Indie iOS stack
Free & utility app stack
The near-zero-cost stack for a lightweight utility where quality and reputation matter more than a paywall.
A free utility competes on reliability and word of mouth, not on a funnel. The goal is a stack that costs almost nothing to run, gives you enough signal to know the app works, and catches crashes before they become one-star reviews — without dragging a privacy liability or a monthly bill behind it.
Everything here has a real free tier or is open source. You add paid pieces only if and when the utility earns a tip jar or a one-time unlock.
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The stack
What we’d run, and why
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TelemetryDeck
TelemetryDeck gives you privacy-first usage signals with no consent banner and a free tier, which is the right weight for a utility that should feel invisible.
Alternatives
Supabase
If the utility needs sync, accounts, or a shared store, Supabase's free tier covers it. Many utilities can skip this entirely and stay fully on-device.
Sentry
Sentry's free tier is enough to catch the crashes that would otherwise show up as bad reviews, and it symbolicates traces so you can fix them fast.
Alternatives
fastlane
fastlane is open source and automates screenshots, metadata, and signing, keeping the monthly cost of shipping at zero.
RevenueCat
If you add a tip jar or a one-time pro unlock later, RevenueCat handles the purchase without a rewrite. Its free tier lasts well past what a utility typically earns.
Alternatives
Compatibility notes
How these tools fit together
Keep TelemetryDeck signals anonymous by design
TelemetryDeck hashes identifiers for you, so you can measure feature usage and retention without a consent prompt — the right trade for a utility where any friction costs you the install.
Ship crash-free before you add a backend
For a fully on-device utility, Sentry plus fastlane is the whole stack. Only add Supabase when a feature genuinely needs the network, so you are not paying complexity for a backend you do not use.
Add RevenueCat without disturbing the free experience
Drop RevenueCat in behind a single 'unlock pro' or 'leave a tip' entry point. Because it manages entitlements independently, the free path keeps working untouched and you avoid a monetization rewrite.
When to upgrade
Add RevenueCat only if you introduce a tip jar or a one-time pro unlock; until then this stack should cost nothing.
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