Lots of buzz lately about building your own analytics instead of paying monthly.
For those who've run self-hosted analytics for a while: how did cost, maintenance and data accuracy compare to a hosted service over time?
Looking for real experiences, not hot takes.
Introducing DataBull 🎉
I was paying $39/mo for DataFast just to see which posts made me money.
That's $468 a year. Forever. And it goes up as your traffic grows.
So I built my own.
Same idea: revenue by traffic source.
$29 lifetime. Unlimited sites. Unlimited events. Lifetime updates.
> databull.app
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Marc Lou built a beehiiv alternative over pricing.
Now DataFast has a $29 self-hosted alternative for the same reason.
Full circle 😄
Would you pay for a subscription or a one-time self-hosted tool?
Introducing DataBull 🎉
I was paying $39/mo for DataFast just to see which posts made me money.
That's $468 a year. Forever. And it goes up as your traffic grows.
So I built my own.
Same idea: revenue by traffic source.
$29 lifetime. Unlimited sites. Unlimited events. Lifetime updates.
> databull.app
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This is why spend limits and expiry dates should be on by default for every API key, not opt-in.
Leaks will happen. Defaults decide whether a leak costs you $10 or $10,000.
Until then:
• Set a spend limit
• Turn off auto-recharge
• Add an expiry
• Rotate keys now if you're on Railway.
An urgent notice from the Railway team
blog.railway.com/p/security-…
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People are eagerly waiting for fable 5.5 launch and got this instead( still a much needed feature)
Claude Security now keeps up with your code as it changes.
Connect your repositories once. Claude runs a deep first scan, then re-scans as changes land, so findings stay close to the current state of your code.
In public beta on Claude Enterprise.
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Can you believe Stagetimer.io, basically a countdown timer, makes $25K a month?
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What Google shows #1
"pdf to word" on Google (US, mobile, 19 Oct 2026). What page 1 looks like:
Above the results
• 1 ad before the first organic result
• AI Overview: yes
The top 7
#1 pdf4me · DA 26 · tool
#2 camscanner · DA 75 · tool
#3 sodapdf · DA 73 · tool
#4 YouTube · DA 100 · video
#5 wondershare · DA 90 · tool
#6 mobisystems · DA 60 · tool
#7 YouTube · DA 100 · video
What's on page 1
• 5 tool or product pages (#1, #2, #3, #5, #6)
• 2 videos (#4, #7)
• No Reddit or forum threads
• YouTube appears 2 times (#4, #7)
Who ranks
• #1: pdf4me (DA 26)
• Smallest site: pdf4me (DA 26) at #1
• Sites under DA 30: 1 of 7
• Very large sites (DA 90+): YouTube, wondershare
• Average DA: 75
Titles
• 0 of 7 mention 2026
• 4 say "free"
• 0 say "best"
• 1 start with "how"
What I noticed
pdf4me (DA 26) ranks #1, above YouTube (DA 100) at #4.
DA is a Moz estimate, not a Google score. Page types are guessed from the address and title.
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A guy with zero coding experience built Puff Count, an app that counts vape puffs. $40K a month. How?!
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An app that helps you “grow taller” has 17,600+ paying subscribers.
$58K MRR. $900K+ all-time. Founded July 2025.
Now listed for sale at $1M.
Insecurity is the best market there is.
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What Google shows #1
"compress pdf" on Google (US, mobile, 18 Oct 2026). What page 1 looks like:
Above the results
• No ads before the first organic result
• AI Overview: yes
The top 8
#1 ilovepdf · DA 65 · tool
#2 Adobe · DA 96 · tool
#3 smallpdf · DA 75 · tool
#4 drawboard · DA 43 · tool
#5 pdf24 · DA 62 · tool
#6 pdfguru · DA 54 · tool
#7 pdffiller · DA 78 · tool
#8 pdfgear · DA 46 · tool
What's on page 1
• All 8 are tool or product pages
• No videos
• No Reddit or forum threads
Who ranks
• #1: ilovepdf (DA 65)
• Smallest site: drawboard (DA 43) at #4
• No site under DA 30
• Very large sites (DA 90+): Adobe
• Average DA: 65
Titles
• 0 of 8 mention 2026
• 5 say "free"
• 0 say "best"
• 0 start with "how"
What I noticed
No ads, but an AI Overview sits above every organic result.
DA is a Moz estimate, not a Google score. Page types are guessed from the address and title.
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Let's settle this by Claude 👇
MailCheap: pay per email, not per subscriber. $19 for 20K emails, every feature included, dead readers stop costing you. But no free plan and it's brand new.
beehiiv: pay per subscriber, unlimited sends. Free up to 2,500 subs, 0% cut on paid subs, ads, podcast, community built in. But the new prices hurt, especially for big lists.
listmonk: the one nobody's mentioning. Free, open source since 2018, built by Zerodha's CTO, proven on 7M+ email sends. You just pay for a server + Amazon SES. But you manage everything yourself and there's no monetization.
Just sending, no server hassle? MailCheap.
Technical and want it near $0? listmonk.
Building a newsletter business? beehiiv.
The real fight isn't price, it's how much you want to own vs how much you want done for you.
I vibe-coded beehiiv, and it's 83% cheaper.
✨✨ Introducing MailCheap.ai ✨✨
Everything you need to run a newsletter...
✍️ Editor
📅 Scheduling
📈 Stats
🌐 A website for every issue
🛡️ Deliverability guardrails
🔗 Send from your own domain (and keep your reputation)
And it's not a dinosaur tool:
+ It's open source; you can run it for free
+ It's agentic; everything in the UI is available to your AI
Import from beehiiv, Substack, or Mailchimp in 2 minutes.
You pay for the emails you send, not for dormant subscribers. From $19/month.
Oh, and no "Powered By" badge at the bottom of your emails.
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Indie hackers, developers & solo founders 👋
I'm looking to connect with people who love building, shipping, and experimenting with new ideas.
If you're building something, drop a reply 👇
Let's connect, support each other & grow together! 🚀
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5 products launched on IndieSheet last week
All built by solo builders and tiny teams. Here's what's new 👇
Rotli by @iamsethmedina
Notes and tasks app for Mac
indiesheet.com/tool/rotli
CalorieSnap by @CalorieSnap
Tracks your daily calorie intake
indiesheet.com/tool/calories…
Stash by @GraftedSoftware
Notes app that auto organizes your notes
indiesheet.com/tool/stash
UnoChess by @producktivelee
Play chess with a twist online
indiesheet.com/tool/unochess
Sendezeit by @antonships
Helps founders publish consistently
indiesheet.com/tool/sendezei…
Building something alone? Get it listed:
Next roundup: Monday, Oct 12.
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Building something? Reply with your app.
For the next 7 days, we're listing every app for free. Share what you're building and who it's for 👇
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Indie hackers, what are you building? 👇
For the next 7 days, I’m listing indie products on IndieSheet for FREE.
You’ll get:
→ A permanent product page
→ A do-follow backlink
→ Weekly stats
Drop your product below 👇
I’ll check it out and add the best ones to IndieSheet.
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