Postiz

The step-by-step playbook behind Postiz, built only from the sourced facts we found (18 facts, each with its evidence label and link), plus a copy-paste replication prompt for Claude or ChatGPT.

1. The order they did it in

1. Early 2024: starts building as a closed product; spends ~$3k/month for ~4 months trying SEO/marketing. Self-reported source
2. Sep 1, 2024: open-source launch; within months ~15k GitHub stars, 584K Docker downloads, ~4k cloud sign-ups and ~$2K MRR. Self-reported source
3. Jul 2025: $6,523/month → next month $12,648 after the n8n/automation focus. Self-reported source
4. Nov 2025: $14.2K/month as a single developer. Self-reported source
5. Oct 15 2026: $270,432 MRR, 7,922 subscriptions, $1.43M all-time. Verified source
6. Oct 20 2026: $290,273 MRR, 8,498 subscriptions, $1.5M all-time. Verified source
7. Oct 23 2026: $303,520 MRR, 8,894 subscriptions, $1.54M all-time. Verified source
8. Oct 28 2026: $324,458 MRR, 9,522 subscriptions, $1.61M all-time. Verified source

2. How they got customers (more growth methods)

1. Pricing principle: everything open source, charge only for the cloud version; never force developers to pay. Self-reported source
2. Refocused on automation users: shipped an official n8n node, improved the public API, cold-pitched Skool communities to promote Postiz, and grew an affiliate program. Self-reported source
3. Automated users (n8n templates) post without logging in, which the founder says keeps them paying longer. Self-reported source
4. Repositioned as the posting layer AI agents call (CLI, agent listings), which a third-party teardown credits for MRR going from ~$21K to $100K+ within months, without new paid spend. Public data source

3. Stack + monthly costs

1. One open-source monorepo shared by the cloud and self-hosted versions. Self-reported source
2. Docker images, built and automated by open-source contributors, on every new tag. Self-reported source
3. Official n8n node + public API for automation. Self-reported source
4. Stripe billing; plans from $29/month with a 7-day $0 trial. Verified source

4. What didn't work (skip these)

1. Closed-source launch with paid SEO/marketing: ~4 months at ~$3k/month was "useless"; low domain authority made ranking hard. Self-reported source
2. "It took me a very long time to make a decent amount of revenue from the product." Self-reported source

Doubts we flagged

• The dev.to post says "August 2024" for the $12,648 month right after "July 2025"; context suggests Aug 2025.
• The $21K→$100K+ attribution comes from a third-party teardown, not the founder directly.

5. Copy-paste replication prompt

You are my AI co-founder. Help me replicate the playbook behind Postiz, using ONLY these sourced facts (evidence label in brackets):

GROWTH METHODS (in order):
- Open-sourced the whole app with a polished README and launched it on Reddit; then posted monthly "what's new" updates on Reddit with similar results each time. [self]
- Product Hunt launch finished #1 of the day, week and month. [self]
- Pricing principle: everything open source, charge only for the cloud version; never force developers to pay. [self]
- Refocused on automation users: shipped an official n8n node, improved the public API, cold-pitched Skool communities to promote Postiz, and grew an affiliate program. [self]
- Automated users (n8n templates) post without logging in, which the founder says keeps them paying longer. [self]
- Repositioned as the posting layer AI agents call (CLI, agent listings), which a third-party teardown credits for MRR going from ~$21K to $100K+ within months, without new paid spend. [public]

STACK & COSTS:
- One open-source monorepo shared by the cloud and self-hosted versions. [self]
- Docker images, built and automated by open-source contributors, on every new tag. [self]
- Official n8n node + public API for automation. [self]
- Stripe billing; plans from $29/month with a 7-day $0 trial. [verified]

TIMELINE:
- Early 2024: starts building as a closed product; spends ~$3k/month for ~4 months trying SEO/marketing. [self]
- Sep 1, 2024: open-source launch; within months ~15k GitHub stars, 584K Docker downloads, ~4k cloud sign-ups and ~$2K MRR. [self]
- Jul 2025: $6,523/month → next month $12,648 after the n8n/automation focus. [self]
- Nov 2025: $14.2K/month as a single developer. [self]
- Oct 15 2026: $270,432 MRR, 7,922 subscriptions, $1.43M all-time. [verified]
- Oct 20 2026: $290,273 MRR, 8,498 subscriptions, $1.5M all-time. [verified]
- Oct 23 2026: $303,520 MRR, 8,894 subscriptions, $1.54M all-time. [verified]
- Oct 28 2026: $324,458 MRR, 9,522 subscriptions, $1.61M all-time. [verified]

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
- Closed-source launch with paid SEO/marketing: ~4 months at ~$3k/month was "useless"; low domain authority made ranking hard. [self]
- "It took me a very long time to make a decent amount of revenue from the product." [self]

Task: 1) Ask me 5 questions about my skills, audience, budget and niche. 2) Map each fact above to an equivalent action for my niche. 3) Produce a week-by-week plan to my first dollar, with the cheapest tool for each step. 4) Flag which steps depend on advantages I may not have (audience, timing, capital). Do not assume any fact beyond the list.