I replaced my freelance SaaS stack with 5 single-file HTML tools

Posted by AnnSri 2 days ago

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I noticed that as a freelancer I was paying several SaaS subscriptions just to handle simple tasks like invoices, proposals, contracts, and project tracking.

None of those workflows seemed complex enough to justify full SaaS platforms, so I started experimenting with local-first tools instead.

I ended up building five standalone HTML apps that run directly in the browser. No frameworks, no installation, and no accounts. Just open the file and use it.

The tools cover invoices, proposals, contracts, expenses, and project roadmaps. Everything runs locally and data stays on the machine.

Curious what others here think about local-first tools for this kind of workflow

Comments

Comment by lurn_mor 7 hours ago

I blogged about the shift to 'local only' web apps that seem to be proliferating: http://www.undr.com/understatement/2026/feb13_web_apps_work_...

With a future of ChromeOS Flex running on millions of older hardware, the browser is the new 'App Store'.

...and congrats on reducing your dependency on third party tools!

Comment by anonymous541908 10 hours ago

Can you share the source code?

Comment by ipaddr 1 day ago

It's a normal thing to do.

Comment by shoo 1 day ago

you can get pretty far without programming at all, using spreadsheet templates