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Oleksandr
Oleksandr

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I Got Tired of Free Tools That Weren't Actually Free, So I Built My Own

I Got Tired of "Free" Online Tools, So I Built My Own

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I reached a point where I was completely tired of using online tools.

Not because they were bad.

Because almost every single one followed the same pattern.

You upload a file.

Wait.

Everything looks good.

Then...

"Upgrade to Premium."

Or:

"Free users can only process one file."

Or:

"Create an account to continue."

Or even worse...

"Your download is ready after watching ads."

After seeing this hundreds of times, I stopped looking for better websites.

I started building my own.

At first, it wasn't even a project.

It was just a folder full of little utilities that solved problems I kept running into while working.

One tool became two.

Two became five.

Five became fourteen.

Eventually I realized I was opening my own tools more often than the websites I used before.

So I cleaned everything up, put it behind one interface, and decided to share it with anyone who might find it useful.

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en


The idea was simple

I wasn't trying to build another SaaS.

I wasn't trying to build "the next startup."

I just wanted tools that respected my time.

Open the page.

Do the job.

Close the tab.

That's it.

No login.

No subscriptions.

No unnecessary popups.

No fake "Free Trial."

No email collection.

Just tools.


What's currently available?

Right now the website includes 14 free utilities that I personally use while writing, editing videos, creating content and building projects.

✍️ Writing

  • Word Counter
  • Hook Generator
  • Email Generator

🎬 Video

  • Audio Extractor
  • AI Video Clip Maker
  • Audio Transcription
  • Teleprompter
  • Thumbnail Downloader

📺 Subtitle Tools

  • SRT Cleaner
  • SRT ↔ VTT Converter

🖼️ Images

  • Image Compressor
  • Aspect Ratio Resizer

⚡ Utilities

  • YouTube Validator
  • Repurpose Machine

Instead of bookmarking fifteen different websites, everything lives in one place.


Some tools exist because I got annoyed one too many times

Word Counter

Probably the simplest one.

I write documentation, blog posts and landing pages quite often.

Every word counter I tried looked like it hadn't changed since 2010 or covered half the screen with ads.

So I made one that gives me everything I actually care about:

  • word count
  • character count
  • reading time
  • speaking time
  • paragraph count
  • keyword density

Simple.

Fast.

Done.


SRT Cleaner

This one was born after spending way too much time fixing subtitle files generated by AI transcription.

Extra blank lines.

Broken formatting.

Inconsistent spacing.

Instead of fixing everything manually every time, I built a cleaner.

Now it's literally one click.


SRT ↔ VTT Converter

This is one of those tiny tools that probably saves me only a minute each time.

But after using it dozens of times, that minute adds up.


Audio Extractor

I edit videos quite often.

Sometimes I only need the audio.

Most online converters either have file size limits or push you toward a paid plan.

I wanted something that simply extracts the audio without making me fight the website.


Image Compressor

This one came from pure frustration.

Compressing an image shouldn't require creating an account.


Teleprompter

I record tutorials from time to time.

Every single time I thought:

"I'll remember what I wanted to say."

I never did.

So... another tool.


Building everything taught me something interesting

Small tools are underrated.

Everyone wants to build huge AI products now.

But sometimes the thing that genuinely improves your workflow is a tiny utility that saves thirty seconds.

Thirty seconds doesn't sound like much.

Until you repeat the same task hundreds of times.


Tech Stack

The project is built with:

  • Next.js
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Cloudflare Pages

One thing I cared about from the beginning was keeping the interface fast and simple.

I'd rather spend time improving the tools than adding another dashboard or onboarding flow.


What's next?

I still have a long list of ideas.

Most of them come from my own workflow.

Whenever I catch myself thinking:

"Why doesn't a simple tool exist for this?"

I usually end up building it.

If other people find it useful too, that's even better.


I'd love your ideas

If you're a developer, creator, writer or video editor...

What's the one online tool you wish existed but can't find?

I'm always looking for ideas that solve real problems instead of adding more noise to the internet.

If you're curious, you can try everything here:

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en

I'd genuinely love to hear what you think.

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