript SaaS starters; Python-first enterprise teams maintain Python SaaS frameworks. djaodjin is the most battle-tested option in the second category. With over a decade of production use and an active codebase, djaodjin has absorbed edge cases across subscription billing, multi-tenancy, and authentication that most newer frameworks have yet to encounter — a depth of real-world validation that is genuinely rare in the open-source SaaS starter space.

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See our FastAPI Template review for the modern Python API alternative.

Browse best open source SaaS boilerplates for the full comparison including Wave, T3 Stack, and Next SaaS Starter.

Compare Django and Python SaaS options with JavaScript alternatives in our best SaaS boilerplates guide.