diff ~/p/ben-katz ~/p/pieter-levels

Ben Katz vs Pieter Levels

Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.

Ben Katz

Ex-DoorDash staff engineer building Watchdog AI moderation and flightschools.fyi

@ben_makes_stuff United States

Pieter Levels

Solo maker behind Photo AI, Nomads.com, Remote OK, Interior AI and the MAKE book

@levelsio Portugal

Ben Katz vs Pieter Levels at a glance

Both Ben Katz and Pieter Levels are bootstrapped solo founders, build in public and are serial makers. They overlap in AI Builders, SaaS Founders and Directory Makers. Ben is based in New York, United States, Pieter in Portugal. Ben Katz has 4 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Pieter Levels' 8. On revenue, Ben self-reports $444 MRR (as of 2025) and Pieter ~$219K/mo across products (as of 2026). On X, Ben has about 829 followers and Pieter about 971K.

Side-by-side comparison

Based in: Ben Katz: New York, United States; Pieter Levels: Portugal
Started: Ben Katz: —; Pieter Levels: 2014 (12 yrs indie)
Revenue (self-reported): Ben Katz: $444 MRRself-reported, as of 2025 · source for Ben Katz's revenue; Pieter Levels: ~$219K/mo across productsself-reported, as of 2026 · source for Pieter Levels's revenue
Products listed: Ben Katz: 4; Pieter Levels: 8
Product status: Ben Katz: 3 active · 1 shut down; Pieter Levels: 8 active
X followers: Ben Katz: 829; Pieter Levels: 971K
Categories: Ben Katz: AI Builders SaaS Founders Directory Makers Community Builders; Pieter Levels: AI Builders SaaS Founders Digital Nomads Directory Makers
Style: Ben Katz: solobootstrappedbuilds in publicserial maker; Pieter Levels: solobootstrappedbuilds in publicserial maker
Courses & resources: Ben Katz: —; Pieter Levels: 4

Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.

Tech stack

No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.

Ben Katz

GoAstro

Pieter Levels

PHPjQuerySQLiteVanilla JavaScriptReplicatesingle VPS

How they build

Ben Katz

Bootstrap small, profitable software businesses.
Shut down products that do not find customers and move on.
Build alongside other makers in person.

Pieter Levels

Ship fast and launch many small bets; most will fail, so volume matters.
Use boring, familiar tech and keep everything on one server for as long as possible.
Stay solo and automate work with code instead of hiring.
Charge money early and grow organically rather than with ads or investors.
Be radically transparent about revenue and failures.

Learn from Ben and Pieter

Ben Katz

No courses, books or communities listed.

Pieter Levels

[book] MAKE: The Indie Startup Manual · $29.99–$69.99
[community] @levelsio chat on Telegram · +$25
[podcast] Lex Fridman Podcast #440
[newsletter] levels.io blog

Ben Katz vs Pieter Levels FAQ

Who makes more money, Ben Katz or Pieter Levels?

Ben Katz self-reports $444 MRR (as of 2025) and Pieter Levels self-reports ~$219K/mo across products (as of 2026). By these self-reported figures, Pieter Levels' reported monthly revenue is higher. Figures are unaudited and may cover different periods or businesses, so treat them as rough indicators.

Who has built more products, Ben Katz or Pieter Levels?

Ben Katz has 4 products listed (including Watchdog, flightschools.fyi and Hackayork); Pieter Levels has 8 products listed (including Photo AI, Vibe Jam and Interior AI).

What tech stack do Ben Katz and Pieter Levels use?

Ben Katz uses Go and Astro. Pieter Levels uses PHP, jQuery, SQLite, Vanilla JavaScript, Replicate and single VPS. They don't list any tools in common.