How We Count: Definitions for Every Number

Figures as of October 31, 2026.

Published cases: 333

Case pages live on the site. Each one links to at least one public source (article, interview, video or post) that you can open yourself. Shown on the home page, /cases, /advertise and in page schema.

Cases with source links: 333

Published cases with at least one working web (http/https) source link. It equals the published count because a case without a source is not published. Shown on /advertise.

Independently documented: 34

Cases labelled Level 1: a news outlet or other independent party reported the figure and says it reviewed supporting documents, or the figure is shown on a verified revenue dashboard. We link to that report. We have not seen anyone's records ourselves.

Source-supported: 116

Cases labelled Partially Verified: the figure comes from the person, but something checkable backs part of it, such as a public revenue dashboard, a news outlet repeating the figure, or a live product that matches the story.

Self-reported: 183

Cases where the figure comes only from the person, for example in an interview, post or podcast, and nothing else we found confirms it. 34 + 116 + 183 = 333.

Categories covered: 13

Business-model categories that are the main category of at least one published case. Cases can also be tagged with extra categories, so all 26 category pages list cases and category totals add up to more than 254.

Documented tools: 36

AI tools and platforms with a profile page in our tools directory. Pricing on those pages was last checked on October 17, 2026; each tool page shows its own checked date.

Reported figure

The amount exactly as the source states it, with its currency and period. We do not adjust it, and we do not add up figures from different sources.

Revenue

Money coming in before costs (sales, subscriptions, ad payouts). It is not take-home pay.

Profit

What the source says was left after costs. We only call a figure profit when the source does.

Recurring revenue, MRR and ARR

MRR is monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions at a point in time. ARR is annual recurring revenue (usually MRR × 12). Both are revenue, not profit.

One-off or total figures

A lifetime total, a launch total or a sale price (for example, a business sold for $150,000). These are not monthly income, and we leave them out of monthly ranges and medians unless the source gives the time span, in which case we use the average per month.

Monthly figure

The number used in our ranges and medians. Monthly and MRR figures are used as stated; annual and ARR figures are divided by 12; a total over a stated number of months is averaged over those months. Cases with no usable monthly figure are left out, which is why pages say “N of M cases report a monthly figure”.

Range

The lowest and highest monthly figure among the cases counted on that page.

Median

The middle monthly figure when the counted cases are sorted from low to high. With an even number of cases we use the upper of the two middle values. If too few cases on a page report a monthly figure, we show no range or median.

Not typical results

Every figure comes from a published success story. People who earn little rarely publish their numbers, so read ranges and medians as what was reported, not what to expect.

Last updated

The date the page's content (cases, figures or text) last changed. It comes from our build history: pages whose content changed in a release show that release date, others keep their previous date. The same date is used for dateModified in the page schema and for lastmod in the sitemap.

Last reviewed (case pages)

The date we last re-read a case's sources and checked its figure and label.

Source date / checked date

When the source was published, or when we viewed a live dashboard or pricing page.

Source link checks

We test every case source link for errors, redirects and bot blocks. On October 31, 2026 all 274 source links across the 254 cases opened; 2 sites block automated checks but open normally in a browser.

Sponsored

Paid placements (newsletter mentions, banners, featured cards) carry a visible “Sponsored” label. Sponsors cannot buy a better evidence label or coverage. Empty slots are labelled “Advertising slot available”.

Affiliate link

We only use affiliate links from approved programs. Where a link carries one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. They carry a visible “Affiliate link” label, a disclosure line on the page and rel="sponsored nofollow". Affiliate status never changes a case, its figures or its evidence label.