What We Use
The actual tools behind this site. What they cost. What else we considered. No fiction.
This page lists every tool in our stack. Where we have an affiliate relationship, it is marked. Where we use a free or self-hosted tool but recommend a paid alternative in our reviews, we explain why. Transparency is the point.
Next.js
Static export means zero server costs and fast page loads. We know it well.
Astro was a close second. Hugo is fast but we prefer React components.
Hostinger VPS
One VPS runs everything. CloudPanel makes Nginx config painless. Static files are served directly - no Node.js runtime needed.
Railway and Render are great for apps but overkill for static sites. Vercel is free but we prefer owning the infrastructure.
Umami (self-hosted)
Privacy-first, no cookies, we own the data. Open source means no vendor lock-in.
Both are excellent. If we did not want to self-host, we would pick Fathom. We recommend it in our reviews for founders who do not want to manage infrastructure.
Hostinger
Consolidation - hosting and domains in one place simplifies billing.
Cloudflare Registrar is at-cost pricing and arguably better value. Namecheap is solid. We just prefer fewer logins.
Resend
Developer-first API, great deliverability, generous free tier covers our needs.
Postmark is arguably more reliable for transactional email. SendGrid has a bigger free tier but worse DX.
NordVPN
Fast, reliable, works in restrictive networks. Good enough for daily use.
ProtonVPN is better for privacy purists. Mullvad is the gold standard for anonymity. NordVPN is the pragmatic daily driver.
1Password
Best UX of any password manager. Watchtower catches compromised credentials. SSH key management is a bonus.
Bitwarden is open source and cheaper. If cost matters most, use Bitwarden. We prefer 1Password for the polish.
GitHub
Industry standard. Actions for CI, Pages as a backup deploy target, Copilot integration if we need it.
GitLab is more feature-complete out of the box. GitHub just has better ecosystem integration.
Most of the cost is the VPS ($10/mo shared across multiple sites) and NordVPN ($4/mo). Everything else is free tier or open source. This is what building lean actually looks like.