What's your Ramen Number?
It is the monthly amount that keeps your life running: rent, food, bills, subscriptions. The day your side project's recurring revenue covers it, you are free. Most people have never calculated theirs. Takes 30 seconds.
Monthly figures, any currency. Nothing leaves this page: the math runs in your browser.
Ramen profitable, made personal
"Ramen profitable" is the old startup milestone: your product earns enough to keep you alive on instant noodles. Not rich. Free. It is the moment a side project stops being a hobby and becomes an exit route.
Your Ramen Number is that milestone with your name on it. Not a generic salary replacement, not some guru's "10k months". Your actual rent, your actual bills, the subscriptions you actually pay for. Most indie developers dramatically overestimate this number because they have never added it up, and so the goal feels further away than it really is.
Once you know the number, everything gets simpler. Every subscription you cancel lowers the target. Every new customer raises the percentage. Quitting stops being a fantasy and becomes a progress bar.
Track it with the Ramen Number app
The calculator above is a snapshot. The app is the progress bar you check every week.
Track your burn
Every subscription and recurring bill in one place, with renewal reminders that actually fire. Cancel what you do not use and watch your Ramen Number drop.
Add your revenue
Enter your monthly recurring income. No bank linking, no account: your numbers stay on your device.
Watch the gauge
One screen shows the percent of your life your project already pays for, and shareable progress cards let your audience follow the climb.
The app behind the number
Share a receipt PDF or paste email text and the app pulls the vendor, amount, billing cycle, and renewal date into one local stack. No bank linking, no account: you decide what enters the app, and your numbers stay on your device.
Free to download. Export to CSV. Local-first: your subscription stack stays under your control.
Questions
What is a Ramen Number?
Your Ramen Number is the monthly amount that keeps your life running: rent, food, insurance, bills, and subscriptions. It is the number your side project's recurring revenue must cover before you can quit your job without changing how you live.
What does ramen profitable mean?
Ramen profitable is a startup term from the indie and Y Combinator world: your product earns enough to cover basic living costs, the metaphorical instant ramen. It is the first real milestone of independence, long before the product makes you rich.
How much MRR do I need to quit my job?
Enough to cover your Ramen Number: your essential monthly burn, not your current salary. For most indie developers that is a far smaller and far more reachable target than replacing a paycheck. Use the calculator to find yours.
When can I get the app?
Right now. It is live on the App Store as Recurring Bill SubTracker, the subscription tracker being rebranded to Ramen Number in public. Free to download, requires iOS 26, and your data stays on your device.
Track it every week
Calculate your Ramen Number above, then track it every week in the app as it goes from rename to ramen profitable in public.