19 Chrome Extension Success Stories [2023]
A Chrome extension is a small software program that allows you to customize the way your web browser works. Extensions can add new features to your browser or change the way existing features work.
If you have skills in programming and coding, you can create your own Chrome extension and then sell it on the Chrome Web Store. You can also offer it for free and generate revenue through advertising. This is a great way to leverage your skills and create a business that can be profitable.
You can create an extension that helps people with their productivity, or you can create an extension that provides security for the user’s data.
Creating a Chrome extension is an innovative way for programmers, developers, and coders to start their own businesses and showcase their skills.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a chrome extension:
1. COLDINBOX ($420K/year)
Arthur Backouche came up with the idea for Coldinbox while looking for a new job in growth/digital marketing. He discovered a tool to send bulk invitations on LinkedIn with personalized messages and used it to successfully engage with startups and generate leads. Seeing the potential, he decided to develop his own SaaS product, Coldinbox, which is now being used by B2B entrepreneurs, consultants, and business development managers.
How much they make: $420K/year
Where they're located: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Current team size: 0
Two entrepreneurs developed Coldinbox, a bulk LinkedIn messaging tool that assists B2B business development managers in converting high-value prospects into leads and customers, resulting in $35,000 in monthly profits.
2. GMass, Inc. ($5.4M/year)
During his previous business venture, Wordzen, the founder recognized the necessity of sending personalized emails to small groups. After researching available options, he was not satisfied with the solutions offered. Therefore, he developed GMass as an internal tool to aid in managing his business. Although Wordzen failed to gain much traction, GMass proved to be successful and was featured on Product Hunt, giving him the validation that he needed to make the decision to pursue this as a business.
How much they make: $5.4M/year
Where they're located: Dayton, Ohio, USA
Current team size: 1
GMass, an email marketing platform that allows users to send cold emails and email marketing campaigns with Gmail, has attracted over 500,000 user signups, including major tech companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, and now generates over $200K in monthly recurring revenue through a successful content marketing strategy and focused ad spend.
So... can you actually make money with a chrome extension?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Gikken ($224K/year)
Alex, the co-founder and CEO of Gikken, came up with the idea for their flagship product, Mate Translate, while in high school. As an avid language learner, he wanted a fast and efficient way to translate words and sentences without interrupting his workflow. He developed the Instant Translate Chrome extension, which later evolved into Mate Translate, and eventually expanded it to other platforms with the help of developers. The business now generates around $18,000 a month and has a user base of 800,000 people.
How much they make: $224K/year
Where they're located: Berlin, Germany
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 1
Gikken is a small, profitable European company founded by Alex that makes browser extensions and apps used by 800,000 people every month, with their flagship product, Mate Translate, generating around $18,000 a month, but monetizing their user base better is their top priority for the next year.
4. Browserless ($600K/year)
Browserless was something Joel stumbled upon while building other things. At the time, he was building a wishlist app for his family to create birthdays and holidays list, which required gathering items across the internet in one place. As a developer, he couldn't find an easy way to do that and the existing options were costly.
How much they make: $600K/year
Where they're located: Portland, Oregon, USA
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 0
One-person SaaS business browserless allows users to automate tasks with a web browser, generating about $28,000 in sales for the month of September, and gained traction through blogging and supporting customers one-on-one.
So... can you actually make money with a chrome extension?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. CrankWheel ($374K/year)
Jói Sigurdsson, a former Google employee, came up with the idea for CrankWheel while brainstorming with his co-founder Gilsi. They noticed that there was a lack of screen sharing tools for consumer telesales and decided to create a solution that would allow sales teams to screen share earlier in the sales process. With $370K in annual recurring revenue and less than 1% churn, CrankWheel has been successful in helping sales teams decrease sales cycles.
How much they make: $374K/year
Where they're located: Reykjavik, Iceland
Current team size: 3
CrankWheel is a screen-sharing solution for sales teams, founded by Icelandic entrepreneur Jói Sigurdsson and his co-founder Gilsi, with $370k ARR earned and a "best B2B SaaS startup" pitching win at SaaStock, utilizing "lean startup" methodology and implementing a "land and expand" strategy to attract and retain customers.
6. T.LY ($31.2K/year)
Tim Leland, creator of the URL shortener and link management tool T.LY, After reading that Google would be shutting down its URL shortener service in March 2019, the founder saw an opportunity to develop a link shortener service that could fill the gap.
He also recognized that there was a demand for a link shortener API for use in his day job, specifically with a texting application. Realizing that other companies would also benefit from this service, he decided to build his own shortener API.
How much they make: $31.2K/year
Where they're located: Seattle, WA, USA
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 0
T.LY is a simple URL shortener and link management tool that has over 8 million short URLs and has tracked over 80 million clicks, with a browser extension (https://t.ly/extension) having over 350,000 active users and making over $2,600 a month.
So... can you actually make money with a chrome extension?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. SkyVerge, Inc. ($4.2M/year)
Max Rice, the co-founder of SkyVerge, came up with the idea for the business while working as an IT Director. He reached out to Justin Stern, who was knowledgeable about WooCommerce, for help with an eCommerce project. The successful collaboration led them to start SkyVerge, which now generates $350,000 in monthly revenue and provides software tools for over 100,000 eCommerce brands.
How much they make: $4.2M/year
Where they're located: Remote, Oregon, USA
Current team size: 32
SkyVerge, a software company, has grown rapidly with revenue of $350,000 per month, over 100,000 eCommerce customers, and a globally distributed team of 30 people, all through starting with consulting projects and building focused and solutions-based products, acquiring small products from other developers, and focusing largely on content marketing and providing excellent customer support.
8. Fantôm Agency ($300K/year)
Luis Camacho, founder of Fantôm Agency, discovered his passion for digital marketing after starting a successful clothing line and utilizing social media for promotion. After gaining experience at a marketing agency, he decided to establish his own agency focused on paid advertising, which now earns approximately $8,600 per month.
How much they make: $300K/year
Where they're located: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Current team size: 1
Fantôm Agency founder Luis Camacho shares how he built his digital advertising agency from scratch, focusing on helping mid-to-late stage SaaS companies scale through paid advertising channels and generating around $8,600 per month without significant overhead costs.
9. Write.as ($34.8K/year)
Matt Baer, founder of Write.as, came up with the idea for his business in 2014 while working at a social media startup. He was inspired by the need for privacy and free expression in the face of increasing government surveillance, and created a simple writing platform that required no sign-up and focused on usability and privacy. Since then, Write.as has grown to host over 75,000 sites and 500,000 articles, with plans to expand into new areas like newsletters and company communications.
How much they make: $34.8K/year
Where they're located: Washington D.C., Washington, D.C., USA
Current team size: 1
Founder of Write.as, Matt Baer, shares his journey of building a suite of integrated creative tools, including a writing/blogging platform, photo-sharing tool, and submission management system, which host over 75,000 sites and power hundreds of independent WriteFreely sites across the web, with revenue growing by 200% year-over-year since launching paid plans.
10. OneUp ($120K/year)
Davis Baer, the co-founder of OneUp, came up with the idea for the social media scheduling tool after experiencing the dissatisfaction and boredom of working in the corporate finance world. He wanted to create a tool that would automate time-consuming tasks and help businesses increase visibility on social media. Baer used unorthodox marketing techniques, such as creating a spreadsheet comparing 90 different scheduling tools, to attract and retain customers.
How much they make: $120K/year
Where they're located: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Current team size: 2
OneUp is a social media scheduling tool that helps businesses make more money by automating time-consuming tasks, allowing you to schedule Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts, with the unique feature of allowing for posts to be set on repeat automatically.
11. BuyLo ($120/year)
Ju Li, co-founder of GetBuyLo.com, came up with the idea for their business while working in the insurtech industry and noticing increased polarization in society due to social media use. Believing that travel can bring people together, Ju Li and their team developed a browser extension that scans flight booking sites for lower prices, aiming to make travel more affordable, convenient, and time-saving. Despite launching during the COVID pandemic, GetBuyLo.com has garnered positive feedback from early users and gained recognition from YCombinator's Startup School newsletter and popular subreddits.
How much they make: $120/year
Where they're located: Boston, MA, USA
How much did it cost to start: $2K
Current team size: 1
GetBuyLo.com co-founder Ju Li discusses the pivots their team had to make to build a browser extension that scrapes flight prices in real-time and finds users a lower price on the same flight, including lessons learned about moving forward with a customer-first mentality.
12. RatePunk ($600K/year)
Justinas Albertynas, one of the founders of RatePunk, came up with the idea for the travel-tech startup after realizing the frustration of comparing hotel prices on different booking websites. After experiencing the inconsistency in prices, Justinas saw an opportunity to create a browser extension that would compare prices in real-time, saving users time and money. The product has gained traction quickly, with over 3000 users in just a few weeks and reaching the top of the Apple Store charts in multiple countries.
How much they make: $600K/year
Where they're located: Vilnius, Lithuania
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 20
Travel-tech startup RatePunk created a browser extension that compares hotel prices across different booking websites for free and achieved over 3,000 installs within a few weeks of launch, while learning valuable marketing lessons from social media platforms, micro-influencers, and online communities.
13. Honey ($100M/year)
How much they make: $100M/year
Where they're located: Los Angeles, CA, USA
How much did it cost to start: $100K
Current team size: 442
Honey, the LA-based browser extension that searches for the best deals, was created by George Ruan and Ryan Hudson with only a $100,000 investment, and was later acquired by PayPal for $4 billion in late 2019.
14. Grammarly ($208M/year)
How much they make: $208M/year
Where they're located: San Francisco, California, USA
Current team size: 1057
AI-powered writing tool, Grammarly, founded by Max Lytvyn, Dmytro Lider, and Alex Shevchenko, raised $200M at a $13B valuation, assisting 30M people and 50K businesses with market-leading communication.
15. Baxter Inc. ($12K/year)
The founder was having a tough time managing his Gmail inbox when he came up with the idea of a dashboard. He then interviewed dozens of regular American adults to see if the idea was appealing. Soon, he found out that the majority of people preferred a simple tool rather than a dashboard. This motivated him to build Baxter.
How much they make: $12K/year
Where they're located: West Palm Beach, FL, USA
How much did it cost to start: $50K
Current team size: 1
A case study on the founder of Baxter, a browser extension that helps Gmail users organize their inboxes by unsubscribing from newsletters, deleting unneeded emails, and automatically labeling and organizing emails, which generated over $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue in just nine months and successfully acquired an existing Gmail Unsubscribe extension to drive organic user growth.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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