Top 29 Most Profitable Bootstrapped Startups
Get a full market clarity report so you can build a winning digital business
We research digital businesses every day, if you're building in this space, get our market clarity reports
Bootstrapped startups are proving you don't need venture capital to build massively profitable software businesses.
The 29 companies in this ranking range from $6K to $883K in monthly recurring revenue, all built without traditional funding rounds.
Understanding what separates the high earners from the rest gives you a blueprint for sustainable growth (which is exactly why we dig deep into real market data in our market clarity reports for over 100 product categories).
Quick Summary
The bootstrapped startup landscape spans from $6K to $883K monthly revenue, with clear patterns separating category leaders from early-stage projects.
The highest earners focus on either established vertical SaaS with deep product-market fit (like Balsamiq at $883K/month after 16+ years) or capitalize on explosive growth opportunities through aggressive product-led tactics (like Submagic at $667K/month with 10,000 affiliates). Most bootstrapped startups that crack $100K MRR do it through solving their own problem in a tight-knit community, building generous free tiers that create viral loops, or dominating SEO for high-intent keywords.
The most capital-efficient companies prove that staying lean matters, with solo founders and tiny teams regularly hitting seven-figure annual revenues.
In our market clarity reports, you'll always find a sharp analysis of your competitors.
Top 29 Bootstrapped Startups Ranked by Monthly Revenue
-
1. Balsamiq ($883K/month)
Balsamiq generates $883K monthly with $10.6M annual revenue for 2024. The rapid mockup software serves designers with low-fidelity wireframes, maintaining 38 employees across multiple countries while staying completely independent since 2008.
Founder Peldi Guilizzoni resisted VC from day one, blogging revenue numbers publicly from the start: $4,432 in first 3 weeks, $100K in 5 months, $2M ARR in 18 months. Revenue comes from desktop licenses, cloud subscriptions, and Confluence/JIRA plugins, showing 16+ years of sustained profitability without external funding.
Key growth levers include radical transparency (sharing all revenue publicly), strategic Atlassian integrations creating distribution, conference community building, and servant leadership culture attracting top talent.
-
2. Submagic ($667K/month)
Submagic generates $667K MRR with $8M ARR as of October 2024, achieved with just 13 employees. The AI video tool automatically adds captions, B-roll, and effects to short-form videos, processing 5-10K signups daily.
Founder David Zitoun built it to $8M ARR with zero VC funding while staying profitable. This French founder operates from France while dominating the US creator market, hitting $1M ARR in exactly 90 days from launch and adding 2,500 new paying customers monthly despite 15% churn.
The explosive growth comes from the most generous affiliate program in SaaS with 30% lifetime commissions. Over 10,000 active affiliates drive $1.6M annual revenue, while viral content creators using the product become the best marketers. Contrarian hiring with 70% non-college-educated team members keeps operations lean.
Source: Nathan Latka Podcast -
3. Gymdesk ($583K/month)
Gymdesk generates approximately $583K monthly, estimated from mid-7 figures ARR ($7M) as of July 2024. The business management software serves gyms and fitness businesses with member management, billing, scheduling, and payments.
Founder Eran Galperin built the entire vertical SaaS from a $15K checking account after deliberately avoiding VC. He later joined TinySeed accelerator (10% equity for mentorship) but remained bootstrapped with no traditional funding rounds, growing to 16 employees after 8 years.
Growth came from deep customer feedback loops in the "unsexy" fitness space. Content marketing and SEO drove 100+ qualified leads monthly, while PPC, referral programs, and reseller partnerships diversified acquisition. The journey took four years to reach $12K MRR (2016-2019), then another four years to mid-7 figures.
Source: Eran Galperin -
4. Ticket Tailor ($500K/month)
Ticket Tailor generates $500K MRR with $6M ARR, competing with Eventbrite while charging lower fees. In Q2 2023 they processed 19% of Eventbrite's global ticket volume with just 20 employees.
Founder Jonny White launched in 2010, sold to Time Out in 2012, then bought it back in 2014 for just legal fees and has remained 100% owner with no investors since. The company maintains roughly 80% gross margins while serving 10M+ requests daily.
Core philosophy: keep it simple and move 10x faster than big companies. Word-of-mouth growth and competitive pricing drive adoption, showing how bootstrapped startups can outlast well-funded competitors.
Source: Pragmatic Engineer -
5. ARCads.ai ($500K/month)
ARCads.ai generates $500K MRR with $6M ARR as of May 2025. The AI ad creative platform serves mobile app advertisers with AI-generated video ads optimized for Meta and TikTok.
Founder Romain Torres achieved $6M ARR with zero external funding, staying profitable from day one with only 5 employees, achieving $1.2M revenue per employee. Serves 4,000+ customers with "very healthy profit margins."
The genius move was using their own product to create ads for their product. They built 100+ AI agents using Gumloop for automation. Perfect founder-market fit since Romain was the target customer. Journey: $5K MRR week 1 to $1M ARR in 5 months to adding $1M ARR in single month (April-May 2025).
Sources: GetLatka, GetLatka Company Profile -
6. Oleve ($500K/month)
Oleve generates $500K monthly with $6M ARR and 10-30% profit margins. Quizzard helps students solve homework with AI, while Unstuck is an AI study assistant, with 4M total downloads and 80M+ questions answered.
Minimal external funding (Neo Scholar: $10K at $1B valuation cap). The 6-person team maintains 20-30% profit margins without traditional VC. Founded January 2023 from a college dorm, reached $6M ARR in 25 months.
Viral TikTok marketing drove explosive growth when first video hit 2.3M views generating 10K users overnight. Hook: "POV: ChatGPT and Photomath had a baby." Run 6-7 simultaneous A/B tests on paywalls and hired actual teenagers as advocates. Platform approach enabled Unstuck to reach 1M users in 9 weeks.
Source: GetLatka -
7. Nomad List ($440K/month)
Nomad List generates $440K monthly with $5.3M in 2024, up from $700K in 2022. The platform helps digital nomads find the best cities to live and work remotely, run 95% solo by founder Pieter Levels.
Built in 2014 as part of "12 startups in 12 months" challenge with zero funding and never hired full-time employees. Main site remains free, achieving $0 customer acquisition cost. Revenue comes from paid Slack community starting at $5 one-time, now $75/year.
Launched as free spreadsheet on Product Hunt with immediate traction. Mainstream media coverage from Time, NYT, and HuffPo came organically. Timeline: 2015 started charging $5, 2017 hit $120K annual, exploded to $5.3M in 2024 (7.5x jump from 2022).
-
8. Wildjar ($310K/month)
Wildjar generates $310K MRR with $5.4M ARR, operating with just 6-9 employees. The call tracking platform helps businesses understand which marketing channels drive phone calls, achieving $615K revenue per employee.
Co-founder James O'Neill confirmed no external funding since 2016 launch. Maintains 122% net dollar retention (customers expand faster than they churn) and offers first 2 months free to improve retention.
Timeline: launched 2016 with $360K ARR, reached $1.9M by 2020, $3.7M in 2022, $5.4M in 2024. Doubled MRR from $150K to $310K in 2 years with same team while generating $2.8M in profits.
Sources: GetLatka Blog, GetLatka -
9. BetterPic ($270K/month)
BetterPic generates $270K MRR with $3.24M ARR early 2025. The AI headshot platform generates professional headshots from selfies in under 60 minutes for $29-$47, replacing $350 photography sessions, having generated over 11 million headshots.
Founders Ricardo Ghekiere and Miguel Rasero acquired the business at $1.5K MRR in December 2023 for $1 symbolic (with $200K investment commitment), then scaled completely bootstrapped, achieving profitability within 12 months. Timeline: $1.5K MRR to $270K MRR in 15 months (180x growth).
Affiliate program converts at 12% versus industry 0.5-1%, driving $80K monthly. Google Ads became profitable after increasing AOV from $15 to $47 through "studio" features. Killer feature: perfecting AI-generated eyes and hands where competitors fail, plus 24/7 support and zero churn (one-time purchase model).
Each of our market clarity reports includes a study of both positive and negative competitor reviews, helping uncover opportunities and gaps.
-
10. Plausible Analytics ($258K/month)
Plausible Analytics generates $258K monthly with $3.1M ARR as of 2024. The open-source, lightweight (less than 1KB), privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative requires no cookies, stays GDPR compliant, and stores all data in EU, serving 14,000+ active subscribers.
Founders Marko Saric and Uku Taht chose bootstrapping to maintain control since 2019. Timeline: $4.8K first year, $400 MRR at 14 months, $10K at 23 months, $1M ARR at ~3 years, $3.1M by 2024. Team of 11 (mostly part-time, 4-day work weeks) tracks 136B+ pageviews.
Content marketing and SEO drive 31% of traffic from organic search. Open-source nature creates transparency and trust. No paid advertising, purely word-of-mouth from satisfied users. Working 4-day work weeks while building to $3.1M ARR represents the lifestyle bootstrapper dream.
-
11. Tally ($250K/month)
Tally generates $250K MRR with $3M ARR as of April 2025. The no-code form builder offers unlimited free forms and submissions, serving 800,000+ users with an 8-person team.
Founders Marie Martens and Filip Minev maintained zero external funding since September 2020, relying solely on subscription fees. Achieving 2% conversion from free to Pro at $29/month is impressive given the generous free tier. Timeline: $1K MRR at 6 months, $5K at 14 months, $100K at 42 months, $250K at 57 months.
Product-led growth through generosity with unlimited free tier including "Made with Tally" badge transforming users into distribution. Initially 100% organic, added YouTube influencers in 2024. ChatGPT became #1 referral source today, generating 2,000+ monthly signups.
-
12. Testimonial.to ($200K/month)
Testimonial.to generates $200K MRR with $2.4M ARR as of 2024. The platform helps businesses collect, manage, and display customer testimonials with customizable templates and website integrations.
Solo founder Damon Chen built it without external funding as part of his portfolio (also built PDF.ai to ~$500K ARR). Revenue grew 6x from 2021 to 2024: $132K ARR in 2021, $276K in 2022, $420K in 2023, $2.4M in 2024. Combined portfolio generates over $1M+ annually as solo operator.
Product-led growth with free tier converts through value demonstration, while website builder integrations create distribution. Portfolio approach provides diversification and cross-promotion opportunities.
Sources: GetLatka, Indie Hackers -
13. ZenMaid ($200K/month)
ZenMaid generates $200K MRR with $2.4M ARR as of May 2024. The maid service management software handles scheduling, customer management, and payments for residential cleaning companies.
Founder Amar Ghose built it completely bootstrapped since 2013. Survived losing 40% revenue in 6 months and recovered through grit, representing 11 years of steady growth in a price-sensitive but stable niche.
Word-of-mouth within tight-knit maid service community and content marketing drove sustainable growth. Avoided "selling to other indie hackers" trap. Serving unsexy, stable niches often works better than competing in crowded markets, a lesson our market clarity reports frequently reveal.
Source: Indie Bites -
14. SiteGPT ($95K/month)
SiteGPT generates approximately $95K monthly as of February 2024, with peaks over $100K. The AI chatbot platform trains on website content for personalized support, letting users get AI chatbots within minutes.
Solo founder Bhanu Teja built it self-funded, launching March 2023 during ChatGPT hype. Started $10K MRR month 1, sustained $15K+, jumped to $95K+ in 11 months. Later sold for $250K+ in mid-2024.
Viral Twitter launch with 10K followers, achieved #1 Product of Day on Product Hunt and Hacker News front page. Perfect timing during AI hype. The $250K+ exit after just over a year shows how bootstrapped startups can capitalize on market timing.
-
15. ProjectionLab ($83K/month)
ProjectionLab generates $83K+ MRR with $1M ARR as of 2024. The financial planning calculator serves the FIRE community with Monte Carlo simulations, backtesting, and tax analytics, all privacy-focused with no account linking, serving 14,000-15,000 members.
Solo developer Kyle Nolan built it nights and weekends with zero external funding, working ~40 hours/week on side project before quitting in 2024. Timeline: 9 months to $1K MRR, ~4 years to $1M ARR. Quit job at $200K ARR.
Product-first approach focusing on exceptional UX drove organic growth. Viral Hacker News post was pivotal, with features on ChooseFI podcast and FIRE blogs. Freemium with no-signup sandbox. Minimal SEO/marketing because product excellence creates word-of-mouth.
Sources: Niche Pursuits, ChooseFI -
16. Secta Labs ($83K/month)
Secta Labs generates $83K+ MRR with $1M+ first year revenue. The AI headshot platform creates studio-quality photos from selfies optimized for Meta/TikTok advertising, serving 22,000+ customers year one with 6-person team.
100% bootstrapped by 2 co-founders with no external funding. Built over 1 month from December 2022 to January 2023 launch, testing concept first via WhatsApp bot. Product went viral immediately at launch.
Focused on creating "wow experience" making product shareable with built-in viral loops. Word-of-mouth primary driver (customers trying competitors then switching). Later added influencers, affiliates, paid ads, SEO. Perfect timing capitalizing on AI hype.
Source: Pragmatic Engineer -
17. FeedbackPanda ($55K/month)
FeedbackPanda generated $55K MRR at 2019 exit. The SaaS tool served online English teachers by automating feedback generation, saving teachers hours through templates and workflow tools.
Founders Arvid Kahl and Danielle built it fully bootstrapped with zero external funding. Arvid worked full-time while building. Timeline: launched 2017, reached $55,000 MRR by 2019, sold for seven figures in approximately 2 years. Subscriptions eventually at $15/month.
Deep niche focus on English teachers for Chinese students solved extreme pain (2-3 hours daily on feedback). Built in public, community engagement in Facebook groups. Word-of-mouth within tight community drove customer-funded growth with no ads. Arvid later founded Podscan and wrote books on bootstrapping.
Source: SaaS Club -
18. Featurebase ($50K/month)
Featurebase generates $50K MRR (some sources report $54.5K) as of December 2024. The product feedback tool helps collect user feedback, manage feature requests, create roadmaps, and engage customers with Intercom, Slack, Atlassian integrations.
3 Estonian co-founders aged 21-22 with no external funding. Started as teenagers with no business registration initially. Timeline: slow first 1.5 years, V2 launch early 2022 accelerated growth, $1K MRR around 2022, $4K mid-2023, $50K late 2024. Negative churn (upgrades exceed churns).
"Alternative to" marketing with SEO-optimized competitor comparisons. "Powered by Featurebase" viral loop on feedback boards. Integration marketing via Intercom, Atlassian, Slack marketplaces. Competed as cheaper alternative with better UX.
-
19. ShipFast ($50K/month)
ShipFast generated $50K MRR at peak, with April 2024 showing $143K across all projects. The Next.js boilerplate helps developers launch SaaS faster through one-time payment ($169-$199) for lifetime code access with authentication, payments, email, SEO pre-configured.
100% bootstrapped solo founder Marc Lou, part of portfolio with 28 products over 6 years. 72% of lifetime revenue in last 6 months as of April 2024. No hosting costs (code files). Timeline: created over ~1 week, $3K first 24 hours, sustained $50K/mo for 5+ months.
Product Hunt launches plus building in public on Twitter (97K+ followers). Pricing psychology with two tiers creates anchoring. One-time payment easier than subscriptions. Companion products: CodeFast course ($100K+ single month), MakeLanding (sold $35K). Product Hunt Maker of Year 2023.
Our market clarity reports contain between 100 and 300 insights about your market.
-
20. Tweet Hunter ($41K/month)
Tweet Hunter generated $41K MRR before $1.4M exit. The Twitter growth tool helped users build audiences with AI-powered tweet generation, scheduling, automation, engagement tools, and analytics during Twitter's growth peak.
Fully bootstrapped by 3 co-founders (Tibo Louis-Lucas, Tom Jacquesson, JK Molina) with no external funding before selling to Lempire. Timeline: May 2021 launch, $5K MRR in 3 months, $41K in 10-12 months, sold $1.4M total.
Launched on Twitter and Reddit, created free side products on Product Hunt. Partnered with JK Molina (100K+ Twitter followers) who tripled MRR in weeks. Organized Twitter contests and conferences. Multiple free tools drove traffic to main product.
-
21. 750 Words ($20K/month)
750 Words generates $20K MRR with approximately $240K annual. The private journaling tool encourages 750 words daily (3 pages), gamified with badges and stats, charging $5/month after 30-day free trial.
Founder Buster Benson started it as side project in 2009 with no external funding. Maintained site while working full-time at Twitter, Slack, and Patreon. Donation-based until 2011 (peaked $2K/month donations), switched to subscriptions at $5/month.
Added email list, chat group, forum for retention. Minimal marketing, mostly word of mouth. Solved founder's own problem (daily writing). Focus on retention through community rather than aggressive acquisition.
Source: Indie Hackers -
22. ScreenshotOne ($16K/month)
ScreenshotOne generates approximately $12K-$20K MRR (using $16K average). The screenshot API enables automated website screenshots for galleries, copyright software, cold email tools, and marketing automation.
100% bootstrapped solo founder Dmytro Krasun, quit software job, built while becoming first-time father in 2020 with no external funding. Timeline: June 2020 start, September 2020 first 5 customers ($111 MRR in 3 months), early $200/month, mid $2.2K MRR, current ~$144K-$240K ARR.
SEO dominance: ranks #1 for "screenshot API" on Google. Well-polished developer experience despite solo operation. Clean documentation. Started while employed, transitioned after validation.
-
23. HabitKit ($15K/month)
HabitKit generates $15K MRR mid-2024 ($13,605 in June 2024). The habit-tracking mobile app features GitHub-style grid, privacy-focused with local data storage, no sign-in required, with habit creation, calendar, widgets, customizable dashboard.
100% bootstrapped solo founder Sebastian Röhl, built with Flutter. Timeline: November 2022 launch at $1.5K first month, $51K revenue 2023, $110K Jan-May 2024. Subscription model ($7-39 monthly/annual) plus lifetime purchases. ~9,000 active subscribers, 120K downloads by end 2023.
Building in public on Twitter (3,700+ followers). App Store Optimization ranked top 10 for major keywords. Product Hunt #1 Product of Day. Leveraged New Year's resolutions for peak revenue. Created sister app Liftbear as learning experience.
-
24. Bannerbear ($15K/month)
Bannerbear generates approximately $10K-$20K MRR (using $15K average). The API for automated image and video generation lets developers auto-generate marketing visuals through templates and API calls, solving manual image creation bottleneck.
Solo technical founder Jon Yongfook built it completely self-funded with no external investment. Timeline: approximately 1 year to $10K MRR from pivot, then 6 months to $20K MRR (18 months total).
API-first targeting developers. Product Hunt launch for traction. Customer-led development building features based on usage. Jobs-to-be-done framework for positioning. Comprehensive documentation enabled self-service. Tutorial content drove organic traffic. Targeting bigger B2B customers improved retention.
Sources: Bannerbear Blog, Bannerbear Blog 2 -
25. Unicorn Platform ($12.8K/month)
Unicorn Platform generates $12.8K MRR, having reached $10K MRR milestone. The landing page builder for SaaS and software startups offers no-code tool with stylish templates, online editor, and hosting.
Solo founder Alexander Isora built it completely self-funded from Siberia, Russia. Explicitly rejects VC despite daily investor inquiries. Timeline: $500 MRR at MVP, $2K after Product Hunt relaunch, $10K+ after ~2 years. Monthly costs $3.5K, profit approximately $9K/month.
Product Hunt launches every 6 months (relaunching with updates). "Made by" badges on free sites create viral loop (3 in 100 sign up via badge). Open startup metrics sharing publicly. Trend-chasing (NFT templates, SEO pages). Side projects with free tools drive traffic. Customer-centric support (custom code, same-day bug fixes).
Source: Unicorn Platform Blog -
26. NotionForms ($10K/month)
NotionForms generates $10K MRR as of July 2022. The form builder for Notion creates forms connected to Notion databases, automatically receiving submissions into Notion workspace with no sign-in required.
100% bootstrapped solo founder Julien Nahum for first year, then hired developer (Chirag) after profitability. Timeline: May 2021 launch, 100 users in 6 days, first paid customer August 2021 ($15/month), $10K MRR in 1 year. Freemium with 3-day free trial for Pro.
Viral loop through watermark on free forms. Building in public on Twitter. Posted on Notion subreddit (26 upvotes, first 20 users) and Facebook groups. Product Hunt #1 Product of Day after failed first attempt. Exceptional support via live chat. Nearly sold for $6K early (declined), received $65K later (declined), $350K offer at $85-90K ARR (declined), showing conviction in long-term value.
Source: Julien Nahum Blog -
27. Feather ($7.7K/month)
Feather generates $7.7K MRR as of February 2024 (previously sustained $4-5K). The Notion-based blogging platform converts Notion pages into SEO-friendly blog posts automatically, letting users write in Notion and publish instantly with no coding.
Solo founder Bhanu Teja, completely self-funded throughout. Later sold to Tibo Maker for $250K in June 2024. Built over 2+ years with steady growth.
Scratching own itch (founder blogged in Notion). Building in public on Twitter. Product Hunt #1 Product of Day with 1,200+ upvotes (January 2024). Notion community word-of-mouth. SEO targeting Notion users. The $250K exit shows how even modest-scale bootstrapped startups can be attractive acquisitions.
-
28. Buildpad ($7.3K/month)
Buildpad generates $7,300 MRR as of late 2024. The AI-powered co-founder tool helps solo builders validate and build products with structured process, combining Notion-like organization with AI chat that remembers context and provides guidance through ideation, research, validation, and building.
Two brothers Felix and David Heikka built it explicitly bootstrapped with no outside funding, no marketing agency, no ad budgets. $0 spent on paid marketing initially. Timeline: 7 months from $0 to $7,300 MRR (March-October 2024). Hit $2,400 MRR by February, $5K shortly after, $7,300 by October.
Building in public on Twitter/X and Reddit. Posted screenshots and real metrics showing struggles and wins. Community-driven feedback shaped product. Product Hunt launch with community support. Reddit posts on r/passive_income and r/IndieHackers. The brothers had previous success at age 14 scaling startup to $20K MRR in 6 months.
Source: Better Marketing -
29. Podscan ($6K/month)
Podscan generates $6K MRR late 2024/early 2025, reaching profitability April 2025. The podcast intelligence platform transcribes and indexes millions of podcasts making them searchable, offering alerting (monitor brand/keyword mentions), search, and API for developers, processing episodes within hours.
Initially bootstrapped, then received "bootstrapper-compatible" funding from Calm Company Fund (6-figure investment March 2024) for infrastructure costs. Reached profitability April 2025 with founder owning majority and minimal dilution. Timeline: $300 MRR month 1, $1,000 month 2, $6,000 by late 2024. Expenses $10-11K/month on GPU compute, now profitable with over 100 customers.
Building in public extensively on blog, Twitter, YouTube, podcast. Started as marketing tool for Podline. API-first for developers, agencies as ideal customer. Customer research (20+ interviews). Attended MicroConf. Created demo (ideas.podscan.fm) showing API potential. Founder Arvid Kahl previously founded and sold FeedbackPanda, wrote books on bootstrapping, runs popular podcast.
For each competitor, our market clarity reports look at how they address or fail to address market pain points. If they don't, it highlights a potential opportunity for you.
Read more articles
- Top Most Profitable Indie SaaS
- Top Most Profitable Indie Apps
