Web Tool

4 Web Tool Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

•

Updated: October 9th, 2024

Struggling to streamline your online operations? A web tool could be your solution.

A web tool is an online application designed to simplify various tasks, such as project management, data analysis, or content creation, all from your browser. Imagine creating software that businesses or individuals use daily to make their work more efficient and organized.

The appeal of developing a web tool lies in its scalability—you can start small and grow as your user base expands. It's practical and fills a constant need for better productivity solutions.

This business idea requires a knack for problem-solving and some coding skills, but the payoff can be substantial. If you have a vision of how to make daily tasks easier, starting a web tool could be a fulfilling and lucrative endeavor.

In this list, you'll find real-world web tool success stories and very profitable examples of starting a web tool that makes money.

1. BuiltWith ($14M/year)

While searching for his next idea, Brewer naturally looked at other websites for inspiration. While looking through the source code of a website (a neat trick programmers often do), he found a piece of code unique to Java and could deduce that the website was built using that technology. And then it clicked him. He said: "Wouldn't it be cool to know the exact technology every website uses?"

How much money it makes: $14M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0

Profile: How Gary Brewer Stumbled Into A $14M Idea Profiling Websites

Discover how Gary Brewer founded and grew BuiltWith into a $14M/year business by offering website profiling tools with pricing ranging from $295 to $995, attracting customers through partnerships and organic traffic.

Read this case study

Read by 1,278 founders

2. ScrapingBee ($1.5M/year)

Pierre de Wulf leveraged his experience as a data engineer and reused code from a failed startup to launch ScrapingBee in 2019, which now generates $1.5 million annually.

How much money it makes: $1.5M/year
How many people on the team: 2

How Pierre de Wulf Built ScrapingBee to $1.5 ARR in 2 Years Without VC Funding

This case study showcases how ScrapingBee, a web scraping API, was built on a shoestring budget using a mix of tools and outsourced services, achieving impressive growth through SEO content and targeted marketing strategies, with revenues averaging $125K/month, generating $1.5M/year since 2019.

Read this case study

Read by 383 founders

3. Plausible Analytics ($1.2M/year)

Both founders had similar experiences with Google and its products. They went from big fans, using several of their tools for many hours every day, loving them and recommending them to my family and friends, to becoming more aware of Google’s size, its business model, and how their dominance negatively impacts the web.

How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 0

How Our Privacy Friendly Web Analytics Tool Reached $4K/Month Without Paid Ads

Plausible Analytics, a privacy-friendly web analytics tool, reached $4,557 MRR and 743 paying subscribers by focusing on content marketing and engaging relevant communities, rather than paid advertising, while positioning itself as a lightweight, cookie-free and affordable alternative to Google Analytics.

Read this case study

Read by 10,333 founders

4. ScreenshotOne ($26.4K/year)

Tried to build his first product, a simple Twitter analytics tool. A few people used it. But he wasn't passionate about it.

So this founder decided to get back to his roots. He was a server-side developer and had a tremendous experience in building APIs. Sat and wrote down all the problems he could think of, and came up with new ones. Everything looked boring, but he didn't want to be stuck for years in search of ideas. So, decided to pick up one randomly—screenshot API. He decided that it could be validated on the go and see if there was demand.

How much money it makes: $26.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 1

Quitting My Cushy SDE Job To Build A Screenshot API [$2.2K MRR]

This case study follows the journey of Dmytro Krasun, the founder of ScreenshotOne, who built a successful business providing a simple API to turn any website URL into a screenshot, growing it to $2.2K MRR in a short period of time by targeting customers in various industries including website galleries, copyright infringement software, cold email software, and marketing software.

Read this case study

Read by 4,553 founders