I collected 14 validated app ideas published on the App Store, making $10K+ MRR
Building an app is easy now.
Picking what to build is the hard part.
I studied apps that are already making $10K+ MRR on the App Store and put them into one list: Clone The App.
For each app, I break down:
What the app actually does
Real MRR numbers
It’s marketing strategy
Who built it
If you’re tired of gambling months on unproven ideas, start from apps that already work.
I like the minimalist vibe. How do you handle user feedback and iterations?
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I'm not familiar with the whole App Store ecosystem. How do you find out what an app's MRR numbers are? Thanks.
Sensor Tower ,AppMagic are industry standards for estimating downloads and revenue for any app.
I had the exact same question. Thanks for asking it.
cloning the idea is easy. cloning the distribution is impossible. But you know its a validated thing
right. you have tofigure out your own distribution and it's the most difficult part but you know the idea is validated and how your competitors are distributing their app.
Building is easy.
Marketing, distribution, and trust are the real bottlenecks
exactly.
Thats cool, how many do you add to the site at once and what criteria do you use to add?
I add 6 new apps every week to the site.
This looks really helpful. Open sourcing clones you’ve created is a nice lead generation method too. I notice they’re built using React Native - have you come across any challenges using that over Swift or Kotlin?
No challenges at all. React Native has been smooth sailing for my clones.
“Building is easy, choosing is hard” really is painfully true. ~
I’ve wasted way more time on clever ideas than on boring ones that already had proof. Once I started paying attention to apps with real revenue, the work shifted from guessing to execution.
What I like about this approach is how much it narrows the problem. You’re no longer asking “what should I build?” You’re asking “what version of this can I do better or simpler?”
You're right. sticking to apps that already make money swaps wild guessing for real building.
How to distribute and how to pick right channels? Any methods?
Different methods work for different app makers. Some people only focus on App Store Optimization (ASO). Others focus on TikTok content. I saw paid ads work for some. So you have to experiment with different channels and see which ones work for you. But mainly, these are the distribution channels people use: ASO, content creation on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, paid ads, and SEO.
I see the same thing in healthcare software. A lot of AI home health software ideas fail not because they can’t be built, but because they start with what sounds interesting instead of what people already pay for.
Starting from apps doing $10K+ MRR removes a lot of guesswork. You’re not hoping there’s demand, you’re studying where money is already changing hands and why.
totally agree with you.
Thank you. The hard part is marketing + distribution
yeah, distribution is always the hardest part.
Yes, Validation is the key... Will check it out. Great Job
thanks.
Love the effort and idea, but do you use special tools or do you programm yourself?
thanks. I don't use any special tools. I am a developer and mainly use antigravity and VS Code.
Curious if anyone here has tested whether their product actually shows up in AI recommendations yet, or if it’s all the same big names.
I’ve been testing this a bit and it seems very skewed toward established names right now. Most AI recommendations still default to well-known tools unless the prompt is extremely specific.
mention your product on reddit comments and post about it on reddit. AI will notice it and recommend it.
Love this idea, a lot of makers definitely waste time building without validation. Curious, what’s your main plan for getting early users right now?
post about it everywhere
Glad to see this. I found an app similar to mine today, at first I was disheartened but then I thought, actually, this just validates my idea. Now all I need to do is do it better. Time to get stuck in!
Exactly! Seeing similar apps can actually be a good sign. it proves there’s demand. Now it’s all about making yours better and standing out. Go crush it!
Love it. I was searching for an app idea to build but I think I found one. Thanks for sharing the resource. really helpful
Thanks! I am happy that you found an idea to build.
100% true.
Originality is overrated, distribution and execution win.
Most winners are just better versions of things people already pay for.
The real edge is understanding why the original works, not copying blindly.
I like this approach, but I’m curious about one thing. In the early stage, how do you overcome the lack of trust and social proof? Most users seem to prefer already-established apps, even if a clone is objectively better.
Validation before building is underrated. Out of the 14 ideas, were there common patterns that made some succeed more than others (pricing, niche, distribution)?
This def beats guessing what to build.
The clone approach gets hate but it works. Most successful products aren't first... they're better executions of proven ideas. Stripe wasn't the first payment processor.
Which of the 14 had the fastest time-to-revenue? Curious if there's a pattern.
This is a solid list — but “validated idea” is only half the battle. The other half is distribution + differentiation (who you reach first, and why you win vs existing options).
Curious: what signals put an idea into “Strong Contender”? (e.g. # of paying competitors, review volume, pricing, search demand, churn evidence?)
If you can share 2–3 concrete criteria, people can evaluate their ideas the same way.