Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is the single metric that tells you whether your indie business is growing. But tracking it consistently — especially when you're wearing every hat — is harder than it looks.
What counts as MRR?
MRR is the predictable revenue you can expect every month. For a subscription product, that means:
- Monthly subscribers: count their monthly charge directly
- Annual subscribers: divide the annual fee by 12
- One-time payments: do not count these as MRR
Common mistakes indie hackers make
1. Counting gross revenue instead of net Payment processors take a cut. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Your real MRR is what lands in your account, not what customers paid.
2. Forgetting churned customers MRR = (New MRR + Expansion MRR) − Churned MRR. If you only track new revenue, you'll miss when growth stalls.
3. Counting trials as revenue Free trials are not MRR. Count them when the card actually charges.
A simple tracking system
You don't need complex software. A spreadsheet with three columns works:
- Date — when was this subscription activated
- Amount — monthly equivalent (annual ÷ 12)
- Status — active / churned
Sum the active rows at the end of each month. That's your MRR.
Building in public changes everything
When you share your MRR publicly — like founders do on MRR.fyi — something shifts. Accountability kicks in. Your community roots for you. The number stops being scary and starts being motivating.
Try it. Submit your first MRR update and see what happens.