I was paying for:
- An invoicing tool (£12/month)
- An expense tracker (£8/month)
- A project management app (£10/month)
- A cash flow forecaster (£15/month)
That's £540/year. For a solo freelancer.
So I built my own versions. They run entirely in the browser, use localStorage for persistence, and cost exactly nothing to host (static HTML on Cloudflare Pages).
Here's what I replaced and how:
1. Invoice Generator → Free
My old tool: FreshBooks (£12/month)
The replacement: A single HTML page with vanilla JavaScript. Fill in client details, add line items, toggle VAT on/off, preview, and download as PDF using the browser's print-to-PDF.
What I lost: Automatic payment reminders, client portal
What I gained: £144/year, zero vendor lock-in, complete control
→ Try it
2. Expense Tracker → Free
My old tool: Xero Simple Start (£8/month)
The replacement: A localStorage-backed tracker with HMRC categories built in. Add expenses, see category breakdown, export to CSV when tax return time comes.
What I lost: Bank feed integration
What I gained: £96/year, works offline, no subscription creep
→ Try it
3. Client/Project Tracker → Free
My old tool: Monday.com (£10/month)
The replacement: Four-tab app — Dashboard, Clients, Projects, Invoices. Revenue stats, outstanding amounts, average days to payment. CSV export.
What I lost: Team features (I don't have a team)
What I gained: £120/year, actually designed for solo work
→ Try it
4. Cash Flow Forecast → Free
My old tool: Float (£15/month)
The replacement: Month-by-month planner for income vs expenses. Visual bar chart. Gap alerts. Export to CSV.
What I lost: Bank account sync
What I gained: £180/year, simpler interface, focuses on what matters
→ Try it
The tech
- Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS
- No frameworks, no build step, no backend
- localStorage for persistence
- Cloudflare Pages for hosting (free)
- Total infrastructure cost: £0/year
The lesson
Most solo freelancers don't need enterprise SaaS. We need simple tools that do one thing well. The browser is more powerful than we give it credit for.
Total saved: £540/year. That's real money when you're starting out.
All the tools are free at landolio.com/tools. No sign-up, no tracking, your data stays in your browser.
What subscriptions have you replaced with simpler alternatives?
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