Solo Founder Tech Stack 2026: Build Your MVP for Under $50/month
You don't need a huge budget to build a successful startup. Here's the complete guide to choosing the right tools as a solo founder, indie hacker, or bootstrapped entrepreneur — with stacks for every budget.
📑 What's Covered
Why This Guide for Solo Founders?
Being a solo founder in 2026 is both exciting and challenging. You wear every hat — developer, designer, marketer, and CEO. The tools you choose can make or break your productivity and runway.
The good news? The ecosystem has never been better for bootstrapped founders. Free tiers are generous, AI tools are powerful, and you can genuinely build a profitable SaaS for under $50/month in infrastructure costs.
💡 Pro Tip: Don't optimize for cost alone. Your time is valuable. Sometimes paying $20/month for a tool that saves you 10 hours is the best investment you'll make.
The $0/month Stack (Completely Free)
Yes, you can build and launch a real product for $0/month. These free tiers are genuinely usable for early-stage startups:
Cursor: 2K completions/mo | Google Antigravity: Unlimited (preview)
Open source, React framework with App Router
Copy-paste components, fully customizable
500MB DB, auth, 1GB storage, realtime
100GB bandwidth, serverless functions, cron jobs
3,000 emails/month, 1 domain
No monthly fee, 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
1 million events/month, session replay
5K errors/month, performance monitoring
Unlimited repos, GitHub Actions CI/CD
3 projects, unlimited personal files
✅ Total Cost: $0/month
Perfect for: MVPs, side projects, validating ideas before investing.
⚠️ Free tier caveats: Supabase pauses inactive projects after 7 days. Vercel has 10-second function timeout. Plan to upgrade when you get paying users.
The $25/month Stack (Budget Bootstrapper)
Once you're generating revenue or serious about building, $25/month unlocks significant upgrades. Here's the complete stack:
Cursor Pro: Unlimited | Google Antigravity: Free (preview)
Open source, React framework
Copy-paste components
500MB DB, auth, storage, realtime
100GB bandwidth, cron jobs
3,000 emails/month
2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
1M events, session replay, feature flags
5K errors/month
Unlimited repos, CI/CD
💰 Total Cost: $0-20/month
Use Google Antigravity (free) or invest in Cursor Pro for more stability.
AI Coding choice: Google Antigravity is free during public preview with generous limits and access to multiple AI models. If you prefer a more mature, stable experience, Cursor Pro at $20/month is excellent. Both will save you 10+ hours per week.
The $50/month Stack (Pro Solo Founder)
At $50/month, you're running a professional, production-ready operation. Here's the complete stack:
Cursor Pro: Unlimited | Google Antigravity: Free (preview)
Open source, React framework
Copy-paste components
8GB DB, daily backups, no pausing, auth
100GB bandwidth, cron jobs
3,000 emails/month
2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
1M events, session replay, feature flags
5K errors/month
Unlimited repos, CI/CD
🚀 Total Cost: $25-45/month
Production-ready with room to scale to 10K+ users.
What Supabase Pro unlocks: 8GB database, 100GB storage, daily backups, and no project pausing. This is critical — free tier projects pause after 7 days of inactivity, which can break your app for users.
AI Coding Assistants: The Solo Founder's Superpower
In 2026, AI coding tools are non-negotiable for solo founders. They can 2-5x your development speed. Here's how they compare:
Cursor
$0 Free / $20 ProBuilt specifically for AI-first coding. The composer feature lets you describe features in plain English and generates entire components. Best for solo founders who want maximum productivity.
Google Antigravity
$0 Free (Public Preview)Google's agent-first IDE with access to Gemini 3 Pro, Claude 3.5, and GPT models. Extremely generous free tier during public preview with unlimited completions and agent workflows. Great for those wanting cutting-edge AI without paying.
Claude Code
$20/mo (via Claude Pro)Anthropic's agentic coding tool. Runs in your terminal, understands entire codebases, can execute commands autonomously. Best for complex refactoring and multi-file changes. Requires Claude Pro subscription.
GitHub Copilot
$10/mo IndividualThe original AI coding assistant. Great inline completions, works in any editor. Best for those already deep in the GitHub ecosystem.
Windsurf
$10/moCodeium's AI IDE with 'Cascade' agent that can make multi-file changes. Good alternative to Cursor at a lower price point with generous free tier.
🆓 Best Free Options for Solo Founders
- • Google Antigravity — Generous free tier with multiple AI models during public preview
- • Cursor Free — 2,000 completions/month, good for starting out
- • Windsurf Free — Unlimited basic completions
Our recommendation: Try Google Antigravity first (free during public preview). If you prefer a more stable experience, start with Cursor free tier then upgrade to Pro. For terminal-based workflows, Claude Code is excellent but requires the $20/mo Claude Pro subscription.
No-Code Options for Non-Technical Founders
Not a developer? No problem. These tools let you build real products without writing code:
Framer
Build beautiful, responsive websites with no code. Great for landing pages, portfolios, and marketing sites. Starts at $5/mo for a single site.
Best for: Landing pages
Lovable
AI-powered app builder. Describe what you want, and it generates a full React app. Amazing for MVPs and prototypes.
Best for: AI-generated MVPs
Bolt.new
Browser-based AI app builder from StackBlitz. Generate, edit, and deploy apps instantly. No local setup required.
Best for: Quick prototypes
Bubble
Full-featured no-code platform for building complex web apps. Steeper learning curve but very powerful. Free tier available.
Best for: Complex appsAutomation: Work Smarter, Not Harder
As a solo founder, automation is your secret weapon. These tools handle repetitive tasks so you can focus on building:
Zapier
$0-29/mo — Connect 6,000+ apps. Easy to use but gets expensive at scale.
Make.com
$0-16/mo — More powerful than Zapier, better pricing for complex workflows.
n8n
$0 self-hosted — Open-source automation. Free if you host it yourself on Railway or Render.
Our recommendation: Start with Make.com's free tier (1,000 operations/month). It's more powerful than Zapier's free tier and cheaper when you scale.
Our Final Recommendations
🆓 If you're just starting (MVP phase)
Use the $0 stack. Validate your idea before spending money. Every tool mentioned has a generous free tier that's genuinely usable.
💰 If you're generating revenue (Growth phase)
Invest in Cursor Pro ($20/mo). It will save you more time than any other tool. Keep everything else on free tiers until you hit limits.
🚀 If you're scaling (Scale phase)
Upgrade to Supabase Pro ($25/mo) for database reliability and backups. Consider Vercel Pro if you need more bandwidth or team features.
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