Five years of Payments launch data. Volume, engagement, and the products that stood out.
We've been tracking Payments since 2021. 289 products indexed. The trajectory tells you where builders are investing and where the market sees opportunity.
Below: launch volume by year, engagement patterns by quarter, and the products that defined each period.
| Quarter | Launches | Avg Interest Score | Top Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 11 | 126 | ChaChing |
| Q1 2025 | 18 | 117 | Kintsugi |
| Q2 2025 | 15 | 104 | Web Checkout by Paddle |
| Q3 2025 | 11 | 123 | Creem 1.0 |
| Q4 2025 | 14 | 189 | Sentra by Dodo Payments |
| Q1 2024 | 15 | 182 | Rainex |
| Q2 2024 | 17 | 167 | Marvin |
| Q3 2024 | 11 | 103 | GPT Builder Tools by Top Road (YC W22) |
| Q4 2024 | 14 | 244 | Widgets for Stripe |
| Q1 2023 | 16 | 140 | HyperSwitch |
| Q2 2023 | 15 | 119 | Fake It Till You Make It |
| Q3 2023 | 24 | 144 | Digital Products by Graphy |
| Q4 2023 | 18 | 181 | ByeDispute |
| Q1 2022 | 9 | 129 | Tip Jar by Swapstack |
| Q2 2022 | 12 | 111 | Invoice Generator by Saldo Apps |
| Q3 2022 | 9 | 134 | tranch |
The Payments category has been steady over the past 6 years of tracked data. Total launches went from 51 in 2021 to 11 in 2026.
Average engagement ratio across all Payments launches sits at 0.28. Products above that threshold tend to serve a real, specific need. Products below it often entered a crowded market without sufficient differentiation.
Current year launches compared to the same period last year. Positive means more products launching. Negative means the category cooled. Neither is inherently good or bad. A mature category with fewer but better launches is often healthier than one flooding the market with clones.
Launch volume drops but engagement per product rises. Fewer builders entering, but the ones that do find a more receptive audience. That's an opportunity signal. We flag it when we see it.
We report what happened. We don't predict. Five years of data shows patterns, but markets surprise people for a living.
Three common reasons. The market consolidated around winners. The technology matured and stopped generating new startups. Or builder attention shifted to adjacent categories. Usually it's a combination.
Volume without engagement is saturation. Engagement without volume is opportunity. Check which one you're looking at.