5 Free Tools Every Freelancer & Indie Hacker Needs in 2026

momer — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 18:24:13 +0000

When you're building side projects or freelancing, your tech stack can easily become a monthly black hole for your wallet. Between hosting, CRMs, and project management, it's easy to accidentally rack up $200/month in subscriptions before making a single dollar.
Over the last few months at SideStackers, I've been auditing hundreds of tools designed for solo founders and freelancers to find the ones that actually deliver on their "Free Tier" promises.
Here are 5 absolute lifesavers that don't cap your potential behind a paywall:

Tally.so (Form Builder) Forget Typeform. Tally gives you unlimited forms, unlimited submissions, and even payment collection for free. It works like a Notion document and is the best way to validate a side hustle without spending a dime.
Supabase (Backend/Database) If you are building a tool and need a database, Supabase is the open-source Firebase alternative. Their generous free tier gives you a Postgres database, authentication, and edge functions. Perfect for getting an MVP off the ground.
Wave Financial (Invoicing/Accounting) Freelancers: do not pay for QuickBooks when you are just starting. Wave offers completely free invoicing, accounting, and receipt scanning. They only make money if you use their credit card processing.
Loops.so (Email Marketing) Newsletters and product updates are crucial. Loops is built specifically for SaaS and indie hackers. Their free tier lets you send beautiful, modern emails up to 1,000 contacts without the clunky UI of Mailchimp.
Canva (Design - but use the hidden features) Everyone knows Canva, but few freelancers use its free website builder or free presentation templates for client pitches. You don't need a custom Figma file to close a $1,000 freelance contract; you just need a clean proposal. The Takeaway You don't need venture capital or a massive budget to stack a professional toolkit. Protect your runway and use tools that scale with you, not against you. If you found this helpful, I curate free tools and practical growth guides for side-hustlers every week over at Sidesstackers. Come say hi!

I built SideStackers to help freelancers spend less time searching and more time building

momer — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:44:11 +0000

When I started freelancing and working on side projects, I kept running into the same problem.

I wasn't struggling to find information—I was struggling to find it all in one place.

One day I'd need to figure out what to charge a client. The next I'd be comparing freelance platforms. Then I'd be looking for a proposal template or trying to find examples of effective website copy.

After repeatedly searching for the same kinds of resources, I decided to put them together in one place.

That's how SideStackers started.

The site focuses on practical resources for freelancers, creators, and people building side projects, including:

Freelance pricing guides
Proposal and contract templates
Platform comparisons
Marketing and copywriting resources
Design and web development articles
Free tools and calculators

Rather than publishing short, generic posts, I've been building detailed guides that aim to answer the questions I found myself searching for.

Some of the topics currently on the site include:

Freelance proposal templates
Freelance contract templates
Graphic design pricing
Video editing pricing
Email marketing platform comparisons
Website copywriting examples
Portfolio inspiration
Ways to make money online

I'm continuing to expand it with more tools and long-form guides as I discover new problems worth solving.

If you're interested, you can take a look here:
CLICK HERE

I'd appreciate any feedback on what resources would be most useful to add next.

DEV Community: momer

5 Free Tools Every Freelancer & Indie Hacker Needs in 2026

I built SideStackers to help freelancers spend less time searching and more time building