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Compare that to Plausible: Over $2M in revenue last year. Plausible started in 2019. Not sure when [name redacted] started. Clicking on "blame" for the readme

by mg 3y ago

Compare that to Plausible: Over $2M in revenue last year. Plausible started in 2019. Not sure when [name redacted] started. Clicking on "blame" for the readme file in the repo, I see a commit from 5 years ago. I can very much empathize that adding a "buy" button is a hump to get over when you just wanna build something cool and share it with like-minded people. I have the same issue with every project I build. I guess one should train to jump over one's shadow in this regard.

diggan 3y ago
> Not sure when [name redacted] started "Hello, world" - [name redacted] committed on May 28, 2019 - [link redacted] Plausible: "Initial commit" - ukutaht committed - on Sep 2, 2019 - 779d64e19a26a4e4944d4f0d7d9e280a27fbc6e5 - https://github.com/plausible/analytics/commit/779d64e19a26a4e4944d4f0d7d9e280a27fbc6e5 https://github.com/plausible/analytics/commit/779d64e19a26a4...
spiffytech 3y ago
[name redacted] previously offered paid plans. Not sure why that changed. [link redacted]
_1kfq 3y ago
[name redacted] started a few months before Plausible. Giving it away for free didn't help, but "making money" was never really a goal as such. I think "being free" is important if you want to be a viable alternative for Google Analytics. €9/month is nothing for a business, but who is paying that for a blog or hobby site (or even some small businesses)? I already decided a few years ago that "covers hosting" is good enough. It's just that circumstances conspired to put in this rather uncomfortable position.
- endofreach 3y ago
  As much as i admire that: The language you wrote that in, only exists, because google found a way to grow by making money. To be fair, not sure if this is a pro or contra: [name redacted] wouldn't need to exist, if google didn't find the way they did, to make money. Anyway, cool product. Love OSS but don't mind paying for simple solutions as a business. It's not only about saving time but also about keeping focus.
- Gentil 3y ago
  > but who is paying that for a blog or hobby site (or even some small businesses)? I was trying to. I highly recommend you to bring back the paid plans. Just leave it as it was. Opt-in for personal and for small commercial websites, paid plan. Like someone else mentioned, for a business, invoices helps a lot to bill as expense if they want to pay you.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Always ALWAYS have a way to give money that results in a professional-looking invoice for a professional-sounding product. That’s a great way for people in business to get the cost expensed.
- soneca 3y ago
  It’s very very risky to optimize for just “good enough”. You have to build some reserve, or you risk being in the situation you are in. You don’t need to optimize to earn tons of money, but minimum threshold should more than just good enough. So, if things go wrong, you can spend that reserve and actually be on a “good enough” position until you figure things out
- vgel 3y ago
  Thank you for making it free! I've used it on my blog (https://vgel.me https://vgel.me) forever, since back before I ever would've paid for analytics, and it's been rock-solid the whole time. Some of the most "set it and forget it" software I use. I definitely owe you a donation so I'm glad I saw this!
- figassis 3y ago
  One difference I see is I heard very little about [name redacted] (first time was mid 2023), but Plausible pops up every few months to the top of HN. So they for sure have marketed harder. This also validates that maybe something like Setapp for SaaS or Spotify for SaaS might be a good business model.
adrianmsmith 3y ago
> Over $2M in revenue last year. Plausible also has a co-founder who does marketing, and is evidently very good at it. That's perhaps a more important factor in success than simply offering a paid plan. It looks like success was far from guaranteed before he was hired ($400 MRR and not growing). https://plausible.io/blog/open-source-saas#february-looking-for-a-marketing-co-founder-403-mrr https://plausible.io/blog/open-source-saas#february-looking-...
- RunSet 3y ago
  Marketing is like juicing in athletics. It undermines the nominal reason for the enterprise's existence (competition) but once a single competitor begins practicing it, everyone else also has to- not to any benefit, but just to maintain their status quo.
  - Veuxdo 3y ago
    > Marketing is like juicing in athletics. This is far, far too cynical. Marketing is not cheating. To keep the sports metaphor, marketing is training. It's unglamorous, time-consuming, and (for most) not fun. But, if you want to succeed as a professional, you have to do it.
    - thfuran 3y ago
      Training actually improves the product (athletic performance). Does an athlete going on a commercial to hawk shoes make them a better athlete or make the shoes better? Would the answer be different once we change domains back to software? Marketing may be a necessary business activity in the current environment, but it is not at all like training in its fundamental effect on the quality of the product. (Though in that regard, I think juicing was a bit awkward as an analogy)
    - yojo 3y ago
      As a single business, marketing is a totally rational way to boost sales. Collectively, it’s just a tax. If no one was paying, but people were still writing, the best solutions would likely bubble to the top. But as soon as someone pays for placement, everyone needs to. You end up with a new normal that’s the same as before (modulo those products that are better at marketing) but everyone had to pay a bunch of money. Short of literally banning advertising, there’s no way around it/any serious business needs to do it. But I get the take that it’s a cost that is only necessary because everyone else is doing it.
c12 3y ago
[name redacted] did in the beginning have a paid tier that I was subscribed to but the author found it too much hassle to deal with and so removed it.
mekster 3y ago
Color, layout and name alone took me away from this to look for alternatives instantly. I don't see to choose this over various alternatives.

by mg 3y ago

diggan 3y ago

> Not sure when [name redacted] started "Hello, world" - [name redacted] committed on May 28, 2019 - [link redacted] Plausible: "Initial commit" - ukutaht committed - on Sep 2, 2019 - 779d64e19a26a4e4944d4f0d7d9e280a27fbc6e5 - https://github.com/plausible/analytics/commit/779d64e19a26a4e4944d4f0d7d9e280a27fbc6e5 https://github.com/plausible/analytics/commit/779d64e19a26a4...

spiffytech 3y ago

[name redacted] previously offered paid plans. Not sure why that changed. [link redacted]

_1kfq 3y ago

[name redacted] started a few months before Plausible. Giving it away for free didn't help, but "making money" was never really a goal as such. I think "being free" is important if you want to be a viable alternative for Google Analytics. €9/month is nothing for a business, but who is paying that for a blog or hobby site (or even some small businesses)? I already decided a few years ago that "covers hosting" is good enough. It's just that circumstances conspired to put in this rather uncomfortable position.

endofreach 3y ago
As much as i admire that: The language you wrote that in, only exists, because google found a way to grow by making money. To be fair, not sure if this is a pro or contra: [name redacted] wouldn't need to exist, if google didn't find the way they did, to make money. Anyway, cool product. Love OSS but don't mind paying for simple solutions as a business. It's not only about saving time but also about keeping focus.
Gentil 3y ago
> but who is paying that for a blog or hobby site (or even some small businesses)? I was trying to. I highly recommend you to bring back the paid plans. Just leave it as it was. Opt-in for personal and for small commercial websites, paid plan. Like someone else mentioned, for a business, invoices helps a lot to bill as expense if they want to pay you.
bombcar 3y ago
Always ALWAYS have a way to give money that results in a professional-looking invoice for a professional-sounding product. That’s a great way for people in business to get the cost expensed.
soneca 3y ago
It’s very very risky to optimize for just “good enough”. You have to build some reserve, or you risk being in the situation you are in. You don’t need to optimize to earn tons of money, but minimum threshold should more than just good enough. So, if things go wrong, you can spend that reserve and actually be on a “good enough” position until you figure things out
vgel 3y ago
Thank you for making it free! I've used it on my blog (https://vgel.me https://vgel.me) forever, since back before I ever would've paid for analytics, and it's been rock-solid the whole time. Some of the most "set it and forget it" software I use. I definitely owe you a donation so I'm glad I saw this!
figassis 3y ago
One difference I see is I heard very little about [name redacted] (first time was mid 2023), but Plausible pops up every few months to the top of HN. So they for sure have marketed harder. This also validates that maybe something like Setapp for SaaS or Spotify for SaaS might be a good business model.

adrianmsmith 3y ago

> Over $2M in revenue last year. Plausible also has a co-founder who does marketing, and is evidently very good at it. That's perhaps a more important factor in success than simply offering a paid plan. It looks like success was far from guaranteed before he was hired ($400 MRR and not growing). https://plausible.io/blog/open-source-saas#february-looking-for-a-marketing-co-founder-403-mrr https://plausible.io/blog/open-source-saas#february-looking-...

RunSet 3y ago
Marketing is like juicing in athletics. It undermines the nominal reason for the enterprise's existence (competition) but once a single competitor begins practicing it, everyone else also has to- not to any benefit, but just to maintain their status quo.
- Veuxdo 3y ago
  > Marketing is like juicing in athletics. This is far, far too cynical. Marketing is not cheating. To keep the sports metaphor, marketing is training. It's unglamorous, time-consuming, and (for most) not fun. But, if you want to succeed as a professional, you have to do it.
  - thfuran 3y ago
    Training actually improves the product (athletic performance). Does an athlete going on a commercial to hawk shoes make them a better athlete or make the shoes better? Would the answer be different once we change domains back to software? Marketing may be a necessary business activity in the current environment, but it is not at all like training in its fundamental effect on the quality of the product. (Though in that regard, I think juicing was a bit awkward as an analogy)
  - yojo 3y ago
    As a single business, marketing is a totally rational way to boost sales. Collectively, it’s just a tax. If no one was paying, but people were still writing, the best solutions would likely bubble to the top. But as soon as someone pays for placement, everyone needs to. You end up with a new normal that’s the same as before (modulo those products that are better at marketing) but everyone had to pay a bunch of money. Short of literally banning advertising, there’s no way around it/any serious business needs to do it. But I get the take that it’s a cost that is only necessary because everyone else is doing it.

c12 3y ago

[name redacted] did in the beginning have a paid tier that I was subscribed to but the author found it too much hassle to deal with and so removed it.

mekster 3y ago

Color, layout and name alone took me away from this to look for alternatives instantly. I don't see to choose this over various alternatives.