For developers and businesses
5,000+ researched business ideas. One API.
The Idea Data Bank API puts our whole researched catalog behind your key: real startup costs, time to first dollar, viability scores, difficulty, 65 curated lists, and researched revenue estimates where the research exists. Grounded business data, not generated filler.
Free tier: 500 calls a month, no card required.
Who builds on it
App builders
Ship an idea browser, a business-fit quiz, or a niche discovery tool without spending a year on research.
Content sites and newsletters
Power idea roundups and comparison pages with structured facts: costs, difficulty, and time to first dollar.
Coaches and course creators
Match students to businesses that fit their budget and timeline, backed by per-idea research instead of guesswork.
Market researchers
Slice the catalog by industry, budget tier, audience, and business type, with counts on every facet.
AI agents and assistants
Ground an agent's business advice in a real catalog so it recommends documented ideas, not hallucinated ones.
One request, real data
This is the actual response shape for a real idea in the catalog, exactly as the list endpoint returns it today.
GET /api/v1/idea-bank/ideas?limit=1
{
"data": [
{
"id": "start-a-business",
"title": "Start a Business (the Foundations)",
"description": "This is the foundational path every idea on this site eventually walks: pick the thing you will sell, form the entity, get the free EIN, open the business bank account, and land the first sale. It is not an online idea or an offline idea; it is the ground floor underneath all of them, and it runs anywhere.",
"category": "Education & Training",
"industry": "General",
"startupCost": "Under $500",
"budgetTier": "under-1k",
"timeToFirstDollar": "Depends on the idea you attach it to",
"timeBand": "under-30",
"difficulty": "Beginner",
"revenuePotential": "High",
"viability": 9.5,
"traits": [
"Beginner friendly",
"Low startup cost",
"Fast launch",
"Local business"
],
"location": "Hybrid",
"audience": "Both",
"businessType": "Service"
}
],
"pagination": {
"total": 5043,
"limit": 1,
"offset": 0,
"hasMore": true
}
}Five endpoints: the paginated idea list with filters and search, single ideas with the full roadmap and revenue research, category and industry counts, the 65 curated lists, and catalog metadata. Revenue research currently covers 2,518 ideas and keeps growing.
Simple monthly tiers
Start free, upgrade when your traffic does. Every tier covers the whole catalog and every endpoint.
Builder
$29/mo
25,000 calls/mo
For a live app or content site in production. Up to 3 keys.
Pro
$99/mo
250,000 calls/mo
For high-traffic products and research tools. Up to 5 keys.
Scale
$299/mo
1,500,000 calls/mo
For platforms and AI agents at serious volume. Up to 10 keys.
Questions
Good to know.
What data does the API return?
Every idea card in the catalog: title, description, category, industry, real startup cost, budget tier, time to first dollar, difficulty, revenue potential, a viability score, traits, location type, audience, and business type. The single-idea endpoint adds the step-by-step how-to-start roadmap, the deeper evaluation fields where they exist, and the researched revenue estimate when our research covers that idea. When we have not researched a number, the field is simply absent; the API never invents data.
How do I get a key?
Create a free account, open the key page, name your key, and copy it. The full key is shown exactly once; we store only a fingerprint. Every signed-in member gets the free tier automatically, no card required.
What are the limits?
Each tier includes a monthly call quota per key, and every key also has a per-minute burst ceiling. When you hit the monthly quota the API answers 429 until the month rolls over (UTC) or you upgrade. Responses include headers showing your remaining quota.
Can I cache responses?
Yes. The catalog updates as new researched ideas are approved, so a cache of a day or less keeps you fresh while saving your quota.
What does the free tier require?
An attribution link. If you show our data publicly on the free tier, link the ideas back to unleashyourideas.com where they appear. Paid tiers do not require attribution.
Are the revenue estimates real?
They are researched, conservative ranges: what a focused solo operator can realistically reach early on, and what a solid established single-owner operation looks like. Each estimate carries a one-sentence basis explaining where the range comes from. Ideas we have not researched yet carry no estimate at all.
Can I cancel a paid tier?
Any time. Your keys keep working on the free tier quota after the subscription ends; nothing is deleted.
Your product, our research.
Sign up, create a key, and make your first call in the next five minutes. The free tier is real and the docs show every endpoint with copy-paste examples.