TL;DR: I built FreeTier — a curated directory of 37 free SaaS tiers across 9 categories. The site data is open-source on GitHub for community contributions, the site overlays affiliate links for monetization, and it took under 2 hours from idea to deployed Vercel URL.
The problem
Indie SaaS builders need to keep costs near zero while validating ideas. The usual approach is to Google “free [hosting/database/auth] tier” and wade through SEO spam. No single, trustworthy, curated list exists that’s both comprehensive and maintained.
I wanted to build that list — but I also wanted it to earn money passively and improve without me having to maintain it.
The architecture
The separation is the key insight:
tools.json — A public, open-source file on GitHub. Anyone can PR to add tools or update limits. The data is neutral — no affiliate links, no promotional bias. Licensed MIT so other sites can use it too.
index.astro — The site code is private. It imports tools.json at build time and overlays refUrl (affiliate links with referral IDs) on 17 of the 37 tools. The site owns the monetization layer; the community owns the data layer.
This separation means:
- If someone forks the data repo, they get a clean directory — no monetization hijack risk
- If the community improves the data, the site improves automatically
- If I want to switch affiliate programs, I just update the private code
What shipped
- 37 tools across 9 categories (Hosting, Databases, Auth, Email, Analytics, AI/LLMs, Payments, Monitoring, CMS)
- Live search — filters by name and description in real time
- Category filter — clickable pills to drill into a single category
- A-Z sort — alphabetical ordering
- “ref” badges — subtle indicators on affiliate-linked tools
- Suggest-a-tool form — links to GitHub issues with a pre-filled template
- 17 affiliate-ready links — Vercel (25% recurring), Netlify (20%), Railway (15%), Sentry (15%), Stripe ($10-25 CPA), Lemon Squeezy (25%), Brevo ($100 CPA + $5 CPL), and more
The revenue logic
I went for breadth. Every tool with an affiliate program gets a referral link. The lifetime value differs wildly:
- High LTV: Vercel, Netlify, Render, Railway — recurring commissions on hosting spend. A single developer who scales can generate $50-200/year in passive commissions.
- Medium LTV: Sentry, Brevo, Supabase — recurring but lower starting points.
- Low LTV but high volume: Stripe, Lemon Squeezy — one-time payouts but high conversion rates because these are tools every SaaS needs.
The site also has ad slots ready for Carbon (pending publisher approval) and a Ko-fi support link. Three revenue streams from one page.
What I’d do differently
- OG images. I’d add per-tool social cards if traffic justifies it
- Popularity signals. Sort by “most used” or “most referenced” — GitHub stars would be a decent proxy
- Comparison mode. Let users compare two free tiers side by side (e.g., Supabase vs Neon)
- API. An API endpoint for the data would let other tools consume it programmatically
The verdict
FreeTier is live, the data is open, and the monetization is set up. Now it just needs traffic — SEO blog posts, HN/Reddit mentions, and community growth on GitHub. If the directory hits 200+ tools through community PRs, it becomes the definitive reference for free SaaS tiers. That’s the compounding play.