Five years of Software Engineering launch data. Volume, engagement, and the products that stood out.
We've been tracking Software Engineering since 2021. 645 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 | 42 | 176 | Kilo Code Reviewer |
| Q2 2026 | 2 | 115 | Ogoron |
| Q1 2025 | 51 | 226 | Basalt |
| Q2 2025 | 43 | 185 | Appwrite Sites |
| Q3 2025 | 34 | 170 | Aikido Security |
| Q4 2025 | 31 | 138 | Meku |
| Q1 2024 | 45 | 171 | Octomind |
| Q2 2024 | 35 | 174 | Eraser AI |
| Q3 2024 | 54 | 342 | Wordware |
| Q4 2024 | 32 | 175 | BetterBugs.io |
| Q1 2023 | 37 | 141 | Swimm |
| Q2 2023 | 34 | 128 | Humalect |
| Q3 2023 | 36 | 145 | Keep |
| Q4 2023 | 37 | 157 | SkillReactor |
| Q1 2022 | 17 | 119 | shell.how |
| Q2 2022 | 7 | 129 | Insquad |
The Software Engineering category has been accelerating over the past 6 years of tracked data. Total launches went from 68 in 2021 to 44 in 2026.
Average engagement ratio across all Software Engineering launches: 0.24. Products above that line tend to solve a specific, painful problem. Products below it often entered a crowded space without clear differentiation.
Software Engineering peaked in 2024 with 166 launches. That was 2 years ago. The decline since then could signal market consolidation, saturation, or attention shifting to adjacent categories.
Average engagement per product has held steady around 0.24 across the full dataset. The audience for Software Engineering tools is consistent. Engagement doesn't rise or fall with volume, which suggests a stable base of interested users.
The highest-performing quarter was Q3 2024, with an average interest score of 342 across 54 launches. Wordware led that quarter.
594 B2B launches (92%) vs 51 B2C (8%) across the full Software Engineering dataset. Software Engineering is heavily B2B. The products here target teams, companies, and professional workflows.
2021: 68 launches. Average interest: 155. Average engagement: 0.21. Top launch: Noloco (449 interest).
2022: 64 launches (-6% vs 2021). Average interest: 154. Average engagement: 0.34. Top launch: Remotebase (720 interest).
2023: 144 launches (+125% vs 2022). Average interest: 143. Average engagement: 0.24. Top launch: SkillReactor (699 interest).
2024: 166 launches (+15% vs 2023). Average interest: 228. Average engagement: 0.23. Top launch: Wordware (9,871 interest).
2025: 159 launches (-4% vs 2024). Average interest: 186. Average engagement: 0.25. Top launch: Basalt (1,175 interest).
2026: 44 launches (-72% vs 2025). Average interest: 173. Average engagement: 0.19. Top launch: Kilo Code Reviewer (794 interest).
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.
Sum of all interest scores in the quarter divided by number of products. Simple average. We don't weight by category or product age.
Depends on what's declining. If volume drops but engagement rises, the market is maturing. That's often good for existing players. If both drop, the category may be dying. The quarterly breakdown on each page tells you which pattern you're seeing.