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David Heinemeier Hansson vs Martin Donadieu

Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.

David Heinemeier Hansson avatar

David Heinemeier Hansson

Creator of Ruby on Rails and Omarchy, co-owner and CTO of 37signals

@dhh
Martin Donadieu avatar

Martin Donadieu

French solo maker of Capgo, open-source live updates for Capacitor apps

@martindonadieu Portugal

David Heinemeier Hansson vs Martin Donadieu at a glance

Both David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Donadieu are bootstrapped. They overlap in Open Source Makers, Developer Tools and SaaS Founders. David started in 2003 and Martin in 2021. David Heinemeier Hansson has 4 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Martin Donadieu's 3. Martin self-reports $30K MRR (as of 2026); David hasn't shared a revenue figure publicly. On X, David has about 933K followers and Martin about 12K.

Side-by-side comparison

Based in
David Heinemeier Hansson: —
Martin Donadieu: Portugal
Started
David Heinemeier Hansson: 2003 (23 yrs indie)
Martin Donadieu: 2021 (5 yrs indie)
Revenue (self-reported)
David Heinemeier Hansson: Not public
Martin Donadieu: $30K MRRself-reported, as of 2026 · source for Martin Donadieu's revenue
Products listed
David Heinemeier Hansson: 4
Martin Donadieu: 3
Product status
David Heinemeier Hansson: 4 active
Martin Donadieu: 3 active
X followers
David Heinemeier Hansson: 933K
Martin Donadieu: 12K
Categories
David Heinemeier Hansson: Open Source MakersDeveloper ToolsSaaS Founders
Martin Donadieu: Open Source MakersDeveloper ToolsMobile App MakersSaaS Founders
Style
David Heinemeier Hansson: duobootstrapped
Martin Donadieu: solobootstrappedbuilds in public
Courses & resources
David Heinemeier Hansson: 3
Martin Donadieu: 2

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

Top products

David Heinemeier Hansson avatarDavid Heinemeier Hansson

Ruby on Rails logo

Ruby on Rails

rubyonrails.org

Open-source full-stack web framework written in Ruby.

Basecamp logo

Basecamp

basecamp.com

Project management and team communication tool built by 37signals.

HEY logo

HEY

hey.com

Paid email and calendar service from 37signals.

Omarchy logo

Omarchy

omarchy.org

Opinionated Arch Linux and Hyprland configuration for developers.

Martin Donadieu avatarMartin Donadieu

Capgo logo

Capgo

capgo.app

Open-source live update (OTA) platform for Capacitor apps, shipping fixes without app store review.

$30K MRRTrustMRR ↗
Captime logo

Captime

captime.app

Workout timer app for CrossFit and high-intensity interval training, the app whose update problems led to Capgo.

Naturopia logo

Naturopia

naturopia.xyz

Eco co-housing village and wellness spa project on the island of Madeira.

Tech stack

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

David Heinemeier Hansson avatarDavid Heinemeier Hansson

Ruby on RailsRubyMySQLLinux

Martin Donadieu avatarMartin Donadieu

CapacitorSupabaseTypeScriptVue

How they build

David Heinemeier Hansson avatarDavid Heinemeier Hansson

  • Convention over configuration.
  • Small, independent, profitable companies over venture-backed growth.
  • Own your infrastructure when the cloud stops making sense.
  • Programmer happiness matters.

Martin Donadieu avatarMartin Donadieu

  • Build open source and stay free of venture capital.
  • Scratch your own itch, then let the community shape the product.
  • Share numbers and the journey openly.

Learn from David and Martin

David Heinemeier Hansson avatarDavid Heinemeier Hansson

Martin Donadieu avatarMartin Donadieu

David Heinemeier Hansson vs Martin Donadieu FAQ

Who makes more money, David Heinemeier Hansson or Martin Donadieu?

Martin Donadieu self-reports $30K MRR (as of 2026). David Heinemeier Hansson's revenue is not public, so a direct comparison isn't possible.

Who has built more products, David Heinemeier Hansson or Martin Donadieu?

David Heinemeier Hansson has 4 products listed (including Ruby on Rails, Basecamp and HEY); Martin Donadieu has 3 products listed (Capgo, Captime and Naturopia).

What tech stack do David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Donadieu use?

David Heinemeier Hansson uses Ruby on Rails, Ruby, MySQL and Linux. Martin Donadieu uses Capacitor, Supabase, TypeScript and Vue. They don't list any tools in common.

Where are David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Donadieu based?

David Heinemeier Hansson: not listed. Martin Donadieu: Portugal.

Who has been an indie maker longer, David Heinemeier Hansson or Martin Donadieu?

David Heinemeier Hansson started in 2003 (23 years indie); Martin Donadieu started in 2021 (5 years indie).

Are David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Donadieu bootstrapped?

Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.

Full profiles

Read the full story, timeline and links on David Heinemeier Hansson's profile and Martin Donadieu's profile.

More comparisons

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