diff ~/p/david-perell ~/p/justin-welsh

David Perell vs Justin Welsh

Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.

David Perell

Founder of Write of Passage, the cohort writing course; host of How I Write

@david_perell United States

Justin Welsh

Solopreneur who passed $10M in revenue with a one-person business

@thejustinwelsh United States

David Perell vs Justin Welsh at a glance

Both David Perell and Justin Welsh are bootstrapped. They overlap in Educators & Course Creators and Creators & Writers. David is based in New York, United States, Justin in United States. David started in 2017 and Justin in 2019. David Perell has 4 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Justin Welsh's 4. On revenue, David self-reports ~$2M/yr (Write of Passage) (as of 2021) and Justin $10M+ total revenue (lifetime) (as of 2025). On X, David has about 481K followers and Justin about 592K.

Side-by-side comparison

Based in: David Perell: New York, United States; Justin Welsh: United States
Started: David Perell: 2017 (9 yrs indie); Justin Welsh: 2019 (7 yrs indie)
Revenue (self-reported): David Perell: ~$2M/yr (Write of Passage)self-reported, as of 2021 · source for David Perell's revenue; Justin Welsh: $10M+ total revenue (lifetime)self-reported, as of 2025 · source for Justin Welsh's revenue
Products listed: David Perell: 4; Justin Welsh: 4
Product status: David Perell: 4 active; Justin Welsh: 4 active
X followers: David Perell: 481K; Justin Welsh: 592K
Categories: David Perell: Educators & Course Creators Creators & Writers; Justin Welsh: Creators & Writers Educators & Course Creators
Style: David Perell: bootstrapped; Justin Welsh: solobootstrappedbuilds in public
Courses & resources: David Perell: 3; Justin Welsh: 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.

David Perell

No stack shared publicly.

Justin Welsh

No stack shared publicly.

How they build

David Perell

Write online to let opportunities find you.
Build a personal monopoly at the intersection of your interests.
Treat writing as a skill you can learn, not a talent you have.
Learn in public and share what you learn every week.

Justin Welsh

Build a portfolio of one-person businesses designed around the life you want.
Create content consistently to build an audience, then productize what works.
Listen closely to your audience and build the products they ask for.
Keep costs and complexity low to protect high margins and free time.

Learn from David and Justin

David Perell

[course] Write of Passage · $4,000–$10,000 (2023)
[podcast] How I Write
[newsletter] Monday Musings

Justin Welsh

[course] The LinkedIn Operating System · $200
[course] The Content Operating System · $200
[course] The Creator MBA
[newsletter] The Saturday Essay

David Perell vs Justin Welsh FAQ

Who makes more money, David Perell or Justin Welsh?

David Perell self-reports ~$2M/yr (Write of Passage) (as of 2021) and Justin Welsh self-reports $10M+ total revenue (lifetime) (as of 2025). By these self-reported figures, David Perell's 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, David Perell or Justin Welsh?

David Perell has 4 products listed (including Write of Passage, How I Write and Monday Musings); Justin Welsh has 4 products listed (including The LinkedIn Operating System, The Content Operating System and The Creator MBA).