FAQ

What is IndieHacked?

IndieHacked is home for indie builders, from the first idea to a business that pays its founder, with the founders who went first to learn from.

Who publishes IndieHacked?

Piik Labs AB publishes it from Göteborg, Sweden (organisation number 559577-8506). Bobo Zivkovic is the founder.

How does IndieHacked make money?

From ad placements, labelled Sponsored. From the paid plans on a listing, with a Featured week labelled Featured. From affiliate and referral links on tool reviews, labelled every time they appear.

Can I pay for a review or a better place in a list?

No. A paid plan or an ad buys speed and reach: a faster review, an editor's pass on your listing, a labelled spot for a week. It does not buy a verdict, a ranking, an editorial piece or a different link.

What is the difference between the Directory, Stack and Tools?

The Directory lists products that indie founders built. Stack is the software founders build with, reviewed by the team. Tools are IndieHacked's own: the site checks and the calculators.

Who can list a product?

The founder or a small team that built it. You need an account (an email and a code, no password) and the product's own website. A reader can report a listing its founder didn't make.

How many products can I list at once?

Up to 3 at a time can be waiting for payment or review. Once one is live or declined, the place frees up.

What do the plans cost?

A listing is free. Priority and Visibility are one-off payments, not subscriptions.

• Free: $0. Reviewed in 1 to 4 weeks
• Priority: $19 once, VAT included. Reviewed in 48 hours at most
• Visibility: $49 once, VAT included. Reviewed in 48 hours at most

How long does a review take?

Free takes 1 to 4 weeks, and we can't give you a date. The wait moves with how many listings come in and with how many Priority listings go ahead of yours. Priority and Visibility are reviewed in 48 hours at most. Paying moves a listing to the front of the queue. It does not buy approval: the same checks apply to every listing, so a paid listing can still be declined for any reason on the checklist.

What does the Free plan include?

Free is the listing itself:

• Reviewed in the order it arrived
• Checked against your own site for facts
• Shortlisted with up to 3 products you name

What does Priority add?

Priority costs $19 once, VAT included:

• Reviewed ahead of the free queue
• Checked against your own site for facts
• An editor rewrites your listing to how the best ones read, and fills in what is missing
• Shortlisted with as many products as you name

What does Visibility add?

Visibility costs $49 once, VAT included and includes everything in Priority. On top of it:

• 7 days in the Directory's Featured spot, starting the first week it is open
• We tell you in the app and by email the day it starts
• Your product in one Weekly Unpack send-out, when an issue has an open spot
• The team finds more products that do the same job as yours, new ones included as they join, and adds those that pass its check

What happens in a Featured week?

A Visibility listing holds the Directory's Featured spot for 7 days, labelled Featured. The team books a week from the open ones, and you hear in the app and by email the day it starts.

When does my product go out in Weekly Unpack?

Visibility includes one send-out, labelled Featured. It goes in the first issue after your listing is live that has a spot left open, because sponsors who booked that week come first.

Are the links on IndieHacked followed by search engines?

No. A link from IndieHacked to a product's website carries rel="nofollow" on every plan, and no plan changes that. Affiliate and referral links and ads are marked sponsored instead. Google's advice is to mark links that were paid for, and its spam systems discard the credit from ones that aren't marked, so a followed link would add little to your ranking anyway. What a listing gives you is the readers who click it.

What does the team check on a listing?

The same checks on a Free listing and a paid one. They are a written list of checks, not a promise of quality:

• The website loads and is the product named.
• What the listing says matches what the product does: its name, line, category and tags.
• The price matches the product's own pricing page.
• Each store link opens this product.
• The screenshots show the product, with no one's personal data in them.
• Each product on the shortlist does the same job for the same buyer.
• Nothing explicit: no pornography, and no explicit images in the listing or its screenshots.

Which products do you not list?

A product that is pornographic or sexually explicit is declined at review. A product about sex or sexual health that is not explicit can be listed, and its listing carries no explicit images.

What is the shortlist?

A shortlist names the products that do the same job for the same buyer. A listing shows them under Also on the shortlist. You name the products to be shortlisted with. Free is limited to 3 shortlists, while Priority and Visibility lift the limit, and the team approves each pairing before it shows. With Visibility, the team also looks for more products that do the same job, new ones included as they join, and adds those that pass the same check. The plan pays for the team's search. A place on a shortlist is never sold.

What do I fill in?

The product's website, its name (up to 60 characters) and a line on what it does (up to 120). Then where it runs, one category with up to 5 tags, what it is built with, up to 4 screenshots, its pricing and the plan. Revenue and users are optional.

What happens after I send it?

A Free listing goes into review at once. A paid one goes to Stripe Checkout first, and goes into review when the payment is in. Either way you get an email when it is in the queue, and the app and an email tell you when it is live. If you don't pay, you can pay again or move the listing to the free queue.

Why would a listing be declined?

When it fails one of the checks above. The team writes the reason, emails it to you and shows it on your submissions page. A reply to that email reaches info@indiehacked.com. A paid listing the team declines is refunded minus a $10 processing fee.

How do I prove the product's website is mine?

Press Verify ownership on the first step of the listing form, or later under Your listings, and pick one of three ways. Your listing then reads Verified owner, and the proof covers every listing of yours on that site.

1. Claim with your email: when the email you log in with is at the site's domain, one tap proves it. Shared addresses and hosts, such as Gmail or a vercel.app site, can't prove a site
2. Put a badge on your site: any of your badges, linking to your live listing, on the page your listing links to
3. Add a meta tag: a line with your own code in the page's <head>, as served. It is under Other options

Is ownership checked again?

Every 7 days, the same way you proved it. If a check fails, the mark stays while we try again daily, and comes off after 7 days of failed checks. We tell you once, in the app and by email, and verifying again brings it back.

What are the badges?

Images for your own site, each linking to your listing, in a light and a dark version. You find them under Badges in your account menu. Each one is yours once your listing earns it, and shows only what your listing holds today: a badge whose mark lapses shows Listed on IndieHacked instead.

• Listed on IndieHacked: yours when the team publishes your listing
• Owner verified on IndieHacked: yours once you prove the site is yours
• Revenue verified on IndieHacked: yours once you connect your payment provider and we have a fresh read
• Featured on IndieHacked: yours with a Featured week in the Directory, part of the Visibility plan

What is the difference between self-reported and verified?

A self-reported figure is one the founder typed in, labelled self-reported with the month it was sent. A verified figure is read from the payment provider the founder connected, labelled Verified through that provider, with the date of the read.

How does a listing get the Verified label?

The founder connects the payment provider the product is paid through, read-only, on the revenue step of the listing form or later under Your listings. A connection earns it. No plan buys it.

How is the Directory ordered?

By two marks a listing earns: revenue verified through a connected payment provider, and a founder who proved the site is theirs. Listings with both come first, then those with one of the two, then the rest, each marked. No plan buys either mark. The Featured spots stay apart and keep their label.

How are the figures shown on a listing?

As two plates, revenue and users, each with its source: Verified through a provider, or self-reported with the month it was sent. A figure nobody has reported yet shows an empty plate. When a listing has an MRR, its summary also gives it as a band, for example $1k to $2.5k a month, with the source and the date.

Which currency are the figures in?

US dollars. An amount in another currency is converted at the European Central Bank's reference rate of the day. A currency the bank doesn't publish is left out, so the figure comes out lower, never higher.

How does IndieHacked work out MRR from Stripe?

Stripe's own MRR API is a preview few accounts have, so IndieHacked works it out from your subscriptions the way Stripe's Billing analytics defines it: a yearly plan counts as its price over 12 months, trials, metered prices and one-off fees stay out, and a permanent discount is taken off.

How often are the figures read?

Once a day. A listing reads as verified while its last good read is at most 7 days old.

What happens when a read fails?

The listing keeps the last good figures, with their date. After 7 days without a good read it goes back to the founder's own figures, labelled self-reported, and to its place among the other listings. The founder is told once, in the app and by email: at once when the provider refused the key, and after 3 failed reads in a row for any other reason.

Can I connect more than one provider?

One per listing. The same purchase can reach two of them: an App Store sale also shows in RevenueCat or Superwall, so two connections would count it twice. Connecting a different provider replaces the first connection and its history.

Does the whole provider account count?

Yes. The figures are for the whole account the key reads. Connect the account this product is paid through: when it also sells other products, the figure is higher than this product's own.

Which payment providers can I connect?

Stripe, RevenueCat, Superwall, App Store and Polar. Coming soon: Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Dodo Payments, Creem, Whop and Shopify.

How do I connect Stripe?

Stripe gives the listing MRR and the number of paying subscribers. Make a read-only key there:

1. In Stripe, open Developers, then API keys, and create a restricted key.
2. Set Subscriptions and Coupons to Read. Leave everything else at None.
3. Paste the key that starts with rk_live_.

How do I connect RevenueCat?

RevenueCat gives the listing MRR and the number of paying subscribers. Make a read-only key there:

1. In RevenueCat, open your project's settings, then API keys, and add a secret key for API version 2.
2. Give it read access to Charts and metrics and to Project configuration. Nothing else.
3. Paste the key.

How do I connect Superwall?

Superwall gives the listing MRR and the number of paying subscribers. Make a read-only key there:

1. In Superwall, open your organisation's API keys and add a key.
2. Give it the read scopes for projects and applications only.
3. Paste the key.

How do I connect App Store?

App Store gives the listing the last 30 days of sales. Make a read-only key there:

1. In App Store Connect, open Users and Access, then Integrations, and generate a team key with the Sales role.
2. Download the .p8 file (Apple offers it once), and copy the Issuer ID and the Key ID shown with it.
3. Add your vendor number and the app's Apple ID.

How do I connect Polar?

Polar gives the listing MRR and the number of paying subscribers. Make a read-only key there:

1. In Polar, open Settings, then Access tokens, and create a token.
2. Give it the metrics:read scope only.
3. Paste the token.

Why does an App Store listing show sales and not MRR?

App Store Connect's sales reports give sales, not MRR or a count of customers. An App Store listing's revenue plate shows its last 30 days of sales, labelled revenue, last 30 days, before Apple's commission and with refunds taken off. Its users plate keeps the founder's own figure, labelled self-reported.

What does IndieHacked read and keep?

The figures a listing shows: MRR or 30 days of sales, the number of paying subscribers, and the date of the read. A month-by-month history is kept for up to 24 months. To count Stripe subscriptions it reads the subscription records, counts them as it goes and keeps only the totals: customers, transactions and payouts are not stored. The key is encrypted before it is stored and the page never shows it back.

Can I connect with a test-mode key?

No. Verified figures come from live data, so a test-mode key is refused.

What can go wrong when I connect, and what do I do?

The connect box says why. These are the reasons and what to do about each:

• The provider refused the key. Check you pasted all of it, or make a new one.
• The key can't read what we need. Give it the read access the connect steps name, and nothing more.
• That key reads test data. Verified figures come from live data: make the key in live mode.
• The provider found nothing under those details. Check the IDs.
• The provider asked us to slow down. Try again in a few minutes.
• The provider didn't answer. Try again in a few minutes.
• We couldn't read figures from that account. Check it is the account this product is paid through.

What can the key do?

Read. The steps above give it read access to what the figures need and leave everything else at None. IndieHacked reads the provider before it stores the key, so a key that can't read is never kept.

How do I replace a key or disconnect?

Under Your listings, each connection has Replace key and Disconnect. A new key for the same provider replaces the old one and keeps the history. Disconnecting deletes the key and the history at once, and the listing goes back to your own figures, labelled self-reported.

What can I advertise on IndieHacked?

Placements are sold by the week. Prices are per position per week in US dollars, VAT included:

• Top sponsor strip: $150, one advertiser at a time. One line above the masthead, on every page.
• Sidebar cards: $100, 6 advertisers at a time. Beside every page, three cards each side, on screen the whole visit. Phones and tablets show them docked above and below the page.
• Featured slot: $200, one advertiser at a time. Top of the Directory, Tools, Stack and the front page's Directory section.
• Promoted rows: $90, one advertiser at a time. Inside lists: news, stories and directory results.
• Newsletter sponsor: $100, one advertiser at a time. One slot in each issue of Weekly Unpack, after the first story.

How does booking work?

You pick placements and weeks, Monday to Sunday in Stockholm time, and pay through Stripe Checkout. The weeks you pick are held for the 30 minutes Checkout stays open. The first week on sale starts at least 3 days out, and weeks sell 16 weeks ahead. You book as a guest: Stripe takes your email for the receipt.

When can I book?

Now, on the Advertise page.

What is the launch offer?

50% off every placement for weeks that end by 15 February 2027. Later weeks are at the full price, whenever they are booked.

What does the price include?

VAT. Stripe Checkout makes an invoice, and takes a business name or VAT number when you buy as a business.

What are the ad rules?

You agree to these before you pay:

• The team reviews each ad before its first week. An ad that breaks these rules doesn't run, and you get your payment back minus a $10 processing fee.
• No political or issue ads, and nothing for adults only.
• Crypto and gambling ads are always checked by hand and must stay neutral: no promised returns, no pressure to buy or play. A gambling ad needs a Swedish gambling licence.
• Cancel within 24 hours of paying and you get your payment back minus the $10 fee. After that, a week more than 2 weeks away is refunded at 50%, and a nearer one isn't refunded.

What happens if my ad is rejected?

The team reviews each ad before its first week. A rejected ad is refunded minus a fixed $10 processing fee, which is stated before you pay. If a payment arrives after its weeks were taken, the booking is refunded in full.

Can I cancel a booking?

Yes, by writing to partnership@indiehacked.com. Within 24 hours of paying, before your first week starts, you get your payment back minus the $10 fee. After that, each week counts from its own start: one more than 2 weeks away is refunded at 50%, and one that starts sooner or has started isn't refunded. If we cancel an ad that follows the rules, the weeks it didn't run are refunded in full.

How is an ad marked?

It says Sponsored wherever it shows, and its link is marked rel="sponsored" for search engines. Your link carries utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign tags, one campaign per placement, so your own analytics counts our clicks.

Who do I write to about advertising?

partnership@indiehacked.com: advertising, sponsorships and collaborations.

Do I need an account to read IndieHacked?

No. An account is for listing a product, following founders and projects, and getting notifications.

How do I sign up and log in?

With a username and your email. We send a 8-digit code that works for 10 minutes, and there is no password. Signing up asks you to accept the Terms of use and to confirm you have read the Privacy policy. The same box logs you in later.

What is public on my profile?

What you add to it: your name, where you are based, your website, a photo, a few words about you, other links and a public email if you choose one. The address you sign in with is never shown. The follower count is public and anonymous: you see the number, never who follows.

How do I delete my account?

Under Settings, Delete account. It removes your profile, your photo, your follows in both directions, your likes, your notifications and your Cred, and your listings come off the Directory. Your posts and comments lose their words, pictures, link and your name; their place in the thread stays, with the replies other people wrote. Weekly Unpack is a separate consent and stays until you unsubscribe from it.

What are the rules?

The Rules apply to everything on IndieHacked, from a comment to a listing, and are part of the Terms of use. The Board's guidelines add a few for posts and comments.

What is Weekly Unpack?

The newsletter. Every email box on the site signs you up to it: news, open ad slots, new features and launches go out there.

How do I subscribe to Weekly Unpack, and how do I stop?

Enter your email in any Subscribe box and confirm through the email we send. Each issue has an unsubscribe link that works in one click, and you can switch it off under Settings.

What personal data do you keep, and for how long?

The Privacy policy lists what is collected and why, who processes it, where it is held and for how long.

How do I get a copy of my data, or have it changed or deleted?

Write to privacy@indiehacked.com. Deleting your account is also under Settings.

Which site checks are there?

Each takes your site's address and needs a free account, up to 10 checks a day:

• SEO check: Crawling, titles, canonicals, share cards and structured data, scored.
• AI search check: Whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI answers can read your site.
• Copy check: The signs of AI-written copy on your site, with the lines to rewrite.

What do I get with Weekly Unpack on the tools?

The fix prompt on every site check: the findings turned into instructions for your coding agent, written for what your site is built with. Subscribe with your account's own address and the prompts open. Weekly Unpack is free, so the prompts are too.

What happens to the address I check?

We store the address, the score, the findings and the verdict with your account so you can see them again. The page's text goes to Anthropic, which runs Claude, to write the verdict and the prompt; the copy check also sends the address to Firecrawl to read the page as a visitor sees it. Runs are deleted after 12 months, or with your account.

Which calculators are there?

Free to use, with no account:

• MRR calculator: Monthly and annual revenue from your plans and seats.
• Churn calculator: Monthly churn, revenue churn and what they cost a year.
• Runway calculator: Months left at your burn, with and without your next hire.
• Equity split: A starting split for co-founders, with the reasoning shown.
• Valuation range: What small SaaS sells for, from public marketplace multiples.
• Pricing check: Your price next to similar products in the directory. Coming soon.

Is anything I type into a calculator saved or sent anywhere?

No. A calculator runs in your browser and nothing you enter leaves it. Close the page and the numbers are gone.

Does a calculator work in euros, pounds or kronor?

Yes. The maths is the same in any currency and the dollar sign is a label. Enter every amount in the same currency.

How are tool reviews made?

The team reads the tool's own pages (home, pricing, docs and feature pages) and notes the day it checked them. Every review answers what the tool does, who it suits and who it isn't right for, and a price says it is as checked on that day.

How do I tell an affiliate link?

The Visit button says Affiliate link or Referral link, names who pays us and what, and is marked rel="sponsored" for search engines. A review without that label has no link that pays us.

How do I report a mistake in a guide, a story, a review, a tool or a news item?

Use Report an error at the foot of the page. You pick a topic, add your words and your email:

• Factual error
• Language error
• Wrong or missing source
• Privacy or personal data
• Copyright
• Something else

How do I report a listing?

Use Report on the listing, signed in or not. You pick a topic, add your words and your email:

• Wrong or outdated facts
• A link that doesn't work
• Not listed by its founder
• Uses my work or my name
• Illegal content or a scam
• Something else

How do I tell you about illegal content?

Use the report link beside it and pick the topic that fits. For illegal content, the form also asks for your name and for you to confirm that your report is accurate and complete. You can also write to legal@indiehacked.com.

Does reporting hide the page?

No. A report hides nothing by itself. The team decides.

What happens after I report?

You get a receipt by email. When the team has decided, you get the outcome (Corrected, Kept as it was and Removed) and how to disagree with it. The owner of a listing hears the first time it is reported, and again when the team decides.

How are corrections shown?

A correction is dated at the foot of the page and says what changed. A news item is corrected with a dated note and stays in the archive.

Who do I write to about a correction?

info@indiehacked.com: questions about IndieHacked, and corrections to anything we published.