Skip to content

Earn money with an app

How to make money with an app

How do I set up my app idea properly so that I can make a living from it in the long term? How do I make money with an app? appleute explains.

Earn money with an app

Many tech startups and SMEs have a mobile app as their core product to make a profit, e.g. WhatsApp. Other tech startups and SMEs use mobile apps as a complement or essential tool to their profitable core offering, e.g. Fire TV app to use the Fire TV stick.
Let's take a closer look at the first scenario, where an app is the actual product. In this case, there are many ways to make money with an app. The question of how to make money with an app should be clarified before embarking on app development through an app development agency or your own app development team.
Native app development, Web App Development, hybrid app development or progressive web app development all cost money - be it the App development service provider or its own developers.
The goal of most app-based businesses is to at least break even, meaning that the profit generated by the app should exceed the cost of app development. Here are five ways to make money with a mobile app.

Freemium app - paid to unlock premium features

A freemium mobile application is an application that is free for the user at the beginning. However, he "only" gets access to basic product functions that are sufficient for a good UX (user experience). Figuratively speaking, customers already get a foot in the door. Those who want access to premium features have to pay. These premium features are unlocked in exchange for money. App development teams must have a Payment gateway integrate so that users can pay for the app's premium features - a very basic yet sensitive task that should employ data security and state-of-the-art encryption methods. A typical example of freemium apps are dating apps like Tinder, where you have to pay to unlock certain features that make the app experience more convenient.

Subscription-based app - charge for ad-free quality content.

With a subscription-based app, users must pay regularly (usually monthly) to continue to have access to the app's product. Unlike a freemium app, a subscription-based app does not provide free basic product access at launch. If anything, a subscription-based mobile app will give users a free trial or use teasers (product previews) to encourage them to use the product. Most often, the App development for subscription-based mobile apps to the idea that users pay for content, it's not a API Development necessary to connect directly with advertisers, as no advertising revenue is to be generated. App developers need to ensure that app user databases are managed securely and quickly, and hosted on appropriate servers (e.g., Google or AWS). Big Data is used in large Data centers saved. An example of a subscription-based mobile app is your regular online newspaper, e.g. New York Times (USA), Le Monde (France), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), where a monthly fee is recurring. A classic example that everyone knows is Netflix, the most popular subscription-based streaming platform in the world.

Paid download - fee for granting access to a user app.

Paid downloads happen when you connect to the App Store, Google Play for Android or App Store for iOS, connects and downloads the desired mobile app or mobile apps in exchange for money. Most apps cost between €0.50 and €50 to download, with most mobile apps costing less than €10. In general, app store users are reluctant to pay for an app by default. They usually go through a decision-making process first and consider whether to download the app. They need to be convinced. Therefore App Designer and mobile app marketing teams work hard to make the app store presentation as appealing as possible to the user. This is best done through screenshots as well as presentation videos that show the UI and UX features of the app and excellent descriptions of what they can expect when they actually download the app.

In-app purchases - charge for one-time purchases within your app

In-app purchases are made by customers where the app development team has integrated a store where (virtual) products such as accessories, gadgets, clothing, ebooks, etc. are listed and sold. A user can make in-app purchases through their Apple account or Google account, where their payment information is stored. (More about the payment environment and the payment landscape). This provides a seamless buying experience for both Android and iOS users, regardless of which mobile device they use (it has to be a smartphone, after all). Typical one-time in-app purchases are part of the "make money with apps" business strategy around mobile app games.

In-app advertising - generate advertising revenue

App developers program the app to make advertising space available for advertisers to purchase. Advertising spaces can be allocated to advertisers via agreed direct contracts or via programmatic advertising channels such as header bidding or Google's EBDA. Advertising allows an app to be paid for by the user: the user is targeted by the advertiser and their potential value to them is exploited. Too much advertising can damage an app's reputation. So anyone who expects to make money from an app by generating advertising revenue should keep an eye on the UX - and not overshoot the mark.

App Developer Crailsheim

Tip from the app developers of appleute

App design and development should ideally start as soon as an app development team is clear about the revenue-generating model, i.e., how to make money with an app. There are pros and cons to each of the above five ways to make money with a mobile app. Contact app development agencies to get their expertise A good App idea is one that is well thought out.

Contact now

en_USEN