Being towards death

As an independent developer who has been navigating between code and caffeine for years, I understand that every penny must be spent wisely. After all, our motto is: "No money, one life, but I have a product!" Nowadays, the "penny-pincher package" of AI programming and cloud deployment can actually allow us to start with zero cost, operate at low cost, and even make a profit? Today, let's break down this ultimate cost-saving strategy, allowing us to focus our energy on creation rather than begging for angel investment.

1. AI Programming: Be a "Capitalist" Without Spending Money#

The core of saving money with AI programming is simple: maximize the use of free models and minimize token consumption. You are not using AI; you are organizing an "AI buffet."

1. Web-based AI Chat Interfaces: Choose from Free Models#

First, open your browser and, like a tycoon booking a private room, have a top AI model in each tab:

• z.ai: Free GLM 4.5, programming capabilities approaching Claude 4;
• Kimi.com: Kimi K2, a domestic alternative to Claude Opus;
• Google AI Studio: Gemini 2.5 Pro/Flash, free and unlimited, excels at initializing React+TS projects;
• Poe.com: Daily free credits to experience advanced models like Claude 4 and GPT-5;
• GitHub Copilot: Limited free GPT-4.1 and 4o credits, students can also get a free subscription;
• Perplexity AI: The terminator for research-intensive questions;
• Deepseek: Free to use v3 and r1, but be mindful of context limitations.

2. AI Programming Proxy Tools: Who Understands Programmers Better?#

Just chatting isn't enough; we need something professional. AI programming proxy tools are divided into three categories:

• IDE Class:
  • Cursor: AI-first VS Code branch, excels at codebase Q&A and automatic refactoring;
  • Zed: High-performance editor written in Rust, supports multiplayer collaboration (a creation of the father of Atom);
  • Kiro: Produced by AWS, document-driven development (SDD), suitable for complex project design.
• Plugin Class:
  • GitHub Copilot: An established code completion tool, now supports Agent mode;
  • Augment: Powerful code search and context awareness;
  • Kilo Code (formerly Cline): Supports multiple modes, customizable proxy behavior.
• CLI Tool Class:
  • Gemini CLI: Officially open-sourced by Google, supports advanced code understanding and automation;
  • Claude Code: Highly intelligent, can directly edit files and run commands;
  • Qwen Code: Adapted from Alibaba's Tongyi Qwen, optimized for Qwen3-Coder.

💡 Practical Tip: AI is smarter when it receives less text. Don’t throw tens of thousands of lines of code at it all at once; break down tasks, reduce context length, saving both money and intelligence.

3. Hybrid Strategy: High-end Planning + Economic Execution#

• Planning Phase: Use free powerhouses like Gemini 2.5 Pro and GPT-5 for architectural design;
• Execution Phase: Use economic models like GLM-4.5 and Qwen3-Coder to write code;
• Debugging Phase: Bring in Claude 4 or Gemini 2.5 Pro to solve problems (using daily free credits);
• Testing and Release: Use GitHub Copilot for code review, and the free version of CodeRabbit to meet quotas.

4. Advanced Play: BMad-Method, AI Version of Scrum Master#

BMad is a universal AI proxy framework that can help you:

• Generate detailed product requirement documents (PRD) and architectural designs;
• Break down user stories and assign tasks to AI proxies;
• Automate development, testing, and review processes.

Installation requires just one command:

npx bmad-method install

After that, you can command your AI team to collaborate on development in the IDE, from product manager to QA, all are AI, and you are the only Human Overlord.

5. MCP Tools: Allowing AI Capabilities to Expand Limitlessly#

Through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), you can connect various tools for AI:

• Database Operations: MCP tools for Supabase and Neon;
• Browser Automation: mcp-chrome controls a logged-in browser;
• Crawling Tools: firecrawl-mcp-server has free credits available;
• Document Processing: Integration with tools like Figma, Notion, Sequential Thinking.

In short: Teach AI to use tools, and you can write less code and drink more tea.

2. Deployment and Operation: Cloud Platform "Shearing the Sheep" Guide#

After discussing development, let's look at how to deploy projects without spending money.

1. Technology Stack Selection#

• Next.js is the eternal god of YYDS
• Database: Drizzle ORM (lightweight and performs better than Prisma);
• Authentication: Better Auth (supports various methods, documentation-friendly);
• Payment: Stripe + Creem or Lemon Squeezy;
• Email: React Email + Resend;
• UI Framework: Tailwind CSS + Shadcn/UI;
• Type Safety: Full-stack TypeScript + Zod validation.

Why choose Next.js? Because the React ecosystem is vibrant, AI writes high-quality code, and deployment to Vercel is a one-click solution.

2. Three Deployment Options, Choose According to Your Needs#

• Option One: Fully Free Package (suitable for initial validation)

  • Deployment: Vercel (100GB bandwidth/month free);
  • Database: Supabase (500MB free);
  • Storage: Cloudflare R2 (10GB free);
  • Email: Resend (3000 emails/month free);
  • Cost: $0.

• Option Two: Cloudflare Full Package ($5/month sweeps all)

  • Compute: Workers (10 million requests/month);
  • Database: D1 (5GB storage);
  • Storage: KV + R2;
  • Applicable Scenarios: High-traffic projects with no income, suitable for tech enthusiasts willing to tinker.

• Option Three: Self-hosting (one VM handles everything)

  • Platform: Dokploy, Coolify (open-source PaaS);
  • Services: One-stop solution for database, email, logs, and monitoring;
  • Cost: Server monthly fee of $5-10 + your maintenance time.

3. Other Costs: Save Where You Can, Navigate Where You Can't#

• Domain: Buy .com on Cloudflare Domains, about $10/year;
• Email Service: Resend's free quota is sufficient, heavy users can use AWS SES;
• Payment: Independent developers in China can try Creem.io, but it's recommended to withdraw via Wise or a Hong Kong bank card.

3. In Conclusion: In the AI Era, Independent Developers are the True "Captains"#

Once, we complained, "Many ideas, but hard to write code"; now we say, "Many ideas, AI you take care of." LLMs are the new generation of compilers, with input as natural language and output as runnable systems. We no longer need to start from scratch writing every line of code; instead, we need to learn how to collaborate with AI to turn the blueprints in our minds into structured instructions.

– “I don’t care how the code got in your IDE.”
– “I hope you care. Care about quality, care about consistency, care about long-term maintenance.”

AI is responsible for the heavy lifting, and we are responsible for structure and creation. This is the true "Vibe Coding": letting feelings lead development, letting technology serve creativity. So, don’t wait until AGI arrives to take action. Use free models and zero-cost services to get your first project up and running now. You don’t need extraordinary talent; you just need the courage to write down your ideas. This is what makes me so excited about a future with AI. I can't wait.

Overview of Common Free AI Models and Tools#

—— To all independent developers running between code and dreams!