The single-page shopping list version of the tool stack pillar. Print this, paste it into your spreadsheet, or just check off as you sign up. Prices verified May 2026.
Minimum viable stack (~$130/month)
For a single niche site (a buffer site, never the money site directly), one tier 2 campaign, conservative schedule:
| Service | Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Solid SEO VPS | GSA-tuned Windows, 8GB RAM | $19 |
| Rayobyte | 10 semi-dedicated private | $25 |
| CapMonster Cloud | Pay-as-you-go | $15 |
| SER Verified Lists | Standard | $37 |
| GSA SER licence | One-time, amortised | $8 |
| Subtotal | ~$104/month | |
This setup runs one tier 2 + tier 3 campaign at moderate scale. About 100-300 verified links per day.
Working stack (~$250/month)
For 5-10 niche sites running simultaneously with proper tier 1 + tier 2 + tier 3 separation, buffer sites for each money site:
| Service | Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Solid SEO VPS x 2 | One for GSA, one for AI content | $38 |
| GreenCloud VPS | For RankerX (low-cost stable host) | $15 |
| Rayobyte | 50 semi-dedicated private | $80 |
| BuyProxies | 20 semi-dedicated (geo overflow) | $45 |
| Reproxy IPv6 | /48 subnet for tier 3 blasts | $8 |
| CapMonster Cloud | Mid-volume | $20 |
| 2Captcha | Fallback solver | $25 |
| SERVL | Verified lists | $37 |
| SpeedyIndex | Tier 2/3 indexing | $25 |
| OpenRouter API | AI content generation | $10 |
| RankerX | Standard plan | $33 |
| Money Robot (amortised) | Lifetime licence over 5 years | $8 |
| GSA Content Generator | One-time, amortised | $3 |
| GSA SER (amortised) | Lifetime over 5 years | $8 |
| Total | ~$355/month | |
This is roughly what I pay each month across my full operation. The single most cost-effective line item is the verified list subscription at serverifiedlists.com — about $2.70/month per active campaign once you spread the cost across multiple sites.
Heavy stack ($500+/month)
Add these only if you are running 15+ active campaigns or hitting the limits of the working stack:
- XEvil 6.x — one-time $200-450 for the full version, runs locally on the GSA VPS, eliminates 70-80% of cloud captcha costs once installed. Pays for itself in 2-3 months at scale.
- GSA Captcha Breaker — one-time licence, image-captcha solver designed specifically for GSA SER’s engine list. Pairs with XEvil for the local-first solver chain.
- SEO Content Machine — $77 one-time, generates context-aware unique articles for tier 2 at scale. Worth it once OpenRouter spend exceeds $50/month.
- Second SERVL subscription on a separate account — useful if you want to run two completely isolated campaign infrastructures for risk separation.
- Dedicated server instead of VPS — $80-120/month for a Hetzner or OVH dedicated box. Worth it once you exceed the resource limits of a high-end VPS.
Tools I do NOT pay for in 2026
For the avoidance of doubt, the tools I have stopped paying for since 2024:
- Article directory submission services — obsolete, LLMs ignore them
- Free proxy lists — 2% verification rate, never worth it
- Spinner Chief / The Best Spinner — spinner content is now a spam signature
- SAPE / paid blog network subscriptions — high penalty risk after March 2026 update
- SEnuke TNG — functionality overlapped with Money Robot, dropped subscription
Affiliate disclosure
Several of the tools above are services I receive an affiliate commission for when you purchase through links on this site. The links are cloaked through /go/ redirects with rel="nofollow sponsored" on every link — standard practice that keeps the affiliate footprint out of Google’s index. The recommendations are based on what I personally pay for and use, not on commission rates. Full disclosure policy on the privacy and affiliate disclosure page.
What to read next
For the long-form pillar with reasoning behind each pick: tool stack pillar. For the proxy deep-dive: best proxies for GSA SER. For verified list comparisons: verified target list buyer’s guide.