# My $5K/Month App Makes $0 Profit (Full Breakdown)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeKKzYV8ehw
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/HeKKzYV8ehw
Generated: 2026-03-06T17:08:25.334+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The app, which generates $5,000 in monthly revenue, actually yields $2,000 in profit after accounting for $3,065 in monthly operating expenses across LLM usage, hosting (Supabase, Vercel), email services (Resend), monitoring (Posthog), team chat (Slack), AI coding assistance (Claude Code, ChatGPT Pro, Cursor), and web scraping (Apify).

**Key Points:**
- Monthly revenue for the app is $5,000, while total monthly costs amount to $3,065, resulting in a net profit of approximately $2,000.
- The largest single cost is LLM usage (likely for content remixing/AI features) at $1,375 per month.
- Hosting costs include Supabase at $220/month and Vercel at $150/month.
- Email services (Resend) cost $270/month, and team communication (Slack) costs $70/month.
- AI coding and assistance tools total $240/month: Claude Code ($200/month) and ChatGPT Pro ($20/month), plus Cursor at $20/month.
- Web scraping via Apify is a significant cost at $500/month.
- The developer chooses Vercel over self-hosting on a VPS ($10/month) due to convenience and features, despite the higher cost.

![Screenshot at 00:09: The creator begins breaking down the costs associated with the $5,000/month app, displaying placeholders for Email, AI Cost, Marketing, and Social Media expenses.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/HeKKzYV8ehw/00-00-09.jpg)

**Context:** The video provides a full financial breakdown of a small SaaS application built by a solo developer (or small team) that is generating $5,000 in gross monthly revenue. The creator details every associated monthly cost, including AI services, hosting, communication, and development tools, to reveal the actual monthly profit margin. The app appears to be focused on content creation/repurposing for social media, utilizing features like an AI Content Remixer/Scriptwriter.

## Detailed Analysis

The creator breaks down the finances of an app generating $5,000 in monthly revenue. The total monthly expenses calculated are $3,065, leaving a net profit of $2,000. The expenses are itemized: LLM usage is the largest cost at $1,375. Hosting costs include Supabase ($220) and Vercel ($150). Communication/Email costs are Resend ($270) and Slack ($70). AI coding/assistance costs are Claude Code ($200/month), ChatGPT Pro ($20/month), and Cursor ($20/month). Web scraping via Apify is $500/month. The creator notes that Vercel is chosen over cheaper VPS hosting ($10/month) because the convenience and integrated features outweigh the cost difference. The app's core feature, the content remixing tool, relies heavily on AI scraping and processing, which drives up the LLM costs. The developer mentions that they are reinvesting the $2,000 profit back into marketing and growth.

### Revenue & Profitability

- Monthly Revenue: $5000
- Total Costs: $3065
- Profit: $2000
- LLM Costs: $1375

### Core Infrastructure Costs

- Supabase: $220
- Vercel: $150 (Chosen over $10/month VPS for convenience)

### Communication & Email Costs

- Resend: $270
- Slack: $70 (Slack integration is key for alerts)

### AI & Development Tools

- Claude Code: $200/month
- ChatGPT Pro: $20/month
- Cursor: $20/month

### Data Acquisition Costs

- Apify (for scraping social media): $500/month
- Posthog (Analytics): $60/month

### Growth Strategy

- Growth is prioritized over immediate cost-saving; marketing relies heavily on TikTok and Instagram influencer outreach.

![Screenshot at 00:12: A screenshot of the Stripe dashboard showing $4,455 in Gross Volume and $2,900 in MRR for a previous period, illustrating the app's revenue metrics.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/HeKKzYV8ehw/00-00-12.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:01: The Yorby.ai website homepage, highlighting its function as a shortcut to high-performing content using AI.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/HeKKzYV8ehw/00-01-01.jpg)
![Screenshot at 05:01: A calculation overlay showing the total monthly expenses summing up to $3,065 against $5,000 in revenue.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/HeKKzYV8ehw/00-05-01.jpg)
![Screenshot at 06:38: The Resend pricing page showing the 'Transactional Emails' plan costs $20/month for 50,000 emails, which the creator notes is relatively expensive compared to alternatives.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/HeKKzYV8ehw/00-06-38.jpg)