The AI Receipts

Home / Case studies / Cheap AI apps that make real money (under $20 a customer)

Cheap AI apps that make real money (under $20 a customer)

Low-price AI apps can make real money with enough customers. 9 AI businesses in our data average under $20 a month per customer, led by Nutria (Calyra) ($46,220 a month at about $3 each), Brawler ($22,544 a month at about $5 each), Verbi ($21,618 a month at about $5 each). Their median is $19,380 a month from 4,274 paying subscriptions.

Every week: 3 AI businesses with real payment data, what each one sells, and what to copy. Free, plus all 44 as a spreadsheet now. No card.

Your CSV: 44 verified AI businesses. Download it

9 businesses · last verified across the set Oct 24, 2026 · how we verify · all methods compared

Free sample of Pro See how Chatbase got to $863k a month (its last verified figure, Jul 31, 2026), step by step. The order they did it in, how they got customers, stack, what didn't work, and a copy-paste prompt. No signup. Read the free Chatbase playbook →

Every business here averages under $20 a month per paying subscription (our math: verified MRR divided by active subscriptions) and has a live payment feed via TrustMRR. Low prices, real revenue, a lot of customers.

9 businesses at a glance

#BusinessMonthly revenuePaying subsAvg per subEvidenceChecked
1Nutria (Calyra)$46,22014,950$3Verified2026-10-22
2Brawler$22,5444,274$5Verified2026-10-22
3Verbi$21,6184,703$5Verified2026-10-22
4Imposter AI$19,8355,394$4Verified2026-10-22
5AbMaxx$19,3805,378$4Verified2026-10-22
6QR Code AI$14,8751,501$10Verified2026-10-22
7Goodie AI$12,3433,864$3Verified2026-10-22
8MagicSlides$10,406776$13Verified2026-10-21
9AutoSubtitles$3,500442$8Verified2026-10-22

Monthly revenue is MRR from payment data (Stripe, RevenueCat or Superwall via TrustMRR) for Verified rows; other rows show the founder-reported or public figure. Avg per sub is our math: MRR divided by active subscriptions. Updated Oct 24, 2026.

  1. Nutria (Calyra): $78.6k / 30 days

    AI mobile app · RevenueCat via TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    AI calorie-tracking app grown on organic TikTok.

    Main channel: TikTok (Self-reported)

    Replicable? Partly. The app is commodity; the repeatable part is the creator-network distribution engine, which takes real ops to run. Read the case study →

  2. Brawler: $22.5k MRR

    AI mobile app · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    An AI boxing coach app that hit $60k in a 30-day window within months of launch.

    Main channel: Meta Ads + influencers (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. Niche fitness + AI vision + influencer/Meta ads is a repeatable mobile playbook. Yearly plans inflate the 30-day number vs MRR. Read the case study →

  3. Verbi: $21.6k MRR

    AI mobile app · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    An AI speaking tutor for language learners: $259k lifetime.

    Replicable? Yes. Speaking practice is a real gap in flashcard apps. Lots of competition from Duolingo-style giants. Read the case study →

  4. Imposter AI: $19.8k MRR

    AI mobile app · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    A viral AI party game: $239k lifetime in under a year.

    Main channel: TikTok + Instagram + ASO (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. A solo developer, a web stack wrapped as an app, and TikTok/ASO distribution. Games are hit-driven, though. Read the case study →

  5. AbMaxx: $19.4k MRR

    AI mobile app · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    An AI abs coach that scans your physique: $172k lifetime since March 2026.

    Main channel: TikTok + Instagram + Meta Ads (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. The "looksmaxxing" trend + AI scan + TikTok. Trend-dependent. Read the case study →

  6. QR Code AI: $14.9k MRR

    AI SaaS · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    AI-designed, trackable QR codes: an SEO-only bootstrapped SaaS.

    Main channel: SEO (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. A single viral AI trick (artistic QR codes) captured through SEO and turned into a durable analytics subscription. Read the case study →

  7. Goodie AI: $12.3k MRR

    AI mobile app · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    An AI food-label scanner for seed oils, sugar and gut triggers.

    Main channel: TikTok + Meta Ads (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. Rides wellness trends (seed oils, gut health) with a hard paywall on results. Read the case study →

  8. MagicSlides: $10.4k MRR

    AI SaaS · TrustMRR, Oct 21 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-21

    A bootstrapped AI presentation maker from India: prompt in, PPT out.

    Main channel: YouTube + SEO (Verified)

    Replicable? Yes. Productivity tool with free-to-paid funnel and SEO/YouTube distribution. Low price, high volume; margins depend on model costs. Read the case study →

  9. AutoSubtitles: $3.5k MRR

    AI SaaS · TrustMRR, Oct 22 2026 · Verified · last verified 2026-10-22

    A $9/mo AI captions tool: from launch to $3.4k MRR in about seven months.

    Replicable? Yes. A commodity AI feature (transcription) with a free tier and cheap plans. Small but realistic for a solo builder. Read the case study →

FAQ

Can a cheap AI app make money?

Yes, with volume. 9 AI businesses here charge under $20 a month per customer on average, and together they have 41,282 paying subscriptions (TrustMRR).

How many users does a $5 AI app need?

Roughly 2,000 paying users for $10,000 a month. Here, Nutria (Calyra) (about $3 each, 14,950 subs), AutoSubtitles (about $8 each, 442 subs), Brawler (about $5 each, 4,274 subs) show what that looks like.

Are cheap AI apps or expensive B2B tools better?

Different businesses. Across all 37 verified AI businesses we track with a live feed, the median is $40 per subscription. Cheap apps need thousands of customers and usually TikTok or paid ads; B2B tools need dozens. Compare B2B AI SaaS ideas that charge $100+ a month.

What do cheap AI apps sell?

Mostly one simple job for consumers or creators: Nutria (Calyra) (AI mobile app), Brawler (AI mobile app), Verbi (AI mobile app), Imposter AI (AI mobile app), AbMaxx (AI mobile app), QR Code AI (AI SaaS), Goodie AI (AI mobile app), MagicSlides (AI SaaS), AutoSubtitles (AI SaaS). See each case study for what it sells and how it grew.

Is the per-customer price verified?

The MRR and subscription counts are verified from payment data via TrustMRR. The average per subscription is our math, not a listed price, and includes weekly, monthly and yearly plans.

Read next

More lists

Pro

Founding member: $9/mo, locked for life

$9 founding price for the first 100 members, then $19.

What's included today: every full case study (free accounts get 1), plus a step-by-step replication playbook (week-by-week timeline, how they got customers, stack and costs, what didn't work) and a copy-paste replication prompt for 11 cases:

Want to see one first? Read the full Chatbase playbook free.

Other cases have partial or no playbook content yet and say so on the page. We add more as research and founder interviews finish. Every fact carries its evidence label and source. Cancel online anytime at /pro/manage/.

Not ready? Get 3 AI businesses with real payment data every week, free.
Before you go

3 AI businesses with real payment data, every week.

What each one sells, its real numbers, and the part you could copy. Picked from the 44 AI businesses we track. Sign up free and take all 44 with you as a spreadsheet now. Unsubscribe anytime.