# PMFtracker

> PMFtracker is PMF analytics for founders without an analyst. Its PMF Monitor reads five product-market fit signals, each against its own benchmark and shown only with enough data: the Sean Ellis survey score (40% benchmark), revenue growth from Stripe, free-to-paid conversion, retention, and organic share of signups. When a signal is weak, a 3W loop (Where, Why, Whether, Learn) finds where users drop, asks them why, and sizes a test to the founder's traffic. It has its own tracking script, a read-only Stripe sync, and an in-app PMF survey with AI analysis.

PMFtracker is a SaaS product (the app lives at https://app.pmftracker.com). Pricing is one-time / lifetime - no subscription: **PMF Starter ($99)** and **PMF Startup Kit ($199)**. A launch promo gives the first 100 customers $79 and $149 respectively. The core method is the Sean Ellis test: survey users with "How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?" and measure the percentage who answer "very disappointed." A score at or above 40% signals product-market fit.

For a long-form reference with fuller content on each topic, see https://www.pmftracker.com/llms-full.txt.

## Tools
- [PMF Score Calculator](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-score): Free calculator - enter Sean Ellis survey responses and instantly see your PMF score against the 40% rule.
- [Sean Ellis Survey Template](https://www.pmftracker.com/sean-ellis-survey): The complete Sean Ellis survey with exact question wording, who to survey, how many responses you need, and how to score it.
- [Investor PMF Report](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-investor-report): Show product-market fit to investors with evidence - PMF trend, ICP, and benchmark - exported in minutes.
- [PMF Benchmarks by Industry](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-benchmark): Typical PMF scores by sector - SaaS, fintech, consumer apps, developer tools, AI startups, marketplaces.
- [PMF Glossary](https://www.pmftracker.com/glossary): Plain-English definitions of every PMF term - the Sean Ellis test, 40% rule, PMF score, ICP, HXC, retention curve, NPS vs PMF, and more.
- [PMF FAQ](https://www.pmftracker.com/faq): Common product-market-fit and product questions answered in one place - what PMF is, a good score, sample size, NPS vs PMF, pricing, and more.

- [PMF Diagnosis (done-with-you service)](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-diagnosis): A four-week fixed-price product-market fit diagnosis run by the PMFtracker founder. The individual PMF Diagnosis (EUR 1,350; interview-based version for pre-launch products EUR 1,900) delivers a PMF score, ICP, ranked barriers and a prioritised product roadmap. "PMF Diagnosis for your cohort" for accelerators, incubators and VCs is from EUR 650 per startup (minimum eight) and adds an anonymised cohort benchmark.

## Frameworks
- [PMF Frameworks (hub)](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks): A library of the thinking tools that get startups to product-market fit, grouped by stage (Discover, Validate, Prioritize, Grow), each with what it is, when to use it, and how to apply it.
- [Beachhead Market](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/beachhead-market): Nail it then scale it: win one narrow segment completely before expanding. Bill Aulet's framework, a 6-step selection process, and how the beachhead maps to your PMF score by segment.
- [Jobs to Be Done](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/jobs-to-be-done): Customers hire products to do a job. Christensen's framework, a 5-step method to uncover the job, the milkshake example, and how the job explains very disappointed answers.
- [Kano Model](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/kano-model): Sort features into must-haves, performance drivers, and delighters. Noriaki Kano's model, the category table, a 5-step method, and how each category moves your PMF score.
- [The Mom Test](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/the-mom-test): How to talk to customers without lying to yourself: the interview rules, the 3-rule method, and how it feeds your PMF score.
- [Problem-Solution Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/problem-solution-fit): The milestone before product-market fit: what it is, how to know you have it, and how to cross to PMF.
- [Value Proposition Canvas](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/value-proposition-canvas): Osterwalder’s one-page tool mapping customer jobs, pains, and gains against your product’s value. How to fill it in and test the fit.
- [The Sean Ellis Test](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/sean-ellis-test): The standard way to measure product-market fit: one survey question and the 40% rule. What it is and how to run it.
- [The RICE Scoring Model](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/rice-scoring-model): Prioritize your roadmap by Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. The formula and how to use it without false precision.
- [North Star Metric](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/north-star-metric): The one metric that captures the core value your product delivers. Definition, examples, and how to choose yours.
- [AARRR (Pirate Metrics)](https://www.pmftracker.com/frameworks/aarrr-pirate-metrics): Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue: the five-stage funnel, and which stage signals product-market fit.

## Guides and articles
- [How to Measure Product-Market Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-measure-product-market-fit): The complete founder's guide - survey score, retention curve, NPS, and reading your numbers at every stage.
- [The Sean Ellis 40% Rule](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/sean-ellis-40-percent-rule): The most-validated test for PMF - the formula, who to survey, and what the 40% threshold means.
- [How to Run a PMF Survey](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-run-a-pmf-survey): Step by step - who to ask, when, how many responses, and the exact questions.
- [How Many Responses Do You Need?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-many-responses-pmf-survey): PMF survey sample size - the 40 and 100 thresholds, the margin of error at each, and why engaged-user quality beats quantity.
- [The 4 Stages of Product-Market Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/stages-of-product-market-fit): PMF as a journey, not a yes/no - the four stages, the signal that proves each, and how to tell which stage you're in.
- [How to Validate Product-Market Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-validate-product-market-fit): Validation vs measurement - triangulate three independent signals (say, do, grow) and rule out the four false positives that fool founders.
- [Product-Market Fit Survey Questions](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-market-fit-survey-questions): The exact 5 PMF survey questions - the one that defines the score, the three follow-ups that turn it into a roadmap, and the questions to avoid (NPS, satisfaction).
- [Product-market fit statistics](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-market-fit-statistics): 15 sourced product-market fit statistics - 42% of startups fail from no market need (CB Insights), the 40% benchmark (Sean Ellis), Slack's 51% (731 users), Superhuman's 22% to 58% (First Round), and the sample-size reality.
- [The 9 Best Product-Market Fit Books](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/best-product-market-fit-books): The best PMF books ordered by stage - The Mom Test, Four Steps to the Epiphany, The Lean Startup, Running Lean, Testing Business Ideas, The Lean Product Playbook, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, From Idea to Product/Market Fit, Crossing the Chasm - and where to start.
- [I Built a Startup Nobody Used](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/why-i-built-pmftracker): A founder's account of building Eminatio, a startup nobody used, in 2015, the data on why 42% of startups fail the same way, and why that failure led to founding PMFtracker.
- [How UX Pilot Found Its Real ICP](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-ux-pilot-found-its-icp): Case study: 9 customer interviews at UX Pilot AI surfaced one unanimous use case, and the resulting product change lifted free-to-paid activation 9% in a week.
- [How UX Pilot Reached Product-Market Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-ux-pilot-reached-product-market-fit): Real case study: UX Pilot surveyed 303 paid users, scored 49% on the Sean Ellis test, and used the segmentation to define its ICP, value prop, and barriers.
- [Jobs to Be Done and PMF, Explained](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/jobs-to-be-done-product-market-fit): How Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done framework explains why users answer very disappointed on a PMF survey, with a practical exercise using the survey's open-ended questions.
- [Solution in Search of a Problem (SISP)](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/solution-in-search-of-a-problem): What Y Combinator's SISP term means, how it differs from and leads to no-market-need, and a self-check for whether you're building one.
- [How to achieve product-market fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-achieve-product-market-fit): The repeatable 7-step loop to achieve product-market fit: narrow the market, build an MVP, reach engaged users, measure the Sean Ellis score, segment to learn, improve toward 40%, then validate and scale.
- [The product-market fit checklist](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-market-fit-checklist): A 12-point product-market fit checklist across three tiers - signals (40%+ score, retention plateau, organic pull), evidence (100+ sample, per-segment, over time), and readiness to scale.
- [Problem-solution fit vs product-market fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/problem-solution-fit-vs-product-market-fit): The real difference between problem-solution fit (idea validated by interest) and product-market fit (product validated by retention), how to know each, and how to cross the gap.
- [The product-market fit framework](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-market-fit-framework): The major PMF frameworks compared (Sean Ellis test, Olsen's PMF Pyramid, Superhuman engine, Balfour's Four Fits) and how they combine into one build→measure→improve→scale lifecycle.
- [How to Improve Your PMF Score](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-improve-pmf-score): The iterative loop that takes a sub-40% score to a must-have product.
- [How Superhuman Went From 22% to 58%](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/superhuman-pmf-engine): Rahul Vohra's exact PMF engine, and how to run it without custom tooling.
- [What Is Product-Market Fit?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/what-is-product-market-fit-definitions): Four definitions from the people who coined it - Rachleff, Andreessen, Ries, and Blank.
- [What PMF Feels Like](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/what-product-market-fit-feels-like): The three signals 25 iconic companies describe - and how to put a number on the feeling.
- [42% of Startups Build Something Nobody Wants](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/no-market-need-ai-discovery): Why "no market need" is still the #1 startup killer, and why AI made it worse.
- [The Product Death Cycle](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-death-cycle): Why building only the features customers ask for quietly kills products, and how to break out.
- [Why Products Fail Despite Flawless Execution](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/why-products-fail-product-risks): The three product risks that sink most launches, and why to kill the riskiest first.
- [Best PMF Survey Tools (2026)](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/best-pmf-survey-tools): The 8 best tools for running a product-market fit survey, and how to choose.

- [Most onboarding simplifies. This one grew conversion 44.68%](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/activation-onboarding-experiment): Case study: UX Pilot turned its most powerful feature on by default for new users and grew free-to-paid conversion 44.68% in a Bayesian A/B test.
- [Product-market fit metrics: the 6 numbers that actually prove it](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/product-market-fit-metrics): The six metrics that actually prove product-market fit (survey score, retention shape, engagement, organic growth, churn, NPS) and why revenue is a weak signal.
- [Founder-market fit: the fit that comes before PMF](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/founder-market-fit): Founder-market fit, the match between a founder and their market (insight, unfair advantage, endurance), why it precedes PMF, and how to assess yours.
- [What retention rate signals product-market fit?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/retention-rate-product-market-fit): Why there is no single retention rate that proves PMF; the signal is a retention curve that flattens, and it differs by business model.
- [How to test product-market fit before you launch](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-test-product-market-fit-before-launch): Five pre-launch methods to test demand before building: landing-page test, waitlist, fake door, pre-orders, and concierge MVP.
- [The MVP and product-market fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/mvp-and-product-market-fit): What an MVP really is (a learning tool for reaching PMF, not a cheap version 1), who coined it, and how it drives toward product-market fit.
- [AI makes it faster to build the wrong thing](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/ai-and-product-market-fit): AI made building cheap, which also made building the wrong thing cheap; why product judgment matters more and how to use the speed to reach fit sooner.
- [You hit 40% PMF. Now what?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/what-to-do-after-product-market-fit): The post-PMF playbook: expand from your beachhead, switch to a North Star Metric and AARRR, and keep measuring fit because it erodes as you scale.
- [What to do with each PMF survey segment](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/pmf-survey-segments): What to do with each PMF survey segment: understand the very disappointed, convert the somewhat disappointed, and ignore the not disappointed.
- [How often should you run the PMF survey?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-often-to-run-pmf-survey): How often to run the Sean Ellis survey (quarterly by default, plus after major changes) and why the trend matters more than any single score.
- [How to Increase Your PMF Survey Response Rate](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-increase-pmf-survey-response-rates): The chasing playbook: who to ask, when, in-product vs email, and the one follow-up reminder that gets a stalled survey to 40+ responses.
- [B2B vs B2C Product-Market Fit](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/b2b-vs-b2c-product-market-fit): Why the same 40% Sean Ellis score means different things for B2B and B2C: the sample math, who actually answers, and cadence differences.
- [How to Run a PMF Survey With PostHog](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-run-a-pmf-survey-with-posthog): Step-by-step: build a PostHog cohort of engaged users, target the Sean Ellis survey at it, then score and segment the responses in PMFtracker.
- [Does Question Wording Change Your PMF Score?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/does-question-wording-change-pmf-score): The 40% benchmark was calibrated on one exact question. Common edits, "how disappointed," a neutral middle option, swapping in NPS, quietly break the comparison to the benchmark.
- [Segment-Level PMF: Why Your Average Score Hides Your ICP](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/segment-level-pmf): A blended PMF score can hide a segment already at 70%. How to cut the same survey by plan tier, company size, use case, or channel, and find the ICP hiding in the average.
- [Where to Find Your First 100 Users](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/how-to-find-your-first-100-users): Where founders actually find their first users before they have anything to measure: manual network outreach, niche communities, founder-led onboarding, and picking one narrow beachhead first.
- [DIY PMF Measurement vs Done-With-You Diagnosis](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/diy-pmf-measurement-vs-pmf-diagnosis): An honest comparison of running the Sean Ellis survey yourself with PMFtracker vs the paid PMF Diagnosis service, cost, who does the targeting and interpretation, and when each is the right call.
- [What "No Market Need" Actually Looked Like](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/no-market-need-postmortems): Five sourced startup postmortems citing no market need: Quibi ($1.75B), Juicero ($130M+), Zume ($445M), Amazon Fire Phone ($170M writedown), and Cydoc (2025 health AI shutdown), and the pattern across all five.
- [How to Run PMF Exit Interviews With Churned Users](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/pmf-exit-interviews-churned-users): Why churned users are the highest-signal group most PMF surveys never reach, the open-ended questions to ask instead of "what feature would have kept you," and how to sort answers into three action buckets.
- [PMF Score After a Pivot: Do You Start From Zero?](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/pmf-score-after-a-pivot): What resets after a pivot (the score, the segment, the respondent list) versus what carries over (the survey template, the cadence), using Slack's pivot from the failed game Glitch as the anchor example.
- [How to Prioritize Your Roadmap Using PMF Survey Data](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/roadmap-prioritization-pmf-survey-data): How to turn the very/somewhat/not-disappointed segments and their open-ended answers into a ranked, PMF-weighted backlog instead of a feature-request free-for-all.
- [PMF Measurement for Solo Founders and Bootstrappers](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/pmf-measurement-for-solo-founders): What a solo founder can skip (dashboards, dedicated tooling) and cannot skip (the ~40-response floor, asking only engaged users) when measuring PMF alone, part-time.
- [When Your PMF Score and Your Revenue Disagree](https://www.pmftracker.com/blog/pmf-score-vs-revenue-disagreement): Rising revenue with a falling score usually means a leaky bucket from paid growth; a strong score with flat revenue usually means a monetization or distribution problem, not a fit problem.
## Comparisons
- [PMFtracker vs PMFsurvey.com](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/pmfsurvey): One-time free score vs ongoing PMF tracking, ICP, and investor reports.
- [PMFtracker vs Typeform + Spreadsheets](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/typeform-spreadsheet): Manual stack vs an automated collect → score → report workflow.
- [PMFtracker vs Maze](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/maze): Unmoderated usability testing vs a dedicated, automatically calculated Sean Ellis PMF score with ICP segmentation and investor reports.
- [PMFtracker vs Sprig](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/sprig): In-product research and micro-surveys vs a dedicated, automatically calculated Sean Ellis PMF score with ICP segmentation and investor reports.
- [PMFtracker vs Survicate](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/survicate): General microsurveys vs purpose-built PMF measurement.
- [PMFtracker vs Tally](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/tally): A form builder that collects answers vs a tool that calculates and tracks your score.
- [PMFtracker vs SurveyMonkey](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/surveymonkey): A general survey suite vs a focused PMF tool for a one-time price.
- [PMFtracker vs Delighted](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/delighted): Delighted, a general CX survey tool, was sunset by Qualtrics on June 30, 2026. What it did, and how PMFtracker replaces the PMF use case.
- [PMFtracker vs Pendo](https://www.pmftracker.com/vs/pendo): Enterprise product analytics and in-app guidance vs a dedicated, automatically calculated Sean Ellis PMF score with ICP segmentation and investor reports.

## For investors and accelerators
- [PMFtracker for VCs](https://www.pmftracker.com/for-vc): Standardized PMF scores across a whole portfolio, on one scale, tracked over time. Free investor access.
- [PMFtracker for Accelerators](https://www.pmftracker.com/for-accelerators): A standardized PMF score for every startup in a cohort, tracked to demo day. Free program access.

## Start
- [Start free](https://app.pmftracker.com/): Create an account and run your first PMF survey.
- [Book a demo](https://cal.com/pmftracker/product-demo): Talk to the team.
- [PMF Benchmark for E-Commerce](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-benchmark/e-commerce): What's a good PMF score for an e-commerce brand. The benchmark is 40%, measured among repeat buyers, not one-time or discount-driven checkouts.
- [PMF Benchmark for Healthcare](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-benchmark/healthcare): What's a good PMF score for a healthcare startup. The benchmark is 40%, measured among clinicians or patients who completed a real care episode, surveyed separately from the buyer.
- [PMF Benchmark for Edtech](https://www.pmftracker.com/pmf-benchmark/edtech): What's a good PMF score for an edtech startup. The benchmark is 40%; consumer edtech surveys the learner, school-sold edtech surveys teacher and student separately.