Organic Software Directory

What is organic software?

The term was coined by @pketh in 2023 in his blog post “In Search of Organic Software”. TL;DR¹: Businesses change when they take VC money.

Certainly, there were already terms like "Indie" and "Bootstrapped", but what do they really mean? The "organic" label for software means something specific:

Organic Software is software that...

Has no external pressure (eg. from funding sources) to chase funding rounds, grow unsustainably, or to get acquired²
Has a clear pricing page, discloses their sources of funding, and sources of revenue
Doesn't make majority revenue from selling user data to third parties³

¹ no really, you should read it. It's a good article!
² bootstrapping, crowdfunding, grants, and angel investment are okay
³ added from the original by this site

Cushion: Forecasting for freelancers https://cushionapp.com/

Forecast your schedule, track your time & income, and reach your financial goals.

Obsidian - Sharpen your thinking https://obsidian.md/

Obsidian is the private and flexible note‑taking app that adapts to the way you think.

Kinopio – Thinking Canvas https://kinopio.club

Create spaces to mindmap, moodboard, research, whiteboard, brainstorm, plan, and take notes

Buttondown https://buttondown.email/

Newsletter software for people like you.

omg.lol - A lovable web page and email address, just for you https://home.omg.lol

Treat yourself to an awesome web address, a devastatingly gorgeous profile page, a stellar email address, and tons more

Readwise https://readwise.io/

Grow wiser and retain books better: Readwise sends you a daily email resurfacing your best highlights from Kindle, Instapaper, iBooks, and more.

Pika - Start Your Happy Blog https://pika.page

Pika is a pretty good blogging platform built by the good people at Good Enough.

Craigslist: jobs, apartments, for sale, services, community, and events https://newyork.craigslist.org/

Craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, services, local community, and events

Muse — Inspired & focused thinking https://museapp.com/

Muse is a canvas for thinking that helps you get clarity on things that matter. Think in private or collaborate with others. Available for iPad and Mac.

mmm.page — Your Corner of the Internet https://mmm.page

Websites don't have to be so cookie cutter. Make a website that feels uniquely you in under five minutes.

NearlyFreeSpeech.NET https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/

Fairly priced, privacy focused web hosting for experienced webmasters / DIY builders. Running since 2002.

Are.na https://www.are.na/

Are.na is a place to save content, create collections over time and connect ideas. Privately or with other people.

FreeTaxUSA https://www.freetaxusa.com/

100% Free Tax Filing. Efile your tax return directly to the IRS. Prepare federal and state income taxes online.

Campfire https://once.com/campfire

Super simple group chat, without a subscription. And you get the code, too.

Feedbin https://feedbin.com/

A fast, simple RSS feed reader and sync service.

YNAB – You need a budget. https://www.ynab.com/

Budgeting software that teaches you good habits, making personal budgeting suck less.

Scheduling Software Everyone Will Love · SavvyCal https://savvycal.com/

SavvyCal is scheduling software that helps people to find a time to meet instantly.

Ruby on Rails https://rubyonrails.org/

A web-app framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

DJR Type Foundry https://djr.com/

The type foundry of David Jonathan Ross (DJR), home of the Font of the Month Club. (All the the fonts on this site are from here!)

Type – Take notes without interrupting your flow https://usetype.app

A macOS app that lets you quickly jot things down.

iA Presenter https://ia.net/presenter

Write it. Show it. Rock it. A fresh, fast and fun way to create and hold presentations.

Collecta — your internet artifacts https://collecta.space

A space to save inspiration & knowledge. Create & organize, images, bookmarks & notes.

Literal https://literal.club

Literal is the best platform to collectively explore the ideas of the world's greatest authors.

Cookie-free and Privacy-friendly Web Analytics - Pirsch Analytics https://pirsch.io

Pirsch is a powerful, privacy-friendly, open-source alternative to Google Analytics — lightweight, cookie-free and easily integrated into any website or server.

Fileside https://www.fileside.app/

A modern multi-pane file manager that lets you create workspaces for different projects. It's a great alternative to Finder on Mac and Explorer on Windows.

pico.sh – A hacker lab to bring new ideas to life. https://pico.sh/

Static hosting, tunneling, docker img registry, pastebin, RSS, and blog services for hackers.

Outline – Team knowledge base & wiki https://www.getoutline.com/

A modern team knowledge base for your internal documentation, product specs, support answers, meeting notes, onboarding, & more.

Reading Supply https://reading.supply/

Reading Supply is a reading and writing tool for artists, thinkers, creators, and humans.

Developer Duck — Your AI programming helper https://developerduck.app/

Stuck on a problem? Unfamiliar with a new API or language? Developer Duck is your rubber duck programming helper that talks back!

SuperSaaS Appointment Scheduling https://supersaas.com

Flexible and affordable space management + appointment scheduling for any type of business. Useful for multi-purpose spaces like yoga studios or art studios. Organic software based in the Netherlands. A bit clunky, but very stable, performant, and cost-effective. Some useful (though, limited) API access, to boot!