Companion resource · Software Secrets 2.0
The complete tool stack behind Software Secrets 2.0: the AI builders, infrastructure, and marketing tools Garrett Pierson actually uses to ship software without a development team. Every tool below lists what it does, what it costs, and when you need it — start with the picks, ignore the rest until launch.
Last updated: July 2026 · 100+ tools across 18 categories
Not sure how to pick your first builder? Read the picking guide. Want the exact prompts these tools were used with? See the resources.
Tool finder
Describe what you're trying to do and get a pick from the 100+ tools below.
What I use
The AI tools I use to build, plus the tech stack running under the hood.
How I Build (Vibe Coding Tools)
AI Brain
Quick Demos
Builder
Website/Marketing
What’s Under the Hood (Tech Stack)
Data & Logic
UI & Styling
Login System
Payments
Mobile Payments
App Memory
Analytics
Code Backup
Bug Alerts
Have you ever built software before?
No → Lovable or Anything.com · Yes, but nothing complex → Lovable or Manus · Yes, I write code → Visual builders are still faster for V1, but you could start with Claude Code
How important is design quality for V1?
Very important → Manus (5/5 design accuracy from non-coders) · Good enough is fine → Lovable
What's your budget?
$0 → Google AI Studio (free to start) or Lovable free tier · $25/mo → Lovable Pro (the sweet spot) · $50+/mo → Lovable Business when you have a team
What are you building?
Client-facing subscription app → Lovable · Internal business tool → Replit · Consumer product where design = credibility → Manus · Quick idea test → Bolt.new
For non-technical founders. Describe what you want → get working software.
Build complete web apps just by describing what you want in plain English. Connects to your database, works on phones, and saves every version so you can undo mistakes. Garrett's primary builder for every project.
Best-looking apps of any visual builder. Rated 5/5 by non-coders for matching your design vision. Handles everything—what users see, the behind-the-scenes logic, data storage, and login. Best when your app needs to look great from day one.
Fastest first generation. Go from prompt to clickable prototype faster than almost any other tool. Great for testing multiple concepts quickly before committing.
Built specifically for zero-experience builders. Gentlest learning curve. Never assumes you know code.
Build from your phone. Native connectors for Google Drive, Slack, Stripe. Strong for internal tools, business automation, and operational dashboards.
Made by Vercel. Generates app screens and user interfaces from descriptions. Connects directly to Vercel hosting so you can go live easily.
Excels at logic-heavy applications: complex filtering, calculations, multi-step workflows, data processing.
AI app builder for web and mobile. Uses Claude under the hood. Recently added Claude Code integration for building apps with built-in AI features (like chatbots or smart search). Also has an iOS app for building on the go.
Visual drag-and-drop app builder that creates apps for iPhone, Android, and web from one project. Over 2 million users. More powerful than chat-based tools but takes longer to learn—you're arranging visual building blocks, not just chatting with AI. Best for builders who want precise control over how everything looks and works. You can export your code anytime and import designs from Figma.
Turns spreadsheets into polished apps. No code required. Excellent for internal business tools—inventory trackers, customer databases, client portals, field sales apps, and operational dashboards. Connects to Google Sheets and other data sources. Built-in AI and workflow automation. Not ideal for consumer apps, but perfect for agency owners and industry insiders building operational tools.
Google's vibe coding platform. Describe your app in plain English, AI Studio builds it with Gemini, and publishes it to a live website. Free to start, but usage limits kick in quickly—paid tiers required for real building. Harder to learn than Lovable or Bolt. Best for budget-conscious experimentation, not your primary builder.
For builders with coding experience. More control, harder to learn. Not required for your first app.
AI coding assistant that runs in your computer's command line. Writes code, manages files, runs and fixes your app. Like having a senior developer sitting next to you.
AI-powered code editor that predicts what you're trying to write and auto-completes it. Also has a planning mode for mapping out bigger features. Works great alongside Claude Code.
Cloud-based coding assistant from OpenAI. Works through ChatGPT—assign tasks, and Codex writes features, fixes bugs, and suggests code changes. Requires a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription.
Google's coding workspace powered by Gemini 3. AI assistants plan, write code, test, and verify your app across your editor, command line, and browser. Free public preview. Think "mission control" for AI-powered coding.
Claude Code runs inside a terminal—the text-based window where you type commands. Your computer comes with one built in, but these modern alternatives are faster, smarter, and make the experience significantly better. Pick one, install it, and run Claude Code inside it.
A modern terminal rebuilt from scratch with AI baked in. Warp feels more like a code editor than a black screen—you get autocomplete suggestions, clickable output, and the ability to run multiple agents (including Claude Code) and track them all from one place. Built-in AI explains errors and suggests fixes. The easiest terminal to learn if you’ve never used one before. Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. I use the free version and just open Claude Code inside it—I like its simplicity.
Blazing-fast terminal from Mitchell Hashimoto (creator of Terraform). GPU-accelerated, uses native UI on each platform so it feels like it belongs on your Mac or Linux machine. Zero configuration needed—the defaults are so good most people never touch the settings file. Hundreds of built-in themes. Created by one of the most respected infrastructure engineers in the industry. Mac and Linux only (Windows planned).
Other Popular Terminals
Alacritty
alacritty.orgGPU-accelerated terminal focused on raw speed. No tabs, no splits, no frills—just the fastest text rendering possible. Pair it with a multiplexer like tmux if you want tabs. Popular with power users who prefer minimalism. Mac, Windows, Linux.
Kitty
sw.kovidgoyal.net/kittyGPU-accelerated terminal with a rich feature set: image rendering inside the terminal, ligature support, custom keyboard shortcuts, and its own graphics protocol that other tools (including Ghostty) now support. Highly configurable. Mac and Linux.
Only after testing your idea as a web app first. Start with a website → make it installable on phones → build a real app store app if needed.
Build real mobile apps using AI prompts. One app works on both iPhone and Android. App store submission built in. Great for quickly testing app ideas.
The fastest way to build premium Apple apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro. Powered by Claude. No need to install Apple’s developer software (Xcode)—one prompt builds a complete app with augmented reality, home screen widgets, Siri voice commands, health tracking, and on-device AI. Install on your device in one click, publish to the App Store in two. If you’re building for Apple devices, this is the tool.
Turn your existing website into an iPhone app. Handles all of Apple's confusing paperwork and approval process for you.
AI app builder for web and mobile. Describe your app, get a complete working product. Also has an iPhone app so you can build from your phone—novel and surprisingly capable.
AI-powered mobile app builder. Describe your app in plain English, get real iPhone and Android apps—not just a website pretending to be an app. App store submission included. Starts at $5/mo.
AI app mockup designer. Describe your app and get polished screen designs in minutes—no Figma skills needed. Great for visualizing your app before you build it, showing investors what you’re creating, or testing ideas with real users. Export to Figma or code when you’re ready to build.
Free, open-source MCP server that lets Claude Code build, install, and run real iPhone apps in the simulator—and even tap through the screens to test them—without you ever opening Apple’s Xcode interface. If you’re building a native Apple app with Claude Code, this is the missing piece.
Your visual builder handles most initial configuration. These power everything behind the scenes.
The complete app-building system that most AI tools generate by default. Handles page navigation automatically (create a file, get a page), loads your content in a way Google can find it, and includes built-in ways to talk to your database—no separate server needed. Automatic image optimization, TypeScript built in, and one-click publishing to Vercel. If you’re building anything public-facing that needs to show up on Google or load fast, this is what your AI tool should be generating.
The building-block system that powers everything. React lets you build screens out of reusable pieces—a button, a pricing card, a dashboard chart. Every major AI builder (Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, Replit) generates React code. On its own, React handles what your app looks like but not how pages connect or how data loads from a server—that’s why Next.js exists on top of it. Best for internal dashboards or tools where showing up on Google doesn’t matter.
JavaScript with a safety net. TypeScript adds “types” to your code—think of them as labels that tell the computer “this is a number, not a name”—so bugs get caught before users ever see them. Almost every modern AI builder generates TypeScript by default because it produces more reliable, less error-prone code. You’ll see .tsx and .ts files in your project. That’s TypeScript. It’s a good thing.
Alternative Web Frameworks
SvelteKit
kit.svelte.devHigh-performance and “clean.” Strips out unnecessary code automatically, making apps incredibly fast for users. Feels more like writing standard HTML than complex JavaScript. Best for fast, lightweight subscription apps and data-heavy dashboards where speed is the priority. Free & open source.
Nuxt (Vue.js)
nuxt.comThe direct alternative to Next.js, built on Vue instead of React. Highly organized with a massive library of add-ons that let you plug in features like login or Google visibility with a single command. Best for developers who want a structured system that handles the boring setup. Free & open source.
Laravel (PHP)
laravel.comThe “All-in-One Powerhouse.” Gold standard for solo founders because it includes a built-in database manager, login system, and even Stripe billing tools (Laravel Cashier) out of the box. Build a complete, revenue-generating subscription app without stitching together 20 different tools. Free & open source.
Remix
remix.runThe “Web Standardist.” Uses the browser’s native features (like HTML forms) to make apps feel instant. Handles data loading more elegantly than most frameworks. Now part of React Router. Best for data-heavy apps with lots of user input and forms where you want zero lag. Free & open source.
Django (Python)
djangoproject.comSecure and “batteries included.” Since it’s Python-based, it’s the #1 choice for apps that need AI models, machine learning, or heavy data processing. Admin panel, login system, and database tools built in. Best for AI-driven apps and secure, business-grade projects. Free & open source.
When to use what
Use Next.js when:
React alone is fine when:
The “Architect’s Tool” for mobile apps. Build visually by dragging and dropping pieces while it generates high-quality code in the background. The closest thing to vibe coding for mobile—describe what you want, see it built in real time. You can export the full source code at any time if you decide to hire a developer later. Best for rapidly launching a working app without touching code.
The “Web Developer’s Choice.” Uses JavaScript and React to build mobile apps for both iOS and Android. If your web app is already built in React or Next.js, this is the shortest path to a mobile app—you can share logic between your web dashboard and mobile app. Expo handles the painful parts: builds, app store submissions, and over-the-air updates without resubmitting to Apple. What Natively generates under the hood.
Google’s high-performance engine for building iPhone and Android apps from a single project. Known for “pixel-perfect” custom designs and buttery-smooth animations. Uses the Dart language instead of JavaScript. Best when you need a polished, design-forward app with complex animations—think a fitness tracker with custom charts or a banking app with fluid transitions. What FlutterFlow generates under the hood.
Apple’s modern way to build iPhone apps. You describe what the screen should look like and the system handles the rest. Deep integration with Apple features like the notification bar, Apple Watch, home screen widgets, and touch feedback. Best for premium, high-performance apps that feel unmistakably “Apple.” Trade-off: only works on Apple devices (no Android).
The “traditional” way to build iOS apps. More complex and requires more code than SwiftUI, but still powers massive, established apps like Instagram and Uber. Best for maintaining older enterprise apps or building extremely complex, niche system features. If you’re starting fresh, SwiftUI is the better path—UIKit is here for context if a developer mentions it.
Which mobile path fits you?
Non-technical founder:
Already have a web app:
Apple-only premium:
Your app's database and login system. Where your app stores information (users, orders, settings) and manages who can sign in. Free tier is generous. Connects directly to most visual builders.
Alternatives
Firebase
firebase.google.comGoogle's database and login system with real-time data syncing, file storage, and more. Huge community and lots of tutorials. Ties you more closely to Google's services.
Appwrite
appwrite.ioFree, open-source database with login, file storage, and app logic built in. You can run it on your own server for complete control of your data. Good option if data ownership matters to you.
Convex
convex.devModern database that updates in real time—when one user makes a change, everyone sees it instantly. Great for apps with AI features thanks to built-in AI search tools. No complicated database language to learn. Free tier · Pro $25/member/mo.
Clerk
clerk.comReady-made login screens for sign-up, sign-in, and user profiles. Supports Google/Apple login, two-factor security, team accounts, and more—all with minimal setup. Extremely popular with Next.js apps. Free up to 10,000 monthly users.
Nhost
nhost.ioDatabase, login, file storage, and app logic in one package. Feels similar to Supabase. Good if your builder tool uses GraphQL (a way apps request data).
Where your app lives on the internet. Publishes your app with one click, automatically updates when you make changes, and lets you use your own website address (like YourApp.com).
Hosting for real apps—not just websites. Runs your app, database, and background jobs together in one place, deploys straight from GitHub, and scales automatically. Where Garrett hosts his own sites and apps. Bonus: it has an MCP server, so Claude Code can deploy and manage your services for you.
Alternatives
Netlify
netlify.comAutomatic publishing, built-in contact forms, and a generous free tier. Very popular and comparable to Vercel for most projects.
Render
render.comSimple hosting for websites and apps with built-in database support. Good for apps that need always-on background processing (like sending scheduled emails or processing data).
Cloudflare Pages + Workers
pages.cloudflare.comFast website hosting that serves your app from servers all around the world (so it loads quickly everywhere). Excellent free tier. More technical to set up than Vercel.
DigitalOcean
digitalocean.comCloud hosting platform that's simpler and cheaper than Amazon Web Services. Their App Platform publishes your app directly from GitHub with no server management needed. Also offers private servers and managed databases for bigger projects. From $5/mo.
Hostinger
hostinger.comBudget-friendly hosting with shared, cloud, and VPS options. AI website builder included. Great VPS performance at aggressive pricing. Cloud hosting from $6.29/mo, VPS from $4.49/mo. Strong for cost-conscious founders.
Payments. Handles subscriptions, credit cards, cancellations, receipts, and bank deposits. The standard for software businesses.
Manages subscriptions inside iPhone and Android apps. Handles Apple and Google's payment systems, receipt checking, subscription tracking, and lets you test different pricing screens. If you're building a mobile app with subscriptions, RevenueCat is the standard—Stripe doesn't handle app store payments.
Stripe Alternatives
Lemon Squeezy
lemonsqueezy.comAll-in-one payment platform that also handles sales tax, software licenses, and digital delivery. They handle the tax headache for you—so you don't deal with sales tax yourself. Great for solo founders selling globally.
Polar
polar.shPayments and billing you can set up in minutes. Handles subscriptions, usage-based billing (great for AI apps that charge per use), and all global sales tax as your Merchant of Record. Cheapest MoR on the market at 4% + 40¢ per transaction. Praised by the Vercel founder. Works with Next.js out of the box.
Paddle
paddle.comPayment platform for software businesses selling to other businesses. Handles sales tax, compliance, and invoicing globally. Takes the entire tax burden off your plate—ideal if you're selling to companies across multiple countries.
Fiska
fiska.comPayment platform built for apps that process payments on behalf of their users (like a marketplace where sellers get paid through your app).
One API key, 300+ AI models. Instead of signing up separately for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta, OpenRouter gives you a single account that accesses all of them. Pay only for what you use—no subscriptions. It automatically routes to the cheapest or fastest provider available, so you get better uptime and lower costs without managing multiple accounts. Over 5 million users and 60+ providers. If your app needs AI features, start here—you can always switch to a direct provider later if you outgrow it.
Direct AI Providers
OpenAI API
platform.openai.comDirect access to GPT-4o, GPT-4, and other OpenAI models. Go direct when you want the absolute newest OpenAI features the moment they launch, or when your app sends enough traffic to negotiate volume pricing.
Anthropic API
console.anthropic.comDirect access to Claude models. Best-in-class for long documents, careful reasoning, and code generation. Go direct when your product is built primarily around Claude’s strengths or you need the latest Claude features immediately.
Google Gemini API
ai.google.devAccess to Gemini models with generous free tiers. Strong at multimodal tasks (text + images + video). The free tier is one of the most generous in the industry—great for prototyping before you commit to paid usage.
Scans your code automatically and flags security vulnerabilities before they reach your users. Catches things like exposed API keys, database permission holes, and common attack patterns across 30+ programming languages. The free Community Edition is enough for most solo founders. The AI-powered Assistant explains what’s wrong and writes the fix for you—no security expertise needed. Run it once before every launch.
AI code reviewer that reads your whole codebase—not just the diff—so it catches cross-file bugs, broken dependencies, and convention violations a diff-only tool would miss. Comments directly on your GitHub or GitLab pull requests with one-click fixes. Free for open-source repos.
Daily security scanning (PCI, malware, and SSL) plus trust seals you place on your website to show visitors it’s safe. The seals are designed to reduce shopping cart abandonment—studies show 1 in 6 shoppers leave because they don’t trust a site’s security. Includes a floating seal for every page and a checkout-specific seal. Simple dashboard: if all the lights are green, you’re protected. 19 years in business, used by thousands of sites including ClickFunnels.
Large community of real people who will test your app, website, or digital product and give you structured feedback. You pick the demographics you want (age, location, device, etc.) and they recruit testers from their panel who match. Get bug reports, usability feedback, and honest reactions from people who’ve never seen your product before. Perfect for validating your first version before a public launch.
Free way to recruit beta testers. Run by Centercode, Betabound is a community of 250,000+ volunteer testers who love trying new products. You post your project, describe what you’re looking for, and real people apply to test it. You pick who matches your ideal user. Great for early-stage founders who need honest feedback but don’t have a budget for paid testing services.
Watch real people use your product on video. You define your target audience, and UserTesting recruits participants who match. Supports live moderated sessions (you watch and ask questions in real time), recorded unmoderated tests (they talk through their experience on camera), interviews, and diary studies. You’ll see exactly where people get confused, frustrated, or excited. The gold standard for user research.
A crowd of real human testers who run through your app step by step, following test scripts you define. They record videos and logs of exactly what happened. Great for answering the question “does this actually work for a real person?” before you ship. Also includes no-code automated testing if you want to set up ongoing checks. Starts at $200/mo.
Tools for landing pages, funnels, and converting traffic into customers.
The industry standard for sales funnels, landing pages, and marketing sites that turn visitors into buyers. Drag-and-drop builder with built-in email, split testing (test two versions to see which works better), and payment processing. If you're selling a software product and need a high-converting sales page or launch funnel, ClickFunnels is purpose-built for it.
Not just for apps—Lovable is Garrett's go-to for building marketing websites, coming soon pages, and product landing pages. Describe the site you want in plain English and get a polished, deployable site in minutes. Faster than any traditional website builder for simple marketing sites.
Google's AI coding workspace powered by Gemini. Garrett uses Antigravity for both serious app development and marketing websites. AI assistants plan, build, and publish—describe the site you need and the AI builds it. Free public preview.
Simply a framework—Garrett just tells Claude Code to build his marketing websites and blogs using Astro. Pages ship as fast, lightweight HTML with zero unnecessary JavaScript, which makes it great for blogs and SEO—search engines love how quickly Astro sites load. Free and open source.
Landing Page Alternatives
Unbounce
unbounce.comAI-powered landing page builder with Smart Traffic that automatically sends visitors to the version of your page most likely to convert them. Drag-and-drop editor, 100+ templates, split testing, pop-ups, and sticky bars. Strong for pages you're driving paid ad traffic to.
Leadpages
leadpages.comBudget-friendly landing page builder with unlimited traffic on all plans. 200+ mobile-responsive templates, drag-and-drop editor, pop-ups, and alert bars. Great for small businesses and solo founders who need simple, high-converting pages fast. From $37/mo (annual).
Landingi
landingi.comLanding page builder with 400+ templates, split testing, and AI-driven content improvements. Built-in analytics and 170+ integrations. Affordable starting point for pages designed to get sign-ups and sales. Free plan available, paid from $29/mo.
Send welcome emails, password resets, newsletters, and automated messages to your users.
The email platform built for software products. Clean editor, emails that send automatically based on what users do (signed up? Send a welcome series. Haven't logged in? Send a nudge). Welcome sequences, upgrade reminders, and re-engagement emails—all triggered by user behavior. Simple pricing. Founder-friendly support.
Email sending service for your app's automated emails. Password resets, order confirmations, welcome emails—sent reliably and looking great. Works with every major programming language, tracks delivery, and scales easily. Modern and fast.
Email Alternatives
Customer.io
customer.ioPowerful messaging automation. Trigger emails, push notifications, texts, and in-app messages based on what users actually do in your app. Visual workflow builder for creating automated message sequences. From $100/mo.
Klaviyo
klaviyo.comIndustry-leading email and text message marketing, especially strong for e-commerce. AI-powered audience grouping, smart predictions about who will buy, 350+ integrations, and deep Shopify/WooCommerce connections. Free up to 500 contacts.
Intuit Mailchimp
mailchimp.comThe most well-known email marketing platform. Drag-and-drop builder, landing pages, automations, and audience management. Good starting point if you already know it, but complexity and cost have grown significantly. Free up to 500 contacts.
Postmark
postmarkapp.comPremium email sending with the best inbox delivery rate in the industry (99%+). Purpose-built for automated app emails—password resets, receipts, and system alerts. Not for marketing newsletters. From $15/mo for 10K emails.
Userlist
userlist.comEmail automation built specifically for software products. Tracks both individual users and their companies for business-to-business apps. Automated welcome sequences, broadcasts, and in-app messages. From $149/mo.
Checks if the email addresses on your list are real before you send to them. Upload a list and it flags fake, expired, and disposable emails so you don’t waste money sending to addresses that bounce. Protects your sender reputation—too many bounced emails and services like Gmail start treating all your emails as spam. 99%+ accuracy, supports bulk lists, and integrates with 17+ email platforms. 500 free verification credits to start.
Find visual references before you prompt. Show AI what you want.
Searchable library of real app screenshots. Best for mobile app patterns, onboarding flows, and screen-level design inspiration. Also offers an MCP server (mobbin.com/mcp) that connects Mobbin directly to AI coding tools like Claude Code and Cursor, so your AI can pull real design references while it builds.
Curated landing pages, marketing sites, and web app interfaces. Best for web layouts and conversion-focused pages.
Curated gallery of 8,800+ single-page websites across landing pages, software products, portfolios, and product launches. Full-length screenshots show complete design structures. Great for finding inspiration for marketing sites, launch pages, and coming-soon pages you can feed directly to AI builders.
The largest community of UI/UX designers sharing their best work. Search “SaaS dashboard,” “pricing page,” or “onboarding flow” and get thousands of polished design examples. Screenshot anything you like and feed it to your AI builder as a visual reference. Also great for finding freelance designers if you ever need one. Free to browse.
AI mobile app designer. Describe your app idea in plain English and get beautiful, professional-looking screen mockups in minutes. Pick from pre-built templates or start from scratch. Refine your designs by chatting back and forth with the AI. When you’re happy, export to Figma or directly to code. Perfect for showing investors, testing with users, or handing to a developer—without learning complex design tools.
A free, open-source design skill you install into your AI coding tool so it stops producing generic “AI slop” design. One skill, 23 commands, and a curated list of anti-patterns that teach the AI real design taste—typography, spacing, color, and layout. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, and Codex CLI. Install it once and every UI your AI builds looks noticeably more polished.
Free favicon generator—create the little icon that shows up in browser tabs from text, images, or emojis in seconds. Ready to drop into any project. 800+ fonts, custom colors, and transparent backgrounds. No signup required.
Create polished App Store and Google Play screenshots for your iOS and Android apps. Essential when you're ready to submit to the app stores.
Before you design anything, see what’s already winning. Browse top-performing apps in any category to study their screenshots, icons, and store listings. Great for understanding how successful apps in your niche present themselves—what screenshots they lead with, how they frame features, and what visual styles dominate the top charts. Use it as a design research tool alongside Mobbin.
Understand what your users actually do. Track behavior, see who sticks around, and find what’s stopping people from paying.
The default starting point for every app and website. Tracks traffic sources, page views, user demographics, conversions, and real-time activity. Completely free with no event limits for most use cases. Set it up on day one—even before you launch—so you have data from the very first visitor. Pairs well with deeper tools like Mixpanel or PostHog as you grow.
Tracks what users actually do inside your app—where they drop off, who keeps coming back, how they move through your app, and which version of a page works better. AI-powered insights flag problems automatically. Quick to set up. The industry standard for understanding your users.
All-in-one analytics platform: user tracking, session recordings (watch what users do), the ability to test new features on a small group before everyone, split testing, and surveys—all in one tool. Replaces 4–5 separate tools. Generous free tier (1M events, 5K recordings/mo). You can run it on your own server for full data ownership. Built for founders who want everything in one place.
Alternatives
Amplitude
amplitude.comDeep user behavior analytics with group tracking, retention analysis, and built-in experiments. Strong for teams focused on keeping users engaged long-term. Free tier available.
Heap
heap.ioAutomatically records every user interaction without you setting anything up—clicks, taps, form fills, page views. Go back in time and analyze any action. Now part of Contentsquare. Great if you don't want to plan what to track in advance.
See exactly how users interact with your app through visual click maps (shows where everyone clicks), session recordings (watch real users navigate your app), and on-site surveys. AI survey generator creates feedback forms in seconds. Best for understanding why users do what they do, not just what they do. Now part of Contentsquare alongside Heap.
Advanced analytics with powerful session recordings. Search for any user session by specific actions—find moments where users clicked angrily, hit errors, or got confused. Spots frustration automatically. Best for teams that need to find and fix user experience problems fast.
Tells you when something breaks in your app—before your users complain. Captures every error with the exact line of code that caused it, plus a replay of what the user was doing when it happened. Its AI can trace an error to the root cause and propose the fix. Connect its MCP server to Claude Code and your AI can read production errors and fix them directly. Part of Garrett’s standard stack.
See how any app in the App Store or Google Play is performing—estimated downloads, revenue, rankings, and user engagement across 190+ countries. Browse top charts by category to find what’s working right now. Study competitor apps to see what keywords they rank for, how their downloads trend over time, and which ad creatives they run. The free tier gives you top charts and basic app profiles—enough to validate your idea and size up the competition before you build. Paid plans unlock deeper data but are priced for larger teams.
You built the product. Now get it in front of people. These AI-powered tools handle content, ads, video, social, automation, and more—so you can move fast without hiring an agency.
Connect apps, automate marketing processes, and build AI-powered workflows without coding.
The most well-known automation platform with 8,000+ app connections. Set up automatic workflows between apps you already use. If your app needs to talk to another app, Zapier probably has the connector.
Visual no-code automation platform (formerly Integromat). Connect apps and build complex scenarios with branching logic. More powerful than Zapier for multi-step workflows. Popular with indie founders and agencies.
Flexible workflow automation combining code precision with drag-and-drop speed. Can be run on your own server for free or in the cloud. Strong AI integration with built-in connectors for adding AI smarts to your workflows.
AI marketing platform with 50+ AI models on a drag-and-drop canvas. Research, creative production, and campaign optimization in one workspace. Drag nodes to handle research, write copy, and create visuals in a single flow.
Open-source automation tool. Run it on your own server for free with unlimited tasks, or use the cloud version at ~$1 per 1,000 tasks. You can even rebrand it and embed automation features directly into your own app.
Data collection and automation platform. Pull competitor info, social media mentions, and market trends for analysis. Ready-made tools for pulling data from major platforms. Great for competitor research and finding leads.
Gives your AI tools the ability to read the web. Turns any website into clean, AI-ready data—scrape a single page, crawl an entire documentation site, or run web searches that return full page content instead of just links. Plugs into Claude Code so your AI can research competitors, pull in docs, and gather data while it builds.
Strategy, copywriting, brand voice, and autonomous marketing agents that write and publish for you.
AI marketing platform for on-brand content at scale. Brand Voice feature learns your tone and keeps it consistent across everything you write. Ready-made workflows for blogs, emails, ads, and Google-friendly content. The go-to for teams that need consistent messaging.
AI-powered writing platform. Creates messaging that mirrors your brand tone across everything. Automated workflows for sales and marketing copy—from outreach emails to product descriptions.
AI agent platform that automates support, sales, and scheduling while preserving your brand personality. 7,000+ integrations, multi-agent coordination, and knowledge base support. Build agents that handle real customer interactions.
AI-powered workspace for building AI agents, managing projects, and automating workflows. Combines project management with AI content generation—plan campaigns and create assets in one place.
AI-powered ad inspiration and analysis platform. Browse winning ad creatives, get AI breakdowns of why they work, and generate new ad concepts based on proven patterns. Great for studying what converts before you build.
The most realistic AI voice generator on the market. Turn text into natural-sounding speech in 32+ languages—for product demos, explainer videos, podcasts, audiobooks, or in-app voice features. Clone your own voice so your brand sounds like you everywhere. Also builds conversational AI voice agents that can handle customer support calls. Free tier gives you 20 minutes/month to test. Starter plan ($5/mo) unlocks commercial use.
Create aesthetic visuals, product shots, and brand imagery with AI—no designer required.
The leading AI image generator for high-fidelity, aesthetic-driven visuals from text prompts. Exceptional at stylized art, product concepts, brand imagery, and social content. The default choice for quality AI visuals.
OpenAI’s image generator integrated directly into ChatGPT. Create high-definition images from natural language prompts. The most accessible option if you already use ChatGPT for other tasks.
High-quality image generation with strong prompt adherence. Known for fast output and photorealistic results. Multiple model sizes for different use cases—from quick drafts to detailed renders.
Specialized in rendering readable text within generated images—logos, posters, social graphics, and marketing materials where legible text actually matters. Solves the biggest pain point other image generators have.
Essential design platform with AI features, trend-forward templates, and rapid visual creation. Magic Design, background remover, brand kit, and thousands of templates. The Swiss Army knife for non-designers.
Adobe’s lightweight design tool with Firefly AI integration. Create standout content aligned with design trends. Legal IP protection on AI-generated assets—safe for commercial use.
All-in-one AI image and video generation platform. Photorealistic image models, cinematic camera-controlled video, talking avatars, product shots, and UGC-style ads in one place. Also connects directly to Claude, so you can generate and refine visuals by chatting instead of juggling separate tools.
Create, edit, and repurpose video content with AI. From cinematic clips to social shorts.
OpenAI’s text-to-video model for cinematic clips up to 60 seconds. Strong scene coherence and narrative storytelling. Best for mood pieces and short brand films. Access via ChatGPT Plus/Pro.
Advanced AI video generation and editing suite. Gen-4 model with motion brush, director mode, and camera control. Industry standard for AI-assisted filmmaking. Generate, edit, and finish in one platform.
AI video generator for talking avatars, video translation, and voice cloning. Create marketing videos, onboarding content, and explainers in minutes with realistic AI presenters in 140+ languages.
High-quality text-to-video generation up to 1080p and 2 minutes long. Excellent physics simulation and character consistency. Upload a Midjourney image and animate it for stunning results.
Google’s AI video model with native audio support—dialogue, sound effects, and music generated alongside visuals. The only major model that outputs video with sound in one pass. Access via Google AI Studio.
Video editing tool with AI features for branded short-form content. Auto-captions, templates, trending effects, and TikTok-optimized formatting. The fastest way to go from raw footage to social-ready clips.
Generate, test, and optimize ad creatives with AI. Stop guessing which ads will convert.
AI-powered ad creation platform for banners, videos, and copy. Performance scoring predicts which creatives will convert before you spend a dollar. Competitor ad analysis, iStock library included. Reports of 14x higher conversion rates vs. manual creatives.
AI ad generator for image and video ads in under 30 seconds. Library of 5M+ analyzed ads from TikTok, YouTube, and Meta. AI copywriter in 35+ languages. Great for studying what’s working right now in your niche.
Turn product URLs into conversion-ready ad creatives with automated copy and design. Paste your link, get ads. Simple and fast for founders who just need ads that work.
Free and completely open. See every active ad running on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger right now—from any business, in any country. Search by company name or keyword to see their exact creatives, copy, when the ad started running, and which platforms it runs on. The best free way to spy on competitor ads and find proven ideas before you spend a dollar on your own campaigns.
The developer version of the Ad Library. Instead of browsing ads one at a time, the API lets you pull thousands of ad records at once for bulk analysis. Search by keyword, advertiser, or country and get structured data back—ad creatives, start dates, platforms, and spend ranges. Build competitor tracking dashboards, feed ad data into AI for pattern analysis, or automate weekly reports on what competitors are running. Free with a Meta Developer account.
Know instantly when someone talks about your product, your competitors, or your industry—anywhere on the internet.
Free and dead simple. Type in your product name, your own name, or a competitor’s name, and Google emails you whenever it finds a new mention anywhere on the web. No dashboard, no analytics—just an email in your inbox. The perfect starting point for any founder who wants to know when people are talking about them. Set it up in 30 seconds.
Tracks mentions of your brand across 1 billion+ sources in real time—social media, news sites, blogs, forums, and review sites. Shows you who’s talking about you, whether the tone is positive or negative, and how your competitors compare. Also includes social media scheduling so you can monitor and post from one place. Great upgrade from Google Alerts when you’re ready for real data.
AI-powered brand monitoring that scans 25 million sources—social media, news, blogs, podcasts, review sites, and even AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Tells you the tone of every mention (positive, negative, neutral), identifies influencers talking about you, and sends real-time alerts when something important happens. Clean reports you can share with your team or investors.
Manage customer relationships, team communication, and marketing automation.
All-in-one marketing and customer management tool. Email campaigns, landing pages, automated workflows, sales tracking, and reporting in one place. The most generous free tier of any customer management tool—great starting point for tracking leads and customers.
Team communication platform. Receives automated alerts from marketing workflows, integrates with virtually every tool on this page. Essential glue for connecting your automation stack to your daily workflow.
AI-powered marketing strategy platform. Generates data-driven marketing plans and tracks execution against goals. Useful for founders who need a structured marketing plan but don’t want to hire a strategist.
Four things cover a first launch: an AI builder like Lovable, a database with login like Supabase, hosting like Vercel, and Stripe for payments. Everything else on this page — email, analytics, marketing — gets added after you have users. Most founders ship a working first version on free tiers.
Lovable. You describe your app in plain English and get a working web app with a database, login, and mobile-friendly design. It is Garrett's primary builder for every project. If you have never built anything, Anything.com has the gentlest learning curve, and Bolt.new is the fastest way to test an idea.
Under $100 a month to start. Lovable Pro is $25 a month, while Supabase, Vercel, PostHog, Resend, and Google Analytics all have free tiers that comfortably cover a new app. Stripe charges only per transaction, about 2.9% plus 30 cents. A traditional development agency charges $50,000 or more for the same first version.
No. Your AI builder writes and manages the Next.js, React, and TypeScript code for you. The infrastructure listings on this page exist so you understand what runs your app when it matters — debugging, hiring help, or migrating — not because you need to study them before building.
Jul 2026
Published as the Tools and Resources pages on softwaresecrets.com.
Feb 2026
Added infrastructure tools: Next.js, React, TypeScript, SvelteKit, Nuxt, Laravel, Remix & Django (Web Frameworks), FlutterFlow, React Native + Expo, Flutter, SwiftUI & UIKit (Mobile Frameworks), Convex & Clerk (Database & Auth), DigitalOcean & Hostinger (Hosting).
Feb 2026
Added Vibe Marketing Tools: 36 tools across 7 new sections—Workflow Automation, AI Content, Image Generation, Video, Social Media, Ad Creative, and Operations & CRM.
Feb 2026
Added Analytics & User Insights section: Mixpanel, PostHog, Amplitude, Heap, Hotjar, and FullStory.
Feb 2026
Initial publication with Chapter 3 of Software Secrets 2.0. Lovable pricing confirmed: Free / $25 Pro / $50 Business.
Software Secrets 2.0 walks you through exactly when and how to use every tool on this page — from first idea to paying users. Enter your email and we send you the complete book, free.
Social Media & Scheduling
Find trends, manage your social presence, and schedule content across every platform.
Buffer
buffer.comClean, intuitive social media scheduler and content planner. Schedule across 10+ platforms, AI assistant for content ideas, analytics, and engagement tools. Best UI of any scheduling tool—modern and reliable.
Later
later.comVisual social media planner and scheduler. Drag-and-drop calendar, link-in-bio tool, and analytics. Strong for Instagram and TikTok—see your grid exactly as it will appear before posting.
Hootsuite
hootsuite.comSocial media scheduling, interaction management, and analytics across platforms. Long-standing industry standard with deep integrations. Best for teams managing many accounts at once.
Sprout Social
sproutsocial.comProfessional-grade social media management with publishing, analytics, audience monitoring, and engagement. One inbox for all your social platforms. Advanced reporting, approval workflows, and team tools.
Trend.io
trend.ioCreator marketplace for user-generated content. Connect with content creators who make authentic videos and posts about your product. Track trending content styles and formats to stay culturally relevant.