Most subscription cost breakdowns for developers are written by people who treat Figma, Linear, 1Password, Notion, Loom, and Codeium as all essential at the same time. They're not. You can build a complete, professional setup for under $50/month and in practice under $35/month if you choose carefully.
Here's a stack that covers everything a working developer actually needs, with exact costs and honest reasoning for each choice.
Code editor: VS Code (free)
VS Code is free and it's the best option for most developers. The extension ecosystem covers every language, every framework, and most workflows. There's no paid version and no features behind a paywall.
If you use JetBrains IDEs and prefer them for specific work (IntelliJ for Java, PyCharm for Python), their community editions are also free. The paid All Products Pack is $69 to $77/month, which is more than our entire budget, so skip it unless your company pays for it.
Cost: $0
AI coding assistant: GitHub Copilot ($10/month)
This is the one paid tool that most developers find genuinely worth paying for.
Copilot works inside VS Code (and JetBrains if you use them). It suggests completions as you type, generates function bodies from comments, explains code, and helps you write tests. For repetitive boilerplate and standard patterns, it saves real time.
The free tier of Copilot (released in 2024) gives you 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month. That might be enough if you're a part-time developer. For full-time coding, the paid plan at $10/month is worth it.
Alternative: Cursor is an AI-first editor that includes its own model. The free plan is usable. The paid plan is $20/month and some developers prefer it over Copilot. Budget-wise, Copilot at $10 is the easier choice.
Cost: $10/month (or free with GitHub Student Pack)
VPN: Mullvad or NordVPN (~$5/month)
If you work from cafes, co-working spaces, or any shared network, a VPN is worth having.
Mullvad costs 5 euros/month flat. No annual commitment required, no price surprises at renewal. It's private, reliable, and straightforward.
NordVPN on a 2-year plan works out to about $3 to $4/month, which is cheaper, but requires the upfront commitment. On a monthly basis it's $13, which changes the math significantly.
If you're certain you'll use it long-term, NordVPN on a 2-year deal is the budget choice. If you'd rather pay month-to-month: Mullvad.
If you genuinely work from home 100% of the time on a trusted network and don't need to access geo-restricted services: skip this and save $5/month.
Cost: $4 to $5/month
Hosting for side projects: Hostinger VPS or DigitalOcean ($6/month)
If you're running side projects, personal projects, or anything that needs to stay online, you need basic server hosting.
DigitalOcean's smallest Droplet is $6/month: 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB SSD. That handles a small web app, a personal site, or a few static projects with no problems.
Hostinger's VPS starts at a similar price, sometimes lower on introductory plans. Good option if you want simpler management tools.
For projects that don't need a persistent server: Vercel free tier (for frontend and Next.js), Railway free tier, and Render free tier all cover lightweight apps without any cost.
Cost: $6/month (or $0 if your projects fit free tiers)
Domain: Namecheap (~$1/month)
A .com domain from Namecheap costs around $9 to $12 per year. That's roughly $1/month amortized. There's no reason to pay more than this for a standard domain.
Cost: ~$1/month
Password manager: Bitwarden (free)
Bitwarden is open-source, fully audited, and the free plan covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices. There is genuinely no reason to pay $3 to $5/month for 1Password or LastPass when Bitwarden's free plan does everything most developers need.
The paid plan is $10/year (not per month) and adds encrypted file attachments and some 2FA options. Even the paid plan is cheaper than one month of most alternatives.
Cost: $0
Notes and documentation: Obsidian (free)
Obsidian is free for personal use. Your notes are stored as plain Markdown files on your computer. It's fast, works offline, and handles a large knowledge base without slowing down.
For syncing between devices without their paid sync service ($5/month): iCloud, Dropbox, or a private Git repo all work.
Cost: $0
Project and task management: Linear or Notion (free)
Linear's free plan is excellent for solo developers or small teams. Clean interface, fast keyboard shortcuts, and a workflow that doesn't get in your way. The free plan supports unlimited issues and members.
Notion's free plan handles personal use well too, especially if you want to combine notes and task management in one place.
Cost: $0
Email: Zoho Mail or Gmail (free)
If you have a custom domain and want professional email (you@yourdomain.com), Zoho Mail's free plan supports one domain and 5 users. It's not the best email client in the world but it works.
Gmail is free if you don't need a custom domain or you're okay with using a personal Gmail address for most things.
Cost: $0
The full stack and what it costs
| Tool | Cost/month |
|---|---|
| VS Code | $0 |
| GitHub Copilot | $10 |
| Mullvad VPN | $5 |
| DigitalOcean/Hostinger | $6 |
| Domain (Namecheap) | $1 |
| Bitwarden | $0 |
| Obsidian | $0 |
| Linear | $0 |
| Zoho Mail | $0 |
| Total | $22/month |
That's $22/month for a complete setup. Well under $50, and you still have $28 of budget left if you need to add something.
Where that remaining budget usually goes: a Semrush or Ahrefs subscription if you're doing SEO work, a Figma or Canva paid plan if you do design work, or saving it for API costs if you're building something that uses Claude or OpenAI.
Where people overspend
The biggest budget mistakes developers make on tools:
Paying for JetBrains All Products when VS Code with extensions does the same job for their use case. Paying month-to-month for a VPN instead of annual (triples the cost). Paying for a note-taking app when Obsidian is free. Paying for a password manager when Bitwarden is free.
You can absolutely build a professional developer setup without spending more than $25/month. The paid tools that actually earn their keep are a good AI assistant and reliable hosting. Everything else has a free tier that's good enough for individual use.