The Products
I currently run 4 products, all built and maintained by me alone:
- SellerMind — Free tools for Amazon FBA sellers (fee calculator, batch label generator)
- PodCrisp — AI tools for podcasters (title generator, show notes)
- SaaSLaunch — Free landing page SEO checker for SaaS founders
- Parcelglance — AI-powered order tracking widget for Shopify stores
The Tech Stack
Frontend
- Next.js — Primary framework for all products
- Tailwind CSS — Styling (fast iteration)
- Vercel — Hosting and deployment (free tier)
- Cloudflare — DNS, CDN, and DDoS protection (free tier)
Backend
- Supabase — PostgreSQL database + auth (free tier)
- Cloudflare Workers — Edge functions for API routes (free tier)
- OpenAI API — AI features in PodCrisp and Parcelglance (pay-as-you-go)
Development
- VS Code — Primary editor
- GitHub — Version control (free)
- Cursor — AI-assisted coding when needed
- Claude — Complex architecture decisions
Monitoring
- UptimeRobot — Uptime monitoring (free)
- Vercel Analytics — Performance metrics
- Sentry — Error tracking (free tier)
Monthly Costs
Here's my actual monthly spend:
| Service | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | $0 | Free tier for all 4 sites |
| Supabase | $0 | Free tier covers current usage |
| Cloudflare | $0 | Free tier for DNS + CDN |
| OpenAI API | ~$5 | GPT-4o-mini is cheap |
| GitHub | $0 | Free for public/private repos |
| Domain names | ~$4 | ~$50/year split across 4 domains |
| Total | ~$9/month |
Yes, I run 4 products for less than $10/month.
Key Lessons
1. Start with Free Tools
Every product started as a free tool. Free tools:
- Get users without friction
- Build trust before asking for money
- Provide SEO value (backlinks + organic traffic)
Parcelglance is the only product I plan to charge for (it's a Shopify app that reduces support tickets). The other 3 remain free.
2. Reuse Everything
All 4 products share:
- Same auth system (Supabase)
- Same deployment pipeline (Vercel + GitHub)
- Same UI component library
- Same error handling patterns
Building the second product took 40% less time than the first. The third took 60% less.
3. AI Changes the Game
With AI coding assistants:
- I can build features 3-5x faster
- Boilerplate is almost free
- I focus on business logic, not implementation details
PodCrisp's AI features (title generator, show notes) were built in a weekend. Without AI, it would have taken a week.
4. SEO > Paid Marketing
All my user acquisition is organic:
- Dev.to articles (like this one)
- Free tools that attract backlinks
- Community participation (Reddit, HN)
- Word of mouth
I've spent $0 on ads. Zero.
5. Ship Fast, Iterate Later
My first versions are intentionally rough:
- Minimal features
- Basic UI
- Manual processes where possible
If nobody uses v1, there's no point polishing it. If people use it, I improve based on feedback.
What's Next
- Parcelglance R6 submission — Waiting for Shopify App Store review
- More free tools — Considering a podcast guest finder and an Etsy profit calculator
- Content marketing — Weekly Dev.to articles, Reddit participation
Questions?
Drop them in the comments. Happy to share more details about the tech stack, costs, or lessons learned.
FTC Disclosure: These are my own products. No affiliate links, no sponsorships. I'm sharing my experience to help other indie developers.
What's your solo dev stack? How do you keep costs low? Let's compare notes in the comments.
Top comments (0)