PL
Pieter Levels
Nomad List • Remote OK • Photo AI
Philosophy
- Ship fast, iterate faster. No frameworks needed.
- One SQLite database handles millions of rows. PostgreSQL is overkill for most apps.
- A single $50/mo VPS runs everything. No Kubernetes, no microservices, no DevOps.
The Stack
PHP
Backend
The language everyone loves to hate, but it just works. No build step, instant deployment, battle-tested for 25 years.
SQLite
Database
One file is your entire database. No server, no connection strings, no overhead. Handles millions of rows easily.
Vanilla JavaScript
Frontend
No React, no Vue, no build tools. Just JavaScript that runs in the browser. Less complexity, faster load times.
Cloudflare
CDN & Security
Free SSL, free CDN, free DDoS protection. Sits in front of everything and makes it fast.
Stripe
Payments
The gold standard for payments. Every product needs to make money.
Simple Analytics
Analytics
Privacy-friendly, no cookie banners needed. Simple dashboard, no bloat.
Total: ~$20/mo (VPS) + transaction fees
Why This Works
Pieter proves you don't need the latest JavaScript framework to build million-dollar products. His stack is deliberately boring - and that's the point. Every hour saved on DevOps is an hour spent shipping features.
When your database is a single file and your deploy is a git pull, you eliminate entire categories of problems. No migration scripts, no container orchestration, no infrastructure team. Just code, push, and it's live.