Why I build small tools instead of one big app

I build small, single-purpose tools instead of one big app because, as an independent developer, a small tool is something I can actually finish. A platform is never done — there's always another feature, another account system, another integration. A tool that does one job is complete the day it does that job well, and I can ship it, stand behind it, and move on to the next one.

The trap I wanted to avoid

Most software starts small and useful, then grows to justify a bigger price and a stickier account, until the thing you came for is buried under features you never asked for. I've used those apps and I've watched them decay. I didn't want to build one and spend years maintaining the bloat. The honest version of "software that does more" is usually "software that does the one thing worse." I'd rather each tool stay sharp.

Why small tools suit a solo developer

Scope is the hardest thing to control alone, and a single-purpose tool controls it for me. The boundary is the feature: it collects the photos, or it runs the practice test, and everything outside that line is simply not my problem. That's what makes it finishable by one person. It's also what keeps each tool fast and account-free — there's no platform wrapping it, so there's nothing to log into and little to slow it down. It's the practical side of why single-purpose tools beat all-in-one apps.

Building the kit in public, one tool at a time

BenchKit grows the way I can sustain: one tool at a time. Each is a small, self-contained app that solves a real problem end to end, and it joins the kit the moment it ships. There's no grand roadmap I'm quietly failing to hit — the kit is exactly as big as the tools that are actually done. That's slower to look impressive, and I've made peace with that.

What I give up

Being honest about the trade, because the whole point is honesty: a kit of separate tools has no unified account, no shared dashboard, no cross-tool data. It looks smaller than a platform, and "a collection of small tools" is a harder story to tell than "the one app for everything." I think it's the better deal for the person using it — they get finished tools that respect their time — and that's the bet I'm making.

Frequently asked questions

Who builds BenchKit? BenchKit is built by Paweł Dziura, an independent developer. It's a solo, build-in-public project — a growing kit of small, single-purpose web tools, added one at a time as each is finished.

Why not build one app that does everything? Because a platform is never finished and tends to bury its useful core under features that justify a bigger account. A single-purpose tool is complete when it does its one job well — which is realistic to ship and maintain as a solo developer, and better for the person using it.

Why don't the tools require an account? Each tool does one bounded job that rarely needs to know who you are, so it doesn't ask. Keeping them account-free is only possible because they're small and separate rather than parts of one platform.

How does BenchKit make money if the tools are free? The tools listed on BenchKit are free to use; where an individual tool offers paid options, that's stated clearly on the tool's own page. The kit itself is the hub that introduces the tools.