How a software company makes money

Sources

• HubSpot, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · HubSpot, Inc. (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2025
• Stripe pricing: standard rates for cards (US) · Stripe, 2026
• Stripe Billing pricing (pay as you go) · Stripe, 2026
• Dropbox, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · Dropbox, Inc. (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2025
• App Store Small Business Program · Apple Developer, 2026
• Changes to Google Play's service fees in 2026 (United States from June 30, 2026) · Google Play Console Help, 2026
• Duolingo, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · Duolingo, Inc. (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2025
• Auto-renewable subscriptions: what you receive in a subscriber's first year and after a year of paid service · Apple Developer, 2026
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers (pay: median wage, May 2025) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025

Every number

• $10,000example (example number: Simplified example: your tool's subscriptions in one month.) · Simplified example: your tool's subscriptions in one month.
• 5%example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: the share of customers who cancel each month.) · Simplified example: your tool: the share of customers who cancel each month.
• $5,404example (example number: Worked out: the example month's revenue after twelve months of losing the example share each month, with no new customers.) · Worked out: the example month's revenue after twelve months of losing the example share each month, with no new customers.
• $20example (example number: Simplified example: your tool's monthly price.) · Simplified example: your tool's monthly price.
• 500 customersexample (example number: Simplified example: your tool: paying customers at the start of the month.) · Simplified example: your tool: paying customers at the start of the month.
• $10,000example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out, customers times the price.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out, customers times the price.
• $1,200example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out from the example sign-ups and price.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out from the example sign-ups and price.
• 60 customersexample (example number: Simplified example: your tool: new paying customers in the month.) · Simplified example: your tool: new paying customers in the month.
• $300example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: customers moving to a bigger plan.) · Simplified example: your tool: customers moving to a bigger plan.
• −$100example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: customers moving to a smaller plan.) · Simplified example: your tool: customers moving to a smaller plan.
• −$600example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out from the example cancellations and price.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out from the example cancellations and price.
• 30 customersexample (example number: Simplified example: your tool: customers who cancelled in the month.) · Simplified example: your tool: customers who cancelled in the month.
• $10,800example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out, the lines added up.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out, the lines added up.
• 6%example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out, cancellations divided by customers at the start.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out, cancellations divided by customers at the start.
• $129,600example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: worked out, the month's ending revenue times twelve.) · Simplified example: your tool: worked out, the month's ending revenue times twelve.
• 103.5%sec.gov ·2025 · HubSpot's net revenue retention, 2025.
• 2.9%stripe.com ·2026 · Stripe's standard rate for a card payment in the US, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• $0.30stripe.com ·2026 · Stripe's fixed fee per card payment, on top of the percentage, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• 0.7%stripe.com ·2026 · Stripe Billing's pay-as-you-go price for running subscriptions, a share of what's billed, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• $0.88example (example number: Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price, plus its fixed fee.) · Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price, plus its fixed fee.
• $0.14example (example number: Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.) · Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.
• $1.50example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: servers, storage and bandwidth per customer a month.) · Simplified example: your tool: servers, storage and bandwidth per customer a month.
• $1example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: answering customers' questions, per customer a month.) · Simplified example: your tool: answering customers' questions, per customer a month.
• $16.48example (example number: Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.) · Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.
• 20%sec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox, fiscal 2025: cost of revenue (servers, data centers, bandwidth, support and card fees) as a share of revenue.
• 18.1 million peoplesec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox's paying users at the end of 2025.
• $9.99example (example number: Simplified example: your app's monthly subscription.) · Simplified example: your app's monthly subscription.
• 15%apple.com ·2026 · Apple's commission for developers in its Small Business Program (up to a million dollars a year in proceeds), at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• $1.50example (example number: Worked out: Apple's small-developer commission on the example price, rounded.) · Worked out: Apple's small-developer commission on the example price, rounded.
• $0.80example (example number: Simplified example: servers and AI features per subscriber a month.) · Simplified example: servers and AI features per subscriber a month.
• $0.20example (example number: Simplified example: support per subscriber a month.) · Simplified example: support per subscriber a month.
• $7.49example (example number: Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.) · Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.
• 10%google.com ·2026 · Google Play's US service fee on auto-renewing subscriptions from the end of June 2026, before its billing fee, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• 5%google.com ·2026 · Google Play's US billing fee when a purchase goes through Google Play's billing, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• 72.2%sec.gov ·2025 · Duolingo's gross margin, fiscal 2025.
• $951sec.gov ·2025 · Worked out: HubSpot's average subscription revenue per customer in 2025, divided by twelve months and rounded.
• $27.88example (example number: Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price, plus its fixed fee.) · Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price, plus its fixed fee.
• $6.66example (example number: Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.) · Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.
• $60example (example number: Simplified example: servers and storage for one business customer a month.) · Simplified example: servers and storage for one business customer a month.
• $120example (example number: Simplified example: a customer success manager's time for one customer a month.) · Simplified example: a customer success manager's time for one customer a month.
• $736example (example number: Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.) · Worked out: what's left of the example price after the other layers.
• $11,414/yearsec.gov ·2025 · HubSpot's average subscription revenue per customer, 2025.
• $10example (example number: Simplified example: a plan's monthly price.) · Simplified example: a plan's monthly price.
• $0.29example (example number: Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price.) · Worked out: Stripe's card rate on the example price.
• $0.07example (example number: Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.) · Worked out: Stripe Billing's rate on the example price.
• $0.66example (example number: Worked out: the three fees added up.) · Worked out: the three fees added up.
• 93.4%example (example number: Worked out from the example price and Stripe's published rates.) · Worked out from the example price and Stripe's published rates.
• 70%apple.com ·2026 · What a developer receives of a subscription's price in a subscriber's first year, before taxes, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• 85%apple.com ·2026 · What a developer receives after a subscriber has a year of paid service, and throughout for Small Business Program members, at the time of writing (checked October 2026).
• 10.3%sec.gov ·2025 · Share of Duolingo's 2025 revenue that Stripe processed (mostly web payments).
• 80%sec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox, fiscal 2025: gross profit as a share of revenue.
• 84%sec.gov ·2025 · HubSpot, fiscal 2025: gross profit as a share of revenue.
• 15%sec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox, fiscal 2025: sales and marketing as a share of revenue.
• 44%sec.gov ·2025 · HubSpot, fiscal 2025: sales and marketing as a share of revenue.
• 12%sec.gov ·2025 · Duolingo, fiscal 2025: sales and marketing as a share of revenue.
• $139/yearsec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox's average revenue per paying user, 2025.
• $135,980/yearbls.gov ·2025 · Median yearly pay for software developers, all industries, May 2025.
• 29%sec.gov ·2025 · Dropbox, fiscal 2025: research and development as a share of revenue.
• 30%sec.gov ·2025 · Duolingo, fiscal 2025: research and development as a share of revenue.
• $20example (example number: Simplified example: your tool's monthly price, as above.) · Simplified example: your tool's monthly price, as above.
• 60 customersexample (example number: Simplified example: your tool: new paying customers a month.) · Simplified example: your tool: new paying customers a month.
• $120example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: what it costs, in ads and free trials, to win one paying customer.) · Simplified example: your tool: what it costs, in ads and free trials, to win one paying customer.
• $3.52example (example number: Worked out: the fees, servers and support from the payment above, per customer a month.) · Worked out: the fees, servers and support from the payment above, per customer a month.
• 2.5%example (example number: Simplified example: half the starting churn.) · Simplified example: half the starting churn.
• 120 customersexample (example number: Simplified example: twice the sign-ups.) · Simplified example: twice the sign-ups.
• $180example (example number: Simplified example: more ads reach pricier customers, so each one costs more to win.) · Simplified example: more ads reach pricier customers, so each one costs more to win.
• $25example (example number: Simplified example: a higher price.) · Simplified example: a higher price.
• 9%example (example number: Simplified example: your tool: last month's cancellations.) · Simplified example: your tool: last month's cancellations.
• 9.2%sec.gov ·2025 · Duolingo's paying subscribers as a share of its average monthly users, the twelve months to the end of 2025.