The Operator's Stack

Deploy static HTML/CSS directly from a Git repo. Fastest possible load times. Full pixel control. Unlimited sites on the free tier. Custom domains included. This is what we use.

Also: Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages — all free-tier capable, all excellent.

Single-page site builder. Custom domain, form integration, fast load times. Three sites on the free plan, unlimited on Pro. The fastest path from zero to a live landing page for non-technical operators.

The creator-economy standard. Strong automation, visual sequences, tag-based segmentation, landing page builder included. Free tier is generous — 10,000 subscribers with limited automation. Paid tier ($29/mo) unlocks everything.

Kit (ConvertKit) — 30% recurring lifetime · affiliate link

Best balance of features and cost. Automation, landing pages, and pop-ups included on the free tier. Paid tiers start at $10/mo for 500+ subscribers. Clean interface, reliable deliverability.

MailerLite — 30% recurring lifetime · affiliate link

Indie, developer-friendly, markdown-native. The choice for operators who think in code and want maximum control with minimal bloat. API-first design. Paid tiers start at $9/mo.

Modern link management with custom domains, click analytics, and A/B testing. Free tier covers a first position easily. Developer-friendly API. The clean option for operators who want tracking without complexity.

Open-source link shortener you deploy on any $5/mo VPS. Unlimited links, unlimited clicks, full data ownership. Requires basic server admin. The choice for operators who want zero platform dependency.

The power option. Built-in split testing, retargeting pixel pass-through, bot filtering, and cross-device tracking. For operators at 3+ positions who need professional-grade click intelligence.

Full-featured, free, and the industry standard. Custom events, conversion funnels, audience building for retargeting. Requires cookie consent implementation. Heavier script weight than privacy-focused alternatives.

Privacy-first, lightweight, EU-compliant without a cookie banner. Under 1KB script. Custom events supported. The choice for operators who want clean data without the compliance overhead.

No affiliate program — recommended on merit alone.

Open-source, self-hosted, privacy-focused. No cookies, no tracking across sites. Full data ownership. Deploy on any VPS or use the hosted version ($9/mo). The developer's choice.

The default. Platform model where your Stripe account splits payments automatically — partner's share goes to their connected account instantly. Free to set up. Real-time dashboards for both parties. The partner never sees an invoice. Money just appears.

The simplest path to a published newsletter with free and paid tiers. Built-in subscriber management, archive, and embeddable forms. Trade-off: 10% platform fee on paid subscriptions, limited customization, no automation.

Growth-focused newsletter platform. Referral programs, ad marketplace, website builder, and no platform fee on paid subscriptions. More features than Substack, more complexity. The choice for operators who want to scale the newsletter as a standalone business.

Website + newsletter + memberships in one platform. No platform fee on paid subscriptions. Self-hostable for full control. The choice for operators who want to own every layer and don't mind a more technical setup.

Static site generator with full control over every page, template, and asset. This site runs on Jekyll. Free hosting via GitHub Pages or Cloudflare Pages. The developer's choice for content that needs to be fast, version-controlled, and completely owned.

The most flexible content platform. Massive plugin ecosystem. Requires more maintenance than static sites — updates, security, caching — but offers more capability for non-technical operators who need visual editing.

Community + classroom in one platform. Discussion threads, course content, calendar events, gamification levels, leaderboards. Simple, opinionated, and built for paid memberships. No free tier — the $99/mo is the platform cost regardless of member count.

Skool — 40% recurring lifetime · affiliate link

Open-source scheduling. Multi-provider support, recurring appointments, embeddable on any page. Self-hostable for full control. The developer-friendly Calendly alternative.

Built specifically for home service businesses. Quoting, scheduling, invoicing, route optimization, and customer management. The choice for neighborhood toll position operators managing a vendor network at scale.

Jobber — $5/signup + 60% monthly plans + $30-300 annual tiers · affiliate link

Deep reasoning, code generation, content drafting, data analysis. Claude Code adds file editing, terminal access, and multi-agent workflows for operators who build their own infrastructure. This entire site was built with Claude Code.

Open-source workflow automation. Connect any tool to any other tool with visual pipelines. The self-hosted Zapier alternative for operators who want unlimited automations without per-task pricing.