Stack

Bootstrapped Founder Stack - Run a full SaaS business under $200/mo

For founders who need to prove unit economics before hiring. This stack prioritizes shipping fast, understanding customer behavior, and processing payments—skipping everything that doesn't directly move revenue. You'll stay under $200/mo while running product, support, billing, and analytics. The tradeoff: manual work beats automation until you have enough customers to justify it.

Lean

Start here if you're pre-launch or under $1k MRR. Free tier everything, zero spend, pure validation. You'll outgrow this within months—that's the goal. Accept manual processes as your competitive advantage right now.

$0/mo

$0-$60/mo

Notion Free · Central workspace for docs, roadmap, and internal processes. Free tier is generous enough for a solo founder's entire operation.
Plausible Analytics · Privacy-first website analytics without the bloat of Google Analytics. Shows traffic patterns and user flow without cookie tracking overhead.
Crisp Free · Live chat and email support inbox combined. Free tier handles 1-2 conversations per day; scales to paid only when you need it.
Beehiiv Free · Email list building and basic sends. Free tier includes automation workflows—enough to nurture early users without paying for dedicated email software.

Recommended

Growth

You've hit $1-5k MRR and need deeper product insights plus automated customer communication. This tier adds behavioral analytics and email sequences. You're still lean but now optimizing for retention and repeat revenue.

$0/mo

$60-$150/mo

PostHog · Product analytics with event tracking, funnels, and cohorts. Self-hosted option keeps data private; free tier covers early-stage usage patterns.
Loops · Email automation tied to user behavior. Replaces manual follow-ups with triggered sequences—onboarding, re-engagement, upsells—without Marketo complexity.
Lemon Squeezy · Payment processing and subscription management. Handles taxes, refunds, and affiliate payouts so you don't have to—cheaper than Stripe for bootstrapped founders.

Scale

You're at $5k+ MRR and scaling a team or complex workflows. This tier replaces growth-stage compromises with purpose-built tools: structured issue tracking, sophisticated automation, and enterprise-grade analytics.

$0/mo

$150-$300/mo

Linear · Issue tracking and product roadmap for distributed teams. Speed and keyboard-first design beat Jira for lean teams; integrates cleanly with GitHub.
Customer.io · Behavioral marketing automation at scale. Triggers campaigns based on user actions across your product—retention, win-back, expansion—without manual segmentation.
Mixpanel · Advanced product analytics with retention cohorts and funnel analysis. Answers 'why did users churn' better than basic tools; essential once you're optimizing for LTV.
Stripe · Payment processing with full billing control. More expensive than Lemon Squeezy but required when you need custom billing logic, invoicing, or enterprise customers.