5 FREE TOOLS TO BUILD YOU FIRST APP

@tobitheog

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Why it worked

The video provides a valuable list of free tools for app development, catering to a common need for aspiring developers. The creator uses a native_mention approach, integrating the tools into a helpful tutorial format rather than a direct advertisement, which likely increases audience engagement and trust.

Summary

The video lists five free tools for building a mobile app: RevenueCat/Superwall for subscriptions, Supabase/Firebase/Convex for backend services, OneSignal/Firebase Cloud Messaging for push notifications, PostHog for analytics, and Expo for builds and deployment. It highlights the features and benefits of each tool, noting that while PostHog is powerful, it lacks error handling for React Native, suggesting Sentry as an alternative.

Structure

1Intro: 5 free tools to build your first app
2Tool 1: RevenueCat/Superwall for subscriptions
3Tool 2: Supabase/Firebase/Convex for backend
4Tool 3: OneSignal/Firebase Cloud Messaging for push notifications
5Tool 4: PostHog for analytics
6Tool 5: Expo for builds and deployment

Product placement

Original caption

5 tools to get you building an app for FREE Don’t say I never did anything for you 🙂‍↔️

More from @tobitheog

More breakout videos from this creator.

RevenueCat: ACTS - handles subscriptions and paywalls for apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app monetization tools. Superwall: ACTS - handles subscriptions and paywalls for apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app monetization tools. Supabase: ACTS - provides backend services for apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. Firebase: ACTS - provides backend services for apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. Convex: ACTS - provides backend services for apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. OneSignal: ACTS - sends push notifications for mobile apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. Firebase Cloud Messaging: ACTS - sends push notifications for mobile apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. PostHog: ACTS - provides analytics for apps, including funnels, feature flags, and session replays. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. Expo: ACTS - simplifies builds and deployment for React Native apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools. Sentry: ACTS - provides error handling for React Native apps. Removing it would change the video's content about app development tools.

On-screen text

5 FREE TOOLS TO BUILD YOU FIRST APP No. 1 RevenueCat and Superwall No. 2 Supabase, Firebase and even Convex No. 3 push notifications No. 3 push notifications No. 4 PostHog *at the time of making this video, the issue is still open on github (#2656) No. 5 Expo

Transcript

if you're building a mobile app here are five free tools to get you started No. 1 RevenueCat and Superwall they're basically competitors at this point but they're both solid they handle subscriptions and paywalls and they let you AB test pricing without even pushing an app update so if they users see a price they don't like you can offer them a little discount and get them in the door for No. 2 we're talking backend so you can use Supabase Firebase and even Convex Firebase is the OG and in the Google ecosystem if you're into that Supabase is the newer more popular option and Convex is like the new kid on the block I haven't personally used it but I've heard great things No. 3 push notifications there are a ton of options here but I'm only gonna talk about two we have OneSignal and we have Firebase cloud messaging both allow you to send unlimited push notifications on mobile completely free OneSignal also has a ton more features like SMS email and a bunch of other stuff too included in their free tier but this is definitely one area I'm open to suggestions for no current solution has really blown me away in terms of developer experience but No. 4 we're talking analytics and you already know who it is PostHog I feel like PostHog is what the NSA uses to track people to be honest I'm just playing don't sue me please but yeah you get funnels feature flags and session replays all for free but it does not do error handling for React Native so you probably need something like Sentry speaking of React Native that brings me to No. 5 if you're not using Expo I don't even know what to tell you basically Expo makes builds and deployment super easy and you can push updates to both app stores at the same time without going through the app stores this is by no means an exhaustive list if you have any recommendations be nice and put people on in the comments