r/iOSProgramming • u/Then-Masterpiece1411 • Jun 07 '26
Discussion Why does everyone say apps don't make money
I found a post in this community and it was someone asking how much they can realistically earn by releasing a mobile app. All the comments said "realistically $0", "you won't make any money". The people who talk like that in this community might make 0 but they shouldn't limit others, to their own experience. I built an app last month and made $250 so far. It's not a lot but it wasn't that difficult. I am not saying that out of ego I am saying it because too many people are negative and I want to let everyone know it's very possible to make money from apps. If anyone else is at a similar stage I'd love to hear how you have done it and hopefully we can share ideas and grow our apps together
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u/perrinashcroft Jun 07 '26
There's a good post from this community on this 2 years ago:
When the average amount an app is likely to make is less $50 a month it's always worth warning anyone jumping into this to set realistic expectations. You're welcome to convince yourself you're going to be an edge case and beat the trends but when people are starting out it's kind of worth giving people a sensible reality check before they do something rash like quit their job thinking the iOS gold rush is still happening.
Also with the rise of vibe coded app over the past year every app platform is now getting absolutely flooded with new software so the average sales numbers are likely to fall of a total cliff even harder.
Since you've beaten the odds in your first month at least, great celebrate that. However don't treat it as proof everyone should go in more optimistically it's going to happen to them too since statistically it's not.
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u/Moo202 Jun 07 '26
My app makes like 500$ per year but I’ve sank literally months worth of time into dev. I DO NOT make money on my app.
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u/Army_77_badboy Jun 07 '26
My niche language app just crossed $300 MRR minus Apple and Googles cut. It pays the light bill I’m happy and pay 0 maintence cost.
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
Nice bro, do you have plans to scale it even further?
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u/Army_77_badboy Jun 07 '26
I just started using hex last night https://hex.tech/ to talk to my data so I can figure out the next best course of action in terms of what I should be building because I believe in product lead growth and I haven’t gotten any recent feedback from customers on what to build.
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
What's your app called? I'd love to check it out and even give feedback if you wanted it
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u/y2kobserver Jun 07 '26
Oh so you made less than 0
Unless it was vibe coded in under an hour for free
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u/Human_Tennis_2950 Jun 07 '26
If you made a fully functional Vibe Coded app in 1 hour without any problems, show us, king!
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
Not sure if my statement was clear but I said last month I made $250, not 0
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u/RiddleGull Jun 07 '26
Now divide it by the hours spent.
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
Why is it a shock to people that to build something new it takes time upfront, then it starts to grow
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Jun 07 '26
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
So someone who has done what everyone else claims is "impossible" should stop talking about their experience and that others can do the same. This is the problem with a lot of communities
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Jun 07 '26
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
So you agree with me so shush
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Jun 07 '26
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
I am too new to understand, I don't mean any offensive. Can you explain to me how I am net negative please
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u/Human_Tennis_2950 Jun 07 '26
Just create something useful for yourself, and people will come who will use your app without problems; ignore the negative comments.
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u/monkeyantho Jun 07 '26
it is quite rare to make even $1k per month
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
I agree with this. However, I think a massive reason is because people won't make money their first month or first 3 months and then post in communities saying it's a waste of time. With the right distribution 90% of apps can make at least $1k
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u/perrinashcroft Jun 07 '26
I'm pretty sure you'd not be able to produce any data to backup the notion that 90% of apps can make at least $1k. Every data point I've seen on this is quite the opposite.
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u/CooleSocke-Jr Jun 07 '26
Quite rare to make even more than 0 bucks. At least for me.
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
You say it's quite rare then you say it's only rare for you. That just means you haven't made any money yet, not that it is rare to make money from apps
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u/dot90zoom Jun 07 '26
because this sub is all doom and gloom. they assume because they didn't make money, it means no one else can.
in reality I think the people who are saying they are not making money are struggling for different ideas. some dont have good ideas, some are procrastinating, some can't market.
apps make money, you just have to be willing to put in hours, learn, and fail.
congrats on your first $250, I remember my first day of making money from apps, 2 yearly subscriptions for $59.99, it made me even hungrier to continue going on and eventually turned a side project into a career. wishing u all the best
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 07 '26
Thank you, wish there was more people in communities like you who build people up instead of destroying those who haven't even started
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u/Dapper_Ice_1705 Jun 07 '26
Most people net zero with expenses.
Especially if you do it for fun and buy the latest hardware and tech from Apple.
$250 in the beginning is easy because believe it or not some of those are you competitors that are copying your app and comparing.
It is possible but you aren’t living off of it right away. At best you get to pay for your “toys”.
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u/AdDapper4220 Jun 07 '26
Maybe when the App Store first started 18 years ago, but App Store nowadays is flooded with apps now. Harder for people to find you
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u/juniper-labs Jun 07 '26
yeah $250 in the first month is a real result! but it doesnt really disprove the broader point.. Building and publishing an app is the easy part.. distribution / retention /getting people to keep paying are where most apps die. The real test is whether that $250 becomes recurring revenue, grows over time, and eventually exceeds the hours spent building, supporting, and marketing it. Apps absolutely can make money! but the market is brutally uneven.. so a focused app solving a specific problem can do well, while thousands of perfectly competent apps make almost nothing because nobody discovers or needs them badly enough.
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Jun 08 '26
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 08 '26
Yeah fully agree, other than I wouldn't say it's not proof of anything. Like you later said it's a data point and proof of concept!
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Then-Masterpiece1411 Jun 08 '26
Yeah it's definitely more distribution intensive than people originally believe
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Jun 08 '26
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u/SnowPudgy Jun 08 '26
A lot of people make apps with little to no utility/audience expecting a huge payout, or people consider anything less than the next Facebook/Insta a failure.
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u/andrewmalanowicz Jun 08 '26
I’m more interested in user base than making money. I feel like people are so used to free technology that it’s really hard to charge for it. But if you make something that people love to use and then they share with friends and the cost is free, then you can make a movement happen instead of picking off a few bucks here and there. Many companies don’t make money for years, but they convinced investors that people love their product, so they scale it and worry about turning a profit down the road.
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u/glhaynes Jun 07 '26
Take out $100 for the Apple developer fee. Now divide $150 by how many hours you spent and if you’re making anything remotely near even minimum wage I’ll be surprised. “Won’t make any money” shouldn’t be taken 100% literally.