Top 5 Tools That Made Me Money This Year (Steal This Stack)

Top 5 Tools That Made Me Money This Year (Steal This Stack)

2 December 2025 Views: 0

1️⃣Shopify

I launched niche stores in an afternoon and started taking orders the same week. Built-in checkout, themes, and apps let me test products fast and scale winners. Transaction costs were small compared to the profit lift.

Address: 151 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, Canada

  • Launch a store in hours
  • High converting checkout
  • Huge app ecosystem for upsells and subscriptions
  • Reliable payments and fraud protection
  • Scales from first sale to thousands per day
  • Monthly fees add up with many apps
  • Theme customization can take some learning

2️⃣Stripe

Fast, clean payments increased checkout conversion and unlocked global buyers. Payouts were predictable, and the dashboard made it easy to see which offers printed cash. With one API key I spun up subscriptions, one-time offers, and trials.

Address: 510 Townsend St, San Francisco, USA

  • High approval rates
  • Supports subscriptions
  • trials
  • and one-time purchases
  • Excellent fraud tools
  • Global cards and wallets
  • Clear reporting and instant notifications
  • Account reviews can delay big launches
  • Fees are slightly higher on international cards

3️⃣Beehiiv

A newsletter that actually pays. I grew a list with native referrals and sold ads with a click, turning email into a steady revenue line. Great for creators who want audience ownership.

  • Built-in referral program
  • Ad marketplace and sponsorship tools
  • Simple landing pages
  • Strong audience analytics
  • Deliverability can dip on image heavy sends
  • Payouts rely on ad demand in your niche
  • Limited design flexibility compared to custom builders

4️⃣Gumroad

The quickest path I found to sell PDFs, templates, and digital packs. No storefront hassles, just upload and start collecting payments. Good for validating small info products before going big.

  • Frictionless product setup
  • Built-in VAT handling
  • Instant file delivery
  • Easy discount codes
  • Fees bite on low-ticket items
  • Basic storefront customization
  • Limited upsell and funnel features
  • Support can be slow during launches

5️⃣Semrush

SEO research that found keywords with intent and ads competitors ignored. It helped me publish pages that ranked and pulled in affiliate and product sales. Powerful, but you pay for it.

Address: 800 Boylston St, Boston, USA

  • Massive keyword database
  • Competitor ad and backlink insights
  • Position tracking and content templates
  • Expensive for solo creators
  • Data limits throttle deep research
  • Learning curve for new users
  • Some smaller markets lack fresh data