Profitwell vs. Baremetrics
What sets Baremetrics apart from ProfitWell by Paddle
Free gets you started. Here's what gets you further.
Most founders don't switch tools because something broke. They switch because they hit a question their current tool couldn't answer.
Baremetrics
ProfitWell
Metrics
ProfitWell
Retain
yes
26+ metrics including MRR movement breakdown (new, expansion, reactivation, contraction, churned), quick ratio, ARPU by plan/region, refunds & failed-charge loss
yes
Core set (MRR, ARR, churn, LTV, ARPU); higher-level movement view, no quick ratio
yes
Voluntary, delinquent, and net revenue churn (offset by expansion)
yes
Voluntary and delinquent churn; limited net-revenue-churn view
yes
NRR plus cohort retention tables you can segment and export
no
Basic cohort reports by signup month; no NRR or net revenue view
yes
Tracked as distinct revenue movements feeding net revenue churn
no
Tracked at account level; surfaced in Slack alerts
yes
Unlimited custom segments and dashboards, plus API data enrichment
no
Basic — preset attributes (plan, segment, custom field)
yes
Stripe processing fees broken out so you see true margin, not just gross subscription revenue
no
MRR-focused; no native fee breakdown or net-revenue distinction
yes
Public dashboard links for investors and stakeholders — no login or seat required; also push metrics to Slack and HubSpot
no
No public dashboard links; metrics shared via Slack alerts
yes
Recover automates retries and up to 7 recovery emails — $129/mo add-on
no
Not included
yes
Managed recovery flows, not customizable — performance-based add-on (no published rate)
yes
Your copy, sender, and domain
no
Templated flows, not editable
Capability Gaps
revenue recovery
Recovery emails work better when they sound like you.
ProfitWell Retain sends pre-tested templates you can't edit without emailing their team. Baremetrics Recover gives you full control — your copy, brand voice, and branding, in fully customizable sequences. On average, Recover pays for itself 38× over.
Baremetrics
Recover
ProfitWell
Retain
yes
Email, SMS, and in-app copy, sender, and branding are editable across the sequence
no
Uses pre-built templates; copy edits require contacting Paddle
yes
Email, SMS, and in-app reminders in one configurable sequence
no
Email cadence with a single SMS sent between the first two emails
yes
Configurable grace-period banner and paywall — copy, color, timing, and placement
no
Payment-failure prompts via JS snippet; preset, not configurable
yes
Reports involuntary (failed-payment) churn, recovery rate, and MRR recovered
no
Recovers payments; reporting focused on recovery outcomes
cancellation insights
You know customers are cancelling. You don't know why.
ProfitWell tells you your churn rate, not what's driving it. Baremetrics Cancellation Insights captures exit reasons at the moment of cancel and automatically triggers personalized responses to win them back.
Baremetrics
Cancellation Insights
ProfitWell
Retain
yes
Breaks down cancellations by reason with percentages (e.g. budget, lack of value, switched tools) in a dedicated dashboard
yes
Collects a cancellation reason and satisfaction insight at cancel; shown in Retain's reporting
yes
A discount can be set per cancellation reason and auto-applies to the customer's Stripe subscription on accept
yes
Curates salvage attempts from survey responses; offers include discount, pause, trial extension, and support
yes
Ties every save to revenue: MRR saved, total cost, and number of cancellations in one view
no
Reports rates (deflection, reactivation, offer acceptance), not dollars saved
yes
Breaks cancellation reasons down by plan, so you see exactly where churn concentrates
no
Reports cancellation reasons in aggregate; no documented plan-level breakdown
segmentation
You've outgrown "show me all customers" as a segment.
Both tools segment and enrich your data. The difference is how far you can take it: Baremetrics lets you stack multiple filters, pull in custom fields from HubSpot and Intercom, and save a dashboard for every segment.
Baremetrics
Metrics
ProfitWell
Metrics
yes
Customer and revenue retention cohort tables, segmentable and exportable
yes
Customer and revenue cohort reports by signup month
yes
Custom fields via API, HubSpot and Intercom data, plus Clearbit enrichment
yes
Clearbit and FullContact enrichment, plus custom traits via API
yes
Stack multiple filters to build any custom segment
no
Compares one segment group at a time; filters don't stack
yes
Break down churn, net revenue, and expansion across any segment (e.g. self-serve vs. enterprise)
no
Segments churn and revenue, but no net-revenue-churn or expansion offset
yes
Persistent saved dashboards for each segment
no
Segment views built per session, not saved as dashboards
BEING HONEST
Where ProfitWell might be a better fit
You have limited cashflow
ProfitWell Metrics is genuinely free forever, no MRR cap. If you only need the core numbers and aren't ready to pay for a tool, start there. We can't compete with $0.
You're on Zuora, Recharge, or Maxio
ProfitWell supports these natively. Baremetrics would require the Open API, which typically takes about a day of engineering work to connect.
You need recovery emails in 15+ languages
ProfitWell Retain automatically localizes recovery communications. Baremetrics Recover is English-only for now.
You need industry-specific benchmarks
ProfitWell's benchmark data is segmented by industry vertical. Baremetrics offers broader SaaS benchmarks, not vertical-specific ones.
SUPPORT
The support model is part of the product
Hands-on working sessions where the team builds your segments, dashboards, and recovery flows with you, even during your trial, not just after you pay.
