Tech Stacks Decoded: What to Use and Why- by Orange Stack Inc.

CanadianSME Small Business Magazine Canada

Explore the most popular tech stacks used by real-world companies, learn when to use each, and get ballpark estimates for development and hosting costs – so you can build smarter from day one.

1. MERN Stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js)

Used by: Uber Eats, Instagram Web

Best for: Real-time dashboards, modern web apps

Dev Cost (MVP): $25k-$50k

Hosting: $25-$150/month

Why: End-to-end JavaScript. React ensures a fast UI, Node.js handles async backend beautifully, and MongoDB scales horizontally.

2. MEAN Stack (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js)

Used by: Google Ads, Lego

Best for: Enterprise apps, admin portals

Dev Cost (MVP): $30k-$60k Hosting: $25-$150/month

Why: TypeScript-based frontend with Angular’s structured ecosystem and robust backend with Node.

3. LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

Used by: WordPress, Wikipedia

Best for: Blogs, CMS-driven websites, quick launches

Dev Cost (MVP): $10k-$25k

Hosting: $5-$30/month

Why: Time-tested stack, easy to deploy, budget-friendly.

4. Django + React

Used by: Instagram, Disqus

Best for: Data-driven apps, internal tools, dashboards

Dev Cost (MVP): $30k-$55k Hosting: $25-$100/month

Why: Python + Django is great for data-heavy backends, while React gives a sleek, modern UI.

5. Flask + React or Vue

Used by: Netflix (internal tools), Airbnb (ML APIs)

Best for: Lightweight APIs, ML-powered tools

Dev Cost (MVP): $20k-$40k

Hosting: $25-$75/month

Why: Minimal, modular, and great for microservices or ML integration.

6. .NET Stack (C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server)

Used by: Stack Overflow, Microsoft Teams

Best for: Enterprise-grade internal or client-facing apps

Dev Cost (MVP): $40k-$80k

Hosting: $50-$200/month

Why: Reliable, scalable, and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products.

7. JAMstack (Next.js, Gatsby + CMS)

Used by: Nike, Smashing Magazine

Best for: Static sites, SEO-first content, marketing pages

Dev Cost (MVP): $10k-$30k

Hosting: $0-$50/month

Why: Lightning-fast load times, excellent for SEO, and free-tier-friendly.

8. Ruby on Rails

Used by: Shopify, GitHub, Basecamp

Best for: Marketplaces, SaaS tools, MVPs

Dev Cost (MVP): $20k-$45k

Hosting: $25-$75/month

Why: Convention over configuration = fast development with great defaults.

9. Java + Spring Boot

Used by: LinkedIn, Amazon, Netflix

Best for: Large-scale enterprise systems

Dev Cost (MVP): $50k-$100k

Hosting: $75-$200+/month

Why: Super scalable, battle-tested in the enterprise world.

10. Serverless (AWS Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB)

Used by: Netflix, iRobot, Coca-Cola

Best for: Event-driven apps, automation tools, cost-efficient backends

Dev Cost (MVP): $15k-$40k

Hosting: $5-$50/month

Why: Auto-scaling, low cost, perfect for modern cloud-native apps.



Choosing the right stack isn’t about what’s trending — it’s about what fits your product’s needs, timeline, team skills, and budget. A fast-growing startup may love MERN, while a fintech platform might need Spring Boot or .NET for enterprise compliance.

If you’re planning your own build and want help evaluating the best stack, feel drop a comment below or visit us at www.orangestackinc.com

Let’s build smart.

Soumya Singh
Designer | Founder
Orange Stack Inc.

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CanadianSME
With an aim to contribute to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging a firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.
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