AI Startup MVP
For solo founders or 2-3 person teams shipping an LLM-powered product end-to-end in under 4 weeks.
Agency Toolkit
For design + dev agencies (5-25 staff) running multiple client projects in parallel. Optimised for client deliverables and per-project P&L.
AI Startup MVP vs Agency Toolkit
Both are defensible answers. The right one depends on your scale, your spend tier, and whether you're optimising for monthly burn or for "ships SOC 2 in Q3."
Monthly burn
AI Startup MVP is cheaper by ~$4,620/yr (≈ ₹3,92,700/yr at ₹85/USD).
Tool overlap
3 tools shared between both stacks · 10 unique to AI Startup MVP · 10 unique to Agency Toolkit.
Best card for each stack
Modelled at each stack's midpoint USD spend, targeted at Indian residents.
EXPRESS
Amex Hilton Honors
No-fx US card — pay USD with USD, zero markup; 3% rewards on engineering spend
EXPRESS
Amex Hilton Honors
No-fx US card — pay USD with USD, zero markup; 3% rewards on engineering spend
Run the math on either stack
Open the cost calculator with one of these stacks pre-loaded. Tweak it for your actual subscriptions. Get the card recommendation for your modified stack.
FAQ
›Which is cheaper to run, AI Startup MVP or Agency Toolkit?
AI Startup MVP is the cheaper of the two — modelled at $165/mo midpoint vs $550/mo for Agency Toolkit. Annual delta: ~$4,620 which becomes ~₹3,92,700 at ₹85/USD.
›Can I migrate from the AI Startup MVP stack to the Agency Toolkit stack?
Yes, in stages. The shared layers (vercel, stripe, sentry) require no migration. The divergent layers need 10 tool migrations — budget 2-4 weeks for non-trivial production swaps. Don't migrate during a launch quarter.
›Which stack is better for an Indian founder?
Both are usable. The forex tax on USD-billed tools matters for Indian founders — at $165/mo, AI Startup MVP loses ~₹5,891/yr to default 3.5% forex; Agency Toolkit loses ~₹19,635/yr. Switch to a low-forex card to recover most of it.