AIArsenal/Stacks/Ship an AI SaaS in a Weekend
STACK RECIPE

Ship an AI SaaS in a Weekend

Zero to paying users in 48 hours. Every tool on the free tier.

FOR
Solo builder with a weekend and a validated idea
BUDGET
$0/mo (until scale)
DIFFICULTY
Intermediate
TIME TO SHIP
48 hours
TOOLS
5 tools
THE STACK

5 tools that work together

01 · AI-NATIVE CODE EDITOR
CursorStarter plan: basic completions free

Cursor's agent mode writes multi-file changes and understands the whole codebase — your biggest speedup over manual coding.

TRY →
  • ▸Solo developers who want the most polished AI-native editor
  • ▸Codebase-aware chat and agent mode in a single UI
OR SWAP IN
02 · LLM API (WITH GENEROUS FREE TIER)
Google Gemini APIFlash: 250 req/day; Pro: 100 req/day; no credit card

Gemini 2.5 Flash + Pro free tiers are the most generous — you can ship with zero API cost until you hit real traffic.

TRY →
  • ▸Prototypers who need a generous free LLM API
  • ▸Anyone who wants 1M-token context on the free tier
OR SWAP IN
03 · TYPESCRIPT AI SDK
Vercel AI SDKFully free TypeScript SDK

Vercel AI SDK gives you streaming, tool use, structured output with one unified API — lets you swap providers later.

TRY →
  • ▸Next.js/React developers needing type-safe, streaming AI features in web apps.
  • ▸TypeScript devs building AI apps with multi-LLM support & structured output.
OR SWAP IN
04 · NO-CODE LANDING PAGE
v0Free tier with monthly credits; export unlimited code

v0 generates production-ready React + Tailwind from prompts — ship a landing page in an hour instead of a day.

TRY →
  • ▸Frontend developers who need fast UI generation
  • ▸Designers shipping React + Tailwind quickly
05 · FAST LLM OBSERVABILITY
LangfuseFree self-host; cloud free tier

Helicone's free tier logs 100K requests/month so you can debug failures before users complain.

TRY →
  • ▸European teams needing GDPR-compliant LLM observability for sensitive data.
  • ▸LLM developers optimizing cost, latency & quality across complex pipelines.
OR SWAP IN
QUICK START

How to ship it

  1. 1Install Cursor, open an empty folder, ask the agent to scaffold a Next.js + Vercel AI SDK app
  2. 2Grab a free Gemini API key from ai.google.dev (no credit card needed)
  3. 3Prompt v0 for a landing page, copy the generated component into /app/page.tsx
  4. 4Wire the AI SDK to Gemini Flash, stream responses into a chat component
  5. 5Deploy to Vercel (free), add Helicone proxy for observability, share the link
⚠ WATCH OUT

Gemini free tier caps at 100 req/day on Pro, 250 on Flash — enough for early users but you'll need a paid tier past ~100 DAUs. Vercel free tier includes 100GB bandwidth; a viral launch can blow past it.

Want this stack customized for you?

Ask AIArsenal to tailor it to your use case — budget, scale, privacy needs. It knows every tool in this stack.

ASK AIARSENAL →
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