The solo founder SaaS stack that stays under one hundred dollars a month

The keep list

• Hosting and framework

  One platform that handles build, deploy and preview environments. Free at your traffic level for a long time.

• Postgres with row level security

  Database, auth and file storage from one vendor. Consolidation here removes an entire class of integration bugs.

• Merchant of record billing

  Slightly higher fees, but it removes global tax handling and invoicing from your job description.

• Transactional and broadcast email

  One provider for both, so your list and your lifecycle mail share a reputation and a sending domain.

• Cookieless analytics

  Events and funnels, no consent banner, minimal page weight.

• Error tracking

  Free tiers are generous and catch the bugs users never report.

The skip list

CRM, marketing automation, customer data platforms, feature flag services, dedicated search engines and design systems. Every one of these solves a coordination problem that a single person does not have.

FAQ

When should I start adding tools?

When a recurring task takes more than an hour a week and the tool removes most of that hour.

Is self hosting cheaper?

In dollars sometimes, in hours never. For a solo founder, managed services almost always win.