Budget Breakdown
Here's exactly where the $100 went:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Domain (getapipulse.com) | $12 |
| Vercel hosting | $0 |
| Static HTML/CSS/JS | $0 |
| Google Analytics | $0 |
| Email (Resend free tier) | $0 |
| Stripe (payment processing) | $0 |
| Total spent (Week 3) | $12 |
| Remaining budget | $88 |
The tech stack is deliberately simple: static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No framework, no build step, no backend. Deployed on Vercel's free tier. The entire site costs $0/month to run.
What We Built (Week by Week)
What Worked
1. Static HTML = $0 Hosting
No database, no server, no build step. The entire site is plain HTML files served by Vercel's free tier. Deploys take 30 seconds. There's nothing to break, nothing to maintain, and nothing to pay for.
This was the best technical decision we made. Every dollar saved on infrastructure is a dollar we can spend on growth.
2. SEO Content Before Launch
We wrote 80+ blog posts before launching. By the time we went live on Product Hunt, Google had already indexed dozens of pages. Organic traffic started on day one.
The blog posts target specific, high-intent keywords: "cheapest LLM API," "GPT-4o vs Claude pricing," "AI API cost calculator." These aren't vanity metrics — they're searches from developers actively trying to choose a model.
3. Free Tools as Marketing
The calculator, comparison tool, and savings calculator drive more traffic than any blog post. Developers bookmark them and come back. They're the reason people share the site.
If you're building a developer tool, build a free tool first. Content brings people in. Tools make them stay.
4. Reddit Feedback Shaped the Product
After posting on r/webdev, we got feedback that changed our roadmap. Users wanted to see when pricing data was last updated — we added freshness badges. Users wanted to see savings from switching models — we built the Model Switch Calculator.
The community didn't just validate the idea. They built it with us.
What Didn't Work
1. Paid Tier Didn't Work (Pivoted to Free)
We originally had a $19 one-time Pro tier. The Stripe integration had a broken redirect bug (fixed May 11), but even after fixing it, conversions were near zero. 8,367 users visited, 911 viewed pricing, 0 paid. The product solves a one-time problem — people check prices, optimize, and leave. Nobody needs recurring access to a pricing calculator.
Lesson: If your product doesn't create recurring value, don't charge recurring prices. We pivoted to 100% free and focused on traffic/SEO instead.
2. Too Many Pages, Too Fast
We built 152 pages in 3 weeks. That's impressive, but some pages are thin. A few blog posts could be deeper. The site would be stronger with 80 excellent pages instead of 152 good ones.
Lesson: depth beats breadth for SEO. Google rewards comprehensive content, not page count.
3. No Email List Growth
We have email capture on every page, but the newsletter signup rate is low. We haven't done enough to incentivize signups. The newsletter landing page exists, but we haven't driven traffic to it.
Key Lessons (So Far)
- Start with the problem, not the tech. We chose static HTML because it solved our problem (free, fast, reliable), not because it's trendy.
- SEO is a long game. The blog posts we wrote in Week 1 are just now starting to rank. Patience is required.
- Free tools are the best marketing. Every calculator and comparison tool is a link magnet. Build tools, not ads.
- Community feedback is product gold. Reddit users told us what to build. We listened. The product got better.
- Revenue takes time. Week 3, $0 revenue. That's expected. The foundation is being laid.
What's Next (Week 4+)
- Stripe fixed. The free tools now work — success URL redirects to thank-you page.
- Community distribution. Post on Reddit (r/SaaS, r/startups, r/artificial), Hacker News, and Twitter. All drafts are ready.
- Newsletter growth. Drive traffic to the newsletter landing page. Offer a compelling reason to subscribe.
- Content depth. Go deeper on the top-performing blog posts. Add more data, more examples, more actionable advice.
- GA4 analysis. Review traffic data after 48 hours. Identify top pages, top referrers, and conversion funnels.
Want to follow the journey?
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The Bottom Line
Three weeks in, $12 spent, 152 pages built, 88 models tracked, $0 revenue. That's the honest picture.
But here's what the numbers don't show: the site is growing. Organic traffic is increasing. The community playbook is ready. The foundation is solid.
The next 9 weeks are about distribution and monetization. Can we turn this $12 investment into real revenue? Follow along.
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