Next.js 15 Dashboard – Why I Picked ShadCN UI Over Tailwind UI for a Stunning SaaS App
A Weekend Project: LeadPulse
Building dashboards is a common task in modern web development, but doing it efficiently with full control over customization, accessibility, and styling can still be a challenge. When I decided to create a lightweight, real-world lead tracking app over a weekend, I wanted to explore how far I could go using the latest frontend tools. That led to the birth of LeadPulse a clean, fast, and fully responsive Next.js 15 dashboard built with Tailwind CSS and ShadCN UI.
This project wasn’t just a coding exercise; it was a practical evaluation of the developer experience using the App Router in Next.js 15 along with emerging UI libraries. I wanted something that looked sharp, loaded fast, and felt fully mine not a generic template. The biggest decision I had to make early on? Choosing the right UI component system: Tailwind UI vs ShadCN UI.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through why I picked ShadCN UI, how it helped me build a better dashboard faster, and why it might be the right fit for your own SaaS project.
The UI Stack: Tailwind CSS, Tailwind UI, or ShadCN?
Tailwind CSS has long been my go-to for styling. But when it comes to crafting reusable, accessible dashboard components, raw Tailwind alone can feel incomplete. That left me comparing two strong contenders:
- Tailwind UI: The official, premium library offering polished, plug-and-play components.
- ShadCN UI: A rising open-source solution built with Radix primitives and Tailwind CSS giving you full ownership of the code.
Both options speed up UI development, but for a real-world Next.js 15 dashboard, I needed to evaluate them with speed, customization, and DX in mind.
Why I Chose ShadCN UI
✅ True Customization, Not Just Configuration
With ShadCN UI, you own the component code. I didn’t want a cookie-cutter SaaS look I wanted every detail to feel intentional. Customizing components like cards, forms, and tables was seamless since everything was editable and built with Tailwind classes.
✅ TypeScript-First
Every component in ShadCN comes with full TypeScript support, helping catch errors early and reducing debugging time. This gave me a more confident development experience.
✅ Radix-Powered Interactivity
ShadCN builds on Radix UI, which handles accessibility and interactions (keyboard navigation, focus traps, ARIA) out-of-the-box. I didn’t need to worry about low-level behaviors it all just worked.
✅ Easy Theming and Dark Mode
ShadCN’s theme system blends perfectly with Tailwind. Setting up dark mode and brand color palettes was straightforward, with no need to fight against hardcoded styles.
Building the Dashboard with Next.js 15
Using Next.js 15’s App Router was a joy. Its support for nested layouts, loading states, and co-located components made the app structure clean and maintainable. Combined with server components, I could fetch data efficiently and structure UI logic around it without much boilerplate.
The Next.js 15 + ShadCN combo gave me full control over the look, feel, and performance of the dashboard all while enabling rapid iteration.
Final Verdict ShadCN vs Tailwind UI
| Feature | Tailwind UI | ShadCN UI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid (Premium) | Free (Open Source) |
| Customization | Limited (without modifying internals) | High you own the code |
| Component Variety | Polished, wide range | Growing fast, more dev-focused |
| Best For | Landing pages, marketing sites | SaaS dashboards, admin panels |
| TypeScript Support | Partial | Full |
| Accessibility | Good | Excellent (via Radix) |
Conclusion
For a fully customizable Next.js 15 dashboard, ShadCN UI was the perfect choice. It gave me:
- Complete design control
- Accessible, interactive components
- A smoother TypeScript experience
- Lightning-fast development paired with Tailwind
If you’re working on a modern SaaS dashboard or admin interface, I highly recommend giving ShadCN UI a try.
Try It Yourself
🔗 Live App – LeadPulse
💻 GitHub Repo – github.com/azeemuddinn/LeadPulse
Want to Learn More?
If you enjoyed this project breakdown, feel free to explore more blogs or contact me if you’re building something and need expert help with SaaS dashboards, Next.js, or ShadCN UI. Always happy to connect!
