Tools I Use as an Indie Hacker (2026 Edition)

After 60 days running an indie iOS portfolio + content matrix + B2B consulting, here's the exact stack. 18 tools. Real prices. Real verdicts.

Disclosure: Some links are affiliates. Prices accurate as of 2026-05-07. Verdicts are my own — I do not get paid to keep tools I don't use.

Development

Tool	$/mo	Use for	Verdict
Claude Code (Anthropic)	$20+	Codebase agent. Writes Python/Swift/HTML, auto-publishes to dev.to/Substack/Gumroad via CDP.	Keep — 6× speedup
VS Code	Free	IDE for Python/JS/HTML.	Keep
Xcode	Free + $99/yr	iOS Swift / SwiftUI / TestFlight builds.	Keep — required
Chrome DevTools Protocol	Free	Drives Substack TipTap, Gumroad UI, ASC web. CDP > Selenium for indie scale.	Keep
Playwright	Free	Python lib for CDP. `connect_over_cdp()` attaches to real Chrome.	Keep

Distribution + Sales

Tool	$/mo or fee	Use for	Verdict
Gumroad	10% fee + 2.9% + $0.30	Digital product checkout. Affiliate program (30% commission). 6 SKUs catalog.	Keep
Substack	10% on paid (free)	Newsletter (TipTap editor, CDP-friendly). Free tier for now.	Keep
dev.to	Free	50+ articles via REST API. Compound traffic over 6-12 months.	Keep
X / Twitter	$8 (Premium)	Distribution. Lexical editor blocks automation — paste-ready files only.	Test more
Reddit + Indie Hackers + HN	Free	Distribution. Lexical anti-bot — manual paste only.	Keep

Apple iOS

Tool	$/mo or fee	Use for	Verdict
App Store Connect	$99/yr	iOS app submission. ASC API V1/V2 for build state, IAPs, testers.	Keep — required
TestFlight	Free (with ASC)	Internal/external beta testing.	Keep
Apple Pay Apps Agreement	Free	Required for paid apps + IAPs. Signed 2026-05-06.	Keep

Backend + Hosting

Tool	$/mo	Use for	Verdict
GitHub Pages	Free	jiejuefuyou.github.io. 30 LIVE pages. Auto-deploy via push.	Keep
Flask (local)	Free	Dashboard. /api/audit, /api/revenue, /api/asc-status endpoints.	Keep

Operations

Tool	$/mo	Use for	Verdict
Cron (Windows Task Scheduler)	Free	Hourly ASC build state poll. Daily briefing email.	Keep
YAML frontmatter	Free	Manifest-first content management. 60+ files auto-indexed.	Keep — game-changer
git + GitHub	Free	Version control. 30+ commits/week. MIT-licensed repos.	Keep

Productivity

Tool	$/mo	Use for	Verdict
Slack (personal)	Free	Workspace for me + sometimes a freelancer.	Keep
Calendly	Free	B2B call booking. Integrated with /book-call.	Keep
Notion	Free / $8	Customer interview notes, internal docs.	Keep

Total monthly cost

$28/month + $99/year (Apple Developer Program)

For comparison: a typical "indie hacker stack" runs $200-500/month. The trick is staying with tools that do one thing well, not buying the all-in-one platforms.

What I'd add if revenue justified it

ConvertKit / Beehiiv — better email automation than Substack ($29-79/mo). I'd switch when paid tier subscribers > $300 MRR.
Stripe — direct checkout for $500+ products. Currently Gumroad's 12.9% fee is acceptable for catalog scale.
Apple Search Ads — $30-100/day campaign. Worth testing at Day 90+ if cumulative iOS revenue exists.
Customer.io — drip email sequences. Worth at $1000 MRR.

What I'd skip

Webflow / Squarespace — GitHub Pages + plain HTML beats them at indie scale.
Notion-as-CMS — frontmatter + scanner is faster.
SEO tools (Ahrefs / SEMrush) — at $100+/mo, not justified until cumulative content > 200 articles.
Customer support platforms (Intercom, Zendesk) — email is fine until > 100 customers.

Source

The full automation pipeline using these tools (CDP scripts, ASC API helper, Substack TipTap publisher, dev.to batch publisher, dashboard):

AutoApp Dashboard ($39) iOS Indie Launch Playbook ($19)