The Complete Indie Hacker Tech Stack for 2026

Building a profitable indie business requires the right tools. This guide covers the exact tech stack successful indie hackers are using in 2026 to ship fast, stay lean, and scale profitably.

Why Your Tech Stack Matters

The wrong tools can:

• Drain your budget before you find product-market fit
• Slow you down with unnecessary complexity
• Lock you into expensive contracts

The right stack lets you:

• Ship MVPs in days, not months
• Keep costs near zero until you have revenue
• Scale smoothly as you grow

The Lean Indie Stack

Development

Cursor ($20/month) - AI-powered code editor that 10x your development speed. Essential for solo founders who need to ship fast.

Next.js (Free) - The React framework that handles routing, server rendering, and API routes.

TypeScript (Free) - Catch bugs before they reach users.

Backend & Database

Supabase (Free tier generous) - Postgres database, authentication, real-time subscriptions, and storage. The indie hacker's best friend.

Alternatives:

• Convex - If you need reactive real-time features
• PlanetScale - If you need MySQL

Hosting

Vercel (Free tier available) - Deploy Next.js apps with zero configuration. Automatic previews for every PR.

Cloudflare Pages (Free) - Great alternative for static sites or if you want edge-first architecture.

Payments

Stripe (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) - The gold standard for payments. Handles subscriptions, one-time payments, and global currencies.

Lemon Squeezy - Alternative that handles VAT for digital products.

Authentication

Supabase Auth (Free with Supabase) - Social logins, magic links, and traditional auth.

Clerk - If you need more advanced features or better UI components.

Email

Resend (Free tier: 3000/month) - Modern email API that developers actually enjoy using.

Loops - Email marketing built for SaaS.

Analytics

Posthog (Free tier generous) - Product analytics with feature flags, session replay, and A/B testing.

Plausible ($9/month) - Privacy-focused, simple analytics.

Design & UI

Tailwind CSS (Free) - Utility-first CSS that speeds up development.

shadcn/ui (Free) - Beautiful, accessible components you own.

Figma (Free tier) - Design mockups before building.

AI Integration

OpenAI API / Claude API - Add AI features to your product.

Replicate - Run open-source AI models without managing infrastructure.

Cost Breakdown: $0 to First Customer

Tool	Cost
Cursor	$20/month
Supabase	Free
Vercel	Free
Domain	~$12/year
Total	~$21/month

You can launch a full SaaS product for less than $25/month.

Stack by Business Type

Content/Newsletter Business

Vercel + Supabase + Resend + Stripe

SaaS Application

Next.js + Supabase + Stripe + Posthog

Marketplace

Next.js + Supabase + Stripe Connect + Algolia

AI Tool

Next.js + Supabase + OpenAI/Claude API + Stripe

Shipping Fast: The Process

1. Day 1: Set up repo, Next.js, Supabase
2. Day 2-3: Build core feature
3. Day 4: Add auth and payments
4. Day 5: Deploy and launch

This timeline is realistic with vibe coding tools like Cursor.

Common Mistakes

1. Over-engineering - You don't need microservices for your MVP
2. Paying too early - Maximize free tiers before you have revenue
3. Building before validating - Talk to users first
4. Ignoring SEO - Start content marketing early

Conclusion

The indie hacker tech stack in 2026 is lean, powerful, and affordable. Focus on tools that let you ship fast and iterate based on user feedback.

Find all these tools and more at Vibestack.