AppSumo deals, explained

Not all AppSumo deals are the same.

Every product on AppSumo is at a different point in its journey. Some are brand-new, fresh out of a solo founder’s head. Some are proven, polished, and ready for prime time. We sort them into three stages so you always know what you’re buying.

Climbing the ladder

Products move up by earning it — real sales, real reviews, a founder who shows up. Where one sits tells you how much we’ve seen and how it’s performed.

Stage 1

AppSumo Radar

Brand new tools we’re putting on your radar.

Stage 2

AppSumo Launchpad

Tools that are earning real sales.

Stage 3

AppSumo Select

Proven top performers.

How the stages stack up

Same baseline checks on every listing. Stages differ on what we know about the product, how it’s performed, and how we promote it.

AppSumo Radar AppSumo Launchpad AppSumo Select
Where the product is in its life Pre-product-market-fit. Looking for first 100 paying customers. Early traction. Product works for early users. Proven demand. The flagship deals.
How AppSumo vouches for it We verified the basics. We’ve seen real sales. We see it as a top performer.
Refund policy 60 days on most deals. AI Skills are not refundable. 60 days on most deals. 60 days on most deals.
Listing review Scanned for safety, not accuracy Reviewed for accuracy Full editorial review
Code / security review None for software. AI Skills get a security review. Code reviewed to confirm it’s not a white-labeled script. Code reviewed to confirm it’s not a white-labeled script.
Pricing Entry level. Partner sets the price. AppSumo gives pricing input. AppSumo-led pricing, partner-approved.
Where you’ll see it on AppSumo Radar section only. Everywhere on the site. Homepage placement and marketing scale with performance. Everywhere on the site. Homepage placement and marketing scale with performance.

We keep watch

We monitor four things on every live listing. If any of them go sideways, we pause it while our team takes a look.

Refunds climb

If a listing’s refund rate spikes in a short window, we pause it.

Founder stops replying

If they go quiet on customer questions, we pause until they’re back.

Complaints stack up

Multiple reports about the same issue trigger a pause for review.

Product goes offline

If the product URL stops responding for more than a brief outage, the listing pauses.