Indie Hacker SaaS Stack 2026
The complete guide to building a SaaS business from scratch with $0.
The Problem
80% of indie hackers take 1+ month to ship their first MVP. Why? Wrong tools = wasted time.
The Solution: $0 to MVP
Build a full SaaS without spending a dime.
Essential Tools by Category
Payments
| Tool |
Price |
Why |
| Stripe |
2.9% + 30¢ |
Industry standard, trusted by millions |
| Lemon Squeezy |
5% + 50¢ |
Perfect for indie hackers, handles global tax |
Database & Backend
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| Supabase |
500MB |
Open-source Firebase alternative, PostgreSQL |
| Turso |
500MB |
SQLite, edge-ready, cheap scaling |
| Neon |
512MB |
Serverless PostgreSQL, branchable |
Hosting & Deployment
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| Vercel |
100GB bandwidth |
Zero-config Next.js, instant deploys |
| Railway |
$5 credit/mo |
Simple, flexible, great DX |
| Cloudflare Pages |
Unlimited |
Fast, generous free tier |
Analytics
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| PostHog |
1M events |
Open-source, full analytics suite |
| Mixpanel |
100K events |
Powerful product analytics |
| Plausible |
10K views |
Privacy-first, simple |
Email & Notifications
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| Resend |
3K emails |
Modern email API, developer-friendly |
| Loops |
10K contacts |
Transactional + marketing |
| SendGrid |
100 emails |
Reliable, enterprise-ready |
Customer Support
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| Cal.com |
2 users |
Scheduling, embedded booking |
| Intercom |
$39/mo |
Chat, not free but essential |
| Crisp |
2 agents |
Free tier, good for startups |
Authentication
| Tool |
Price |
Why |
| Clerk |
10K MAU |
Modern auth, React-first |
| Auth0 |
7K users |
Enterprise-grade |
| NextAuth.js |
Free |
Open-source, full control |
Error Monitoring
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| Sentry |
5K errors |
Industry standard |
| LogSnag |
1K events |
Simple, real-time |
| Highlight |
1.5K sessions |
Full-session replay |
AI Integration
| Tool |
Free Tier |
Why |
| OpenAI |
$5 credit |
GPT-4, Whisper |
| Anthropic |
$5 credit |
Claude, best for reasoning |
| Together AI |
$25 credit |
Open models, fast |
Additional Tools
| Tool |
Use Case |
Price |
| LangChain |
AI app framework |
Free |
| Cursor |
AI coding |
Free/$20 |
| Raycast |
Mac launcher |
Free |
| Bolt.new |
AI code generator |
Free |
The Complete $0 Stack
Frontend: Next.js (Vercel) + Tailwind CSS
Backend: Supabase / Next.js API Routes
Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL) or Turso
Auth: Clerk or NextAuth
Payments: Stripe or Lemon Squeezy
Analytics: PostHog or Mixpanel
Email: Resend
AI: OpenAI / Anthropic API
Hosting: Vercel (frontend) + Railway (backend workers)
Cost Breakdown
| Stage |
Monthly Cost |
| MVP |
$0 |
| Product-Market Fit |
$0-50 |
| Scaling |
$50-500 |
Why This Stack Works
- All free tiers are generous - Enough to reach PMF
- Modern DX - Developers love these tools
- Easy to switch - No lock-in
- Production-ready - Scale without changes
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't over-engineer - Start simple
- Don't pay for features you don't need - Use free tiers
- Don't ignore analytics - PostHog is free
- Don't skip error monitoring - Sentry is free
How to Start
Step 1: Pick Your Stack
Next.js + Supabase + Stripe + PostHog + Resend
Step 2: Use a Boilerplate
Step 3: Ship in Days, Not Months
- Day 1: Setup Next.js + Auth
- Day 2: Database + Core feature
- Day 3: Payments
- Day 4: Analytics + Deploy
- Day 5: Launch!
Resources
Last updated: February 2026