Estimate how much your directory could earn each month. Enter what you charge and how many spots you expect to sell, and the calculator adds up every revenue stream.
The example values describe a small directory a few months after launch: five featured listings, one sponsor and modest traffic. For comparison, OpenAlternative earns about $6,500/month with 200,000 monthly visitors, and 65% of that comes from ads and sponsorships. I break down where that money comes from in the OpenAlternative case study.
Pricing matters more than traffic early on. A directory with a focused audience can charge for featured spots long before an ad network pays a meaningful amount. If you are still choosing a niche, start with the list of profitable directory niches.
Dirstarter ships with featured listings, paid submissions, ad slots and Stripe payments, so every stream in this calculator works on day one. See the monetization docs for how each one is set up.
Don't waste time on Stripe subscriptions or designing a pricing section. Get started today with our battle-tested stack and built-in monetization features.
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