Niche Research Tool Paradox: Free vs. Paid Tools—When Your $500 Subscription Costs You More Than It Saves
Exploding Topics, Dropship.io, Jungle Scout, Tradelle, a CompetitorLens seat, and maybe Helium 10 stacked on top. Add up those monthly invoices and you're staring at $400–$600/month in niche research tooling before you've validated a single product or shipped a single order.