Beeminder

What Beeminder does

Beeminder is a Portland-based, bootstrapped consumer software company founded in 2011 (originally as Kibotzer) by Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule. It operates a goal-tracking commitment-device platform where users set quantifiable goals, connect one or more of 40+ third-party data sources (including Fitbit, Duolingo, Toggl, RescueTime, Strava, Garmin, Apple Health, Todoist, Slack, Zapier, and IFTTT) for automatic progress reporting, and agree to a financial pledge schedule that charges real money (an exponential ladder from $0 to $2,430) when progress falls below a visual 'Bright Red Line' on the goal graph. The platform includes a 7-day 'akrasia horizon' that prevents users from weakening commitments at the last minute, a safety buffer system for building resilience against disruptions, and a public API that has enabled an extensive ecosystem of community-built integrations since 2012.

The technology is built on Ruby on Rails with a proprietary 'Beebrain' graph algorithm that uses FIR and IIR low-pass signal-processing filters to smooth time-series datapoint data and produce trend visualizations. Mobile apps on iOS and Android extend the web platform, and the company distributes through a pure self-serve, product-led growth motion with no sales team—users discover the product primarily through its 500+ post blog, an active Discourse community forum, and earned media coverage including a Wall Street Journal front-page feature in 2011, TechCrunch, Forbes, and Lifehacker.

Beeminder generates revenue through a hybrid model: a four-tier subscription structure (historically Bee Lite, Plan Bee, Beemium, Beekeeper) plus transactional pledge payments collected when users derail on their goals. In February 2019, the company implemented a 'commitwall' requiring upfront credit card on file before goal creation, shifting cash collection earlier in the user lifecycle. The business has operated profitably for 14+ years on a single $25,000 seed investment from Portland Seed Fund in March 2012, serving a horizontal base of individual self-improvement users in the quantified-self, productivity, health/fitness, freelancer, and rationality/effective-altruism communities.

Name

Beeminder

Legal name

Beeminder

Website

https://beeminder.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Beeminder is a Portland-based, bootstrapped consumer SaaS platform (founded 2011) that uses real-money commitment contracts to help individual users stick to quantifiable personal goals, integrating with 40+ apps for automated progress tracking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription Plans: Four-tier subscription model (Bee Lite, Plan Bee, Beemium, Beekeeper) providing tiered access to features. Revenue generated when users derail on their goals - the core commitment contract model where money is charged when users fail to meet their self-imposed targets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Beeminder is a goal-tracking commitment device that charges users real money when they fail to meet self-imposed, quantifiable goals. Users set goals (weight, pushups, time on apps, language points, etc.), track progress via a Bright Red Line graph, and connect 40+ third-party apps and devices for automatic data reporting. The platform combines quantified self-tracking with behavioral economics principles, leveraging loss aversion and escalating financial stakes ($0, $5, $10, $30, $90, $270, $810, $2430) to drive behavior change.

Product overview

Beeminder is a goal-tracking commitment device platform with financial stakes. The core Beeminder platform enables users to set quantifiable goals, track progress on graphs with a Bright Red Line, and face automatic payment charges for derailment. The platform includes mobile apps for iOS and Android, a public API for developer integrations, Premium subscription tiers (Bee Lite, Plan Bee, Beemium, Beekeeper), and a community ecosystem including a blog and Discourse forum. Beeminder integrates with 45+ third-party tools including productivity apps (Todoist, Trello, Toggl), fitness trackers (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Health), learning platforms (Duolingo, CodeCombat), and automation services (Zapier, IFTTT, Make).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Beeminder Core Platform Web-based goal-tracking platform with financial stakes. Users set quantifiable goals, track progress on graphs with a Bright Red Line, and face automatic payment charges if they cross the line. Features exponential pledge schedule, safety buffer tracking, and akrasia horizon for goal modifications. Designed for individual consumers who want to overcome procrastination and self-control problems.
• Beeminder Mobile Apps Native smartphone applications for iOS and Android that provide mobile access to Beeminder goals, graphs, datapoint entry, and push notification reminders. Available on Google Play and Apple App Store for on-the-go goal tracking.
• Beeminder API

Quantifiable outcome

• Users have maintained goals for 5000+ days (example: sugar tracking graph active since 2010)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration48 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ManifoldcoreTechnology or Integration · 2 November 2023Integration with play-money prediction market platform. Automatically tracks betting activity to help users maintain prediction market engagement habits.
• FocusmatecoreTechnology or Integration · 27 December 2021Official integration (Beeminder's first integration partner) for virtual coworking sessions. Automatically tracks completed Focusmate sessions as Beeminder datapoints.
• RescueTimecoreTechnology or Integration · 19 November 2012Long-standing integration (since 2012) for automatic productivity tracking. Monitors computer usage and reports productive/unproductive time to Beeminder.
• FitbitcoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial integration allowing users to automatically track steps, weight, sleep, and other fitness metrics from Fitbit devices directly into Beeminder goals.
• DuolingocoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration for tracking foreign language learning progress on Duolingo, automatically reporting points or time spent to Beeminder goals.
• Toggl TrackcoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial integration (announced 2018) for tracking time spent on projects. Toggl data automatically feeds into Beeminder for work hour goals.
• TodoistcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with popular task management app. Automatically tracks completed tasks and sends +1 datapoints to Beeminder goals.
• Gmail (GmailZero)coreTechnology or IntegrationAutomatic inbox tracking integration that monitors read message count and helps users achieve inbox zero without declaring email bankruptcy.
• StravacoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration for tracking cycling, running, and other athletic activities recorded on Strava directly into Beeminder fitness goals.
• GarmincoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial integration (announced 2015) for Garmin wearable devices, connecting activity tracking data to Beeminder goals.
• Apple HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Apple Health app for iOS users to track health metrics including steps, workouts, and other activity data.
• ZapiercoreTechnology or IntegrationZapier integration allowing connection to 1000+ apps through automated workflows. Enables custom data reporting from any Zapier-connected service.
• IFTTTcoreTechnology or IntegrationIFTTT integration for connecting to hundreds of apps and services for automated data reporting to Beeminder goals.
• Make (formerly Integromat)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Make platform for visual workflow automation, connecting additional services to Beeminder.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TaskRatchet: TaskRatchet is a direct peer and even an integration partner of Beeminder - an Android todo app that charges money if tasks aren't completed on time. Shares the commitment device DNA with Beeminder but focuses narrowly on todo list completion rather than the broader quantified self tracking Beeminder covers.
• Habitify: Habitify is a habit tracking app available across iOS, Android, macOS, and web with streak tracking, reminders, and insights. Direct peer in the habit tracking space but without the commitment device or auto-data integration breadth that differentiates Beeminder.
• Coach.me: Coach.me (formerly Lift) is a habit tracking app with optional human coaching services and a community of users pursuing similar goals. Direct peer in the habit tracking space that combines tracking with human accountability - serving as a non-financial alternative to Beeminder's commitment device model.
• StickK: StickK is the closest direct peer to Beeminder, offering commitment contracts where users stake money on achieving goals with a referee to verify. Founded by Yale behavioral economists, it shares Beeminder's core real-money commitment device model but is more general-purpose (weight loss, fitness, business) with less emphasis on auto-data integrations.
• Way of Life: Way of Life is a habit tracker that uses a simple red/green color coding system to visualize habit chains and break bad habits. Direct peer competing for Beeminder's habit-tracking user base but with a journaling-style interface rather than quantitative graphs or financial commitments.
• Productive (Habit Tracker): Productive is a habit and daily routine tracker for iOS and Android with customizable schedules, challenges, and statistics. Direct peer in the habit tracking category, especially for users focused on building morning/evening routines, but without the commitment device mechanism that anchors Beeminder.
• Strides: Strides is a goal and habit tracking app across iOS, web, and Apple Watch with smart tracking, streaks, and reminders. Directly competes with Beeminder for goal-tracking users but relies on streaks and accountability reminders rather than financial commitment contracts as the primary motivation mechanism.
• Habitica: Habitica is a free, open-source habit and productivity app that gamifies tasks with RPG-style character progression. It is a direct competitor for habit-tracking users and also an integration partner of Beeminder, sharing the same quantified-self user base but using gamification rather than financial stakes as the motivation mechanism.

Broad incumbents

• Oura: Oura is a smart ring and app that tracks sleep, activity, readiness, and other health metrics with built-in goal-setting features. As an integration partner of Beeminder and a broader wellness platform with growing goal-tracking capabilities, it represents a broad incumbent that overlaps with Beeminder's health/fitness use cases at much greater scale.
• Apple Health: Apple Health is a broad incumbent health and wellness platform on iOS with native activity tracking, workout logging, and integration with thousands of health apps. It is both an integration partner of Beeminder and a potential competitor, as Apple could trivially add commitment or goal-tracking features at massive distribution scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bmndr
• GitHubgithub.com/beeminder
• Facebookfacebook.com/Beeminder
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/beeminder

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Beeminder