Every SaaS founder needs to track MRR. But most MRR dashboard tools are priced for funded startups — not for indie hackers building their first $1K MRR product. Here's a comparison of the best free options in 2026.
What you need from an MRR dashboard (at early stage)
Before comparing tools, be clear about what actually matters when you're below $10K MRR:
- Accurate MRR calculation — connected to your payment processor, not manually entered
- Month-over-month trend — is revenue growing, flat, or declining?
- Churn visibility — how much MRR are you losing each month?
- No credit card, no friction — you're not going to set up a tool with a 14-day trial and a sales call
Everything else (cohort analysis, LTV prediction, revenue forecasting) is noise until you're scaling a known-good business model.
The main contenders
Baremetrics
Free tier: Yes — free up to $1K MRR (self-reported)
Baremetrics is the gold standard for subscription analytics. Stripe and Paddle integration, clean charts, MRR/ARR/LTV/churn in one view. Their "Pulse" daily email is genuinely useful.
The catch: Free tier requires manual data entry or is very limited on integrations. Real-time Stripe sync requires a paid plan ($108/mo). For early-stage founders, you'll outgrow the free tier before you need the paid features.
ChartMogul
Free tier: Yes — free up to $10K MRR
ChartMogul's free tier is the most generous of the traditional analytics tools. Full Stripe/Braintree/Recurly integration, cohort analysis, customer-level data. It's built for B2B SaaS but works fine for indie products.
The catch: The UI is complex. Setup takes time. If you're doing $500 MRR with 20 customers, ChartMogul is more dashboard than you need. It shines at $10K+, not at $1K.
Profitwell (now Paddle Metrics)
Free tier: Yes — free forever for Stripe users
Profitwell was always the free option — their business model was data aggregation, not subscriptions. After the Paddle acquisition, the free analytics layer still works for Stripe users.
The catch: The product has stagnated since the acquisition. Some features are being deprecated or moved to paid Paddle plans. Not recommended for new setups in 2026.
mrr.fyi
Free tier: Yes — free public profile with Stripe verification, forever
mrr.fyi is different from the others. It's not just a private analytics dashboard — it's a public MRR leaderboard for indie hackers and bootstrapped founders. Free accounts get:
- Stripe Connect integration (read-only, pulls verified MRR automatically)
- A public profile showing your MRR with a Verified badge
- Listing on the public leaderboard alongside other founders
There's no chart of your cohort churn over the last 18 months. What you get instead is a clean public number — verified by Stripe — that builds credibility with your audience, customers, and potential co-founders.
The catch: It's not a full analytics suite. If you want cohort retention curves and LTV distributions, use ChartMogul. If you want your MRR verified and public with zero maintenance cost, mrr.fyi is the answer.
Head-to-head comparison
| Feature | Baremetrics | ChartMogul | Profitwell | mrr.fyi | |---|---|---|---|---| | Free tier | ✅ (limited) | ✅ (to $10K MRR) | ✅ | ✅ (forever) | | Stripe integration | Paid tier | Free tier | ✅ free | ✅ free | | MRR calculation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Churn tracking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Public profile | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Verified badge | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Leaderboard | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Setup time | ~30 min | ~30 min | ~15 min | ~2 min |
The recommendation
If you want comprehensive analytics: ChartMogul free tier. It's the best analytics you can get without paying.
If you want a verified public presence and accountability: mrr.fyi. Connect Stripe, get your number on a public profile, build credibility as you grow.
Most serious indie hackers end up using both — mrr.fyi for public accountability and community, ChartMogul (later) for internal analysis. They serve different purposes.
Why free matters
MRR tracking tools charge you a percentage of your MRR. At 1% of $500/mo, that's $5/mo — fine. At 1% of $50K/mo, it's $500/mo and now your analytics bill is a real cost.
Starting free, with a tool that stays free as you grow, removes one more barrier between you and launching. That's worth optimizing for early on.
Track your MRR publicly with a free verified profile. Sign up on mrr.fyi →