The Indie Hacker's Starter Stack in 2026
The fastest, cheapest, most capable stack for launching a SaaS product solo. Supabase + Vercel + Stripe + Resend + Clerk — and why each piece earns its place.
A solo developer in 2026 can ship a production SaaS product in a week that would have taken a team months five years ago. The tools have gotten that good. But only if you choose the right stack — one that stays free until you have revenue, scales without a rewrite, and doesn't require ops expertise to run.
The stack
- Next.js (framework) — Full-stack React framework. Handles frontend, API routes, server components, and static generation. Free. The default choice for good reason.
- Supabase (database + auth + storage) — Postgres with a generous free tier (500MB DB, 1GB storage, 50k monthly active users for auth). The open-source Firebase alternative that doesn't lock you in.
- Vercel (deployment) — One-click deploys, automatic preview environments for every PR, edge CDN. Free tier covers most early-stage products.
- Stripe (payments) — The standard. Subscriptions, one-time payments, invoicing. No monthly fee — 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. Accept no substitutes until you're processing millions.
- Resend (transactional email) — 3,000 emails/day free. Clean API, excellent deliverability, React Email template support. Replaced SendGrid and Mailgun for most indie projects.
What this costs at launch
If you're pre-revenue, this entire stack costs $0/month. Every component has a free tier that covers meaningful usage.
- Next.js — Free (open source)
- Supabase — Free tier: 500MB Postgres, 50k auth users, 1GB storage. Paused after 1 week of inactivity — upgrade to Pro ($25/mo) once live.
- Vercel — Free for hobby projects. Pro ($20/mo) adds team features and higher limits. Most indie projects stay free for months.
- Stripe — No monthly fee. You pay per transaction when you're earning.
- Resend — Free: 3k/day, 100/mo. Paid from $20/mo for higher volume.
- Clerk — Free: 10k MAU. Paid from $25/mo at higher scale.
Total pre-revenue cost
$0/month. You only pay when you're earning (Stripe) or when you scale beyond generous free tiers. This is a deliberate advantage of this stack over alternatives like AWS or GCP which have complex pricing from day one.
Why these specifically
- Supabase over PlanetScale/Neon/Firebase — Postgres is the right database for most SaaS products. Supabase gives you Postgres + auth + storage in one dashboard, with no vendor lock-in (it's open source and self-hostable).
- Resend over SendGrid/Mailgun — Simpler API, better DX, React Email templates. The $0 free tier is more generous for most indie projects.
- Stripe over Paddle/Lemon Squeezy — More control, more integrations, better documentation. The 2.9% fee is higher than Paddle's merchant-of-record model, but you own the customer relationship.
When to deviate
- Non-European market with EU VAT concerns — Consider Paddle or Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record — they handle VAT compliance across 100+ countries.
- Need background jobs or cron — Add Inngest (free tier) or Trigger.dev for reliable job queues without managing infrastructure.
- Need Redis/caching — Upstash Redis — serverless, per-request pricing, free tier. Drop-in addition.
- Building something with AI — Add Anthropic or OpenAI SDK. Both have straightforward Node.js integration.
Ready to decide?
Use the Indie SaaS Stack Screener to filter by your criteria and compare options head-to-head.