Embedded — hobby stack.
For each requirement below, pick the option that fits your build — recommended first, then free and cheaper alternatives — or skip what your project doesn't need. Tap the info icon next to any requirement to see why it matters.
Cross-compilation Toolchain / Build System
Automates testing and deploying your code. Saves enormous time and prevents “works on my machine” releases.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: $0 OSS, unlimited builds / Buildroot: $0 self-hosted / Paid: IAR $3,500/seat/yr + $1,200 support, Timesys Factory $15k/yr includes CVE & SBOM / Overage: per-seat build license
Version Control Hosting (Git + LFS for FW)
Where your code actually runs and serves requests. Picking the right host affects speed, scaling, and how much ops work you do.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: $0 - 2k min CI, 500MB LFS, 1GB Packages / Team: $4/user/mo - 2k min, 2GB LFS / Enterprise: $21/user/mo - 50k min, 50GB LFS / LFS Overage: $0.008/GB/day storage + $0.06/GB BW
CI/CD for Firmware Builds (Yocto cache)
Automates testing and deploying your code. Saves enormous time and prevents “works on my machine” releases.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: GitHub Free 2k Linux min/mo, self-runner $0 but power cost / Jenkins: $0 OSS + $20-100/mo VM / Paid: CodeBuild $0.005/min (Linux) + $0.023/GB S3 sstate / GitLab Ultimate: $99/user/mo
Artifact Storage for Firmware Binaries
Where you keep files users upload or you serve — images, videos, documents — and how fast they reach visitors around the world.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: S3 Free 5GB 12mo, GitHub Packages 500MB / MinIO: $0 self-host $30/mo disk / Paid: S3 $0.023/GB/mo + $0.0004/1k PUT, JFrog Pro $60/mo start 2GB storage + $0.10/GB transfer overage
Local Hardware Lab / Single-Board Fleet (HIL Starter)
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree/QEMU: $0 emulation / Cheap: $150-300 one-time boards / Pro Lab: $2k-4k one-time + $15/mo power / Rack-grade: Acroname Hub $800 + managed PDU $400
Embedded Debugging Interface (JTAG/SWD)
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: OpenOCD $0 + $15 FTDI / Picoprobe: $4 one-time / Cheap ST-Link v3: $35 one-time / Paid: J-Link Base $650 one-time + $350/yr support, TRACE32 $8k+ one-time + $2k/yr maintenance
Serial / UART Logging Infra
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: $0 tools / Hardware: Saleae Logic 8 $479 one-time / Paid: Tracealyzer $3,200/seat one-time + $640/yr renew, Memfault Free 100 devices / Growth $499/mo 1k devices / Over: $0.40/device/mo
Issue Tracking / ALM
Rates, labels, and tracking for physical goods. Needed once you actually ship products.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: GitHub Issues $0 unlimited, Linear free 250 issues / YouTrack: $0 up to 10 users / Paid: Jira Free 10 users, Standard $8.15/user/mo, Premium $16/user/mo - 250GB storage, $0.40/GB overage
Documentation Hosting (Schematics, Datasheets, SDK Docs)
Where your code actually runs and serves requests. Picking the right host affects speed, scaling, and how much ops work you do.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: GH Pages $0 1GB + 100GB BW, RTD $0 / Cloudflare Pages Free: unlimited BW / Paid: GitBook Start $40/mo 10 users, Confluence Standard $6.05/user/mo, Altium 365 $40/user/mo
Containerized Build Environment (Docker Builder)
Automates testing and deploying your code. Saves enormous time and prevents “works on my machine” releases.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: Docker $0 personal, Hub Free 1 private repo, 200 pulls/day / GHCR Free 500MB / Paid: Docker Pro $9/mo - 5k pulls/day, Business $21/user/mo, ECR $0.10/GB/mo storage + $0.20/GB transfer over 100GB
Secrets Management for Signing Keys (Basic)
A piece of your stack you may or may not need, depending on scope. Pick the option that fits — or skip it if your project doesn’t require this capability yet.Pricing & free-tier limitsFree: Vault OSS $0 + YubiKey $55 one-time / Cloud: Vault HCP $0.03/hr ~$22/mo cluster / AWS KMS $1/key/mo + $0.03/10k requests / YubiHSM 2 $995 one-time
How this hobby embedded checklist works.
Each requirement below is something a hobby embedded build typically needs. Pick one of the four researched options — recommended, free, cheaper or paid — add your own with "Other", or skip the requirement if your project doesn't need it. Nothing is mandatory; the plan on the right tracks what you've decided so nothing gets forgotten.
Your picks are saved in this browser automatically, so you can come back anytime. Options are researched per build level and refreshed as vendors change their plans — always verify details on the provider's page before committing.