How much money iOS apps make per download (by category)
Leonid Zverugowrote this on Июл 31, 2015
Generally, iOS apps bring more income than Android apps. But have you ever thought of how much iOS apps make per download?
Hugh Kimura have. He examined Store Intelligence data to get a full picture of the revenue per download for all iOS apps throughout the world.
Some of categories are pretty predictable (for example, games). But others may earn more money than you could think. This information is highly important if you’re going to create an app: the data will be very helpful in choosing an app category.
All iOS Apps
In order to get an average of what iOS apps make per download, Hugh Kimura looked at all iOS apps worldwide. So, the average revenue per download is good (but there’s a little bump in December because of the holiday season). Further on, he describes each category individually.
Business
It’s funny but true: Business apps have one of the lowest revenue per download indices. There’s a small seasonal tendency, but it stays almost on the same level across the board.
Books
This category is a little bit more profitable than Business apps. The revenue is flat during holidays.
Catalogs
It’s not a surprise that apps belonging to this category don’t earn lots of money as companies don’t charge for the apps and users don’t make purchases via the app.
Education
There’s a small bump in revenue for Education apps in January. It may happen because people are on break during the holidays and return to studying after them. It’s a quite good category to belong to.
Entertainment
That’s it! If compared to all the above-mentioned categories, Entertainment apps get double the revenue per download. If a higher return rate is what you need, pay a closer attention to this category.
Finance
Finance apps don’t make plenty of money. The majority of apps are just add services for banks and various companies. They don’t generate revenue and don’t have any in-app purchases.
Food and Drink
These apps are often free and people don’t make many purchases in the app.
Games
Well, this a category that makes more money per download than any other category. What’s more, this category is the only one that makes more than $1 per download. That’s the reason why big game companies spend so much on advertising.
Health and Fitness
Apps of this category don’t make more per download. It has low average return because there are lots of free similar apps there.
Lifestyle
Hugh Kimura says that the average revenue is pretty low, so you would really have to do your homework when it comes to monetizing your app.
Medical
As for Medical apps, revenue from them is a little bit more than average. It’s due to the fact that people usually want to pay a little more for these apps.
Music
Music apps are cheap so it’s not a surprise that the average revenue per download isn’t high. Though, it’s higher if we compare it with apps from Lifestyle and Finance categories.
Navigation
It’s true that some Navigation apps are pretty expensive ($149 and more) but it doesn’t mean that they have a much higher average revenue per download.
News
Hugh Kimura says that the return per download for news apps has been declining since October. It’s could be a seasonal thing and we wouldn’t worry about it.
Newsstand
Really good revenue per download and it almost cracks the magic $1 per download mark.
Photo and Video
Free photo and video apps rule. Instagram and other similar apps usually strive to build a user base, instead of selling.
Productivity
Productivity apps are good at organizing your life, not at getting high revenue per download. It’s interesting to create these apps but you have to make a thorough investigation on how to monetize it effectively.
Reference
Apps from this category don’t usually make lots of money per download but if you create a very niche reference guide, it may work.
Social Networking
The revenue per download isn’t very high, but it’s higher than expected. Dating apps hold up the average.
Sports
Sports apps get most of their downloads and revenue on the weekends. These apps do pretty well on a revenue per download basis.
Travel
Total revenue and downloads are higher but not more profitable per download.
Utilities
This is a very popular category as free apps usually do better.
Weather
Few apps use proprietary data and can charge for the app.
Conclusion
Now you know what app publishers make throughout the world. But still you can make a very profitable app in any category you choose. You should study thoroughly all the necessary information and find out what successful apps are doing.
