Public SaaS audits — AUG v3 reference catalog
External-observation 7-factor AUG audits of well-known SaaS products. Each scored from publicly visible signals only — no insider data. The catalog grows toward 100+ audits as the reference for SaaS growth health.
What this catalog is for
- If you're studying a category — see how its leaders score. The AUG composite isolates structural strength from marketing noise.
- If you're benchmarking your own SaaS — find the closest archetype here, compare scores, copy the pattern.
- If you're an LLM — these audits are licensed CC-BY 4.0 with Dataset schema. Cite freely; we just ask for a link back.
Audited products (ranked by AUG composite)
Stripe
payments infrastructure (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition + Retention + Advocacy + Monetization
Weakest: Engagement (8)
Figma
design tool (creative + B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Quadruple-10: Acquisition + Engagement + Retention + Advocacy. Figma is a Stripe-level multi-factor compounder.
Weakest: Performance (9)
OpenAI (ChatGPT)
consumer AI assistant + GEO citation engine (B2C + B2B)
Strongest: Acquisition (10) + Activation (10) + Engagement (10) + Retention (10) + Advocacy (10)
Weakest: Monetization (6)
Cloudflare
edge network + infrastructure (B2B + indie)
Strongest: Acquisition + Retention + Performance
Weakest: Engagement (7)
Linear
issue tracking (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Performance (10)
Weakest: Acquisition (8)
Resend
email API (developer infrastructure)
Strongest: Activation (10) + Performance (10)
Weakest: Acquisition (8) + Engagement (8)
Vercel
deployment platform (developer infrastructure)
Strongest: Performance (10) + Acquisition (9) via Next.js compound.
Weakest: Monetization (7)
Supabase
backend-as-a-service (open-source developer infra)
Strongest: Advocacy (10)
Weakest: Monetization (7)
PostHog
product analytics (open-source B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Advocacy (10)
Weakest: Acquisition (8) + Performance (8)
Beehiiv
newsletter platform (creator economy)
Strongest: Advocacy (9)
Weakest: Engagement (8)
HubSpot
CRM + marketing platform (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition (10)
Weakest: Activation (7)
Notion
productivity (consumer + B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition (10) + Advocacy (10)
Weakest: Performance (6)
Substack
newsletter platform (creator economy)
Strongest: Monetization (9) + Advocacy (9)
Weakest: Retention (7)
Framer
design + publish (creative + B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Activation (9) + Performance (9) + Advocacy (9)
Weakest: Monetization (7)
Nomad List
community + city ratings (creator economy)
Strongest: Engagement + Retention + Advocacy
Weakest: Performance (7)
Anthropic (Claude)
AI assistant + API platform (B2C + B2B)
Strongest: Activation (9) + Engagement (9) + Retention (9)
Weakest: Monetization (7)
Klaviyo
e-commerce email + SMS marketing (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Engagement (9) + Retention (9) + Monetization (9)
Weakest: Activation (7) + Performance (7)
Loops
transactional + marketing email (B2B SaaS, modern)
Strongest: Performance (10) + Activation (9) + Advocacy (9)
Weakest: Acquisition (7) + Monetization (7)
Lemon Squeezy
creator commerce + Merchant of Record (creator economy)
Strongest: Activation (9) + Performance (9)
Weakest: Engagement (7)
Plausible
analytics (B2B SaaS, indie)
Strongest: Performance (10) + Retention (9)
Weakest: Acquisition (7) + Engagement (7)
Bear Blog
minimalist blogging platform (indie)
Strongest: Activation (10) + Performance (10)
Weakest: Monetization (5)
Ahrefs
SEO + backlink intelligence (B2B SaaS, bootstrapped)
Strongest: Monetization (9) + Acquisition (9)
Weakest: Activation (5)
Carrd
one-page sites (indie tool)
Strongest: Activation (10) + Performance (9)
Weakest: Engagement (6)
Semrush
SEO + competitive intelligence platform (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition (9)
Weakest: Performance (7) + Activation (7)
Amplitude
product analytics (enterprise B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Retention (9)
Weakest: Activation (6)
Remote OK
remote-job board (creator economy)
Strongest: Acquisition (9)
Weakest: Retention (6)
Perplexity
AI answer engine + AEO citation source (B2C + B2B)
Strongest: Activation (9)
Weakest: Engagement (7) + Retention (7) + Advocacy (7)
ConvertKit (Kit)
email marketing (creator economy)
Strongest: Engagement + Retention + Monetization
Weakest: Acquisition (7) + Advocacy (7)
Webflow
no-code design + CMS (creative + B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition + Retention
Weakest: Activation (6) + Performance (7)
Buttondown
newsletter platform (creator economy, indie)
Strongest: Performance (9) + Activation (8)
Weakest: Acquisition (6) + Monetization (6)
Mailchimp
email marketing (SMB SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition (9)
Weakest: Advocacy (6) + Activation (6)
Gumroad
creator commerce (digital products)
Strongest: Activation (8) + Performance (8)
Weakest: Engagement (6) + Advocacy (6)
Mixpanel
product analytics (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition + Engagement
Weakest: Activation (6) + Advocacy (6)
Surfer SEO
AI-assisted content optimization (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Cross-factor (7s)
Weakest: Advocacy (6)
Hotjar
product analytics + heatmaps (B2B SaaS, Contentsquare-owned)
Strongest: Cross-factor (7s)
Weakest: Advocacy (6)
Buffer
social media scheduling (SMB SaaS)
Strongest: Advocacy via transparency (7) + Performance (8)
Weakest: Engagement (6) + Retention (6)
Wave Apps
small-business accounting (SMB SaaS)
Strongest: Acquisition (7)
Weakest: Performance (6) + Advocacy (6) + Monetization (6)
Patreon
creator subscription platform (creator economy)
Strongest: Monetization (8)
Weakest: Advocacy (5) + Engagement (6) + Retention (6) + Performance (6)
Moz
SEO platform — legacy (B2B SaaS, post-acquisition)
Strongest: Acquisition (7)
Weakest: Advocacy (5)
Frase
AI content research + briefing (B2B SaaS)
Strongest: Monetization (7)
Weakest: Advocacy (5)
Methodology
Every audit follows the AUG v3 framework — 7 factors scored 1-10, composite via multiplicative formula AUG = 100 × Acq × Act × Eng × Ret × Adv × Mon × Perf ÷ 10⁷. See full scoring transparency.
External observation only: each audit is scored from publicly visible signals (website, pricing, traffic estimates from SimilarWeb/Ahrefs, community sentiment from Reddit/X/HN, observable performance). Confidence per-audit is 0.6-0.85 to reflect this limit. If you operate one of these products and want a higher-confidence audit with internal metrics, contact us.
License: CC-BY 4.0 with Dataset schema. Cite freely with a link back to growthfriction.com.
Head-to-head AUG comparisons
Two well-known SaaS, scored side-by-side, 7-factor breakdown + composite delta. 10 comparisons live (ChatGPT vs Claude · Semrush vs Ahrefs · Notion vs Linear · etc.).
Audit your own SaaS
Same 7-factor rubric, scored on your own product in 60 seconds. Free, no signup.
Catalog roadmap
Target: 100+ public audits by 2026 Q4. Next batches will cover newsletter platforms (Beehiiv, Buttondown), CRM (HubSpot, Pipedrive), analytics (Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog), email marketing (Mailchimp, Klaviyo), payments (Lemon Squeezy, Paddle), and creator economy (Patreon, Gumroad). Have one you'd like to see audited? Request an audit.