About
I’m Rei, and I’m not a software expert. I’m the person who has to pick the tool, pay for it every month, and live with that choice for a year.
That’s the seat I write from. I work in healthcare, where the software budget is small and a bad pick is expensive, so I got into the habit of reading pricing pages properly, pushing the free tier until it broke, and writing down what I found.
Stack Notebook is where those notes ended up.
I don’t specialise in one category, and I don’t pretend to. What carries across categories isn’t product knowledge — it’s the questions. What is this actually shaped for? What does it cost at my size, not at the size on the pricing page? Where does it stop? What do I lose if I leave? Every note here is built on those four.
What this site is
Long, slow write-ups of subscription software. One tool at a time, compared against the alternatives people actually consider instead. No news, no roundups of things I haven’t looked at, no “top 50” lists.
Every note is written so it still makes sense a year from now. That means I avoid version numbers and dated claims, and I focus on the things that change slowly: what the tool is shaped for, what it refuses to do, and what it costs once you’re past the trial.
How I judge a tool
Each write-up states its criteria up front, and every judgement in the piece ties back to one of them. The criteria differ by category, but they usually come down to:
- What it’s actually shaped for. Most tools are excellent at one job and mediocre at the rest. Naming that job is most of the work.
- What it costs at your size. Not the headline price — the real annual number once seats, limits and the plan you’ll actually need are accounted for.
- Where it stops. Every tool has a wall. Knowing where it is beats being surprised by it.
- What happens if you leave. Export, lock-in, and how much of your work you keep.
What I don’t do
I don’t publish a write-up on a tool I haven’t looked at properly. Where I’m reasoning from documentation and other people’s reports rather than from my own use, I say so in the piece rather than dressing it up as first-hand experience.
I also don’t take payment for a favourable review, and I don’t send drafts to vendors for approval before publishing.
How this site makes money
Some links here are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what I write — the full disclosure is here.
Getting in touch
Corrections are welcome, and I’d rather hear about them than not: ry438474@gmail.com
If a price, a limit or a feature described here has changed, tell me and I’ll fix it.