I worked on bikes for years by hanging them vertically from the front wheel. I've hung them horizontally by the stem and saddle but that's a lot more work to set up. I once built a bike work stand from scrap lumber that looked like a sawhorse and held the bike in place with an old front axle and quick release. None of these cost more than $5.00 to knock together.
Today I've got a couple of Park workstands that clamp onto the bike's seatpost. They're faster to use and look more professional but, other than headset and front brake adjustments, I can't think of anything I couldn't do just as well with my scrap lumber workstand. In fact, when you build your own, you can design it to be as high as you like so there's less bending required to do things like common derailleur adjustments.