Technology & Infrastructure
Ultra-Low-Cost Architecture | Enterprise-Grade at <1% of Traditional Costs
The Ultra-Low-Cost Advantage
HelpmApp runs on modern serverless infrastructure that's currently £0/month and scales to only £40-60/month at 10,000 users—meaning 99%+ of funding goes directly to community impact.
Current vs Projected Costs
| User Scale | Current | 10,000 Users | Traditional Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel (Hosting) | £0 (Free) | ~£16/mo (Pro) | £500-2,000/mo |
| Supabase (Database) | £0 (Free) | ~£25/mo (Pro) | £200-500/mo |
| Upstash (Redis) | £0 (Free) | ~£5/mo | £50-100/mo |
| Authentication | £0 | Included | £100-300/mo |
| TOTAL | £0/mo | ~£45/mo | £850-2,900/mo |
Why So Cheap?
- PWA Caching: Users download the app once, reducing bandwidth 90%+
- Light Usage Pattern: Homeless users make quick lookups, not data-heavy operations
- Modern Free Tiers: Vercel/Supabase free tiers cover small-to-medium scale
This isn't cutting corners—it's strategic use of technology that's 10-50x cheaper than traditional cloud infrastructure.
Technology Stack
Frontend
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Next.js 15 | React framework with App Router |
| TypeScript | Type-safe development |
| Tailwind CSS | Utility-first styling |
| Framer Motion | Smooth animations |
| Leaflet | Interactive maps |
Backend
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Supabase | PostgreSQL database + Auth |
| Prisma ORM | Type-safe database access |
| Vercel Edge | Serverless functions |
| Serwist | PWA offline support |
Infrastructure
| Service | Free Tier Limits | Our Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | 100GB bandwidth, unlimited deploys | ~5GB/mo |
| Supabase | 500MB database, 50k auth users | ~50MB, ~100 users |
| GitHub | Unlimited public repos | 1 repo |
Architecture Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ USERS │
│ (Mobile PWA, Desktop, Offline) │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VERCEL EDGE │
│ (CDN, Serverless Functions, SSR) │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SUPABASE │
│ (PostgreSQL, Auth, Row-Level Security) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Security & Privacy
Data Protection
| Feature | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Encryption | TLS 1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest |
| Row-Level Security | Postgres RLS policies per user |
| Authentication | JWT tokens with refresh rotation |
| GDPR Compliance | Data minimization, right to deletion |
Privacy Principles
- No personal data sold - Ever
- Anonymized analytics - No individual tracking
- User consent - Explicit opt-in for features
- Lived experience governance - Privacy board oversight
Scalability
Current Capacity
| Metric | Current | Scalable To |
|---|---|---|
| Concurrent users | 1,000 | 100,000+ |
| Database rows | 50,000 | 10,000,000+ |
| API requests/day | 10,000 | 1,000,000+ |
Growth Path
As we scale, we can upgrade to paid tiers with predictable costs:
| Scale | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| 0-10k users | £0 |
| 10k-50k users | ~£100 |
| 50k-100k users | ~£300 |
| 100k+ users | ~£500 |
Open Source Commitment
HelpmApp is built on open source and gives back:
- MIT Licensed core platform
- Public GitHub repository
- Community contributions welcome
- Documentation freely available
Technical Roadmap
Phase 1 (Current)
- ✅ PWA with offline support
- ✅ Provider dashboard
- ✅ Admin analytics ("Pulse")
Phase 2 (2026)
- 🔄 Native mobile apps (Capacitor)
- 🔄 Advanced analytics engine
- 🔄 Public API for sector integration
Phase 3 (2027)
- 📋 Predictive modeling
- 📋 Multi-city expansion
- 📋 NHS integration pilot
Technical Due Diligence
We welcome technical review:
- GitHub: github.com/helpmapp/HelpmApp
- Live Site: helpmapp.org
- Uptime: 99.9%+ (Vercel SLA)
Contact for Tech Questions
| Channel | Link |
|---|---|
| helpmapp@proton.me | |
| GitHub | github.com/helpmapp |