Full-stack indie hacker building SQLitePilot in public and hoping these tools genuinely help other teams.
Build In Public
I Hate Subscriptions, So I Killed Ours
We’re moving from $59/month to a $59 one-time payment. Simple tools shouldn't come with a recurring tax.
The "SaaS Tax" is exhausting
When I first launched SQLitePilot, I set the price at $59/month because that is the default playbook for software in 2026. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I was contributing to the exact problem I was trying to solve.
The whole point of the "Cloud Exit" and moving to the "Indie Stack" is to get away from the "AWS Tax"—those complex, recurring costs for resources you don't always use. Adding another monthly subscription on top of your $5 VPS just felt hypocritical.
The Change: $59 Forever
I hate subscriptions. I suspect you do, too. You shouldn't have to "rent" a tool that helps you manage your own data.
Starting today, SQLitePilot is moving to a flat, $59 lifetime deal.
- No monthly billing.
- No "active subscription" anxiety.
- One payment, yours forever.
Rational pricing for rational developers
If you're running a small agency or a side project on a mini PC or a cheap Hetzner box, you want predictable costs. You want a tool that works when you need to perform "open-heart surgery" on your data and stays out of your way (and your wallet) when you don't.
I built this because I wanted a professional GUI for remote SQLite that didn't feel like a burden. Making the price a one-time thing is the final step in making this a tool I actually enjoy owning.