# Free Tool Case Benchmarks

Real free tools and the numbers they produced. Use these to set expectations, justify the build, and pattern-match your concept against what actually worked.

## Framing: "Your product is my marketing opportunity"

Bezos's line was **"your margin is my opportunity"** — where a competitor monetizes something, undercut it. The engineering-as-marketing version is **"your product is my marketing opportunity."** Take a capability others sell, build a simple free version, and turn it into an acquisition channel. Unsplash gave away the stock photos that Getty charged for — and Getty ended up acquiring it.

## Case Library

| Tool | Company | Build cost | Result |
|------|---------|-----------|--------|
| Unsplash | Crew | 3 hrs, leftover redesign photos | 11M monthly visitors; acquired by Getty |
| Website Grader | HubSpot | 2 engineers, 2 weeks | 250K leads, 98% auto-qualification, $6M revenue |
| Forecasting | Baremetrics | — | 35% trial conversion |
| Headline Analyzer | CoSchedule | — | ~20% of users convert to subscribers |
| Keyword Explorer | Moz | — | 40% trial conversion, CAC down 65% |
| Salary Calculator | Buffer | — | 1.5M visitors, 12% signup rate |
| Hatchful | Shopify | — | 25% trial conversion |

## What each case teaches

- **Crew → Unsplash** — The anchor case. A near-zero-cost byproduct (leftover photos from a redesign, ~3 hrs to ship) became a top-of-funnel giant. Give away what others charge for; the reach compounds.
- **HubSpot Website Grader** — Small build (2 engineers, 2 weeks), enormous return. Proof that an analyzer/grader can double as a lead engine *and* a qualification engine — 98% of leads auto-qualified because the tool's inputs revealed fit.
- **Baremetrics Forecasting** — A tool adjacent to the core product (revenue analytics) that converts trials at 35% because using it makes the paid product's value obvious.
- **CoSchedule Headline Analyzer** — Repeat-use analyzer with a low-friction path to subscription (~20%). High recurring usage keeps the brand in front of the audience.
- **Moz Keyword Explorer** — A free surface of the paid product itself: 40% trial conversion and a 65% drop in CAC because the tool *is* the demo.
- **Buffer Salary Calculator** — Not adjacent to the product at all, but massively shareable: 1.5M visitors, 12% signup. Pure reach + brand play that still converts.
- **Shopify Hatchful** — A generator (logo maker) that feeds the core product's onboarding, converting trials at 25%.

## How to use these benchmarks

- **Set expectations**: Analyzer/grader tools tend to convert visitors to leads well and qualify them; calculators skew toward reach and share-worthiness; generators feed onboarding.
- **Justify the build**: Compare your expected lead value × volume against these ratios before committing engineering time.
- **Pattern-match**: Find the case closest to your concept (adjacent-to-product vs pure-reach) and borrow its gating and distribution approach.
