Glossary
What is micro SaaS?
A micro SaaS is a small subscription software business that does one job for a narrow audience, usually built and run by one person or a tiny team.
The short definition
A micro SaaS is software sold as a subscription, like any SaaS, but deliberately small: one problem, one audience, one person or a few running it. Think of a Shopify app that does one thing for store owners, a Chrome extension for recruiters, or a reporting tool for one kind of agency.
There is no official revenue line where micro SaaS ends. People use the word for the shape of the business, not its size: narrow, lean and usually bootstrapped. Writing in 2021, Matt Rickard described the category as SaaS startups that "target the long-tail of niche use-cases", usually run by one or a few founders.
Micro SaaS vs SaaS
| Micro SaaS | Venture-backed SaaS | |
|---|---|---|
| Market | A narrow niche | As large as possible |
| Team | One person or a few | Grows with funding |
| Funding | Usually self-funded | Investors |
| Goal | Profit and independence | Growth, then an exit |
| Typical channel | Marketplaces, communities, SEO | Sales and paid marketing too |
Many micro SaaS products live on top of a bigger platform's marketplace (Shopify, WordPress, Slack, Figma, a browser's extension store), which brings customers but also platform risk.
The numbers to watch
Small businesses live or die on a handful of numbers:
- MRR, monthly recurring revenue: what your subscriptions are worth each month. The MRR calculator adds up mixed plans.
- Churn rate: the share of customers or revenue you lose each month. Small numbers compound: work it out with the churn calculator.
- LTV and CAC: what a customer is worth and what it costs to get one.
SaaS metrics for indie hackers shows how they fit together.
Showing a portfolio of micro SaaS products
The micro SaaS playbook often means several products at once, each with its own domain and billing. makerhandle puts all of them on one page with their status, and each can show verified MRR from Stripe, Paddle or Lemon Squeezy, or app revenue from RevenueCat. See makerhandle for micro SaaS founders.
Questions
What is micro SaaS?
A small software-as-a-service business that solves one specific problem for a narrow audience, usually run by one person or a tiny team and often self-funded.
How much revenue is a micro SaaS?
There is no official threshold. The term describes a narrow, lean business, not a revenue band.
Is a Chrome extension or Shopify app a micro SaaS?
It can be, when it is sold as a subscription and serves a narrow audience. Many micro SaaS products live in marketplaces like those.
What should a micro SaaS founder track?
MRR, churn, customer lifetime value and acquisition cost. Those four tell you whether the business is growing and whether it pays for itself.
Show your micro SaaS portfolio
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