A good iPhone app idea starts with a niche where people already pay. Appto checks five things. Does the niche leader make $100K a month, are the leaders weak, do newcomers break through, could a chatbot replace the app, and is it easy to build. Below are 15 ideas that passed as of October 13, 2026, and 7 that did not.
How Appto checks an idea
Every idea below went through Appto's niche research, which looked at 134 iPhone app niches between September 6 and October 13, 2026 and asked each five questions.
- Money. Does at least one app in the topic make $100K a month on the App Store.
- Weak leaders. Do some leaders have few ratings, stale updates or repeated complaints.
- Newcomers. Have last year's apps reached real money.
- Chatbot. Would a chatbot do the same job.
- Ease. Can version 1 skip licensed data and a server that must run for years.
The answers add up to a score out of 13. A niche passes from 8 points, but never without money. 87 of the 134 passed.
We estimate revenue from the growth in App Store ratings, before Apple's commission. It is our estimate, not Apple data. In half of the cases the estimate is within 2x of the real figure, in four out of five within 3x, and for large apps it tends to run low. Ads, web sales and Google Play are not included.
Five top-scoring niches from the book
These five niches come from the book 50 iPhone app niches. All five score 12 out of 13, the top score in the book. Niches 1, 2, 4 and 5 are part of its free sample.
1. Guitar fretboard trainer
Notes, scales and chords on the neck in any tuning, plus speed drills. The leader, Ultimate Guitar, makes about $1.33M a month ($665K to $2.66M), yet two of the four leaders have under 1,000 ratings.
2. Party game on one phone
Heads-up guessing, an impostor round and group voting, all on one phone. Heads Up makes about $969K a month ($484K to $1.94M). Leaders' reviews complain of paying without getting the purchase and of a fixed round length.
3. Tournament bracket
Pairs, rounds, a bracket and the score for a bar or backyard league in cornhole, darts or ping-pong, the whole evening on one phone. The leader, Scoreholio, makes about $448K a month ($224K to $897K), yet it has 4,999 ratings and works as a service for organizers with sign-up and payments. That leaves room for a one-time purchase with no sign-up and no internet.
4. Trading card binder with a scanner
The camera reads a card's name and set number and tracks the collection's value. Collectr makes about $1.03M a month ($514K to $2.06M), and three of the six earning apps came out in the last year.
5. Rain in the next hour
One question on the screen, whether it will rain here within the hour. Clime makes about $1.01M a month ($506K to $2.02M). NOAA radar covers the US only, so it is a one-market app.
Our estimate from App Store ratings growth, not Apple data, Sep 13 to Oct 13, 2026 (Heads Up from Sep 24; Heads Up is a game, and the estimate is not calibrated for games). Ratings and reviews from the Appto book, Oct 16, 2026 edition.
Ideas that passed but didn't make the book
87 niches passed and 50 went into the book. Here are 10 others.
6. Overnight snore recorder
The phone records all night, finds snoring episodes and logs possible causes. SnoreLab makes about $271K a month ($135K to $541K). Stand out with on-device analysis, and make no medical claims such as diagnosing apnea.
7. Walk-up songs for a baseball team
US amateur baseball coaches need a lineup with each player's walk-up song and one Next button. BallparkDJ makes about $283K a month ($142K to $567K), but seven newcomers around it earned nothing in a year, and demand peaks from March to July.
8. A pretty map of your neighborhood
Your streets redrawn as a pirate map or a blueprint, for wallpapers and prints. Game Maps IRL makes about $842K a month ($421K to $1.68M), and Live Traffic, launched June 4, 2026, makes $122K to $489K. People find the leader by famous game titles you can't use, so bring your own styles.
9. Camera tape measure
Length, area and door openings in AR. Tape Measure™ makes about $271K a month ($135K to $541K), but the iPhone has a free Measure app and the top three apps have 43K to 89K ratings. Stand out with saved measurements by room and a will-the-sofa-fit check.
10. Sobriety with an evening check-in
An evening review of where it got close and what helped, adding up to a map of risky days. I Am Sober makes about $875K a month ($437K to $1.75M). Day counters are everywhere and the leader has 188,521 reviews, so keep the counter secondary.
11. US class action settlement payouts
Open settlements with deadlines, an eligibility quiz and a reminder a week before claims close. Settlemate launched in January 2025 and makes about $605K a month ($302K to $1.21M). The list needs manual updates every week.
12. Learn to read with phonics
A first-reading trainer for ages 4 to 7, from letter sounds to the first word. Learn to Read by Reading.com makes about $1.81M a month ($905K to $3.62M). Nobody sells one purchase for the letters and the first 200 words, though Khan Academy Kids, with 131,457 ratings, is entirely free.
13. Guess the song
Hear a clip, name the artist fast. Songless.fm launched on September 11, 2026, ranked second by revenue among US trivia games four weeks later and makes about $635K a month. Settle music rights first, since the terms for Apple's 30-second previews talk about promoting content.
14. Business card in Apple Wallet
A contact card that lives in Apple Wallet. You show a QR code and the other person gets your contacts, and a new job title updates for everyone who already has the card. Blinq makes about $446K a month ($223K to $893K), Popl about $352K ($176K to $703K). The leaders have 132K and 103K ratings and require an account and a subscription, and 7 of the top 10 results for “digital business card” do the same thing, so the difference has to show in the subtitle and the first screenshot.
15. Contraction timer
One button for each contraction's start and end, and a chart of durations and intervals. Contraction Timer & Counter 9m makes about $380K a month ($190K to $760K), the second app about $51K. Show numbers only, never "time to go to the hospital".
Our estimate from App Store ratings growth, not Apple data, Sep 13 to Oct 13, 2026 (Songless.fm from Sep 23; it is a game, and the estimate is not calibrated for games). Descriptions, launch dates and ratings from Appto research files, Sep 23 to Oct 13, 2026.
Ideas that failed, and why
These seven niches were dropped after September 23, 2026, under the $100K bar. The first three lacked App Store money. In the rest the leader makes plenty, yet the niche was dropped.
| Idea | Checked | Leader | Leader's money a month | Why it was dropped |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound level meter | Oct 3 | Decibel X | no figure | 162,594 reviews in 14 years, yet absent from US top-grossing charts |
| Sourdough and home baking | Oct 7 | Loaflo | $12K–46K | People pay $3–5 once |
| 3D knot guide | Oct 11 | Knots 3D | $68K–273K | Low end below the bar, and no second app with money |
| Woodworking shop reference | Sep 28 | WoodSense | $854K–3.42M | The leader earns on wood ID from photos and on advice, which a chatbot gives free |
| Debt payoff plan | Oct 12 | Ditch | $177K–709K | A chatbot works out the payoff order in one request, and the next app makes $15K–60K |
| Family photo album for grandparents | Oct 13 | FamilyAlbum | $2.89M–11.55M | Both leaders are over ten years old, with 376,775 and 104,230 ratings |
| Buy direct from nearby farms | Sep 28 | Localize | $555K–2.22M | Four 2026 newcomers have under 50 reviews between them |
Appto checks, Sep 28 to Oct 13, 2026. Our estimate from App Store ratings growth, not Apple data, Sep 13 to Oct 13, 2026 (Knots 3D from Sep 24).
Where the other 45 niches are
Niches 1, 2, 4 and 5 above are part of the free sample of 50 iPhone app niches, sent by email. The other 45, the tournament bracket among them, are in the full book, October 16, 2026 edition, each with the money as a range, the leaders and their weak spots, review complaints, a five-screen version 1 plan and a ready task for your AI agent.
You can check your own idea against the same data in Appto. The whole path from niche to App Store is in our step-by-step guide.
Questions
Can I just take an idea from this list?
You can, these are niches where people already pay. But the data is as of October 13, 2026, and markets move. Re-check the niche before you start and look at who launched in it over the last month.
How accurate are the amounts?
They are our estimate from the growth in App Store ratings, not Apple data. In half of the cases the estimate is within 2x of the real figure, in four out of five within 3x, and for large apps it tends to run low. Ads, web sales and Google Play are not included.
Why would a niche with big money be dropped?
Money is only the first check. The family album was dropped because the top apps are over ten years old and you would have to store other people's photos on your own server for years. The debt payoff plan was dropped because a chatbot does the main calculation.
How much is the book?
The October 16, 2026 edition is $19. A year of updates, with a new edition every month and no auto-renewal, is $29. Five niches are free in exchange for your email.
How do I check my own idea?
In Appto, against the same App Store data. Niche research and checks come with every plan from Solo at $9.99 a month, and leaders' revenue figures are on Studio and Pro. There's no free trial. Before you pay, you can look around Appto in the demo that's built into the app and runs on sample apps.
50 niches checked for money
The Appto book: the money in each niche, the leaders and their weak spots, a version 1 plan and a ready task for the agent. 5 niches free.
Open the book