Ready or durable enough to rely on, with a licence that suits business use, and no warning signs: no fake-looking stars, no known security problems in what it's built on, nothing fragile.
How it works
You ask a question.
You ask a question.
We do the homework.
hewStack does the research a careful developer would do before trusting a project, for every project, every day, and keeps only the answer for you.
Ask in your own words, the way you'd ask a person.
Your side
Four things you'll do.
1 · Say what you want
One sentence, or three quick taps: replace a tool, build and sell, keep up with what's rising, or check a link.
2 · Read the verdicts
The best few, each safe to use, use with care or may not last, with the reason in plain words.
3 · Compare and try
The top three side by side, then a three-step checklist to try your pick today.
4 · Let it keep watch
Keep an eye on a tool, or watch a search, and hear when something changes or something new fits.
Ask, any time
Press A, or tap Ask, and ask in your own words. Answers come in a sentence, then the page shows you.
Simple, or Advanced
Everyone starts Simple. The Advanced view, one tap away, has every chart, list and signal behind the answers.
The hewStack score
One number, 0 to 100, tuned to why you're here.
Every list sorts by it first. It's built from the same checks for everyone, then weighted for what you're doing.
- Adopt score, for a business: is it safe, easy to start, does it replace a paid tool, is it proven, alive and yours to control?
- Build-on score, for founders: is demand rising, are there paid tools to undercut, does the licence let you sell, is it a solid base with unmet asks and room in the market?
The verdicts
How a verdict is reached.
Worth a look, but either not proven enough yet to call safe, or with a warning sign to check first: a licence that doesn't suit business use, stars that look bought, or a known security problem.
All its work happened in the weeks after it launched, then four weeks or more of quiet: a common shape for apps built in a rush. Fine to try; don't rely on it until more people join.
Your data
Yours, and only what's needed.
Invite onlyEach person is invited. One link signs a device in, with no password to make.
Your lists follow youShortlist, watched searches and settings, on every device you sign in on.
Download it allEverything kept about you, in one file, from your account page.
Leave whenever you likeDelete your account yourself, and everything you made goes with it.
Under the hood
The technology, for the curious.
You never need to know any of this. It's here because a verdict is only as good as what's behind it.
GitHub, every day
Stars, commits, releases, issues, contributors and licences, refreshed through the day and all rebuilt overnight.
More than a dozen sources
Developer communities, launches and the tech press, AI labs and video creators, so no verdict rests on one website.
Our own meaning AI
Runs on our own server. It reads what each project does, tags the ones with no category, and matches what you mean.
A quality gate
Spam, copies, near-identical projects and risky look-alikes of popular tools are caught before they reach a list.
Looking inside
Who does the work, how quickly problems get fixed, and known security problems in what it's built on.
Checked against what happened
Early signals are tested against how projects really did weeks later, and only kept when they prove right.
Questions
Asked often.
What is open-source software?
Software whose makers publish how it's built and let anyone use it, usually for free. Many have a paid version too, but you can run the free one yourself and keep it, with no subscription.
Do I need to be technical to use hewStack?
No. You say what you want in one sentence, and every answer comes in plain words with a verdict. Where a tool needs a developer to set up, hewStack tells you so up front.
Is the software hewStack finds really free?
The tools are free to use. Its licence decides what else you may do, such as using it at work or selling what you build on it, and hewStack says that in one line for each tool. Running some tools yourself needs a server, which hewStack also tells you.
How does hewStack decide a tool is safe to use?
From the same checks a careful developer would make: a licence that suits business use, a steady team looking after it, real people using it, no fake-looking popularity and no known security problems in what it's built on. Each verdict comes with its reason.
Can it find a free alternative to a specific app?
Yes. Name the app you pay for, such as Notion, Zapier or Calendly, and hewStack shows the free tools that do the same job, best first, each with its verdict.
I'm building a product. How does hewStack help?
It shows healthy projects you're allowed to build on and sell, what people already pay for, where a good free version is missing, and which kinds of tools are rising, ranked by the Build-on score.
How do I get in?
hewStack is invite only while it opens up. Join the waiting list and your invite arrives by email: one link, no password to make.
What do you do with my data?
The waiting list keeps your name, email and what you'd like to solve, only to send your invite. Inside the app you can download everything kept about you, or delete your account yourself, at any time.
Invite only, for now
Get your invite to hewStack.
We're letting people in a few at a time, so every one of them gets answers that work. Join the list and we'll send your invite as soon as there's room.
- 1Tell us who you are and what you'd like to solve. Thirty seconds.
- 2Your invite arrives by email: one link, no password to make.
- 3Ask your first question and see the best few, with a plain verdict on each.
You're on the list.
Watch your inbox: your invite comes from hewStack with one link. Open it on the phone or computer you'd like to use, and you're in.