Running a company alone means every tool you adopt is also a tool you have to operate, pay for, and eventually migrate off. There is no IT department to absorb a bad pick. The Radar works through that shortlist one tool at a time: what it costs, what it does well, and the specific point at which it stops being the right answer.

Each review goes past the feature list to what actually decides the question: the real cost once you are past the entry tier, where the limits sit, and the point at which a cheaper or simpler option does the same job. Some of them end up arguing against the tool they are about. Reviews are written whether or not a tool pays a commission; how the site is funded is explained on the Privacy page.

The library is organised around the three phases of a one-person business. Build covers the infrastructure you set up once and depend on for years. Grow covers the tools that put work in front of an audience. Monetize covers getting paid and keeping the money. Start with the phase you are in.