What one-person AI businesses run on
Every tool on this page is named in a source of at least one story, or is visible in the code of that business's home page. The count shows how many stories use it. Open a tool to see what it did in each business, with the grade and the source.
One block is one story:A, confirmed by the tool's maker or a payment processorB, reported independently or seen in public codeC, stated by the founder
Team
What the product does
Outcome
Evidence of use
AI models
The models that do the AI work: text, images, voice and video.
OpenAI API
69 of 110A paid web service from OpenAI: a program sends text, images, or audio to OpenAI's AI models and receives the generated answer, billed by the amount processed.
Anthropic API
26 of 110An API for Anthropic's Claude AI models: a program sends text, images or documents and receives generated text, billed per token (a piece of a word).
Google Gemini API
23 of 110An API for Google's Gemini AI models: a program sends text, images, audio or video and receives generated output, billed per token (a piece of a word).
ElevenLabs
11 of 110An AI voice service: it turns text into spoken audio that sounds like a person, copies a voice from a sample, and dubs recordings into other languages.
fal
9 of 110An inference platform: it runs image, video and audio AI models from many makers on its own GPUs, and a business calls them through one API and pays per output.
OpenRouter
8 of 110An API gateway for AI models: a program sends every request to one address with one key, and OpenRouter forwards it to the chosen model at any of many providers.
xAI API
8 of 110An API for the Grok AI models: a business's program sends a prompt over HTTP and receives generated text, images, video or speech in the reply.
Seedance
7 of 110An AI video model from ByteDance: it creates short video clips from a text prompt or an image, and a business calls it through an API.
Stable Diffusion
7 of 110A family of AI image models from Stability AI: each creates a picture from a text prompt, and a business can run it on its own computers.
Kling
6 of 110A video generation model: it turns a text prompt or a still image into a short video clip, and a product can call it through an API.
Replicate
6 of 110A hosting service for machine learning models: a business sends a request to its API, the model runs on Replicate's GPUs, and the business pays only for that run.
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FLUX (Black Forest Labs)
4 of 110A family of AI models that make or edit images and video from a text description, used through an API or downloaded and run on your own servers.
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GLM (Z.ai)
3 of 110A family of large language models from Z.ai: a program sends text or images through an API and gets generated text or code back, priced per token.
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Building the product
Frameworks, programming languages, no-code builders and AI coding tools.
Next.js
60 of 110An open-source framework for building websites and web applications with React: it handles page routing, rendering pages on the server, and the production build.
Cursor
21 of 110A code editor with a built-in AI assistant: the developer describes a change in plain language, and the editor writes or edits the code across the project.
React
18 of 110A JavaScript library for building user interfaces: a developer writes small reusable components, and React updates the web page when the data changes.
ChatGPT
14 of 110An AI chat assistant from OpenAI: a person types a question or a task, and it answers with text, code, images or data analysis.
Claude Code
14 of 110An AI coding agent from Anthropic that works in a developer's terminal or editor: given a task, it reads the project's files, edits code, and runs commands and tests.
GitHub
13 of 110A hosting service for Git repositories: it stores a team's source code with its full change history, and adds code review (pull requests), issue tracking and automated builds.
TypeScript
13 of 110A programming language from Microsoft that adds static types to JavaScript: a compiler checks the types before the program runs and then outputs plain JavaScript.
Python
12 of 110A general-purpose programming language: businesses write their server software, data processing scripts and machine learning code in it.
Tailwind CSS
12 of 110A CSS framework: a developer styles a web page by adding small ready-made class names, such as flex or pt-4, directly in the HTML.
Node.js
11 of 110A JavaScript runtime: it runs JavaScript code outside the browser, so a business can write its server software and build tools in the same language as its web pages.
Figma
10 of 110A design application that runs in the browser: a team draws the screens of a website or app together, and developers read sizes and colors from the same file.
Bubble
9 of 110A no-code app builder: a person builds the screens, database and logic of a web or mobile app in a visual editor instead of writing code, and Bubble hosts it.
Claude (assistant)
9 of 110An AI assistant from Anthropic: you write a request in a chat window and it answers, writes and edits text or code, and reads files you give it.
Codex (OpenAI)
8 of 110An AI coding agent from OpenAI: given a task in plain language, it reads a code repository, writes and edits files, runs commands, and proposes the changes for review.
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React Native
7 of 110An open-source framework from Meta: a team writes one app in JavaScript with React, and it runs as a native app on both iPhone and Android.
WordPress
7 of 110A content management system: software that stores a website's pages and posts in a database and lets people edit and publish them from a browser without writing code.
JavaScript
6 of 110A programming language: every web browser can run it, so it is used to make web pages interactive, and with Node.js it also runs on servers.
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LangChain
4 of 110An open source framework (a code library) for Python and JavaScript: it supplies ready-made components that connect an application to language models, vector databases and other tools.
Nuxt
4 of 110A web framework built on Vue.js: it gives a project a ready structure for pages, routing and server-side rendering, so the team writes only the application code.
Canva
3 of 110A design tool that runs in the browser: a person without design training picks a template and edits it to make social media images, presentations, logos and videos.
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Named in one story: 77 tools
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Running it
Hosting, databases, queues and rented graphics processors.
Vercel
52 of 110A hosting service for websites and web applications: it builds the code after each change in the Git repository and serves the result from servers in many regions.
Cloudflare
50 of 110A network placed between visitors and a website: it delivers pages from nearby servers, blocks attacks, manages DNS, and also offers file storage and code hosting.
Supabase
23 of 110A hosted backend built on the PostgreSQL database: it gives an app a database, user login, file storage and realtime updates without the team running its own servers.
Firebase
20 of 110A set of hosted backend services from Google for web and mobile apps: a database, user login, file storage, hosting and analytics, without servers to manage.
Google Cloud
14 of 110A cloud computing platform: a business rents Google's servers, storage and databases over the internet to run its software, and pays for the amount it uses.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
10 of 110A cloud provider: it rents servers, storage, databases and many other computing services over the internet, and a business pays for the amount it uses.
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Render
6 of 110A cloud hosting service: it takes a program's code from a Git repository, builds it, and runs it on its servers as a website, background job or database.
DigitalOcean
5 of 110A cloud hosting provider: a business rents virtual servers (called Droplets), managed databases and file storage, and pays for the time each one runs.
Hetzner
5 of 110A German hosting company: a business rents virtual cloud servers or whole physical servers in its data centers, billed by the hour up to a fixed monthly maximum.
Railway
5 of 110A hosting platform: it takes code from a Git repository, builds it, runs it as a web service with databases, and charges for the CPU and memory used.
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Pinecone
4 of 110A hosted vector database: it stores embeddings (lists of numbers that represent the meaning of text) and returns the stored items most similar to a query.
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SQLite
4 of 110A database engine that is a code library inside the application: it stores all the data in one file on disk, so a business needs no separate database server.
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Taking payments
Payment processors, in-app billing and deal marketplaces.
Stripe
83 of 110A payment processor: it charges customers' cards for a business and pays the money out to the business's bank account.
Apple App Store
29 of 110Apple's store for iPhone, iPad and Mac apps: it delivers a developer's app to customers, charges them for purchases and subscriptions, and pays the developer after keeping a commission.
Google Play
18 of 110Google's app store for Android: it distributes a business's app to phones, charges users for the app, subscriptions and in-app purchases, and keeps a percentage.
RevenueCat
12 of 110A subscription backend for phone apps: its SDK runs in-app purchases through Apple and Google, its server records which users have paid, and its dashboard reports the revenue.
Lemon Squeezy
9 of 110A merchant of record for digital products: it is the legal seller to each customer, so it collects the payment, pays the sales tax, and sends the business the rest.
PayPal
9 of 110A payment service: customers pay a business from a PayPal account or a card, and the money arrives in the business's PayPal balance.
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Finding customers
Launch sites, video and social platforms, ads and affiliate tools.
X
67 of 110A social network for short public posts: a business uses it to show its product, answer customers, and collect followers who may later become buyers.
Meta ads
40 of 110The paid advertising system of Facebook and Instagram: a business pays to show its ads to people selected by age, place, interests, or past behavior.
Product Hunt
39 of 110A website where makers announce new products: visitors vote and comment each day, and the products with the most votes appear at the top of the daily list.
YouTube
33 of 110A video site owned by Google: a business publishes videos there for free, and viewers find them through search, recommendations and subscriptions.
TikTok
30 of 110A social app for short videos: a business posts videos there, and the app's recommendation system shows them to people who may become customers.
Reddit
28 of 110A discussion website made of topic communities called subreddits: a business posts or answers there to reach people who are interested in its subject.
LinkedIn
25 of 110A social network for work contacts, owned by Microsoft: members show their job history, and a business or founder posts there to reach people in a specific profession.
Instagram
24 of 110A social network owned by Meta for photos and short videos: a business posts there so that followers and new users see its product.
Google Ads
23 of 110Google's advertising platform: a business bids to show its ads above search results, on YouTube and on other sites, and usually pays each time someone clicks an ad.
Rewardful
19 of 110Affiliate tracking software for subscription businesses: it gives each partner a referral link, records which paying customers came through it, and calculates the commission owed to that partner.
Google Search (organic)
15 of 110The unpaid ("organic") results of Google's search engine: Google's crawler program reads a business's web pages and shows them for matching queries, with no charge per visit.
Tolt
15 of 110Affiliate software for subscription businesses: each affiliate (a partner paid a commission per referred customer) gets a tracking link, and Tolt counts the sales and pays the commissions.
Facebook
12 of 110A social network: a business posts on its own page and in interest groups, where people who may become customers see and share the posts.
LinkedIn ads
11 of 110The advertising system of LinkedIn: a business pays to show its ads to LinkedIn members that it selects by job title, company, industry or other profile data.
Ahrefs
10 of 110A search engine optimization (SEO) tool: it shows which keywords people search, which sites link to a page, and where a site ranks in search results.
Calendly
8 of 110A scheduling tool: a business shares a booking link, a customer picks an open time slot from the connected calendar, and the meeting appears in both calendars.
Trustpilot
8 of 110A public review site: customers write reviews of a business, and the business can invite reviews, reply to them and show its score on its own site.
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G2
7 of 110A review site for business software: customers rate products there, buyers compare them before a purchase, and a vendor's profile page with good ratings brings it new buyers.
Hacker News
7 of 110A news and discussion website owned by the startup investor Y Combinator: users post links and vote on them, and founders post their products there to get early visitors.
Senja
7 of 110A tool for testimonials (customers' written or video praise): it collects them through a form and shows them on the business's website as embedded blocks.
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Indie Hackers
6 of 110An online community of founders of small internet businesses: a founder posts a product or revenue update there to get feedback and reach the first users.
WhatsApp
6 of 110A messaging app owned by Meta that sends text, voice and video between phone numbers; businesses use it to write to customers directly, in groups, and for support.
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Keeping customers
Email, support chat and tools that reduce cancellations.
Discord
21 of 110A chat platform: a business opens a community space, called a server, where its users talk with each other and with the team in text and voice channels.
Resend
13 of 110An email sending service for developers: an application calls its API to send emails such as password resets and order confirmations, and it also sends newsletters to a contact list.
Intercom
11 of 110A customer support helpdesk: it puts a chat window on a website or app, collects customer messages in one shared inbox, and can answer them with an AI agent.
Crisp
8 of 110A customer support tool: it puts a chat widget on a website and collects chat, email and other customer messages in one shared inbox for the team.
Canny
5 of 110A customer feedback tool: users post feature requests and vote on them on a board, and the product team uses the votes to decide what to build next.
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Bento
4 of 110An email marketing service: it stores a business's contact list and sends campaign emails, automated email sequences and transactional emails such as receipts and password resets.
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Featurebase
4 of 110A customer support and feedback tool: one subscription gives a business a live chat inbox, a help center, a feature request board with votes, and a changelog.
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Measuring
Analytics and revenue verification.
Google Analytics
52 of 110A Google service that counts visits to a website or app: it records where visitors come from, which pages they open, and which actions they take.
TrustMRR
49 of 110A public database of startup revenue, verified by reading each founder's payment provider (for example Stripe) through its API; it is also a marketplace for selling startups.
PostHog
36 of 110A product analytics service: it records what users do in a website or app, and shows the business reports, session recordings and test results from that data.
Google Tag Manager
27 of 110A tag management system from Google: a business adds or changes the tracking and advertising scripts on its site from a web console, without editing the site's code.
Sentry
15 of 110An error-tracking service: it collects the crashes, errors and slow requests from a running application and shows the developers where in the code each one happened.
DataFast
14 of 110A web analytics tool: a script on the website counts visitors and their sources, and it links each payment to the visitor, so the owner sees which channel brings revenue.
Microsoft Clarity
11 of 110A free website analytics tool from Microsoft: it records visitor sessions for replay and draws heatmaps that show where visitors click and how far they scroll.
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Mixpanel
8 of 110A product analytics tool: the application sends an event for each user action, and the tool reports funnels (where users stop in a flow) and retention (who comes back).
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Amplitude
6 of 110A product analytics service: an app sends it an event for each user action, and it shows how users move through the product and which ones return.
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Named in one story: 21 tools
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Operating the company
Contractors, documents, audits and legal services.
Slack
17 of 110A team chat application: staff write messages in shared channels, sorted by topic, and connect other software so that its notifications arrive in the same place.
Google Workspace
12 of 110Google's paid bundle of office software for a business: email at the company's own domain (Gmail), shared documents and spreadsheets, file storage (Drive), calendar and video meetings.
Notion
12 of 110A workspace application that combines documents, wikis, task lists and simple databases: a team writes notes, plans projects and keeps company knowledge in one shared place.
Upwork
9 of 110A marketplace for freelance work: a business posts a job, hires a freelancer from the applicants, and pays that person through the site.
Acquire.com
6 of 110An online marketplace where founders list a startup for sale and buyers contact them; it supplies tools for the offer letter, the contract and the escrow payment.
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Named in one story: 27 tools
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Used together
Pairs of tools that appear in the same business, in at least three stories.
Switches
A business that replaced one tool with another, as a source reports it.
- Chatbase: Pinecone to pgvector
- Photo AI: Stable Diffusion to FLUX (Black Forest Labs)
- TypingMind: Lemon Squeezy to Stripe2024
- Jenni AI: GPT-2 to OpenAI API2020
- Tweet Hunter: OpenAI API to AI21 Studio
- Tweet Hunter: Bubble to Next.js
- Talknotes: JavaScript to Nuxt
- Postiz: kie.ai to EvoLinkSeptember 2026
- Postiz: NX to pnpm
- Postiz: BullMQ to TemporalJanuary 2026
- Magai: Bubble to custom code2026
- Magai: WordPress to Next.js2026
- Revid.ai: Lemon Squeezy to StripeNovember 2025
- Castmagic: Webflow to Astro
- SEObot: Crisp to Intercom
- Vid.AI: Render to RailwaySeptember 2026
- SoundBoost.ai: Railway to HetznerJune 2026
- LLM Gateway: TanStack Start to Next.jsJuly 2025
- AI Toolbox: Lemon Squeezy to Polar
- 1ClickWebsite.ai: Breakdance to OCF, the company's own editing layerJune 2026
- EasyGen: Webflow to Next.js
- Wave AI: Windsurf to Claude Code
- Jungle: Brevo to SmashSend
- GlowUp: RevenueCat to Adapty
Read this before you copy a stack
- The counts come from businesses that succeeded. A tool that many of them use is not a cause of their success.
- A tool that a founder never mentioned can still be in use. A missing block means "not found in the sources".
- The sample is small: 110 stories. Read the counts as "n of 110".
- Prices on the tool pages were read on the date shown and they change.
- This site takes no payment from any tool and uses no affiliate links.