What 986 Startups With Verified MRR Tell You About What to Build
We scraped 986 startups from TrustMRR with verified revenue through Stripe and RevenueCat. $11.6M in total MRR. 320 founders trying to sell. Here is what the data says about which niches, business models, and pricing strategies work right now.
Jump to a section:
Most "what should I build" advice is based on vibes. Someone on Twitter said AI agents are hot, so everyone builds AI agents. Someone sold a note-taking app for $2M, so note-taking apps are the move.
We wanted actual numbers. So we scraped the entire TrustMRR database: 986 startups that verify their revenue through Stripe, RevenueCat, and other payment provider APIs. Not self-reported. Not "we're doing great." Actual verified monthly recurring revenue.
Here is every data cut we ran and what it tells you about where the money is.
Which Niches Have the Highest-Revenue Startups?
E-commerce tools average $58K MRR per startup. The "AI" category averages $8.3K. Everybody's building AI tools. The money is somewhere else.
We tagged every startup by category and ran the revenue numbers. The broad "SaaS" tag accounts for $8M across 482 startups, but that is too generic to be useful. The interesting patterns show up when you look at specific verticals.
| Niche | Total MRR | Startups | Avg MRR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Creation | $5.3M | 231 | $23,000 |
| E-commerce Tools | $3.8M | 66 | $58,235 |
| AI-tagged | $2.5M | 296 | $8,323 |
| Productivity | $2.5M | 346 | $7,355 |
| Marketing | $1.4M | 161 | $8,916 |
| Health/Fitness | $1.3M | 37 | $34,343 |
| Analytics | $1.2M | 139 | $8,296 |
| Developer Tools | $877K | 138 | $6,352 |
E-commerce and health/fitness are the standouts. Both have high per-startup MRR with relatively few competitors. The "AI" category is the most crowded at 296 startups, and the average revenue shows it: $8.3K per startup means most AI tools are making little.
The top individual earners:
Stan ($3.5M/mo, creator monetization), Rezi ($288K/mo, AI resume builder), TrimRx ($764K/mo, healthcare), KeepFocus ($389K/mo, mobile productivity). The biggest earners are in specific verticals, not broad "AI tool" categories.
Business
The next teardown, without checking back
About one a week from the five companies I run with co-founders, AI agents, and zero hired employees — what I changed, and the part that broke.
One click to unsubscribe.
Is B2B or B2C More Profitable for Solo Founders?
B2C has bigger averages. B2B has 2x the median. And 44% of B2C founders are trying to sell. Only 33% of B2B.
The average vs median split tells the whole story here. B2C average MRR is $22K, which sounds great until you see the median is $548. That means a few massive B2C winners (like Stan at $3.5M) are pulling the average up while most B2C startups are making almost nothing.
B2B (205 startups)
Average MRR: $14,021
Median MRR: $999
Profit margin: 85% median
For sale: 33%
B2C (264 startups)
Average MRR: $22,105
Median MRR: $548
Profit margin: 85% median
For sale: 44%
The "for sale" numbers are telling. Nearly half of B2C founders want out. B2B founders stick around. The margins are identical (85%), so it is not a cost issue. B2C just burns people out faster, probably because you need more customers at lower price points and the churn is relentless.
What Revenue Multiples Do Startups Actually Sell For?
Median: 3.4x annual revenue. But the bigger you get, the lower your multiple. Startups over $50K MRR sell at 1.3x.
We looked at 227 startups with listed asking prices and revenue multiples. The overall median is 3.4x annual revenue, but the real story is in how multiples change by size.
| MRR Range | Median Multiple | Startups |
|---|---|---|
| Under $500 | 5.3x | 83 |
| $500 - $2K | 3.6x | 51 |
| $2K - $5K | 2.1x | 28 |
| $5K - $10K | 2.2x | 18 |
| $10K - $50K | 2.7x | 37 |
| $50K+ | 1.3x | 10 |
Small startups sell on potential. The buyer is an optimist thinking "I can grow this 10x." At $50K+ MRR, the buyer is an operator buying cash flow, and they negotiate accordingly. If you are looking to acquire a startup, the $50K+ range is where the math works in your favor.
Wild listings in the data:
KeepFocus ($389K MRR, asking $30K), Notionlytics ($42K MRR, asking $60K at 0.1x), Speel.co ($66K MRR, asking $500K at 0.6x and growing 253%). There are probably reasons behind these prices, but the numbers are worth investigating.
Why Do AI Startups Sell at the Lowest Multiples?
219 AI startups with verified MRR. Average multiple when selling: 2.6x. Education sells at 25.7x. Buyers think they can replicate your AI product in 3 months.
The AI category has 296 tagged startups and $2.5M in total MRR. That is a lot of companies splitting a relatively small pie. The average per startup ($8.3K) is lower than almost every other category. And when they sell, buyers pay less per dollar of revenue than for any other type of startup.
But the vertical AI startups are different
When we break AI startups by what they are applied to, the pattern is clear: specificity pays.
AI + Recruiting (7 startups)
Highest average MRR of any AI sub-niche. Only 7 competitors. The least crowded and highest-paying combination in the entire dataset.
AI + Developer Tools (26 startups)
Developers pay well. Moderate competition. SEOBOT ($90K MRR) is the standout here.
AI + Analytics (32 startups)
Dealsourcr ($84K MRR, growing 101%) is the fastest-growing startup in this niche. AI applied to data analysis for specific industries.
AI + Content Creation (89 startups)
89 startups splitting $1.2M. That is $13.5K each. The most crowded AI sub-niche by far. Unless you have a real differentiator, avoid this.
The top AI earners by MRR are Rezi ($288K, AI resumes), 1Capture ($210K, trial conversion), Editee ($169K, Czech content), and ChatDash ($150K, white-label AI). None of them are "general purpose AI tools." They all picked a specific job and did it well.
What Pricing Model Generates the Most Revenue?
Freemium startups average $57K MRR. The overall average is $18K. That is a 3x gap across hundreds of startups.
The "freemium vs free trial" debate is constant in SaaS. In this dataset, freemium wins by a wide margin. Freemium startups (22 in the dataset) average $57K MRR. Startups using "Contact Sales" pricing average $66K. The Free + In-App Purchases model (mostly mobile apps) averages $78K.
The overall average across all pricing models is $18K. So freemium is pulling 3x the average. The sample is small (22 freemium startups), but it lines up with the general principle: give away value, build a large user base, and convert on premium features.
Profit margins are high everywhere
Across the entire dataset, median profit margins are 80-90% regardless of category. IT Services and Consulting hit 95%. Software sits at 83%. This is not surprising for SaaS, but it means the pricing model and revenue volume matter more than cost structure for most startups here.
Payment infrastructure
79% of startups use Stripe (782 out of 986). RevenueCat is second at 63 (mostly mobile). LemonSqueezy at 54. Stripe is the default. Do not overthink payments.
Which Startups Are Growing Fastest Right Now?
We filtered for startups above $10K MRR with 20%+ 30-day growth. The common thread: AI applied to specific verticals, not general-purpose tools.
Speel.co
AI UGC video generation
$66K MRR
+253%
Flyploy
Developer deployment tools
$31K MRR
+211%
Postiz
Agentic social media scheduler
$57K MRR
+106%
Dealsourcr
AI real estate analytics
$84K MRR
+101%
ChatDash
White-label AI assistant
$150K MRR
+37%
Launch Club
Reddit marketing done-for-you
$58K MRR
+24%
Speel.co is the fastest grower in the dataset. AI UGC video generation is clearly a market right now. Postiz ("agentic" social scheduling) and Dealsourcr (AI applied to real estate data) are both vertical plays. ChatDash at $150K is the largest growing startup, and it is infrastructure: let other companies reskin your AI assistant.
What Does the $5K-$50K Sweet Spot Look Like?
142 startups in the $5K-$50K MRR range. B2B dominates (35 vs 19 B2C in software). The top earners per customer charge $500+ ARPU.
This is the range most indie and bootstrap founders are targeting. 142 startups in the dataset sit here. The breakdown by tag shows what is being built at this level:
75
SaaS
50
Productivity
43
AI
35
Content Creation
35
Marketing
21
Analytics
Customer economics in this range
The startups making real money per customer in this range are charging a lot per user. Stack Influence ($37K MRR from 276 customers) charges $81K ARPU. Launch Club ($58K from 79 customers) charges $9.8K. AEO Engine ($72K from 163 customers) charges $10.8K. Fewer customers at higher price points means less support, less churn headache, and better solo-founder fit.
What Should You Actually Build Based on the Data?
B2B vertical SaaS. AI applied to a boring niche. Freemium. US market. The data is pretty consistent on this.
Pick a boring B2B vertical
AI + Recruiting has 7 startups and $43K avg MRR. Healthcare has 1 startup doing $764K with no competition. Real estate analytics has Dealsourcr at $84K growing 101%. These are underserved.
Use freemium pricing
3x the average MRR across the dataset. Give away the basic version, charge for the workflow that saves real time or money.
Position as the niche tool, not the AI tool
AI startups sell at 2.6x multiples. Education sells at 25.7x. The AI is an implementation detail. Your niche is the moat.
Target the US market
US startups account for 59% of all MRR in the dataset ($6.9M of $11.6M). France is #2 at $619K. India has 61 startups but only $103K total. The revenue concentration is clear.
Charge more per customer
The best solo-founder economics in the sweet spot come from high ARPU: $500+/customer. Fewer customers, less support, less churn to manage.
89 startups are already fighting over AI content creation at $13.5K average each. 7 startups are in AI recruiting at $43K average each. The data does not require much interpretation here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this data come from?
TrustMRR (trustmrr.com) verifies startup revenue through payment provider API connections (Stripe, RevenueCat, LemonSqueezy, etc.). The numbers are not self-reported. We scraped 986 startups from their database in February 2026.
Why are some acquisition prices so low?
Low asking prices usually indicate high churn, customer concentration risk, declining growth, or a founder who wants out fast. A startup doing $389K MRR asking $30K probably has significant issues not visible in the headline number. Always investigate the underlying metrics before buying.
Is the AI category that crowded?
296 startups tagged "AI" in the dataset. $2.5M total MRR, so $8.3K average per startup. The AI + Content Creation sub-niche has 89 startups splitting $1.2M ($13.5K each). Compare that to AI + Recruiting with 7 startups averaging $43K each. The broad AI category is crowded. Specific AI verticals are not.
Does this data apply outside the US?
The US accounts for 59% of all MRR. France is #2 ($619K), UK #3 ($449K). India has 61 startups but only $103K total MRR. The dataset skews heavily US/Western. If you are building for non-US markets, the niche and pricing data may look different in your region.
How reliable is TrustMRR data?
TrustMRR connects directly to payment provider APIs, which makes the revenue numbers more reliable than self-reported surveys. That said, MRR does not tell you about churn, burn rate, or profitability beyond the 30-day margin snapshot. Use the data as a starting point for research, not as the final word.