cat report-2026.md
State of Indie Makers 2026
A data report on who indie makers are, what they earn, what they build with and how often they sell — computed from 317 in-depth maker profiles and 1119 products in the IndieMakerList directory. Every number below is calculated from the open dataset; revenue is self-reported and sourced.
By John Rush · Published · Data as of · Open data (JSON)
Key findings · State of Indie Makers 2026
n = 317 maker profiles- 317indie makers profiled in depth, from 50 countries
- 31%are based in the United States; United Kingdom and Canada follow
- 61%are bootstrapped — no venture capital
- $40K/momedian self-reported revenue of the 79 makers who publish numbers
- 25makers report $100K+ a month; 29 are past $1M a year
- 3products shipped by the median maker; 84% have shipped two or more
- 28%of makers have sold a product — 124 acquisitions in total
- 54%of listed stacks use the JavaScript ecosystem; Next.js is the #1 tool
Source: indiemakerlist.com/report/2026 · data as of 2026-10-08 · revenue self-reported
01 / who
31% of indie makers in our data live in the United States, but they come from 50 countries.
The directory lists 385 makers; this report focuses on the 317 with in-depth profiles. Of those with a known location (250), the United States leads with 78, ahead of United Kingdom (19) and Canada (17); 67 makers don't publish where they live.
61% are bootstrapped, 41% work solo and 13% build as a duo or couple. 44% build in public. The most common start year is 2019 (25 makers), and the median maker started in 2018 — this is an experienced, survivor-heavy group rather than a snapshot of newcomers.
- United States78
- United Kingdom19
- Canada17
- Germany14
- France14
- India13
- Portugal7
- Brazil5
- Netherlands5
- Poland5
- Singapore5
- Australia4
- Denmark4
- Spain4
- Sweden4
Show data table
| Country | Makers |
|---|---|
| United States | 78 |
| United Kingdom | 19 |
| Canada | 17 |
| Germany | 14 |
| France | 14 |
| India | 13 |
| Portugal | 7 |
| Brazil | 5 |
| Netherlands | 5 |
| Poland | 5 |
| Singapore | 5 |
| Australia | 4 |
| Denmark | 4 |
| Spain | 4 |
| Sweden | 4 |
Show data table
| Trait | Share of makers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bootstrapped | 61% | 194 of 317 makers |
| Build in public | 44% | 138 of 317 makers |
| Solo founder | 41% | 129 of 317 makers |
| Tagged “exited” | 31% | 97 of 317 makers |
| Duo / couple | 13% | 41 of 317 makers |
- SaaS Founders126
- AI Builders101
- Creators & Writers99
- Educators & Course Creators88
- Marketing & SEO Tools65
- Developer Tools63
- Open Source Makers42
- Directory Makers38
- Community Builders37
- Mobile App Makers34
Show data table
| Category | Makers |
|---|---|
| SaaS Founders | 126 |
| AI Builders | 101 |
| Creators & Writers | 99 |
| Educators & Course Creators | 88 |
| Marketing & SEO Tools | 65 |
| Developer Tools | 63 |
| Open Source Makers | 42 |
| Directory Makers | 38 |
| Community Builders | 37 |
| Mobile App Makers | 34 |
Recent years are under-represented: profiles are added once a maker has a track record, so the right edge of this chart understates new entrants.
Show data table
| Start year | Makers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| <2005 | 9 | before 2005 |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 5 | |
| 2008 | 5 | |
| 2009 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 8 | |
| 2012 | 10 | |
| 2013 | 11 | |
| 2014 | 6 | |
| 2015 | 6 | |
| 2016 | 8 | |
| 2017 | 15 | |
| 2018 | 16 | |
| 2019 | 25 | |
| 2020 | 17 | |
| 2021 | 15 | |
| 2022 | 12 | |
| 2023 | 12 | |
| 2024 | 13 | |
| 2025 | 3 |
02 / money
The median maker who publishes revenue reports $40K/mo — and the top 10 account for 69% of all reported revenue.
79 of 317 profiled makers (25%) have publicly shared a revenue figure we could normalise to US dollars per month. 77% of them report at least $10K a month, 25 report $100K or more, and 29 have passed $1M a year. Reported revenue is extremely concentrated — the top 10 alone account for 69% of the total — which is why this report uses medians, not averages.
Read with care: these numbers are self-reported and heavily survivorship-biased. Makers with small or shrinking revenue rarely publish it, so the true median for all indie makers is far lower. By category, Open Source Makers report the highest median ($250K/mo, n = 7), SaaS founders sit at $40K/mo (n = 47), and Directory Makers the lowest ($7.7K/mo).
- <$1K/mo1
- $1K–10K/mo17
- $10K–50K/mo23
- $50K–100K/mo13
- $100K+/mo25
Median: $40K/mo. Annual figures are divided by 12.
Show data table
| Monthly revenue | Makers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| <$1K/mo | 1 | 1% of reporting makers |
| $1K–10K/mo | 17 | 22% of reporting makers |
| $10K–50K/mo | 23 | 29% of reporting makers |
| $50K–100K/mo | 13 | 16% of reporting makers |
| $100K+/mo | 25 | 32% of reporting makers |
- Open Source Makers$250K
- Acquirers & Indie Investors$146K
- Productized Services$90K
- Creators & Writers$83K
- Educators & Course Creators$83K
- Marketing & SEO Tools$82K
- SaaS Founders$40K
- AI Builders$36K
- Productivity Tools$36K
- Mac & Desktop App Makers$35K
- Developer Tools$30K
- Mobile App Makers$30K
- Community Builders$12K
- Boilerplate & Starter Kit Makers$10K
- Design Tools$8.2K
- Directory Makers$7.7K
Small samples — treat categories with n under 10 as anecdotes, not trends.
Show data table
| Category | Median $/mo | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source Makers | $250K | n = 7 |
| Acquirers & Indie Investors | $146K | n = 6 |
| Productized Services | $90K | n = 5 |
| Creators & Writers | $83K | n = 25 |
| Educators & Course Creators | $83K | n = 23 |
| Marketing & SEO Tools | $82K | n = 24 |
| SaaS Founders | $40K | n = 47 |
| AI Builders | $36K | n = 22 |
| Productivity Tools | $36K | n = 11 |
| Mac & Desktop App Makers | $35K | n = 5 |
| Developer Tools | $30K | n = 15 |
| Mobile App Makers | $30K | n = 7 |
| Community Builders | $12K | n = 10 |
| Boilerplate & Starter Kit Makers | $10K | n = 6 |
| Design Tools | $8.2K | n = 7 |
| Directory Makers | $7.7K | n = 11 |
| # | Maker | Product | ≈ / month | As reported | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guillaume Moubeche | lemlist | $3.3M | ~$40M ARR (lempire) | 2025 | founderpath.com |
| 2 | Sahil Lavingia | Gumroad | $1.5M | $17.8M/yr (Gumroad, 2025) | 2025 | youtube.com |
| 3 | Nathan Barry | Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | $1.2M | $1.19M MRR (ConvertKit) | 2019 | nathanbarry.com |
| 4 | Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) | Revid | $1M | ~$1M/mo across products | 2026 | tmaker.io |
| 5 | John O'Nolan | Ghost | $925K | Ghost: ~$11.1M ARR | 2026 | ghost.org |
| 6 | Yasser Elsaid | Chatbase | $864K | $864K MRR (verified) | 2026-07 | trustmrr.com |
| 7 | Pierre de Wulf | ScrapingBee | $415K | ~$5M ARR (at exit) | 2025 | proxyway.com |
| 8 | Kevin Sahin | ScrapingBee | $415K | $5M+ ARR (at exit) | 2025 | fr.linkedin.com |
| 9 | Ali Abdaal | Part-Time YouTuber Academy | $340K | $4M+ in 2022 | 2022 | thehustlers.substack.com |
| 10 | Adam Wathan | Tailwind Plus (formerly Tailwind UI) | $300K | Mid-seven figures/yr (2020) | 2020 | adamwathan.me |
Some figures are company revenue at the time of an exit or a past year, not today's run rate — check the “as of” column. Full ranking: indie maker revenue leaderboard.
03 / products
Indie makers rarely stop at one: the median maker has shipped 3 products, and 84% have shipped two or more.
The 317 profiles list 1,119 products. Only 50 makers are known for a single product; 5 have shipped ten or more, led by John Rush with 23. Most products are still alive: 85% are active, 11% were acquired and just 4% are marked as shut down — though failed side projects are the ones makers are least likely to list.
AI is the largest product category (137 products). Launches with a known year peak in 2023 (56); 63% of dated products launched in 2020 or later.
- 1 product50
- 263
- 368
- 457
- 533
- 6–941
- 10+5
Median highlighted: 3 products.
Show data table
| Products | Makers |
|---|---|
| 1 product | 50 |
| 2 | 63 |
| 3 | 68 |
| 4 | 57 |
| 5 | 33 |
| 6–9 | 41 |
| 10+ | 5 |
- Active953
- Acquired124
- Shut down42
Show data table
| Status | Products | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 953 | 85% of products |
| Acquired | 124 | 11% of products |
| Shut down | 42 | 4% of products |
- AI Builders137
- Marketing & SEO Tools113
- Developer Tools86
- Educators & Course Creators84
- Directory Makers82
- Productivity Tools64
- SaaS Founders60
- Mobile App Makers55
- Indie Game Makers54
- Design Tools50
- Community Builders49
- Mac & Desktop App Makers46
Show data table
| Category | Products |
|---|---|
| AI Builders | 137 |
| Marketing & SEO Tools | 113 |
| Developer Tools | 86 |
| Educators & Course Creators | 84 |
| Directory Makers | 82 |
| Productivity Tools | 64 |
| SaaS Founders | 60 |
| Mobile App Makers | 55 |
| Indie Game Makers | 54 |
| Design Tools | 50 |
| Community Builders | 49 |
| Mac & Desktop App Makers | 46 |
Show data table
| Launch year | Products | Note |
|---|---|---|
| <2005 | 8 | before 2005 |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2009 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 4 | |
| 2011 | 13 | |
| 2012 | 7 | |
| 2013 | 18 | |
| 2014 | 13 | |
| 2015 | 8 | |
| 2016 | 15 | |
| 2017 | 18 | |
| 2018 | 23 | |
| 2019 | 34 | |
| 2020 | 41 | |
| 2021 | 42 | |
| 2022 | 41 | |
| 2023 | 56 | |
| 2024 | 51 | |
| 2025 | 45 | |
| 2026 | 18 |
04 / stack
Next.js is the most-listed tool, but the JavaScript ecosystem as a whole shows up in 54% of indie stacks.
170 makers publish their stack, naming 177 distinct tools between them. The long tail is long (97 tools are mentioned by a single maker), but the head is familiar: Next.js, React, TypeScript, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS. Native Apple development is the other big cluster: 25 makers list Swift, SwiftUI, Objective-C or AppKit.
AI coding tools have already entered the list: 10 makers name an AI coding assistant such as Claude Code or Cursor as part of their stack. See the full indie maker tech stack for every tool and who uses it.
- Next.js39
- React38
- TypeScript31
- JavaScript26
- Tailwind CSS26
- Swift23
- Node.js17
- PHP15
- PostgreSQL14
- Stripe14
- Supabase13
- Ruby on Rails12
- Laravel11
- SwiftUI11
- Astro10
- Claude Code9
- Firebase9
- Python9
- Objective-C7
- Prisma7
Show data table
| Tool | Makers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Next.js | 39 | 23% of makers with a listed stack |
| React | 38 | 22% of makers with a listed stack |
| TypeScript | 31 | 18% of makers with a listed stack |
| JavaScript | 26 | 15% of makers with a listed stack |
| Tailwind CSS | 26 | 15% of makers with a listed stack |
| Swift | 23 | 14% of makers with a listed stack |
| Node.js | 17 | 10% of makers with a listed stack |
| PHP | 15 | 9% of makers with a listed stack |
| PostgreSQL | 14 | 8% of makers with a listed stack |
| Stripe | 14 | 8% of makers with a listed stack |
| Supabase | 13 | 8% of makers with a listed stack |
| Ruby on Rails | 12 | 7% of makers with a listed stack |
| Laravel | 11 | 6% of makers with a listed stack |
| SwiftUI | 11 | 6% of makers with a listed stack |
| Astro | 10 | 6% of makers with a listed stack |
| Claude Code | 9 | 5% of makers with a listed stack |
| Firebase | 9 | 5% of makers with a listed stack |
| Python | 9 | 5% of makers with a listed stack |
| Objective-C | 7 | 4% of makers with a listed stack |
| Prisma | 7 | 4% of makers with a listed stack |
05 / exits
28% of profiled makers have sold at least one product — 124 acquisitions in total.
88 makers list one or more acquired products, and 28 of them have sold two or more — selling a product and starting the next one is a well-worn indie path. 97 profiles carry the “exited” tag, which also covers exits that aren't attached to a listed product.
21 of the makers with an exit also have a self-reported revenue figure on their profile — sometimes revenue at the time of the sale, sometimes from a newer business. Browse every deal on the indie exits and acquisitions page.
- 1 exit60
- 2 exits22
- 3+ exits6
Show data table
| Exits | Makers |
|---|---|
| 1 exit | 60 |
| 2 exits | 22 |
| 3+ exits | 6 |
- Bram Kanstein5
- Adam Wathan3
- Jakob Greenfeld3
- Marc Köhlbrugge3
- Derrick Reimer3
- Luca Restagno3
- Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo)2
- Patrick McKenzie2
- Tony Dinh2
- Derek Sivers2
Show data table
| Maker | Acquired products |
|---|---|
| Bram Kanstein | 5 |
| Adam Wathan | 3 |
| Jakob Greenfeld | 3 |
| Marc Köhlbrugge | 3 |
| Derrick Reimer | 3 |
| Luca Restagno | 3 |
| Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) | 2 |
| Patrick McKenzie | 2 |
| Tony Dinh | 2 |
| Derek Sivers | 2 |
06 / longevity
Makers who started 10–14 years ago report the highest median revenue: $200K/mo.
For the 60 makers with both a start year and a revenue figure, we grouped them by years since they started. Those in their first 4 years report a median of $34K/mo, versus $200K/mo for those 10–14 years in. The longest-running group (15+ years) reports $53K/mo, so revenue doesn't simply keep rising with age.
Samples are small (each bar shows its n) and every survivorship caveat from the money section applies doubly here. Read this as a direction, not a forecast.
- 0–4 years (n = 10)$34K
- 5–9 years (n = 33)$83K
- 10–14 years (n = 11)$200K
- 15+ years (n = 6)$53K
Show data table
| Years since start | Median $/mo | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 years (n = 10) | $34K | n = 10 |
| 5–9 years (n = 33) | $83K | n = 33 |
| 10–14 years (n = 11) | $200K | n = 11 |
| 15+ years (n = 6) | $53K | n = 6 |
- 0–4 years (n = 10)60%
- 5–9 years (n = 33)88%
- 10–14 years (n = 11)91%
- 15+ years (n = 6)83%
Show data table
| Years since start | Share ≥ $10K/mo |
|---|---|
| 0–4 years (n = 10) | 60% |
| 5–9 years (n = 33) | 88% |
| 10–14 years (n = 11) | 91% |
| 15+ years (n = 6) | 83% |
man report --methodology
Methodology & data sources
- Population. The IndieMakerList directory contains 385 makers. All statistics in this report use only the 317 rich profiles — hand-researched entries with bio, location, tags, products and sources. The remaining legacy entries carry little more than a name and a link and are excluded.
- Sources. Profiles are compiled from public material: makers' own posts and websites, open-startup dashboards, verified-revenue pages, interviews, podcasts and press. Every profile lists its sources.
- Revenue. Self-reported or publicly stated, never independently audited. Figures are normalised to US dollars per month (annual numbers ÷ 12). Reporting dates range from 2012 to 2026 (44 of 79 from 2025 or later). 6 profiles that mention revenue without a usable number are excluded. Makers who publish revenue are more successful than those who don't — expect strong survivorship and selection bias.
- Missing values are left out of each denominator, never treated as zero: country is known for 250 makers, start year for 209, a public stack for 170, and launch year for 469 of 1,119 products.
- Categories and tags overlap — a maker can be in up to four categories — so shares can sum to more than 100%. Tools are de-duplicated per maker by name.
- Freshness. All numbers are recomputed from the dataset each time the site is built. Data as of . 2026 is a partial year.
- Open data. The full dataset is available as JSON at /api/makers.json under CC BY 4.0. Spotted an error? Profiles can be corrected via the submit page.
cite --format apa,bibtex
Cite this report
Journalists, researchers and writers are welcome to quote any number or reuse the charts with a link to indiemakerlist.com/report/2026/. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Suggested citation
Rush, J. (2026). State of Indie Makers 2026 [Data report]. IndieMakerList. https://indiemakerlist.com/report/2026/
BibTeX
@misc{indiemakerlist2026,
title = {State of Indie Makers 2026},
author = {Rush, John and {IndieMakerList}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://indiemakerlist.com/report/2026/},
note = {Data: 317 maker profiles, as of 2026-10-08}
}Explore the data behind the report: all 385 indie makers, the revenue leaderboard, indie exits, the indie tech stack and makers by country.
State of Indie Makers 2026 — FAQ
How much money do indie makers make?
Among the 79 profiled indie makers who publicly report revenue, the median is $40K/mo. 77% report at least $10K a month and 25 report $100K or more. These figures are self-reported and skew high, because successful makers are far more likely to publish their numbers.
Where do most indie makers live?
31% of profiled makers with a known location are in the United States, followed by United Kingdom (19) and Canada (17). In total the 317 in-depth profiles span 50 countries.
What tech stack do indie makers use?
Next.js is the most listed tool (23% of the 170 makers with a public stack), followed by React (38), TypeScript (31), JavaScript (26). 54% list at least one JavaScript or TypeScript ecosystem tool.
How many indie makers have sold a product?
88 of 317 profiled makers (28%) list at least one acquired product, for 124 acquisitions in total. 28 of them have sold two or more products.
How many products does an indie maker launch?
The median profiled maker has shipped 3 products, and 84% have shipped more than one. Across 1119 products, 85% are still active, 11% were acquired and 4% have shut down.
Can I use or cite this data?
Yes. The report and the underlying data are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to https://indiemakerlist.com/report/2026/. The full maker dataset is available as JSON at https://indiemakerlist.com/api/makers.json.