User research

Should you build your own Frill?

Publish feedback, roadmap, and announcements for one product

Buildable · the essentials fit in one project
Price $25/moEstimated savings $300/yrEstimated time multi-dayCategory User researchCatalog votes 0

The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Frill, publish feedback, roadmap, and announcements for one product. The hard boundary is hosted polish, custom domain, integrations, widgets, and simple pricing, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration.

ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.

The complete prompt
Build a personal replacement for Frill in an empty repository.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: collect structured feedback for one product, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a roadmap, announcements, and a transparent status view.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details.
Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging.
Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence.
Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status.
Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log.
Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace.
Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription.
Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR

Original prompt preserved in English.

What would building your own look like?

Collect structured feedback for one product, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a roadmap, announcements, and a transparent status view.

What you will need

Why paying can still make sense

People still pay for Frill because people pay either for access to participants or for a research repository that keeps evidence usable across an organization. The recurring cost buys recruitment, consent, scheduling, media storage, transcription, tagging consistency, notifications, search, and retention, not just the visible interface.

What you lose

xhosted polish, custom domain, integrations, widgets, and simple pricing

xlarge participant panel

xrecording and transcription infrastructure

xadvanced research repository

xenterprise governance

Share on X ↗"I just replaced Frill ($25/mo) with one prompt"
Free alternatives

Prefer something ready-made?

ClearFlaskA mature open-source feedback loop; the AWS-shaped deployment is the punchline.446Jul 2026Open source↗QuackbackFeedback, roadmap and changelog in one self-hosted stack, with no per-user invoice.216Aug 2026Open source↗Sleekplan IndieThe whole feedback-roadmap-changelog loop for one admin, permanently free and visibly branded.$0Free↗

View all 4 alternatives to Frill →· Licença, instalação e limitações em cada alternativa.

Plans and pricing

How much does Frill cost?

In your currency · US DollarChecked on 10/20/2026
Monthly billing
$25/mo
Per year
$300/yr
Buy on the official site

You complete the purchase on Frill’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.

PlanMonthlyAnnual (per month)What is included
startup$25/workspace-50 active ideas; 1 survey of each supported type; unlimited admins, widgets and tracked users.
business$49/workspace-Unlimited ideas; 3 surveys of each supported type; unlimited admins, widgets and tracked users.
growth$149/workspace-Unlimited ideas and surveys; Privacy, Surveys and White Labeling included.
enterprise$349/workspace-Unlimited ideas and surveys; SOC 2 controls, audit log, IP allowlisting and dedicated support.

Free tierno free tier

Billing termsMonthly + annual; exact annual-equivalent rates were not exposed on the checked page. A 14-day trial is offered without a card.

Additional costsPrivacy, Surveys and White Labeling are paid add-ons on lower tiers; their individual prices were not publicly stated.

verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗

Build or buy

Is it cheaper to build or buy Frill?

Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.

Subscribe
Build it yourself
Horizon
Subscribe$600
Build it yourself$3,560

Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.

Starting hours estimated from the analysis (multi-day). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).

Frequently asked questions
Can I rebuild Frill?

Yes. A competent AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) can build a usable personal Frill replacement in one session with the prompt on this page. It runs on your own machine or server with no subscription.

How much does Frill cost?

Frill costs about $25/mo (Startup, checked 10/20/2026), which is $300 per year. That’s what you save by replacing it with one prompt.

What do I lose by replacing Frill?

Honestly: hosted polish, custom domain, integrations, widgets, and simple pricing; large participant panel; recording and transcription infrastructure; advanced research repository; enterprise governance. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Frill?

Yes: ClearFlask (A mature open-source feedback loop; the AWS-shaped deployment is the punchline.) Quackback (Feedback, roadmap and changelog in one self-hosted stack, with no per-user invoice.) Sleekplan Indie (The whole feedback-roadmap-changelog loop for one admin, permanently free and visibly branded.) All 4 curated free alternatives are at https://viberadar.si/frill/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.

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