How to build an app on a small budget

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You don't need a big budget to get an app in front of real users. Most of what you need on day one has a free plan, and the rest can wait until people are actually using what you've built.

This guide splits the job into steps. Start with the three essentials: somewhere for your app to live, a way to see what users do, and a way to get paid. Add the rest as you grow. Each step links to tools picked for the WebTools.directory listings, where you'll find the current plan details.

Start with these

1. App builders and backends

Why: This is where your app's data, logins and logic live. Pick a backend that handles the database and sign-ins for you so you can spend your time on the parts users see.

Supabase: a Postgres database with built-in auth and file storage. It's a common starting point for an app's backend, and the free plan is sized for early projects.
Cursor: an AI code editor with agents, useful if you're writing the app yourself and want help along the way.
GitHub: code hosting with public and private repositories and built-in CI/CD minutes, so your code is backed up and versioned from the first commit.

2. Monitoring and analytics

Why: You need to see who's using the app, what they do and where they get stuck, before your users tell you (or quietly leave).

PostHog: product analytics with session recordings, so you can watch how people move through your app. Unlimited team members on the free plan.
Umami: simple, privacy-focused web analytics for one site. A good fit for your marketing site or web app's public pages.

3. Payment gateways

Why: This is how customers pay you by card without you building a checkout yourself.

Stripe: pay-as-you-go online payments and subscriptions, with no setup or monthly fees. You pay per successful card charge. Its listed pricing is for the UK, so check the page for your country.
Paddle: a merchant of record for software and SaaS. Checkout, subscriptions and global sales tax are handled for you, for a flat fee per transaction and no monthly fee. A good fit if you sell software or subscriptions and don't want to register for VAT or sales tax yourself.
Square: take card payments online, by invoice and in person, with an online payments API. There's no monthly fee on its free plan, just per-transaction rates. Square's listed pricing is for the US, so check the page for your country.

Add these later

4. Email providers

Why: Once people sign up, you'll want to welcome them, share updates and bring them back.

Brevo: email marketing with a free plan and a daily sending limit, fine while your user list is small.
Kit: a newsletter platform with landing pages and forms, good for product updates and launch announcements.
Resend: an email API for developers, for sending transactional emails such as sign-up confirmations and password resets from your app, with SMTP, SDKs and React Email. The free plan has a daily sending limit, so it suits early-stage apps.

5. Landing page

Why: A simple page that explains what your app does and collects interest, even before the app is finished.

Carrd: quick one-page sites, free to start. Custom domains are on its Pro plan.
Framer: a no-code website builder for more designed pages. The free plan publishes on a Framer domain, and a custom domain needs a paid plan.

6. Automation

Why: Connect your tools so repetitive jobs, like adding a new user to your email list, run on their own.

Zapier: a no-code automation tool. The free plan covers simple two-step automations.
Activepieces: an AI automation builder with flows, agents and tables, with a free plan for up to 5 users.

7. Customer support

Why: Answer questions quickly so early users don't give up on you.

Crisp: website live chat with a shared inbox and mobile apps.
tawk.to: free live chat, ticketing and a knowledge base. You only pay for optional add-ons, and the tawk.to badge stays on unless you pay to remove it.