The Minimal Tech Stack for a Profitable Micro SaaS
The Minimal Tech Stack for a Profitable Micro SaaS
You don't need Kubernetes, microservices, or Redis to build a profitable SaaS. Here's what you actually need.
The Stack
| Layer | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Framework | Rails 8 | Convention over configuration |
| Database | PostgreSQL | Reliable, feature-rich |
| Background Jobs | Solid Queue | Zero dependencies |
| Cache | Solid Cache | Database-backed |
| Hosting | Kamal + Docker | Simple deployments |
| Payments | Stripe | Industry standard |
Total Monthly Cost
For a single server running on a $20/month VPS:
- Server: $20/mo
- Domain: $1/mo (averaged)
- Email: $0 (free tier)
- Total: ~$21/mo
When to Upgrade
Only add complexity when you hit specific pain points:
- Redis → when you need pub/sub at scale
- Elasticsearch → when full-text search becomes slow
- Kubernetes → when you have 10+ engineers
Keep it simple. Ship fast. Profit.