AppSumo
👤 Noah Kagan (Facebook's #30 and Mint's #4, fired from both. His edge isn't code, it's audience — AppSumo monetizes a list he built.)🌐 siteokdork.com𝕏LinkedIn
Software makers list a lifetime deal at a steep discount; AppSumo emails it to 1.5M buyers and keeps most of the cash.
Will it work? · our read
Owned distribution. But a lifetime deal is one-time money; when buyers hoarded deals and AI cheapened software, the same list couldn't stop revenue from halving in 2024-2025.
01How the money moves
Software maker lists a lifetime deal at a steep discount
→
AppSumo emails it to 1.5M deal-hungry subscribers
→
AppSumo keeps 70-80% of every Select sale; maker gets buyers
02The numbers
$80M
2023 revenue
CNBC/Kagan
1.5M
email list
AppSumo
down 50%
revenue, 24-25
Kagan on X
$80M is AppSumo's revenue (its cut) — not buyer GMV; buyers 'saved $550M+' since 2010. CNBC
$80M in 2023 (Kagan/CNBC); down about 50% since
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CNBC (2024) — built for $60, $80M revenue in 2023Indie Hackers — partners report AppSumo keeps 70-80% on Select dealsAppSumo — 'do you take 70%?' myths postPPC Land (2026) — revenue down 50%, LTD crisisNoah Kagan (X) — 'about to do $100M this year'
Revenue $80M (2023) is Kagan's own number, reported by CNBC — first-party disclosed, verified. The about-50% decline is Kagan's public X disclosure (PPC Land, 2026) — documented drama, not invented. AppSumo's own blog calls a fixed '70%' take a misconception; the 70-80% figure for a curated Select deal comes from partners' reported numbers on Indie Hackers, not an AppSumo-disclosed one — flagged, not hidden. Self-serve Marketplace listings let makers keep more of each sale. 'Buyers saved $550M+ since 2010' is customer savings, not revenue; the $80M is AppSumo's actual cut. We never score you.