White-Label SaaS: The Business Behind the Brand
White-label software is built by one company and sold to others who rebrand it as their own product. It's one of the most capital-efficient ways to distribute software: build once, license many times, let partners handle marketing and customer relationships.
Architecture for White-Label SaaS
A white-label system needs more than multi-tenancy — it needs customization at every level:
- Visual branding: Custom logo, colors, fonts per client (CSS variables or tenant-specific stylesheets)
- Domain mapping: Each client uses their own domain (app.clientbrand.com)
- Feature flags: Enable/disable features per client plan or request
- Email templates: All automated emails show client branding, not yours
- Data isolation: Row-level security per tenant, no cross-tenant data access
Technical Implementation
Domain mapping: store custom domains in your database, resolve tenant by domain in middleware, serve tenant-specific assets (logo, CSS) from CDN. In Next.js middleware:
export function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
const hostname = request.headers.get('host');
const tenant = await getTenantByDomain(hostname);
// Add tenant context to headers for downstream use
const headers = new Headers(request.headers);
headers.set('x-tenant-id', tenant.id);
return NextResponse.next({ request: { headers } });
}Licensing Models for White-Label
- Flat monthly fee: Client pays $X/month regardless of their customer count
- Revenue share: You take 10–20% of client's revenue
- Per-seat: Client pays per their end-user
- One-time license + maintenance: Good for regulated industries