How much money can be made from a somewhat successful mobile app?

8 points by infinitesimal 13y ago ↗ HN

I'm considering either iOS or android, and either making it nonfree or free (but with ads). Suppose it got around 100,000 downloads and the pay version is priced at a dollar. How much can a developer make in all of the 4 scenarios?

I'm completely unfamiliar with the policies in either market (for example, how big of a chunk apple takes or how ads work). What are other things I need to consider?

7 comments

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[dead] vintagius 13y ago ↗

As far as i know apple will take 30% of what you make.

coryl 13y ago ↗

1) Apple takes a 30% cut of your price.

2) What you can make hugely varies. $0-$500k+/day for serious games. It is very skewed towards top earners.

3) You'll probably have an easier time selling and developing on iOS.

infinitesimal 13y ago ↗

Why do you say (3)?

rodw 13y ago ↗

For various reasons, iOS users are empirically more willing to pay for apps and services. There are more Android users than iOS users, but iOS apps still generate the lion's share of mobile revenue.

Some sources for this (based on a quick Google search, one could probably find better or more conclusive sources with a little legwork):

http://www.imore.com/ios-gamers-spend-times-android-players

http://gigaom.com/apple/ios-users-buy-more-apps-and-pay-more...

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/new_report_shows_ios_...

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/31/2916556/in-app-purchases-i...

http://functionalaesthetics.eu/why-apps-are-on-ios-first-and...

gherlein 13y ago ↗

I have done two games. First one made $800. Next one made $25. It just depends.

infinitesimal 13y ago ↗

Number of downloads? Price? Ads? No ads? iOS? Android?

verganileonardo 13y ago ↗

Some points from someone who works as a mobile games publisher for an year.

1. The press prefer paid games/apps.

Launch your app as paid, reach the press, make some buzz and then change the price to free. With this move, lots of websites will talk about you and lots of user will want your app; but they will download as soon as you make it free.

If you want to charge for specific features, setup a in-app purchase.

2. 100,000 downloads is hard.

The first game (which is free) I launched achieved 100k downloads in the first month; that never happened again since. And it is becoming harder every day; so I would suggest that you consider 200~400 downloads a 'good enough' perfomance.

3. Banner ads suck, focus on innovative medias.

The classic AdMob banner sucks and users are learning to ignore it. Fullscreen banners, like Chartboost and Playhaven, are awesome and deliver a good eCPM ($10+). Also, Video ads (AdColony) works very well for most developers.

4. Apple's cut

They take 30% of every virtual sale; but you can sell physical products without paying them anything. Also, Apple don't make anything on your ads.

5. Android is... different

Focus on iOS, it is more predictable. Android is great, I'm a user myself; but I simply do not understand how they rank apps and how do users interact with apps.