Forem: William

# SaaSPriceDB: Real-Time Pricing API – My Vibe-Coding Journey from Zero Experience at 58 🦉

William — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 06:20:36 +0000

This is a submission for the DEV's Worldwide Show and Tell Challenge Presented by Mux

Hey DEV community 👋

I'm William, 58 years old, solo founder of Just Me Media, and a proud NightOwl (Claude even certified me — I’ve got some really funny screen recordings of me and Claude going back and forth 😂). Most nights around 3 a.m., you’ll find me in my house coat, talking to LLMs like Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok — describing ideas and watching them build real software. I call it vibe coding: no syntax wars, just prompts, vibes, and results.

Two months ago, I had zero coding experience.

What I Built

SaaSPriceDB — a clean, production-ready REST API that delivers structured, real-time pricing data for 185+ popular SaaS tools (and growing fast): Slack, Shopify, Stripe, Salesforce, Notion, GitHub, Zoom, MongoDB, and many more.

It solves a real pain point: developers waste hours scraping fragile pricing pages that change frequently and break scrapers constantly.

Key features:

Daily automatic updates + price change detection
Reliable structured JSON — no more manual maintenance or broken scripts
Free public preview endpoint (no signup, no API key — shows 5 sample products: Slack, Notion, Zoom, Asana, GitHub): https://api.saaspricedb.com/api/free-preview
Interactive Swagger API docs (explore structure publicly): https://api.saaspricedb.com/docs
Full access via API key (paid plans or judge special key) for 185+ tools, historical data, higher limits
Live site: https://saaspricedb.com

It’s in launch mode with limited-time early access pricing — coverage is expanding rapidly.

My Pitch Video

Here’s my under-1-minute talking-head pitch (recorded and edited by a total beginner in iMovie):

My 1st try was like 4 minutes — this was the hardest part of the challenge for me! 😅

In 60 seconds or less: the problem I solved,what makes SaaSPriceDB special,some of the features, real time walk though on the ease of setup and a quick look at how it works.

(Hosted, sub titles & delivered smoothly via Mux — perfect for indie pitches! Will add quick app demo footage soon for the Enterprise Package.)

Demo & Testing (Super Easy – No Signup Needed!)

Judges and community: please test away!

Instant free preview (public JSON, no key required — 5 samples): https://api.saaspricedb.com/api/free-preview
Interactive Swagger docs (view endpoints & structure): https://api.saaspricedb.com/docs
Live website: https://saaspricedb.com

(Note: Full dataset requires an API key — see judges section below for easy full access.)

Special Note for DEV Challenge Judges – Full Access Made Easy!

Thanks for reviewing! 🚀

To test the full power (185+ tools, historical price changes, high enterprise limits, etc.):

The site uses an API key system (no traditional signup/login buttons visible on the landing page).
For instant full access: reply or DM me here on DEV with "judge access" — I'll send you:
- A special enterprise-level API key (high limits, full features)
- OR a magic link to the dashboard where the Judges' Cheat Sheet auto-loads with your key, interactive tester, Swagger guide, test card (4242 4242 4242 4242), etc.
Once you have the key, authorize in Swagger (https://api.saaspricedb.com/docs) → Bearer token → test any endpoint (e.g. /pricing/).
Close any welcome popup with "X" or "Got it, let's explore!"

Zero friction — happy to send instantly. Appreciate your time and feedback!

The Story Behind It

My first project was https://www.sportsprophecyapp.com/ — my vision of a user/sponsor ecosystem that’s adaptable for any event, television show, or social media moment — a fun, no-gambling sports prediction platform where fans pick winners for sponsor prizes. I learned massively through failure, late-night fixes, and rebuilds… but realized passion alone isn’t enough.

I needed to solve a real problem people are already searching for.

So I asked Claude one night:

“What’s a painful problem we can solve with a simple tool?”

The answer: fragile SaaS pricing scrapers that devs hate maintaining.

When I found the domain saaspricedb.com had no owner and realized the branding would be insane… well, I was hooked on the idea to build this.

That same night, SaaSPriceDB was born — fully vibe-coded with LLM help from start to finish.

If a 58-year-old beginner with zero tech background can ship a production API… anyone can.

The fails, the late nights, the small wins — they’re all part of the story.

My advice for late starters:

Use the tools. Keep trying. Fail, get up, keep moving forward. Enjoy the journey. All of us have the same final destination; it’s the journey that sets us apart as individuals.

I’d love your honest feedback, suggestions for the next SaaS tool to add, or your own vibe-coding stories!

Early testers/collaborators for feedback, ratings, social proof, indie SaaS ideas — please say hi! 🦉

(Also open to the idea of a collaboration with others on a % basis to grow this into something that truly benefits others.)

Technical Highlights

Built entirely via vibe-coding: describe → prompt LLMs → refine → deploy
Daily cron jobs for updates + change detection
Simple REST API with structured JSON (public preview + authenticated full access)
Designed to scale as more tools are added
Through feedback, this tool truly grows to solve problems, save time, and create opportunities

Use of Mux (Bonus Category)

I used Mux to host and deliver my pitch video reliably — fast loading, great quality, and zero hassle for a beginner creator. Simple but effective, and there are more options I’ll learn and use with upcoming posts!

What's Next: Sports Prophecy

While building SaaSPriceDB, was solving a problem. Im back to building and launching Sports Prophecy my 1st app ever
(https://www.sportsprophecyapp.com) — a real-time community prediction
platform for sports, events, and live streaming.

Same vibe-coding approach. Same "build with AI, iterate fast" philosophy.

Early users welcome. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading, watching, and joining me on this journey. Still learning every day. NightOwl 🦉

showdev #saas #api #nocode #devchallenge #muxchallenge #webdev #Anthropic #Google #Antigravity