The Detective

Build the play

Know the burn before you commit.

Every analysis ships with three tool stacks for the top niche. Lean, Mid, Premium. Real tools, real list prices, a monthly burn total you can defend to yourself before you swipe a card.

Start my analysisSee pricing

Why we built it

The cheapest way to kill a niche is to price it honestly.

Three shapes

Lean, Mid, Premium.

Lean is free tiers and self host where it actually works. Mid is what a real product runs on. Premium is what you settle on around ten thousand MRR. We show all three so you pick the bar.

Real list prices

No fake discounts.

Every tool quoted at its public 2026 list price. We do not assume you have a connection, a startup credit, or a discount code. If you have one, the calculator gets better, not worse.

Anchored to the niche

Tools that match the work.

The stack the playbook recommends comes out of the analysis. A B2B SaaS niche gets Stripe Tax. A creator niche gets Beehiiv. We do not paste the same template on every report.

Sample stack

A SaaS niche, three ways.

The shape below is what a small SaaS would actually pay in 2026 for the smallest viable team. Prices are the public list prices for the smallest paid plan of each tool, monthly. AI inference is a usage estimate at a real burn rate, not a floor.

Lean

$26/mo

HostingVercel Hobby
Free
Database + authSupabase Free
Free
PaymentsStripe (usage only)
Free
Transactional emailResend Free
Free
Marketing emailButtondown Free
Free
Product analyticsPostHog Free
Free
Error + uptimeSentry Developer
Free
Customer supportEmail inbox
Free
Issue trackingGitHub Issues
Free
Docs + knowledgeGitHub wiki
Free
AI inferenceAnthropic API pay as you go
$25
Domain + DNSCloudflare Registrar
$1

Mid

$278/mo

HostingVercel Pro
$20
Database + authSupabase Pro
$25
PaymentsStripe + Stripe Tax
$30
Transactional emailResend Pro
$20
Marketing emailBeehiiv Launch
Free
Product analyticsPostHog Scale
$20
Error + uptimeSentry Team
$29
Customer supportPlain Starter
$35
Issue trackingLinear Standard
$8
Docs + knowledgeNotion Plus
$10
AI inferenceAnthropic API pay as you go
$80
Domain + DNSCloudflare Registrar
$1

Premium

$751/mo

HostingVercel Pro + team seat
$40
Database + authSupabase Pro + add-ons
$60
PaymentsPolar (MoR)
$50
Transactional emailPostmark Starter
$15
Marketing emailCustomer.io Starter
$100
Product analyticsPostHog + replay
$75
Error + uptimeSentry Business
$89
Customer supportIntercom Essential
$39
Issue trackingLinear Plus
$14
Docs + knowledgeNotion Business
$18
AI inferenceAnthropic API pay as you go
$250
Domain + DNSCloudflare Registrar
$1

Illustrative. Your actual stack is generated against the niche your analysis recommends. List prices verified May 2026 and refreshed on every report.

How it works

Three steps from niche to budget.

  1. The analysis picks the categories.

    The deep dive identifies what the niche actually needs. A compliance heavy niche pulls in a tax tool. A creator niche pulls in a newsletter platform. We do not hand you a generic SaaS template.

  2. Three stacks render side by side.

    Lean, Mid, Premium populate with named tools. Every row has a real product, a real plan, and a real list price. Subtotal at the bottom of each column.

  3. Swap, recalc, decide.

    On Hunter and Operator you can swap any tool for an equivalent in the same category. The burn total recomputes. When you are ready, you have a number you can defend out loud.

The swap and recompute is shipping next. Today the three static stacks render inside every analysis playbook on every tier.

Available on

What each tier unlocks.

Starter

$12.99 one time

Sample only

See the Lean, Mid, and Premium shape on the niche we deep dive. Static numbers.

Explorer

$24.99/mo

View only

Lean, Mid, and Premium stack on every weekly analysis. Read the burn totals. No swaps yet.

Hunter

$99/mo

Customizable

Swap any tool for an equivalent in the same category. Burn total recomputes live.

Operator

$299/mo

Customizable + export

Everything in Hunter. Export the final stack as a budget line to Notion, Linear, or CSV.

Full feature breakdown lives on the pricing page.

FAQ

Common questions about the stack.

Are the prices real?

Yes. Every tool quoted is at the public list price for its smallest paid plan, captured in May 2026 and refreshed on every report. We do not assume startup credits, annual discounts, or referral codes. If you have any of those, your real burn is lower.

Can I add tools the calculator did not pick?

On Hunter and Operator, yes. You can add a custom row with your own tool name and monthly cost. The total recomputes. That feature is shipping next. Today the three static stacks render on every tier.

What about annual billing or self hosting?

We default to monthly list prices because that is the apples to apples number you can compare across tools. Annual savings vary tool to tool. Self hosting savings show up in the Lean column where it is realistic. We do not pretend self hosting Postgres is free of operator time.

Why not just give me one stack?

Because the same niche can be run lean at 40 a month or premium at 600. Picking the bar is your call, not ours. We show all three so you see the floor, the middle, and the ceiling, and you commit to one.

Does AI inference burn really land where you show it?

It depends on usage. Our 2026 estimates are the smallest paid plan of Anthropic API at three realistic usage rates: a hobby builder testing prompts, a working product with a handful of paying customers, and a small team running production. Your actual bill could be lower or higher. Watch your dashboard.

Will my stack export anywhere?

Operator can export the final stack as a budget line to Notion, Linear, or CSV. The native export integrations are coming. Today you can copy the table by hand. Honest about the gap.

Budget the niche. Then build it.

Every analysis ships with a stack you can defend. Pick the shape that fits the runway you have.

Start my analysis