What’s in your stack: The state of tech tools in 2025

Insights from 6,500 tech professionals on their favorite and least favorite tools

2025-01-214,950 words7 claims15 podcast connections

Consensus3+ guests independently agreeSynthesisLenny combined multiple guest insightsCurationAmplified one guest's ideaOriginalLenny's own addition

ChatGPT is used by 90% of tech professionals surveyed, making it more widely used than Gmail (76%) or Slack (71%), representing the most significant shift in the product team tool stack in recent memory.

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Cursor is already used by 17% of all respondents and 21% of engineers despite launching just two years ago, signaling rapid adoption of AI-native development environments.

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Jira dominates project management with 53% market share but simultaneously tops the 'please let us switch' list, while Linear is the fastest-growing alternative already used by over 10% of participants.

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Bundling is a powerful distribution strategy but can only get you so far before well-crafted alternatives eat your lunch, as seen with Jira, Microsoft Teams, and Google Slides facing insurgent competitors.

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When choosing tools, user experience now trumps features, as teams are increasingly willing to sacrifice deep functionality for tools that are actually pleasant to use.

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Over 50% of tech professionals combine multiple AI assistants for specific use cases, such as ChatGPT plus Claude for thought partnership and ChatGPT plus Perplexity for deep research.

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Figma is used by 97% of designers as their primary design tool, while Canva is democratizing design for non-designers like PMs, marketers, and engineers.

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