Core Stack Overview: All 18 Tools at a Glance
Complete overview of the $0 tech stack with all 18 tools, their free tier limits, and upgrade triggers
This chapter presents the complete 18-tool stack that powers profitable solopreneurship. Each tool has been selected for its generous free tier, reliability, and ability to scale with your business. The table below shows every tool, its purpose, free tier limits, and the specific trigger that signals when to upgrade.
Core Stack Overview
Here's the complete stack at a glance:
| Category | Tool | Why This One | Free Tier Limits | Upgrade Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development | ||||
| IDE | VS Code | Best-in-class, extensible | Unlimited | Never |
| Code Hosting | GitHub | Industry standard | Unlimited public repos | Private repo limits |
| Frontend Hosting | Vercel | Zero-config deploy | 100GB bandwidth | Bandwidth cap |
| Backend/Database | Supabase | Postgres + Auth + Storage | 500MB database | Database size |
| CI/CD | GitHub Actions | Built-in, powerful | 2,000 min/month | Build time cap |
| Marketing | ||||
| Content Creation | Notion | All-in-one workspace | Unlimited blocks | Team features |
| SEO Research | Ubersuggest Free | Keyword research | 3 searches/day | Daily limit |
| Email Marketing | Mailchimp Free | 500 contacts | 500 contacts | Contact growth |
| Social Scheduling | Buffer Free | Schedule posts | 10 posts/month | Volume needs |
| Design | Canva Free | Templates galore | Limited templates | Brand kit needs |
| Operations | ||||
| Project Management | GitHub Projects | Built into workflow | Unlimited | Team size |
| Documentation | Notion + GitHub Wiki | Dual system | Unlimited | Team collab |
| Analytics | Google Analytics 4 | Industry standard | Unlimited | Advanced features |
| Forms/Surveys | Google Forms | Simple and effective | Unlimited | Advanced logic |
| Communication | ||||
| Gmail | 15GB storage | 15GB | Storage cap | |
| Calendar | Google Calendar | Standard | Unlimited | Never |
| Meetings | Google Meet | 60-min limit | 60-min meetings | Meeting length |
| Scheduling | Cal.com | Open-source | Unlimited | Custom branding |
Total Monthly Cost: $0.00
This complete stack costs exactly $0.00 per month. Every single tool listed here has a generous free tier that's sufficient for building and running a profitable business. You can launch, validate, and scale to your first $100K in revenue without spending a dollar on tools.
Understanding the Table
Free Tier Limits column shows the boundary of each tool's free offering. These aren't arbitrary restrictions—they're designed to support real businesses at early stages.
Upgrade Trigger column identifies the specific moment when upgrading becomes necessary. This helps plan your budget around actual business growth rather than arbitrary timelines. Most triggers align with revenue-generating milestones, meaning by the time you need to pay, you'll have income to support it.
Category Breakdown
The 18 tools span four essential categories:
Development (5 tools) covers everything from writing code to deploying production applications. This category has the most generous limits because these tools want to capture developers early.
Marketing (5 tools) handles content creation, SEO research, email campaigns, social media, and design. Free tiers here are designed to support audience building from zero to thousands.
Operations (4 tools) provides project management, documentation, analytics, and data collection. These tools integrate seamlessly with the development stack.
Communication (4 tools) enables professional email, scheduling, meetings, and calendar management. Basic needs are covered completely free.
Each category contains exactly what's needed—no redundancy, no gaps. The next chapters dive deep into each category with specific setup instructions and optimization strategies.
Philosophy: Why $0 Matters
Understanding capital efficiency, freedom vs velocity, trade-offs, and when to upgrade from free tools
Development Tools: VS Code, GitHub, Vercel, Supabase, CI/CD
Complete setup guide for development environment including IDE, version control, hosting, database, and CI/CD pipeline