What “low-cost” stack would you recommend for a first-time founder launching a product to save money
AI is a great, cheap foundation – we can all agree on that (depending on token usage, of course). 😀
When you’re building your first product, and you’re not sure if it will work and earn money, the obvious goal is to keep costs as low as possible and avoid burning money early on.
That’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my upcoming Chrome extension for LinkedIn. I don’t know if it will take off, so I want to go with the most cost-efficient stack possible.
Could you recommend the best low-cost alternatives for infrastructure and launching?
Databases
Payments/money management (I’m currently considering Stripe)
Analytics
Hosting and domains?
If there are other essential tools I’m missing, feel free to add them. I’m especially open to dev advice since my experience here is basically zero.
I believe your suggestions could help others in a similar situation, too. And if you know any good promo codes, don’t hesitate to share them. 😄
Replies
@busmark_w_nika GitHub Pages for hosting, free if it's static, no server needed. Supabase for the database, generous free tier and you get auth built in too. Stripe for payments is the right call, no reason to look elsewhere for a first product. For analytics, PostHog has a free tier that's actually usable, not the crippled kind. Domain from Namecheap or Porkbun, both cheap.
Skip anything with a monthly fee until you have users. You can always upgrade once something breaks from traffic, that's a good problem to have.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@alex_iliescu Thank you, I need to have a look at GitHub Pages because I haven't observed it well :)
@busmark_w_nika I run a multi product portfolio on almost exactly this stack, so some specifics for your case.
For a Chrome extension the infrastructure need is tiny. Most of it is auth plus a small database plus the odd serverless function, and all of that sits inside free tiers for a long time. Supabase covers database and auth on one free plan and has extension auth guides, so that is the obvious starting point. Host the marketing page on Vercel or Cloudflare Pages, both free at your stage. The only unavoidable spend is a domain, roughly ten a year, so do not agonise over it, that is the cheapest line you will ever pay.
On the Stripe question you keep asking: the real decision is not Stripe versus a cheaper processor, it is processor versus merchant of record. Stripe is a processor, so you are on the hook for VAT and sales tax in every country you sell into. A merchant of record like Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Dodo becomes the legal seller and files all of that for you, for a few points more margin. An extension usually sells internationally from day one, and that tax admin is the hidden cost that actually bites, so paying two or three points to never touch a VAT return is worth it pre revenue. If you were US only with a US entity, plain Stripe would be fine. That is the whole trade.
One rule that saves the most money early: every tool you named has a free tier, so your real early cost is not infrastructure, it is anything you start paying for before a single user has paid you. Stay on free tiers until someone gives you money, then upgrade only the one thing that is actually straining.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@oshylabs Thank you for your point :) That's it... I do not have a problem to pay right after I am having paying users :)
@busmark_w_nika That is the whole rule. Free tier until someone pays you, everything else is noise. Good luck with the extension.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@oshylabs Thank you, Arnold! :)
This is basically exactly what I did building auriko.pro! Here's my stack:
Database: SQLite to start, free and zero setup
Payments: Stripe is the right call, nothing cheaper that's reliable
Analytics: Google Analytics, completely free
Hosting: Replit for dev, Railway for production, both have free tiers
Domain: Namecheap, cheapest I found
Biggest tip: don't pay for anything until you have real users. Free tiers will take you further than you think 💛 auriko.pro ran on free tiers for months!
I’d include founder time in the definition of cost. A tool that saves ¥100 per month but requires hours of maintenance may be considerably more expensive than the subscription it replaces.