By the numbers
Numbers
The revenue and cost figures, gathered in one place. MRR journeys, post-mortems and the honest math behind each story.
71
Stories published
5
Categories tracked
592
Minutes of reading
The revenue reference
Every sourced indie-SaaS and creator revenue number we have profiled, in one sortable table. Each figure links to the full sourced breakdown.
Showing 33 of 33 companies.
| Profit / notes | Profile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho | ~$1.4B (FY25) | FY25 (Apr 2026) | FiledEntrackr / MCA filings, Economic Times | Net profit ~Rs 3,191 cr; never raised VC; +17.8% YoY | Read the profile |
| Midjourney | ~$500M ARR (2025) | 2025 | Analyst-estimateGetLatka (2026); Product Growth | Never confirmed; 2026 outlier projection ~$150M | Read the profile |
| Calendly | ~$349M (2024) | 2024 | SacraSacra via Google AI Overview | Private; estimates range $70M-$349M; Growjo ~$144.1M | Read the profile |
| Zapier | ~$310M (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka; SQ Magazine | Bootstrapped on ~$1.2M seed; profitable since 2014; ~$400M projected 2025 | Read the profile |
| Craigslist | ~$302M (2024, projected) | 2024 | Analyst-estimateAIM Group / ResearchAndMarkets | Never discloses; frozen peak ~$1.035B (2018); ~50 staff | Read the profile |
| ClickFunnels | ~$170M (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka | Peaked $265.3M (2023); run-rate est. $95M-$107.7M (ZoomInfo/Growjo) | Read the profile |
| Ahrefs | ~$149M ARR (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka | Bootstrapped; company-disclosed ~$257M total over 2020-2022 | Read the profile |
| Todoist (Doist) | $100M+ cumulative (2024) | Jul 2024 | Founder-statedAmir Salihefendic (LinkedIn/X) | Fully bootstrapped; ARR ~$26.5M (GetLatka, Oct 2024) | Read the profile |
| PostHog | ~$57.5M ARR (Feb 2026) | Feb 2026 | SacraSacra | Company says 'low $10s of millions'; Stripe: 'on pace for $100M' | Read the profile |
| beehiiv | ~$30M (2026) | 2026 | Founder-statedTyler Denk (founder figures) | ~$20M recurring SaaS + ~$10M ads/marketplace; VC-backed | Read the profile |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | $29M ARR (2021) | 2021 | Founder-statedNathan Barry (SaaStock talk) | Bootstrapped, no VC; rebranded Kit 2024; from $1,337/mo in 2014 | Read the profile |
| Justin Welsh | $15M total (2026) | 2026 | Founder-statedjustinwelsh.me | One-person business, no employees, ~89% margin | Read the profile |
| Gumroad | ~$12M (2024 est.); $21M (2023) | 2024 | SacraSacra estimates | ~$9M profit (2023, Sacra); creator GMV ($142M) is not Gumroad revenue | Read the profile |
| Ghost | $10.88M ARR (Jul 2026) | Jul 2026 | Disclosedghost.org/about live dashboard | Non-profit; published live ($907K MRR, 30,441 customers); can never be sold | Read the profile |
| Fathom Analytics | ~$5M-$10M ARR (undated) | undated | Analyst-estimateFounder Ventures (unverified) | Refuses to publish; founder buyout 2024, sole owner Jack Ellis | Read the profile |
| Balsamiq | $6.58M (2024) | 2024 | DisclosedBalsamiq own blog (Peldi) | Founder publishes exact revenue yearly; GetLatka overstates ($10.6M) | Read the profile |
| Transistor.fm | ~$4.5M ARR (2025) | 2025 | Analyst-estimateStartup Founder Stories leaderboard | Founders never confirmed; profitable, no VC, 50/50 two-person | Read the profile |
| Tally | $4.3M ARR (end 2025) | 2025 | Founder-statedMarie Martens (LinkedIn/blog) | Bootstrapped; team of 8, 800,000+ users; charges ~2% of users | Read the profile |
| Plausible Analytics | ~$3.1M ARR (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka (Oct 2024) | Bootstrapped, profitable; crossed $1M ARR 2022 (self-reported) | Read the profile |
| Pieter Levels | ~$3.1M/year (Jul 2025) | Jul 2025 | Founder-statedCheeky Pint (first-party) | Solo, no team, no VC, never-sell portfolio | Read the profile |
| Obsidian | $2M-$25M (2026, range) | 2026 | Analyst-estimateGetLatka; Fueler; Google AI Overview | Never discloses; GetLatka ~$2M ARR (2025); viral $25M unverified | Read the profile |
| Baremetrics | ~$1.5M ARR (2020, at sale) | 2020 | DisclosedFounder-disclosed transaction; GetLatka | Sold to Xenon Partners for $4.0M cash (2020); GetLatka $1.5M ARR (2025) | Read the profile |
| Carrd | ~$1.2M ARR (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka; founder (AJ) confirmed ~2022 | $19/yr, ~1 person; founder-confirmed ~$100K MRR on podcast (~2022) | Read the profile |
| Testimonial.to | $1M+ ARR (2024-2026) | 2024-2026 | GetLatkaGetLatka, Taskade | Bootstrapped, solo; $800K ARR (Sep 2023, founder); out-earned his AI product 4:1 | Read the profile |
| Bannerbear | ~$1M ARR (2024) | 2024 | Analyst-estimateThird-party write-ups | Solo API; founder-published to ~$27K MRR (2021) then pulled dashboard; peak ~$53K MRR (2024) | Read the profile |
| Lemon Squeezy | ~$1M+ ARR (2024) | 2024 | Analyst-estimateCrunchbase; TechCrunch | Acquired by Stripe Jul 2024 (terms undisclosed); hit $1M ARR in 9 months (~2022) | Read the profile |
| FeedbackPanda | ~$55K MRR (2019, at exit) | 2019 | Founder-statedArvid Kahl (founder) | Sold to SureSwift 2019 (undisclosed); 5,000+ customers, no funding | Read the profile |
| Hypefury | ~$567K ARR (2024) | 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka | $20K MRR peak (2021) then declined; $0 raised, ~14 people | Read the profile |
| TypingMind (Tony Dinh) | $500K+ cumulative (2024) | Feb 2024 | Founder-statedTony Dinh (build-in-public) | ~$15K MRR (Feb 2024); launched 5 days after ChatGPT API opened | Read the profile |
| Simple Analytics | ~$500K/year (2026) | 2026 | Analyst-estimateRightBlogger; site /open | Bootstrapped, no funding; ~1,337 paying customers | Read the profile |
| Buttondown | ~$392K (Oct 2024) | Oct 2024 | GetLatkaGetLatka | $0 funding, ~250 customers; +61% YoY 2025 (founder, % only), cash-flow profitable | Read the profile |
| ShipFast (Marc Lou) | $250K in 5 months (2024) | 2024 | Founder-statedMarketingCrafted case study (his public figures) | Next.js boilerplate; built in a week, $6K in first 48h; out-earned his end-user startups | Read the profile |
| HeadshotPro | ~$96K/yr (2023-2025, unconfirmed) | 2023-2025 | Analyst-estimateBusiness-data aggregators (auto-estimate) | Founder stopped sharing 2023; viral '$300K/mo' is NOT founder-stated | Read the profile |
Figures are transcribed from OperatorBook's individual sourced profiles; estimates are labeled as estimates. Follow each row's link for the full source ledger.
By category
The ledger
Every story we've published, newest first.
- MRR journeyMailchimp Revenue: The $800M Number Behind a $12B Exit That Just Started Shrinking (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I lost a day of customer data at $40K MRR: a data-loss diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyCraigslist Revenue: The $1 Billion Number That Fell to $302 Million (2026)9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my biggest integration partner 10x'd its API price at $46K MRR: a founder diary (2026)7 min
- MRR journeyMidjourney Revenue: The $500M Number It Has Never Confirmed (2026)9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my AppSumo lifetime deal caught up with me at $42K MRR: a founder diary (2026)9 min
- MRR journeyObsidian Revenue: Why the Estimates Run From $2M to $25M (2026)9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my gross margin scared me at $38K MRR: a founder diary (2026)9 min
- MRR journeyLemon Squeezy Revenue: The $1M Number It Hit Before Selling to Its Biggest Rival (2026)9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month one customer became 40% of my MRR at $36K: a founder diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyClickFunnels Revenue: The $265M Number That Quietly Dropped to $170M (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month a security questionnaire nearly killed my biggest deal at $34K MRR: a founder diary (2026)9 min
- MRR journeyCalendly Revenue: Why the Estimates Range From $70M to $349M (2026)9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I said no to a white-label reseller at $33K MRR: a founder diary (2026)9 min
- MRR journeyPostHog Revenue: The $57M Number the Most Transparent Company in Tech Won't Confirm (2026)7 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I made refunds one click and my churn finally dropped at $31K MRR7 min
- MRR journeyZapier Revenue: The $310M Number It Built on One $1.3M Check (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I rewrote onboarding at $10K MRR: a founder diary (2026)7 min
- MRR journeyZoho Revenue: The $1.4 Billion Number It Built Without a Dollar of VC (2026)7 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I turned down $45K of custom work at $27K MRR: a founder diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyTodoist Revenue: The $100 Million Number Its Founder Calls Boring (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month a chargeback wave froze my Stripe at $23K MRR: a founder diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyAhrefs Revenue: The $257M Number It Let Slip (2026)7 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I migrated off Firebase at $26K MRR: a founder diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyButtondown Revenue: The $392K Number Justin Duke Stopped Publishing (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I killed the feature everyone asked for at $14K MRR: a founder diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeySimple Analytics Revenue: The ~$500K/Year Built Against Google Without a Cent of Funding (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month support tickets ate my week at $25K MRR: a founder diary (2026)7 min
- MRR journeyFathom Analytics Revenue: The Number They Refuse to Publish (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I almost ran out of cash at $17K MRR8 min
- MRR journeyBaremetrics Revenue: The Number Its Founder Made Public, Then Sold for $4M9 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I had to let my first hire go at $22K MRR: a founder diary (2026)9 min
- MRR journeyBalsamiq Revenue: The $6.58M Number Peldi Publishes Every Year8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my big launch flopped at $13K MRR8 min
- MRR journeyCarrd Revenue: The $1.2M Number AJ Confirmed (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I closed my first enterprise deal at $21K MRR9 min
- MRR journeyBeehiiv Revenue: The $30M Number With a Catch (2026)6 min
- Founder narrativeThe month I quit my job at $11,200 MRR: a going-full-time diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyHypefury Revenue: The $20K MRR Peak and the Fake-Money Tool (2026)7 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my first annual plans came up for renewal at $19K MRR: a renewal-cliff diary (2026)7 min
- MRR journeyTransistor.fm Revenue: The $4.5M Number the Founders Never Confirmed (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month a competitor copied my SaaS (at $30K MRR)8 min
- MRR journeyGhost Revenue: The $10.8M ARR a Non-Profit Publishes in Public (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my SaaS finally covered my rent (at $4,300 MRR)7 min
- MRR journeyPlausible Analytics Revenue: The $1M ARR Bet Against Google8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my biggest customer left and took a third of my MRR9 min
- MRR journeyThe Month I Killed My Free Plan at $16K MRR8 min
- MRR journeyBurnout at $15K MRR: a solo founder's diary (2026)7 min
- MRR journeyThe month I found 7% of my MRR leaking to failed cards: an involuntary churn diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyMy first $1,000 month: a SaaS founder's diary (2026)8 min
- MRR journeyRaising Prices on Existing Customers: My $18k MRR Diary8 min
- Founder narrativeThe month my churn quietly doubled at $20K MRR: a retention diary (2026)8 min
- Founder narrativeThe ConvertKit Growth Story: $1,337/mo to $29M ARR, Bootstrapped7 min
- Founder narrativeJustin Welsh's Revenue Is Not the Point: Inside a $15M One-Person Business6 min
- Founder narrativeGumroad Revenue: The Failure That Makes $10M a Year7 min
- Founder narrativePieter Levels revenue: the never-sell math behind a $3M solo portfolio7 min
- Founder narrativeHow FeedbackPanda Hit $55K MRR With No Audience6 min
- Founder narrativeHeadshotPro Revenue: The $300K Number Nobody Can Confirm (2026)7 min
- Founder narrativeBannerbear Revenue: How Jon Yongfook Compounded a Solo API the Slow Way (2026)6 min
- Founder narrativeTestimonial.to Revenue: How a Boring Widget Beat AI6 min
- Founder narrativeHow Tally Makes Money Giving Its Forms Away Free8 min
- Founder narrativeMarc Lou Sold the Shovel: How ShipFast Outearned His Startups5 min
- Founder narrativeThe $500K ChatGPT Wrapper: How Tony Dinh Shipped TypingMind Before It Was Ready5 min
- Founder narrativeThe $7,400 MRR SaaS She is Killing Anyway: a solo founder's diary (June 2026)15 min
- Founder narrativeI added Catalan to my SaaS and Barcelona conversions almost doubled. Italian flopped. A 60-day localization diary (June 2026)13 min
- Founder narrativeFirst hire at $9,120 MRR: a SaaS founder's diary (2026)13 min
- Founder narrativeHow Inés Vargas got her first 100 paying customers in 90 days (and the $1,470 it cost her)14 min
- MRR journeyMarta del Sol on hitting $4K MRR with three AI agents13 min
- Post-mortemWhy we killed our SaaS at $12K MRR (a post-mortem)12 min
- Day in the lifeFrom freelance to $50K MRR in 18 months: a day in the life13 min
- LessonsA 90-day post-mortem of a failed AI app launch13 min