How Indie Developers Actually Share Their MRR

Founders often talk about their app's monthly recurring revenue (MRR), but it is difficult to know which numbers to trust. Public revenue claims range from meticulously verified disclosures to outright fabrications. At bumetric, we track app revenue for hundreds of thousands of apps, and a key part of our methodology involves understanding which public statements about MRR are reliable. This guide breaks down the common sources where indie developers share their MRR, ranking them by reliability and explaining what each source is worth.

Why MRR Transparency Matters

For indie developers, sharing MRR is more than just bragging rights. It is a way to build trust with users, attract talent, and even secure funding or acquisition interest. For others, it is a benchmark, a way to understand market potential, or to gauge the success of a competitor. For us at bumetric, it is a critical data point for calibrating our revenue intelligence models. When we see a founder share their MRR, we evaluate it against our own estimates and other public data to refine our understanding of the app economy.

The Most Reliable Sources for MRR Disclosure

Not all revenue claims are equal. We prioritize sources that involve some form of verification or a high incentive for honesty.

1. Acquisition Listings - Flippa and Acquire.com

When an app or SaaS business is listed for sale on platforms like Flippa or Acquire.com (formerly MicroAcquire), the MRR figures provided are typically the most reliable public disclosures. This is because potential buyers perform due diligence, which includes verifying financial records. Inflated numbers risk wasting both the seller's and buyer's time, and can lead to legal issues.

• Flippa: This platform specializes in the sale of online businesses, including apps. For acquisitions in the $50,000 to $200,000 range, the MRR figures are usually very solid. Sellers provide access to App Store Connect, Google Play Console, or Stripe dashboards, which buyers scrutinize. We use a subset of these verified acquisition deals as a key anchor pool for our own MRR calibration. For example, if an app like Daily Budget Original was listed and sold, its disclosed revenue would be part of this pool.
• Acquire.com: Similar to Flippa, but often features smaller deals, particularly for SaaS side projects and smaller apps. Deals in the $5,000 to $50,000 range are common here. The verification process is similar, making these MRR figures highly trustworthy.

The incentive for accuracy on these platforms is high: a sale depends on it. Any discrepancy found during due diligence can kill a deal or significantly reduce the asking price.

2. IndieHackers Products Page

The IndieHackers Products page is a vibrant community where founders share their journey, including their product's MRR. Roughly 50% of profiles include an MRR figure.

• Voluntary Disclosure: Founders voluntarily share their numbers. While most are honest and transparent, there is no direct third-party verification on the platform itself.
• Community Vetting: The community aspect does provide a soft form of vetting. Founders who consistently post unrealistic numbers often lose credibility.
• Inflation Risk: Some founders might inflate their numbers to appear more successful or to attract attention. It is less common for established, long-term members, but it happens.

We consider IndieHackers a valuable source, but always cross-reference these claims with other data points. It is a good starting point for discovery, but not a definitive source on its own.

Moderately Reliable Sources

These sources offer valuable insights but require more scrutiny and cross-referencing.

3. Build in Public (#buildinpublic)

The #buildinpublic movement on platforms like Twitter/X is a growing trend where founders openly share their progress, including daily or weekly revenue updates.

• Authenticity: This is often one of the most authentic sources. Founders share screenshots of their dashboards (App Store Connect, Stripe, etc.) directly. The continuous nature of these updates makes it harder to fake consistently.
• Small Sample Size: While authentic, the number of founders consistently sharing granular revenue data is relatively small.
• Context Matters: A single day's revenue might not reflect MRR accurately due to spikes or troughs. It is best to look at trends over time.

When we see founders like Pieter Levels or Sahil Lavingia sharing their revenue under #buildinpublic, we pay attention, but we still seek to triangulate these numbers.

4. Podcast Interviews

Podcasts like IndieHackers, MakerHQ, and AppMasters frequently feature founders who discuss their app's journey and, often, their revenue figures.

• Narrative Context: Interviews provide rich context around the numbers-the challenges, strategies, and growth factors.
• Self-Reported: These are self-reported numbers, similar to IndieHackers profiles, but often given with more detail and explanation.
• Varying Specificity: Some founders might give exact figures, while others might provide ranges or discuss revenue milestones.
• Triangulation Essential: We always triangulate podcast claims against other public information, such as their IndieHackers profile or any social media posts.

5. Y Combinator Alumni Disclosures

For startups that have gone through Y Combinator, revenue disclosures can sometimes be found in Hacker News profiles or Demo Day pitches.

• Early Stage Focus: These numbers are often from the very early stages of a company's life, reflecting initial traction rather than established MRR.
• Investor Context: Demo Day pitches are designed to attract investors, so while generally honest, they might focus on growth potential rather than current profitability.
• Non-Stealth Startups: Only non-stealth startups will disclose numbers, and even then, it is not universal.

While useful for understanding early-stage growth, YC alumni disclosures are not a primary source for established MRR figures for most apps.

Less Reliable Sources (Use with Extreme Caution)

These sources are prone to inflation or outright fabrication and should never be trusted in isolation.

6. Twitter/X Founder Posts

Informal posts on Twitter/X where founders share screenshots of their App Store Connect or Stripe dashboards are common.

• Boast-Driven: Many of these posts are driven by a desire to boast or celebrate milestones.
• Easily Faked: Screenshots can be Photoshopped or taken out of context. For example, a screenshot showing a single high-revenue day might be presented as typical, when it is an outlier.
• Low Verification: There is no inherent verification mechanism. While some followers might call out obvious fakes, many go unchallenged.
• Our Estimate: Based on our observations, roughly 40% of these claims are genuinely accurate. The rest are either inflated, misleading, or outright fake.

We treat Twitter/X posts as a potential signal, but never as a definitive source without strong corroborating evidence from multiple other, more reliable channels.

How bumetric Calibrates MRR

At bumetric, our goal is to provide accurate, data-driven revenue intelligence for mobile apps. We do this by combining multiple data points and applying a rigorous methodology.

1. Baseline Calibration: Our core calibration baseline comes from the verified acquisition listings on Flippa and Acquire.com. These are transactions where financial due diligence has been performed, providing us with a strong anchor pool of real, verified MRR figures.
2. Public Data Triangulation: We then cross-reference these baselines with data from IndieHackers, #buildinpublic, and podcast interviews. We look for consistency across these sources.
3. Algorithmic Estimation: For the vast majority of apps that do not publicly disclose revenue, we use a sophisticated algorithm that analyzes factors like app downloads, user reviews, pricing models, in-app purchase data, and engagement metrics. Our methodology page details this further.
4. Anomaly Detection: We have systems in place to detect unusual revenue claims or patterns. If a founder's public claim significantly deviates from our algorithmic estimate and other triangulated data, we flag it for deeper investigation.

"Never trust a single source for revenue claims. The internet is full of optimistic founders and outright fabricators. Always triangulate." - Zakhar Chumak

For example, if we are looking at an app like Streaks Workout, we would first check for any acquisition listings. If none exist, we would look for IndieHackers profiles, #buildinpublic posts, or podcast interviews from its founder. We then compare these against our own revenue estimates, which are based on millions of data points from the iOS and Android app catalogs.

The Takeaway: Triangulate Your Data

When evaluating an app's MRR, whether for competitive analysis, investment decisions, or simply curiosity, the golden rule is to triangulate at least two independent sources. Relying on a single claim, especially from social media, is risky.

For the most reliable data, start with acquisition platforms like Flippa or Acquire.com. Then, cross-reference with community-driven sites like IndieHackers and authentic #buildinpublic disclosures. Use platforms like bumetric.com to get an independent, data-driven estimate to validate or challenge any public claims. Our platform allows you to search for any app, review its revenue estimates, and even perform a free ASO audit to understand its market performance.