✍️ Creators & Writers · revenue leaderboard
Top Creator Indie Makers by Revenue (2026)
25 creators & writers ranked by publicly reported monthly revenue in 2026. Guillaume Moubeche leads with ~$40M ARR (lempire); the median is $83K per month. All figures are self-reported or from public sources, each linked and dated.
Top Creator indie makers by revenue
Ranked by reported monthly revenue in USD (annual figures ÷ 12).
| # | Maker | Top product | Revenue | ≈ / month | As of | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | lemlist | ~$40M ARR (lempire) | $3.3M | 2025 | founderpath.com | — | |
| 2 | Gumroad | $17.8M/yr (Gumroad, 2025) | $1.5M | 2025 | youtube.com | TrustMRR ↗ | |
| 3 | Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | $1.19M MRR (ConvertKit) | $1.2M | 2019 | nathanbarry.com | — | |
| 4 | Revid | ~$1M/mo across products | $1M | 2026 | tmaker.io | — | |
| 5 | Ghost | Ghost: ~$11.1M ARR | $925K | 2026 | ghost.org | — | |
| 6 | Part-Time YouTuber Academy | $4M+ in 2022 | $340K | 2022 | thehustlers.substack.com | — | |
| 7 | The LinkedIn Operating System | $10M+ total revenue (lifetime) | $145K | 2025 | justinwelsh.me | — | |
| 8 | Eden | $1M-$1.5M/yr | $100K | 2026-09 | youtube.com | — | |
| 9 | Sales.co | $90K/mo (Sales.co) | $90K | 2024 | indiehackers.com | — | |
| 10 | Plausible Analytics | $1M+ ARR | $85K | 2022 | plausible.io | — | |
| 11 | Ultimate Brain | $1M in Notion template sales (2022) | $83K | 2022 | typefully.com | — | |
| 12 | Lenny's Newsletter | $1M+/yr (newsletter and podcast, each over $500K) | $83K | 2024 | cnbc.com | — | |
| 13 | Starter Story | $1M/yr | $83K | 2023 | patwalls.com | — | |
| 14 | Card Value Scanner for Pokemon | $70K/mo | $70K | 2026 | youtube.com | — | |
| 15 | DataExpert.io | $56K MRR + cohorts; $4.7M all-time (verified) | $56K | 2026-10 | trustmrr.com | TrustMRR ↗ | |
| 16 | Post Bridge | $48.9K MRR (Post Bridge, verified) | $49K | 2026-10 | trustmrr.com | TrustMRR ↗ | |
| 17 | Small Bets | $210K profit in 9 months (info products) | $26K | 2020 | dvassallo.medium.com | TrustMRR ↗ | |
| 18 | Bingo Card Creator | ~$275K/yr sales, ~$200K profit (excl. Appointment Reminder) | $23K | 2012 | kalzumeus.com | — | |
| 19 | Notion Second Brain | $239K in 2022 | $20K | 2022 | businessinsider.com | — | |
| 20 | Buttondown | ~$15K MRR | $15K | 2022-12 | indiebites.com | — | |
| 21 | The Product Compass | $126K ARR | $11K | 2024-11 | productcompass.pm | — | |
| 22 | Inkdrop | $10K+ MRR | $10K | 2022 | indiehackers.com | — | |
| 23 | Wizard Zines | $101,558 in 2018 (zine business) | $8.5K | 2018 | jvns.ca | — | |
| 24 | ian.is SEO tools | $100K ARR (Keyword Metrics + URL Monitor) | $8.3K | 2024 | twitter.com | — | |
| 25 | BlackTwist | $2.5K/mo (BlackTwist) | $2.5K | 2026 | x.com | — |
Revenue is self-reported or sourced from public statements and is not verified by IndieMakerList. Rows marked TrustMRR link to a page where TrustMRR verifies revenue from the payment provider.
Most followed Creator makers not ranked by revenue
10 creators & writers with the biggest audiences on X who haven't shared a current revenue figure.
- 01
Greg Isenberg727K followersCEO of Late Checkout, host of The Startup Ideas Podcast, creator of Ideabrowser
- 02
Dickie Bush447K followersFormer BlackRock trader who co-founded Ship 30 for 30 to teach online writing
- 03
Wes Bos441K followersCanadian full-stack JavaScript teacher behind JavaScript30 and the Syntax podcast
- 04
Brad Traversy361K followersWeb dev educator behind Traversy Media, plus a public lab of indie dev tools
- 05
Gergely Orosz360K followersEx-Uber engineering manager who writes The Pragmatic Engineer newsletter
- 06
Jack Butcher354K followersFounder of Visualize Value: minimalist visuals, courses on leverage, and digital art
- 07
Miguel Ángel Durán340K followersBarcelona developer-streamer teaching programming and AI in Spanish via midu.dev academy
- 08
Kent C. Dodds330K followersJavaScript educator behind Epic React, Epic Web and Testing JavaScript
- 09
Derek Sivers286K followersMusician who accidentally built CD Baby, sold it for $22M, and writes books on how to live
- 10
Csaba Kissi256K followersSlovakia-based 'Coding Dinosaur' who has shipped 200+ web projects
Looking for products instead? how much does Starter Story make, how much does The Product Compass make, how much does Doing Content Right make — or see all products with public revenue.
Revenue leaderboards by category
Creator indie maker revenue FAQ
Who is the highest-earning Creator indie maker?
Guillaume Moubeche tops the Creator leaderboard with ~$40M ARR (lempire) (as of 2025), about $3.3M per month. Sahil Lavingia ($17.8M/yr (Gumroad, 2025)) and Nathan Barry ($1.19M MRR (ConvertKit)) follow.
How much do Creator indie makers earn?
Of the 101 makers in Creators & Writers on IndieMakerList, 25 have shared revenue publicly. Their median reported revenue is $83K per month; 22 report at least $10K per month and 8 report $100K or more.
What is the combined revenue of the top Creator indie makers?
Together the 25 ranked makers report about $9.2M per month ($110M a year). Figures are self-reported and dated differently, so treat the sum as a rough indication.
Is this revenue verified?
No — the numbers are self-reported or taken from public posts and interviews, each linked to its source. 4 of the 25 makers have a TrustMRR page, which verifies revenue from the payment provider; they carry a TrustMRR badge.