Online Services I Use Daily
Discover my full, up-to-date 2025 tech stack—the tools, platforms, and subscriptions I rely on every day. You’ll find everything organized in a clear table, complete with annual costs, practical use cases, and candid notes on why each service earned its spot. Some links are referral or affiliate links that help support this content (and could save you money), but I never accept payment for placement—every recommendation here is one I genuinely stand behind. I believe these represent the smartest choices available in 2025, and I’m excited to share what’s working best for me.
| Service | Pricing / Role | Key Features & Purpose |
| Google Fi | $600 / Global cellular service / Referral Code “X2DFMR” | Seamless, reliable mobile service with global data & roaming. Uses T-Mobile network, which works well for me, with none of the normal carrier shenanigans. |
| Perplexity | $200 / Fast, trusted search/research / Referral | AI-powered research/answers with citations, deep web synthesis across sources. This has replaced Google in my life. More details… |
| Amazon (Prime) | $139 / Everything delivered | One-stop shop for literally anything. No nonsense customer service & returns. |
| Spotify | $99 / Soundtrack to daily life | Huge library, smart discovery, intelligent cross-device streaming. Works on everything. |
| M365 Personal | $70 / Writing & productivity core | Office suite, 1TB cloud storage, limited Copilot AI, multiplatform support for core productivity. |
| Fastmail | $60 / Email w/custom domain / Referral | Secure, ad-free email with custom domains and full calendar integration. Privacy focused. More details… |
| CalendarBridge | $60 / Sync all calendars so Gemini works correctly / Referral code “9Uq7m” | Syncs multiple calendars, helps limit double-booking across multiple calendars. |
| TripIt Pro | $49 / Smart trip organizer | Automated travel plan imports, real-time alerts, tracker for organized travel. I travel a lot and this is an invaluable tool. |
| 1Password | $36 (Individual) / Master key for everything | Secure password management, autofill, apps for all devices, breach alerts. Absolute necessity. More details… |
| Google One | $20 / Storage for photos | Extra cloud storage, AI tools, backups, sharing. Sadly nothing even rivals Google Photos for search capabilities. |
| Tailscale | Platform Free + $5/mo Mullvad add-on when needed / Remote access | Zero-config mesh VPN, remote device networking, optional VPN. |
| Polarsteps | Free / Auto travel memory keeper | Automatic GPS journaling, photo map creation, offline trip logging/sharing. |
| frec | Variable / Optimize after-tax investing / Referral | After-tax investments, daily tax-loss harvesting, direct index investing tools. More details… |
| ControlD | $20 / DNS privacy + tracking blocking | Custom DNS filtering, malware/phishing block, privacy controls. More details… |
| AdGuard | $80 retail / Web without annoyances / Referral | Browser/host-level ad-blocker, anti-tracker, deep discounts often available. More details… |
| ARR Toolset | Free / Media automation backbone | Automated TV/movie/music management (Sonarr, Radarr, etc.) for advanced media libraries. |
| Simkl | $149 (lifetime) / TV/movie tracking | Watchlist, recommendations, imports from Trakt, full cross-platform sync. |
| Hashnode | Free / Blog | Modern blogging with AI writing, Markdown, tech-focused audience, supports custom domains. More details…. |
| Expensify | Free / Scan and log every receipt | Unlimited receipt OCR, expense/invoice workflows— great even for solo use. |
| OneNote | Free / All-purpose digital notebook | Infinite pages, best-in-class search, OCR, handwriting, project capture; replaced Notion. |
| Clean.Email | $29.99 / year (1 account), $9.99/month / Inbox automation & cleaning | Bulk unsubscribe & delete. Good for a year, but not planning to renew. More details… |
| Internxt | ~$300 lifetime / storage | Just purchased and haven’t used, but I’m optimistic about their long-term vision of competing with Google. Secure mail integration is a priority for me, and their upcoming email services could be a game changer, while also bundled with a few other tools I’d likely adopt in lieu of other products. |
Have suggestions for optimization?
I'm always looking to improve my personal tech stack and would love to hear your recommendations. If you know of better alternatives to any of these services, or have suggestions for new tools I should try, please comment or reach out. Your insights could help me (and other readers) optimize further!