Apps make money from five sources. They are paid downloads, in-app purchases, subscriptions, ads, and goods or services sold outside the app. Apple takes 30% of digital sales, or 15% in the Small Business Program and on subscriptions after the first year. Ads and physical goods pay no commission, which covered over 90% of $1.3 trillion in App Store sales in 2024 (Apple).
Five sources of app revenue
An App Store app has five ways to earn. The first three go through an App Store purchase, and Apple takes a commission on them. Ads and goods sold outside the app don't.
| Source | How people pay | Apple's cut | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid download | a price before install | 30%, or 15% in the Small Business Program | forScore sheet music reader at $24.99 |
| In-app purchase | full version in one purchase, decks, coins | 30% or 15% | Wisp, full version for $3.99 |
| Subscription | weekly, monthly or yearly, auto-renewing | 30% in year one, 15% from year two, 15% from day one in the Small Business Program | Pro at $30–70 a year in guitar apps |
| Ads | advertisers pay through an ad network | none | the top sudoku app is free and runs on ads |
| Goods and services outside the app | card or Apple Pay, in-app purchase not allowed | none | rides, food delivery, tickets |
Apple's cut per the Small Business Program and subscriptions pages, guidelines 3.1.1 and 3.1.3(e) of the App Review Guidelines, checked October 17, 2026. forScore and guitar app prices from the Appto book "50 niches for iPhone apps" (US App Store, October 13, 2026), Wisp from the Appto registry.
What you sell decides the source. If an app unlocks features or content for money, it has to sell them through in-app purchase, and its own license keys or QR codes are not allowed (guideline 3.1.1). If people buy a physical product or a service used outside the app, it's the other way round. In-app purchase is not allowed there, and you take a card or Apple Pay (guideline 3.1.3(e)).
Where the App Store money actually is
Most of the money that flows through apps never touches Apple's commission. According to a study Apple published on June 5, 2025, App Store apps generated $1.3 trillion in billings and sales for developers in 2024, and more than 90% of it carried no commission.
Physical goods and services brought in over $1 trillion, from food delivery and groceries to rides and tickets. In-app advertising added $150 billion. Digital goods and services, meaning paid apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions, came to $131 billion (Apple Newsroom, a study by Andrey Fradkin of Boston University and Jessica Burley of Analysis Group).
For a small app this picture is misleading. The trillion in goods and services belongs to services that run a real-world business behind the app, with couriers and cars. An app that does its job on the phone itself is left with digital purchases and ads.
How free apps make money
A free app usually charges inside the app, with a purchase or a subscription. The download costs nothing, and people pay later for the full version, more features or lifted limits.
Most niches work this way. In 39 of the 50 niches in the Appto book, every leader is free to download and charges inside the app (October 13, 2026 edition). Even where a paid app sits among the leaders, the free leader has the most ratings. Models and prices are covered in detail in Subscription or one-time purchase.
Ads pay when an audience is huge and unwilling to pay. The book checked this in 12 niches. In 9 people pay for the app itself, 2 were unclear, and in only one does the leader live on ads, which is sudoku (October 13, 2026). The book recommends ads to a newcomer in none of its 50 niches.
How much Apple takes
Apple takes 30% of every digital sale. A developer whose apps earned up to $1 million in proceeds last year can join the Small Business Program, which cuts the commission to 15%, and new developers can join too. On subscriptions the rate drops to 15% once a subscriber has paid for a full year.
| Case | Apple's cut | You keep from $4.99, before tax |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate | 30% | $3.49 |
| Small Business Program, up to $1M last year | 15% | $4.24 |
| Subscription after a year of paid service | 15% | $4.24 |
| Ads, goods and services outside the app | none | everything except the ad network's or payment provider's share |
Rates from Apple's Small Business Program and subscriptions pages, checked October 17, 2026. Taxes are deducted per country, amounts rounded down to the cent.
On the US storefront, since May 2025 the guidelines allow a button or link to pay on the developer's own website (guideline 3.1.1(a), checked October 17, 2026). How much Apple may charge on those payments is up to the courts, and on June 30, 2026 the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple's case against Epic Games. Other storefronts need separate entitlements from Apple for such links.
How our 9 apps charge
Of the 9 apps made with Appto and on sale on the App Store as of October 13, 2026, six sell the full version as a single purchase. BADSCAN and MoneyRewind sell a subscription. None of them shows ads.
| App | How people pay | US price |
|---|---|---|
| Wisp | full version, one purchase | $3.99 |
| PosterTile | full version, one purchase | $4.99 |
| Solitaire Collection | full version, one purchase, no ads | $4.99 |
| Pool Chemist | full version, one purchase | $5.99 |
| Prodam planetu (“Planet for sale”, a novel) | first two chapters free, the whole book in one purchase | $5.99 |
| Matriq | full version, one purchase | $7.99 |
| BADSCAN, MoneyRewind | subscription |
Appto registry as of October 13, 2026, Matriq price checked September 30, 2026.
The one-time purchase sits where the app needs no server. Everything runs on the phone, so a buyer of the full version costs nothing afterwards.
How much money can an app make
As much as people pay in its niche, and you can see that before writing a line of code. Of the 134 niches Appto checked between September 6 and October 13, 2026, in 19 the biggest app makes over $3M a month. In 16 we found no app that clearly makes even $100K a month (our estimate, not Apple data).
Those niches are covered in 134 app niches in 38 days and 16 app ideas with too little money. How to estimate a leader's revenue from its App Store ratings yourself is in How much does an app make.
How we estimate revenue. We estimate revenue from the growth in an app's App Store ratings over the last 30 days. This is our estimate, not Apple data. Half the time it lands within 2x of the real figure, four times out of five within 3x, and for large apps it tends to come in low. Ads, web sales and Google Play are not included.
How to choose a revenue source for your app
- What you sell. Features and content inside the app can only be sold through in-app purchase. A product or service used outside the app is paid by card or Apple Pay.
- Whether you have monthly costs. A server, fresh data or a paid AI model call for a subscription. Without them, one purchase is enough.
- How many people will come. Ads pay off on a huge audience that won't pay. In niches where people pay for the app, ads only annoy them.
- How the niche leaders charge. If all of them are free to download, a paid install leaves you without users. A free download and a useful free part get people to the purchase screen.
In Appto the agent sets up your app's purchases and subscriptions in App Store Connect, and Appto asks for your OK before each change. After launch Appto shows purchases, on the Studio and Pro plans as they happen, with the country and the screen people bought from. The agent runs on your own Claude Code or Codex subscription.
Questions
How do free apps make money?
Most sell a full version or a subscription inside the app. In 39 of the 50 niches in the Appto book, the leaders are free to download and charge in-app (October 13, 2026). Ads mostly pay apps with a huge audience.
How much does Apple take from an in-app purchase?
30% on a standard sale, 15% in the Small Business Program if your proceeds were up to $1 million last year, and 15% on subscriptions after a year of paid service. Apple takes nothing from ads or from goods sold outside the app.
How much money can an app make?
It depends on the niche. In 19 of 134 niches we checked, the biggest app makes over $3M a month, and in 16 nobody reaches $100K (our estimate, not Apple data, October 13, 2026).
Can I take payments outside the App Store?
For physical goods and services, yes, and the rules require it. Digital content inside the app is sold through in-app purchase, and on the US storefront you may also link to payment on your own website since May 2025.
Do I need an LLC to start an app?
No. You can join the Apple Developer Program as an individual, and your legal name appears as the seller on the App Store. An organization needs a D-U-N-S number. The fee is $99 a year (Apple, October 17, 2026).
Build your own app in Appto
Appto checks the niche on fresh App Store data, designs the screens, writes the code, builds the App Store page and submits to Apple from your account or shows you what to press in App Store Connect. Runs on your own Claude Code or Codex.
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