About
About NewStack.dev
NewStack.dev is a free, opinionated field guide to the modern web stack. It exists because choosing what to build with in 2026 means sorting through hundreds of frameworks, databases, hosts and AI tools, and most of the advice about them either hedges every answer or was paid for. Every page here commits to a recommendation, explains the tradeoff, and says exactly when a different pick would win.
What you will find here
Seven sections, each answering a different kind of question. Start wherever your decision is stuck:
How the recommendations are made
Five rules apply to every guide, comparison and checklist on the site:
- Commit to a pick. "It depends" helps nobody who has to ship. Each page names one answer, then names the specific situation where the runner-up is the better fit.
- Prefer boring and proven. Defaults favor tools with a real company or foundation behind them, a generous free tier, and an exit path that does not require a rewrite.
- No pay-to-play. No sponsorships, no affiliate links, and no paid placement in any ranking. Nothing on the site earns money when you choose a product.
- Primary sources only. Versions, prices and free-tier limits come from vendor documentation, release notes and pricing pages, never from another roundup.
- Dated, not timeless. Pages state when they were last verified, so you can tell a current recommendation from an old one at a glance.
How the content stays current
Twice a month
On the 1st and the 15th, the home page, the AI section and one rotating section are re-researched: versions, prices, free tiers, release status and verdicts.
Checked at the source
Every changed claim is confirmed against the vendor's own documentation or release notes. A claim that cannot be confirmed is held back rather than guessed.
Gated before it ships
Each release passes an SEO and structure check on every page plus an automated browser test suite before it goes live. A failing page blocks the release.
Who builds it
NewStack.dev is built and maintained by RJ Lindelof, a software engineering leader, and built with RJL.ai. The site follows its own advice: static HTML generated by a small Node build, Tailwind CSS and self-hosted Font Awesome Free icons, with no client-side framework to download before a page can render.
The sister site newstack.ai explains the AI stack itself - models, retrieval, agents and evals - while NewStack.dev stays focused on what to build with.
Contact and corrections
Spotted an outdated version, a wrong price, or a pick you think is simply wrong? Corrections are the most useful message this site receives. Send a question, a suggestion or a bug report through the form - it goes straight to the person who maintains the site, and there is no mailing list to join.