The 2025 Startup Tech Stack: What Actually Matters

We’re heading into 2025. Tech stacks have evolved. Some changes matter. Most don’t.

Here’s my opinionated guide to what actually matters for startup tech choices.

The Core Stack (Don’t Overthink This)

Hosting/Infrastructure

The safe choice: AWS or Google Cloud The startup-friendly choice: Vercel, Railway, Render The cheap choice: DigitalOcean, Hetzner

My take: Unless you have specific needs, start with Vercel or Railway. They handle the DevOps you don’t want to do. Migrate to AWS when (if) you hit scale limits.

Don’t spend three weeks choosing infrastructure. Pick one and build.

Databases

Postgres: Still the answer for 90% of use cases. Works for everything. MongoDB: If you genuinely have unstructured data. Most don’t. PlanetScale: Serverless MySQL that scales. Good DX. Supabase: Postgres with extras. Good for quick starts.

My take: Postgres via Supabase or direct. You don’t need anything fancier until you do.

Frontend

React: Still dominant. Huge ecosystem. Nothing wrong with it. Next.js: React with server-side features. Our choice. Vue: Great alternative if you prefer it. Smaller community. HTMX: Worth watching. Back to simplicity. Not mainstream yet.

My take: Next.js is the safe choice. Worry about framework decisions less than you think.

Backend

Node.js: Fine for most startups. Familiar, good ecosystem. Python: Better for AI/ML work. FastAPI is excellent. Go: When performance matters. Steeper learning curve. Whatever your team knows: Seriously, this matters more than trends.

My take: Use what your team is productive in. Language/framework debates are mostly ego.

The AI Layer

This is where 2025 differs from 2024.

LLM Access

OpenAI API: GPT-4 and beyond. Most mature, highest capability. Anthropic (Claude): Strong alternative. Better for certain tasks. Open source (Llama, etc.): Good for specific use cases, more work to run.

My take: Start with OpenAI or Claude APIs. Don’t self-host until you have a reason.

AI Development Tools

GitHub Copilot: Mainstream. Proven productivity gains. Cursor: IDE with AI built in. Worth trying. Continue: Open source alternative to Copilot.

My take: Every developer should be using AI assistance. The $20/month is the best ROI in tech.

AI Infrastructure

If you’re building AI features, consider AI consultants Brisbane who specialize in AI implementation for startups. Building AI infrastructure from scratch is expensive and slow. Specialists help you move faster.

Productivity & Ops

Communication

Slack: Still dominant. Expensive at scale. Discord: Cheaper alternative. Less business-focused. Linear + async: Some teams skip chat entirely.

My take: Slack is fine. Don’t overthink it.

Documentation

Notion: Our choice. Flexible, good enough at everything. Obsidian: Better for personal knowledge management. Just markdown in Git: Underrated. Free. Version controlled.

My take: Notion unless you have specific reasons otherwise.

Project Management

Already covered in my Atlassian alternatives post. Short version: Linear for engineering, Notion or Asana for everything else.

What’s Overhyped

Blockchain/Web3: Still looking for the killer app. Most startups don’t need this.

Low-code platforms: Good for MVPs. Hit walls fast. Know when to migrate.

Kubernetes for small teams: Overkill. Use managed services.

Microservices before product-market fit: Start monolith. Split when you have to.

What’s Underhyped

Boring technology: Postgres, monoliths, server-rendered HTML. These work.

AI-assisted development: Not just Copilot. AI review, testing, documentation.

Edge computing: Vercel, Cloudflare Workers. Your code runs close to users.

Type safety: TypeScript everywhere. Catches bugs before production.

The Meta-Advice

  1. Pick boring technology for core systems. Innovation belongs in your product, not your infrastructure.

  2. Optimize for developer productivity. Fast feedback loops matter more than cool tech.

  3. Default to managed services. Don’t run databases, queues, or servers yourself unless you have to.

  4. Budget for AI tools. $50-100/month per developer in AI assistance is worth it.

  5. Stack decisions aren’t permanent. Make a choice, learn, adjust. Paralysis is worse than a suboptimal choice.

Your tech stack is not your competitive advantage. Your product is. Pick tools that get out of your way and let you build.