FOUNDER GUIDES

The $0 to $10K MRR AI Stack

Don't waste money on enterprise tools. Here is the lean AI stack you need to launch and grow.

Dec 16, 2024 • 5 min read

When you're at $0 MRR, every dollar counts. You can't afford $200/month enterprise AI suites. You need tools that are cheap (or free) and punch above their weight.

We've tested hundreds of tools to find the perfect "indie hacker" stack. Total cost? Under $50/month.


1. Product & Code

Cursor

Freemium

The best AI code editor, period. It's a fork of VS Code so you lose nothing, but gain an AI pair programmer that knows your entire codebase.

Cost: $0 - $20/mo ROI: Saves 10+ hrs/week coding

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Free Tier

Better than GPT-4 for coding and logic. Use the web interface to architect your DB schema or debug complex errors.

Cost: Free ROI: Acts as a Senior Dev

2. Marketing & Design

Gamma

Freemium

Forget PowerPoint. Gamma builds beautiful pitch decks and landing pages from text prompts in seconds.

Cost: Free ROI: Decks in minutes, not days

Canva Magic Studio

Freemium

The single best tool for social media assets. Their new AI tools let you resize, edit, and generate images instantly.

Cost: Free ROI: Replaces a junior designer

3. Operations & Sales

Perplexity

Free Tier

Replace Google. Use it to research competitors, find leads, and understand technical concepts 10x faster.

Cost: Free ROI: Faster research

Want the full list?

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