For years, the “Indie Hacker” and startup community has been plagued by a subtle dishonesty: fake revenue screenshots. It became too easy to inspect an element and manipulate the content on a website, change a $0 to a $10,000, and post it on Twitter to build hype. Even “Open Startups” often self-reported numbers that couldn’t be audited.

Enter TrustMRR.

What is TrustMRR?

TrustMRR is a database of verified startup revenues. It was built by prolific indie maker Marc Lou (famously in just 24 hours) to solve the crisis of credibility in the ecosystem.

Unlike other directories where founders simply type in their revenue, TrustMRR requires a direct, cryptographic proof of income. It is the “blue checkmark” for startup financials—but instead of paying Elon Musk $8 on Twitter, you pay with transparency.

How does verification work?

The “secret sauce” of TrustMRR is its reliance on API integrations rather than human honesty.

  1. Read-Only Access: A founder cannot just claim they make money. They must connect their payment processor (primarily Stripe, but now also LemonSqueezy, Polar, and others) via OAuth.
  2. Algorithmic Audit: TrustMRR’s server-side algorithms scan the connected account. Crucially, they filter the data to calculate genuine MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue).
  3. No Cheating: The system is designed to ignore one-time fees, refund-heavy transactions, and non-recurring spikes that often inflate self-reported numbers.
  4. Real-Time Sync: The number you see on the leaderboard isn’t from last quarter’s investor deck. It is updated hourly.

Is it free?

Yes. For startups, getting listed is completely free. The platform creates a win-win loop: founders get a verified badge of honor that helps with recruiting or selling their business, and TrustMRR monetizes through advertisements on the high-traffic leaderboard.

The January 2026 Leaderboard

Now that we know these numbers are real, looking at them is much more interesting. The leaderboard for January 2026 reveals that while AI is hot, the “Creator Economy” is the one actually paying the bills.

1. Stan

  • MRR: ~$3,531,959 (7% growth)
  • What they do: Stan is the heavy hitter of the creator economy. It’s an all-in-one platform designed for creators to sell digital products, courses, and memberships directly from their “link-in-bio”. By simplifying the funnel from social media to checkout, they have captured a massive share of the solopreneur market.

2. TrimRx

  • MRR: ~$795,917 (6% growth)
  • What they do: Telehealth is booming, and TrimRx is capitalizing on the weight loss revolution. They provide a licensed telehealth service for GLP-1 (Semaglutide) weight loss programs, connecting patients with doctors and medication delivery.

3. Rezi

  • MRR: ~$278,583 (196% growth)
  • What they do: Rezi is an AI-powered resume builder. The staggering 196% growth suggests they have cracked the code on viral growth or product-market fit in a competitive job market. Their tool optimizes resumes to beat Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), making it a must-have for job seekers.

4. Followr

  • MRR: ~$238,541 (5% growth)
  • What they do: Social media management is tedious, and Followr automates it. It uses AI to generate content, schedule posts, and manage socials, effectively acting as an automated social media manager for businesses.

5. Cometly

  • MRR: ~$230,879 (5% growth)
  • What they do: With privacy changes (like iOS 14+) making ad tracking harder, Cometly steps in with server-side tracking and attribution. They help e-commerce brands and advertisers understand exactly which ads are driving sales, restoring visibility to marketing data.

6. 1Capture

  • MRR: ~$196,553 (8% growth)
  • What they do: 1Capture is a payment and revenue recovery solution. They help businesses manage trials and reduce churn by applying pending charges or handling payment disputes, ensuring that SaaS companies capture the revenue they are owed.

7. DM Champ

  • MRR: ~$186,365 (1% growth)
  • What they do: Another win for marketing automation, DM Champ specializes in messaging. It acts as an AI assistant that handles Direct Messages (DMs) on platforms like Instagram and Facebook to qualify leads and book appointments automatically.

8. Editee.com

  • MRR: ~$174,274 (2% growth)
  • What they do: Editee is a comprehensive content creation suite. It combines AI text generation (for blogs, ads, etc.) with image editing capabilities, catering to marketers who need to produce high volumes of assets quickly.

Insights from the Data

  1. The Creator Economy is Mature: Stan’s revenue is nearly 4x its closest competitor on this list. The tools enabling creators are becoming massive businesses themselves.
  2. AI is for Niches: The successful AI companies here aren’t building “General AI”; they are building “AI for Resumes” (Rezi), “AI for Social Posts” (Followr), or “AI for DMs” (DM Champ). Specialization is winning.
  3. B2B Infrastructure is Sticky: Tools like Cometly (ad tracking) and 1Capture (payments) solve painful, expensive problems for other businesses, leading to solid recurring revenue.

TrustMRR’s leaderboard is a great reminder that while hype cycles come and go, the companies building real utility—whether it’s helping someone get a job, lose weight, or sell a product—are the ones ringing the register.