Field dossier / What to build
App ideas nobody made up
Every other list of app ideas was invented by someone brainstorming. These 1,228 were taken from real people describing a problem in their own words, on Reddit, GitHub, Hacker News, Stack Overflow, Trustpilot and the App Store, then scored 0-100 for how strongly they signalled they would pay to fix it.
Each one links back to the post it came from. Read the complaint before you build.
§01
AI and agent app ideas
Problems people hit while building with LLMs and agents, token accounting, runaway CLI spend, evaluation, parsing model output, monitoring across providers. 205 of the gaps below are about AI tooling specifically, and it is the fastest-growing slice because the tooling is newest.
- 01Per-customer AI spend limits that actually work100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI cost management for SaaS · from reddit
- 02Claude usage walls paralyze content businesses100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI API usage monitoring and billing · from github
- 03AI CLI Cost Spikes and Reliability Monitoring100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost and reliability monitoring · from github
- 04Stop AI CLI tools from runaway billing and crashes100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost control and stability · from github
- 05Stop AI scrapers from burning through hosting budgets100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI bot traffic mitigation · from hackernews
- 06AI agent cost guardrails and real-time spend visibility100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI agent cost control and observability · from hackernews
- 08Attribute LLM spend beyond project-level totals92/100
Data / Analytics / LLM usage dashboards · from github
§02
Developer tools and SaaS infrastructure
The largest category in the corpus at 386 gaps. Self-hosting, observability, CI, database operations, problems engineers describe precisely, because they are the ones living with them.
- 01Isolate Google Cloud billing and API keys100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / Cloud cost management / Security · from reddit
- 02Per-customer AI spend limits that actually work100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI cost management for SaaS · from reddit
- 03Claude usage walls paralyze content businesses100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI API usage monitoring and billing · from github
- 04AI CLI Cost Spikes and Reliability Monitoring100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost and reliability monitoring · from github
- 05Stop AI CLI tools from runaway billing and crashes100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost control and stability · from github
- 06Azure POC cost clarity for production handoff100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / Cloud cost management for AI/ML POCs · from github
§03
Data and analytics SaaS ideas
Dashboards, pipelines and reporting people are currently doing by hand. Strong micro-SaaS territory: the complaints are narrow and the buyers already pay for something adjacent.
- 01No-code dashboards for non-technical founders92/100
Data / Analytics / Dashboards · from hackernews
- 02Attribute LLM spend beyond project-level totals92/100
Data / Analytics / LLM usage dashboards · from github
- 06Local AI for sensitive CSV data, no cloud upload80/100
Data / Analytics / Local AI for tabular data · from reddit
§04
Cybersecurity SaaS ideas
Compliance work, audit evidence and security tooling that teams describe as manual, expensive or unbearable. High willingness to pay, because the alternative is a consultant.
- 01Compliance-as-a-Service for Regulated SaaS Startups100/100
Security / Compliance / Startup compliance and certification · from reddit
- 02Missing SOC 2 report kills enterprise deal100/100
Security / Compliance / micro-SaaS SOC 2 enablement · from reddit
- 03Stop Stripe Connect fraud before platform shutdown100/100
Security / Compliance / Stripe Connect fraud prevention · from reddit
- 04AWS Marketplace usage fraud detection and remediation100/100
Security / Compliance / AWS Marketplace security and cost management · from reddit
- 05TurboTax for SOC 2 that skips the $50k consultant96/100
Security / Compliance / SOC 2 · from hackernews
- 06Cloud HSM and EV Code Signing for Distributed Teams90/100
Security / Compliance / Code Signing / HSM · from reddit
§05
AI automation services to sell
No-code and automation gaps, the shape of work an agency or a solo operator can sell as a service before ever writing software.
- 01Reliable Zapier alternative that doesn't lose orders100/100
No-Code / Automation / Automation reliability for critical business workflows · from trustpilot
- 02Export websites without hidden vendor lock-in fees100/100
No-Code / Automation / Website builders · from trustpilot
- 03No-code AI agents for B2B sales teams90/100
No-Code / Automation / No-code CRM AI agents · from reddit
- 05No-code rental logic that isn't fragile85/100
No-Code / Automation / No-code rental logic · from reddit
§06
Real estate and local operations
Property managers, agents and local service businesses describing the admin that eats their week. Unglamorous, underserved, and the buyers are reachable.
- 01Clinic pays 300k percentage for billing stack100/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / medical billing stack cost restructuring · from reddit
- 02Automate 40% of property manager calls, cut after-hours costs100/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / Property management call automation · from reddit
- 03Photo-backed equipment checkout to stop $40k/year shrinkage100/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / Equipment tracking and loss prevention for field operations · from github
- 04Automate fix-and-flip analysis with live MLS data91/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / Real estate investing · from reddit
- 05Automate dynamic pricing across OTAs to match guest price90/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / Short-term rental dynamic pricing and OTA fee optimization · from reddit
§07
E-commerce app ideas
Shopify, WooCommerce and marketplace sellers hitting the same walls: reconciliation, inventory sync, landed cost, returns.
- 01Shopify Capital exit strategy for high-growth stores100/100
E-commerce / Shopify merchant financing · from reddit
- 02Fix BigCommerce checkout and SEO-killing 404s100/100
E-commerce / Checkout and SEO · from trustpilot
- 03Stop Shopify Payments fraud and manual disputes100/100
E-commerce / Shopify Payments · from appstore
- 04Shopify client QA that doesn't break trust100/100
E-commerce / Shopify agency workflow / client feedback · from reddit
- 05Diagnose silent Shopify checkout drops, recover lost sales90/100
E-commerce / Shopify checkout · from reddit
§08
App ideas from Reddit
Mined from named subreddits where operators talk shop, not from a keyword sweep of the whole site. Scoped targeting measures 76-90% on-topic; unscoped platform search measures 30-57%.
- 01Surprise renewals blindside small HubSpot customers100/100
Marketing Operations / SaaS renewal watchdog · from reddit
- 02Missing SOC 2 report kills enterprise deal100/100
Security / Compliance / micro-SaaS SOC 2 enablement · from reddit
- 03High-ticket e-commerce payment processing for distributors100/100
Finance / Accounting / High-risk payment processing for e-commerce · from reddit
- 04Isolate Google Cloud billing and API keys100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / Cloud cost management / Security · from reddit
- 05Per-customer AI spend limits that actually work100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI cost management for SaaS · from reddit
- 06Clinic pays 300k percentage for billing stack100/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / medical billing stack cost restructuring · from reddit
§09
SaaS ideas from GitHub
Issues and feature requests on repositories with real usage. When a maintainer declines a request that a hundred people want, that is a product.
- 01Claude usage walls paralyze content businesses100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI API usage monitoring and billing · from github
- 02AI CLI Cost Spikes and Reliability Monitoring100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost and reliability monitoring · from github
- 03Photo-backed equipment checkout to stop $40k/year shrinkage100/100
Real Estate / Local Operations / Equipment tracking and loss prevention for field operations · from github
- 04Stop AI CLI tools from runaway billing and crashes100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / AI CLI cost control and stability · from github
- 05Azure POC cost clarity for production handoff100/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / Cloud cost management for AI/ML POCs · from github
- 06Pinpoint wasted GPU spend in Kubernetes95/100
Dev Tools / SaaS Infrastructure / Kubernetes FinOps · from github
§10
App ideas by market
One page per market, each filled with the highest-intent gaps in that category.
§11
Questions people ask before they build
What app should I build in 2026?
One somebody has already complained about. Every idea on this page started as a real post on Reddit, GitHub, Hacker News, Stack Overflow, Trustpilot or the App Store, and carries a 0-100 commercial-intent score for how strongly the person signalled they would pay. Sort by that score and start at the top of a market you already understand.
Are these app ideas actually validated?
Each one is a real, specific complaint that cleared an editorial gate at commercial intent 70 or above, and it links back to the post it came from so you can read the original. That is evidence of demand, not proof of a business. It rests on first-hand reports rather than corroboration across many sources, and the honest next step is the validation playbook: talk to five people in that market before you write code.
How is this different from a list of startup ideas?
Every other list of app ideas was invented by someone brainstorming. These were taken from people describing a problem in their own words, and each keeps its source link, its market, and a score. You are reading demand that already exists rather than someone's guess about what might sell.
What is a micro SaaS idea, and are any of these small enough?
A micro SaaS is a narrow tool for one specific job, usually built and run by one person. Filter for a high confidence score and a tightly-worded problem: the narrower the complaint, the smaller the build. Many gaps here describe a single missing feature in a tool people already pay for, which is the classic micro-SaaS shape.
Where do the app ideas come from?
Public complaints, bug reports and feature requests across GitHub, Reddit, Stack Overflow, Hacker News, Trustpilot, the App Store, X and niche forums. Sources are collected continuously, classified and scored, then published weekly. Every opportunity links back to its original post.
Can I use these to find AI app ideas specifically?
Yes. The Dev Tools and Data categories are dominated by problems people hit while building with LLMs and agents, token accounting, evaluation, output parsing, monitoring across providers. Those are the sections below labelled AI and agent tooling.
Pick one and check it properly
Every gap opens to its own page with the complaint, its market and how it ranks in its category, no account needed. The full dossier adds the source links, an MVP scope, suggested pricing, the competitors already there, the risks, and a validation playbook you can run in an afternoon.