Developer Tools
The Best Developer Tools Software for Startups
Weighted toward fast setup, low entry pricing and the ability to grow without a migration.
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GitHub
The default home for source control, code review and CI, with the largest developer network effect.
4.7(21,400)$0 / $4 per user / monthDeveloper experience4.8CI/CD4.4Security tooling4.3Self-hosting3.5 - 2
1Password
Credential and secrets management for teams, with developer-oriented secret injection.
4.7(8,400)$7.99 per user / monthIdentity coverage3.6Operational overhead4.7Compliance evidence4.2Developer tooling4.4 - 3
Linear
Keyboard-first issue tracking built for software teams that prize speed over configurability.
4.7(2,140)$0 / $8 per user / monthSpeed and UX5.0Workflow flexibility3.2Reporting depth3.6Integrations4.1 - 4
Shortcut
Issue tracking that balances engineering speed with roadmap-level planning.
4.3(1,450)$0 / $8.50 per user / monthSpeed and UX4.2Workflow flexibility4.0Reporting depth4.1Integrations3.8 - 5
Jira
The enterprise standard for issue tracking, with configurability that cuts both ways.
4.1(15,800)$0 / $8.60 per user / monthSpeed and UX2.9Workflow flexibility5.0Reporting depth4.6Integrations4.9 - 6
Framer
Design tool that publishes production websites directly from the canvas.
4.5(3,100)$0 / $10 per site / monthMultiplayer4.3Design systems3.8Prototyping4.5Publishing4.8 - 7
Retool
Internal tool builder that assembles admin panels over existing databases and APIs.
4.5(2,900)$10 per standard user / monthBuild speed4.8Data connectivity4.7Extensibility4.3Governance4.2 - 8
Postman
API development platform covering design, testing, mocking and documentation.
4.5(10,600)$0 / $14 per user / monthDeveloper experience4.4Testing depth4.5Documentation4.3Collaboration4.2 - 9
Datadog
Unified observability across infrastructure, applications, logs and security.
4.4(6,300)$15 per host / monthSignal correlation4.8Coverage breadth4.9Cost predictability2.8Alerting4.5 - 10
Netlify
Frontend hosting platform with strong framework-agnostic build and deploy tooling.
4.4(3,600)$0 / $19 per user / monthDeployment speed4.4Developer experience4.4Edge coverage4.0Cost predictability3.8
FAQ
Common questions
What's the best developer tools?
GitHub tops this list, rated 4.7/5 from 21,400 reviews.
How many developer tools tools are ranked here?
10. Weighted toward fast setup, low entry pricing and the ability to grow without a migration.
Is there a free developer tools tool?
Yes — GitHub has a free tier ($0 / $4 per user / month).