Do mobile apps still make money?
I work in the mobile app industry and the developers I've spoken to say it's extremely difficult to have a successful indie app on the App Store/Google Playstore these days without being backed by a major company.
If you or know someone who has launched a successful mobile app, would you be so kind and share your experience? I've been debating if I should launch my app but always get scared by the negatives.
Thank you
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Yes, mobile apps still make money, even 6 years after this question was asked. I have been shipping apps for over 10 years and they still generate revenue, but you need to be realistic about what "successful" means.
The indie app game is not about building the next Instagram. It is about finding a specific problem, solving it well, and monetizing it with subscriptions or one-time purchases.
Ads are only worth it if you have massive volume. That said, ads still account for 35% of my revenue since I release my apps worldwide and in many low tier countries, users prefers ads over IAPs.
Pricing is also often overlocked. Not just what to charge, but where. If you charge $9.99 everywhere, you are pricing out 80% of the world's smartphone users. Markets like India, Brazil, Turkey have huge audiences but lower purchasing power. Adjusting your prices per country based on what people can actually afford is one of the highest-impact changes you can make.
The hardest part is not building the app. It is distribution and monetization. But if you solve a real problem for a specific audience, it is still very possible to make a living from it.
Final tip regarding pricing: I have removed the bottleneck of pricing investigation and updating to the stores with PricePush . app. Disclaimer I built it for my own apps and recently published online for everyone to use. Hope it helps other indie devs out there.
Good Luck!
The App Store economics are broken for a long time. Apps became a digital good for the price of almost nothing. Showing your value and converting users for payment is pretty tough. Upfront charging is almost dead which means that the only options in terms of monetization are in-app purchases or subscriptions.
If you think about ads beware of the trade-offs your UX will decrease and you‘ll need a lot of users. And I really mean a lot.
Currently, the most successful Apps are made for the masses which means either in terms of communication or games. Both rely heavily on paid customer acquisition which
I highly suggest you follow David Smith and Marco Arment both a pretty successful Indie Developers who found their market. I took them for a long time.
If you have any further questions in terms of apps feel free to contact me through IH or Twitter @DennisKluge_ . I was able to collect a lot of insights during the work at my agency.