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 ($90/month)
For a single niche site, one money page, conservative campaign schedule:
| Service | Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Contabo VPS M (Windows) | 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM | $16 |
| StormProxies | 25 rotating residential | $50 |
| CapMonster Cloud | Pay-as-you-go | $15 |
| SER Verified Lists | Standard | $37 |
| GSA SER licence | One-time, amortised | $8 |
| Subtotal | ~$126/month | |
This setup runs one tier 2 + tier 3 campaign at moderate scale. About 100-300 verified links per day.
Working stack ($200-260/month)
For 5-10 niche sites running simultaneously with proper tier 1 + tier 2 + tier 3 separation:
| Service | Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Contabo VPS M x 2 | One for GSA, one for AI content | $32 |
| Kamatera VPS | For RankerX (lowest downtime) | $35 |
| StormProxies | 25 rotating residential | $50 |
| ProxyEmpire | Pay-as-you-go residential | $25 |
| CapMonster Cloud | Mid-volume | $20 |
| 2Captcha | Fallback solver | $25 |
| SERVL | Verified lists | $37 |
| IndexMeNow | Standard | $30 |
| OpenRouter API | AI content generation | $10 |
| RankerX | Standard plan | $33 |
| Money Robot (amortised) | Lifetime licence over 5 years | $8 |
| GSA SER (amortised) | Lifetime over 5 years | $8 |
| Total | ~$313/month | |
This is roughly what I pay each month across my full operation.
Heavy stack ($400+/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.
- Smartproxy — $75/month for the cleanest datacenter pool when running campaigns against Cloudflare-heavy targets.
- 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 Contabo VPS L.
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
Many of the tools above are services I will receive an affiliate commission for if you purchase through links on this site (in the future, once the affiliate links are wired in). The recommendations are based on what I personally pay for and use, not on commission rates.
Currently the site is in info-only mode — no live affiliate links. When that changes, every affiliate link will carry a clear disclosure label. 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.