One-time vs subscription: ShipFast and DataFast numbers

On public TrustMRR data, the subscription product lasts better. DataFast made $30,515 in its last 30 days. ShipFast, a one-time product from the same founder (@marclou), made $1,395. Our read: one-time sales win only when the early rush is big. Numbers checked on 2026-11-01.

Sources: ShipFast on TrustMRR↗ and DataFast on TrustMRR↗, both opened on 2026-11-01. Neither page showed a "sync stopped" notice. TrustMRR values change through the day. A note we made on 2026-10-16 had ShipFast at $1,146 for 30 days. On 2026-11-01 the page said $1,395.

What is the problem?

A maker has to pick a price shape before launch. A one-time price brings cash on day one. A subscription brings less at first, but it comes back each month. Which one is still earning two or three years later?

What do the two products show?

We have only the totals TrustMRR prints, not a month-by-month chart. So this is two end points, not a curve. We ran four checks on them. All dollar figures below are from the 2026-11-01 pages.

1. How far is "now" from the average month?

Our method: all-time revenue divided by the months since the founding date TrustMRR lists (July 2023 to October 2026 is about 39 months; July 2024 to October 2026 is about 27 months).

• ShipFast: about $32,600 a month on average. The last 30 days ($1,395) are about 4% of that (2026-11-01).
• DataFast: about $12,100 a month on average. The last 30 days ($30,515) are about 2.5 times that (2026-11-01).

One product is far below its own history. The other is far above it. These are rough: TrustMRR may not track from the founding month.

2. What does one sale replace?

DataFast's $28,875 MRR across 1,393 active subscriptions is about $20.73 per subscriber per month (our division, 2026-11-01). A $199 ShipFast sale equals about 9.6 months of an average DataFast subscriber. So a one-time sale is worth less than a year of a subscriber who stays.

3. How many sales does a one-time product need each month?

To bring in $28,875 every month at the $199 Starter price, you need about 145 new sales every month (28,875 divided by 199, 2026-11-01 figures). ShipFast's last 30 days equal about 7 sales if all were at the $199 price. The real mix of $199, $249 and $299 is not public, so treat both numbers as estimates.

4. How long until the small total catches the big one?

DataFast's all-time total is $946,356 below ShipFast's (2026-11-01). At DataFast's current $28,875 MRR held flat, that gap takes about 33 months to close. In other words, one big launch period can outweigh almost three years of a young subscription.

Why might the shapes differ?

These are our guesses, not findings:

• A subscription stacks. Last month's customers are still paying this month, so new sales add to the base instead of replacing it.
• A one-time product needs new buyers every month. TrustMRR lists Meta Ads as ShipFast's marketing channel, which would fit that need, but the page does not show ad spend.
• The two products sell different things: a code starter kit and an analytics tool. Category could explain part of the gap.
• The founder has a large audience (TrustMRR shows 419.1k X followers on 2026-11-01). That helps both products, so it does not explain the difference.

What can a small maker copy?

• Price a one-time product so the launch rush pays for the work, and plan for the quiet months after it.
• If you want steady months, a low monthly price with a free trial is one option. DataFast starts at $9 a month (checked 2026-11-01).
• A hybrid is a third option: a one-time core plus an optional subscription. This pair does not test it, so this is our opinion, not a finding.
• Run a simple test: could you live on one month of sales at your current price, with no new ads?
• Do not copy from one pair. A founder with a big audience is a hard case to learn from.

How reliable are these numbers?

TrustMRR shows revenue that founders connect from their payment provider. We did not verify the connection ourselves. The pages did not say that syncing had stopped. Treat the figures as third-party data, not audited accounts.

How we researched this

Researched from public sources on 2026-11-01. We opened both TrustMRR pages and did the arithmetic ourselves. We did not buy or use either product, and we did not talk to the founder. Proadcast is our own product, and it is not part of this comparison.

Changelog

• 2026-11-01: First published.