Developer Team Stack: PM + Deploy + Database + Monitor
Small dev teams (2–10 engineers) need issue tracking, deployment, a database, and monitoring. The good news: the developer tool ecosystem has some of the most generous free tiers in all of SaaS. Here's a complete stack starting at $0/month — every price verified.
The Complete Developer Team Stack
| Category | Tool | Free Tier | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Management | Linear | 250 issues, unlimited members | $0 |
| PM (alt) | Jira | 10 users, 2GB storage | $0 |
| Deployment | Vercel | 1M edge requests/mo, 100GB bandwidth (non-commercial) | $0 |
| Deploy (alt) | Netlify | 300 credits/mo, deploy previews, custom domains | $0 |
| Database | Supabase | 2 projects, 500MB DB, 50K MAUs | $0 |
| DB (alt) | PlanetScale | Scaler Single Node | $5/mo |
| Monitoring | PostHog | 1M events, 5K replays, unlimited members | $0 |
| Total ($0 stack) | $0/mo | ||
| Total (with PlanetScale) | $5/mo | ||
Project Management: Linear vs Jira
Linear Freegives you up to 250 issues with unlimited members. The keyboard-first design is blazingly fast — creating an issue takes 2 seconds. GitHub/GitLab integration auto-links PRs to issues. Standard ($8/user/mo) unlocks unlimited issues, cycles, and projects.
Jira Free supports up to 10 users with 2GB storage. You get Scrum boards, Kanban boards, backlog management, and the full Atlassian ecosystem (Confluence, Bitbucket). Standard ($8.15/user/mo) unlocks 250GB storage and audit logs.
The decision:Linear if your team values speed and modern UX. Jira if you need deep customization of workflows, advanced reporting, or you're already in the Atlassian ecosystem. Both are free for small teams.
Deployment: Vercel vs Netlify
Vercel Hobby (Free)gives you personal, non-commercial projects with 1M edge requests/month and 100GB bandwidth. Made by the creators of Next.js — if you use Next.js, Vercel is the obvious choice. Pro ($20/user/mo) unlocks commercial use and team collaboration.
Netlify Free gives you 300 credits/month, deploy previews, custom domains with SSL, and a global CDN. Framework-agnostic and includes built-in forms handling and identity (auth). More generous for non-Next.js projects.
Important note: Vercel Hobby is restricted to non-commercial use. For production commercial apps, you need Vercel Pro ($20/user/mo). Netlify Free allows commercial use within the 300 credits/mo limit.
Database: Supabase vs PlanetScale
Supabase Freegives you 2 projects, 500MB database, 50K MAUs, 1GB file storage, and built-in auth. It's PostgreSQL under the hood with real-time subscriptions, edge functions, and vector embeddings. The catch: projects pause after 7 days of inactivity on the free tier.
PlanetScale Scaler ($5/mo) is a serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess. Branching workflows let you test schema changes safely. No free tier (removed in 2024), but $5/mo with 10GB storage included is affordable. Better for MySQL-first teams or apps needing horizontal scaling.
The decision: Supabase Free if you want PostgreSQL + auth + real-time in one tool and can tolerate project pausing. PlanetScale ($5/mo) if you need MySQL, branching, or always-on availability.
Monitoring: PostHog Free (1M Events)
PostHog Free gives you 1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, and unlimited team members per month. It combines product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, and surveys in one open-source tool. Self-hosting is also an option for data sovereignty.
The free tier is generous enough for most early-stage products. Pay-as-you-go pricing kicks in only when you exceed the free limits, with billing controls to set spending caps.
What to Skip
- Datadog ($15/host/mo+): Enterprise-grade monitoring. Overkill for small teams. PostHog Free + Vercel/Netlify built-in monitoring covers early needs.
- Mixpanel/Amplitude: Excellent product analytics, but PostHog now offers comparable features with a more generous free tier and transparent pricing.
- AWS/GCP databases (at first): RDS, Cloud SQL, and DynamoDB are powerful but require infrastructure knowledge. Supabase and PlanetScale abstract away the ops work.
- Monday.com/Asana for engineering: These PM tools are built for non-technical teams. Linear and Jira are purpose-built for software development with GitHub integration, sprint planning, and developer workflows.
Common Mistakes Dev Teams Make
- Choosing Jira because it's the default. Jira is powerful but complex. If your team is under 10 people and values speed, Linear is faster to set up and use daily. Jira's value emerges at 25+ engineer teams with complex workflows.
- Using Vercel Hobby for production commercial apps. The Hobby tier is restricted to non-commercial use. You need Pro ($20/user/mo) for production apps that generate revenue.
- Not setting billing alerts on pay-as-you-go services. PostHog, Supabase Pro, and Vercel Pro all have usage-based components. Set spending caps from day one.
- Building on Supabase Free for production. Free projects pause after 7 days of inactivity. For anything facing real users, upgrade to Supabase Pro ($25/mo) to avoid downtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Linear Free really enough for a dev team?
For a team of 2–5 working on a single product, the 250 issue limit is usually enough for 3–6 months. Close completed issues regularly. Standard ($8/user/mo) is worth upgrading to once you need cycles (sprints) and unlimited issues.
Supabase or PlanetScale?
Supabase if you want PostgreSQL + auth + real-time + storage in one tool. PlanetScale if you need MySQL, schema branching, or horizontal scaling for high-traffic applications. Most new projects should default to Supabase for the broader feature set.
When does this stack stop being free?
When you launch a commercial product (Vercel needs Pro at $20/user/mo), exceed 250 Linear issues, or need always-on database (Supabase Pro at $25/mo). Realistically, plan to spend $50–$100/mo once you have paying users.