hewStack finds the free, open-source tools that can replace what you pay for, checks whether you can trust each one, and tells you in plain words. No jargon. No thousand results. The best few, with a verdict.
Invite only while we open up, a few people at a time.
Finding a free tool you can trust used to take weeks.
There's a free, open-source version of almost every app a business pays for. Finding the right one, and knowing you can rely on it, is the hard part. That's the part hewStack does.
Every tool is a monthly bill per person, and the price climbs as your team grows. You rent the software forever and own none of it.
hewStack: name the app you pay for and see the free ones you can run yourself, best first.
A tool nobody looks after any more, or one whose licence doesn't allow business use, ends up costing far more than the subscription it replaced.
hewStack: every tool gets a plain verdict (safe to use, use with care, or may not last) and the reason why.
Look-alike projects, stars that aren't real, and no easy way to see which ones are alive. Most people give up and keep paying.
hewStack: reads it every day and shows you the best few. Stars that look bought are flagged; risky look-alikes are left out.
Months spent on something nobody pays for, or built on a base you turn out not to be allowed to sell.
hewStack: shows what people pay for, where a good free version is missing, and which bases let you sell what you build.
No filters to learn and nothing technical to read. Say what you want the way you'd say it to a person.
“I want to stop paying for Notion, for a small team.” Or build and sell something, or keep up with what's rising, or check a link.
Each one says, in plain words, how hard it is to set up, whether you can use it at work, who's behind it, and whether real people use it.
A three-step checklist gets you trying it today. Keep an eye on it and we tell you if it stops being looked after or changes its licence.
hewStack speaks your language. Choose how you'll use it and every page leads with what matters to you.
Every tool hewStack shows you carries one of three verdicts, worked out from the same checks a careful developer would make.
A licence that allows business use, a steady team looking after it, and real people using it. The ones to start with.
Good, but not proven yet, or with one thing to check first: a licence to read, stars that look bought, or a known security problem.
A burst of work at launch, then weeks of silence. Fine to try; you'll know before you depend on it.
When it last changed, how often, and whether problems get fixed.
A steady team, or one person doing nearly all the work.
What its licence allows, in one line: for your business, and for selling.
An app you download, a few minutes' setup, or a job for a developer.
Popularity that looks bought is flagged, and risky look-alikes are left out.
The most-requested missing feature and the known rough edges, before you find them.
“Free alternatives to Notion.” “Is n8n safe for a business?” “Compare the top two.” Ask from any page and hewStack answers in a sentence, then shows you.
We're letting people in a few at a time, so every one of them gets answers that work. Join the list and we'll send your invite as soon as there's room.
Watch your inbox: your invite comes from hewStack with one link. Open it on the phone or computer you'd like to use, and you're in.