---
title: "Do App Ratings Affect Revenue? Rating Count vs Rating Score"
description: "Whether star rating or the number of ratings predicts app revenue, measured across tens of thousands of iOS and Android apps."
url: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-ratings-and-revenue/
markdown: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-ratings-and-revenue/index.md
updated: 2026-09-11
apps: 59282
source: TrendApps
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Do App Ratings Affect Revenue? Rating Count vs Rating Score

TrendApps Research · updated 2026-09-11 · 59,282 apps

Apps with more than 100,000 ratings earn more than $1,000 a month 53.9% of the time. Apps with fewer than 100 ratings earn 3.6% of the time. Rating score matters far less: apps rated 4.5 stars or higher earn 25.5% of the time. Apps rated below 3.5 stars earn 11.8% of the time. Store revenue only; advertising income is not included, so ad-supported apps show as not earning here.

- **53.9%** — of apps with 100k+ ratings earn $1k+
- **3.6%** — of apps under 100 ratings earn $1k+
- **15×** — lift from rating count
- **2.2×** — lift from rating score

## Rating count vs revenue

Apps with fewer than 100 ratings earn more than $1,000 a month 3.6% of the time; between 1,000 and 10,000 ratings, 35.1%; above 100,000, 53.9%.

Every step up the ratings ladder roughly doubles the chance of earning until the curve flattens past 10,000. Ratings mark revenue rather than cause it — but the marker is public, so you can read a competitor's rating count and know, within a band, whether they make money.

Share of apps earning $1k+/month, by number of ratings

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| <100 | 3.6% |
| 100–1k | 16.5% |
| 1k–10k | 35.1% |
| 10k–100k | 47.7% |
| 100k+ | 53.9% |

How rated apps split by number of ratings

| Slice | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Under 100 ratings | 18,566 · 39.2% |
| 100 – 1k | 9,199 · 19.4% |
| 1k – 10k | 8,634 · 18.2% |
| 10k – 100k | 6,760 · 14.3% |
| 100k+ | 4,221 · 8.9% |

Data table

| Ratings count | Apps | Earn $1k+/mo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under 100 ratings | 18,566 | 3.6% |
| 100 – 1k | 9,199 | 16.5% |
| 1k – 10k | 8,634 | 35.1% |
| 10k – 100k | 6,760 | 47.7% |
| 100k+ | 4,221 | 53.9% |

## Rating score vs revenue

Apps rated below 3.5 stars earn 11.8% of the time; between 4.0 and 4.5 stars, 25.4%; at 4.5 and above, 25.5%.

Score saturates early: the jump from "below 3.5" to "above 4.0" is real, the jump from 4.0 to 4.5 is barely there. Chasing the last half star buys almost nothing; falling below 3.5 costs a lot.

Share of apps earning $1k+/month, by star rating

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| <3.5★ | 11.8% |
| 3.5–4★ | 17.2% |
| 4–4.5★ | 25.4% |
| 4.5★+ | 25.5% |

How rated apps split by star rating

| Slice | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Below 3.5★ | 6,898 · 14.6% |
| 3.5 – 4.0★ | 4,912 · 10.4% |
| 4.0 – 4.5★ | 11,944 · 25.2% |
| 4.5★ and up | 23,626 · 49.9% |

Data table

| Star rating | Apps | Earn $1k+/mo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Below 3.5★ | 6,898 | 11.8% |
| 3.5 – 4.0★ | 4,912 | 17.2% |
| 4.0 – 4.5★ | 11,944 | 25.4% |
| 4.5★ and up | 23,626 | 25.5% |

## Why volume beats score

Moving from the bottom to the top of the rating-count range multiplies the earning rate by 15×; the same move on the score range multiplies it by 2.2×.

The stores rank by engagement, and rating count is a direct function of installs; and a 4.3 with 40,000 ratings converts better than a 4.9 with 60. Work on the number of people who rate you, not on what they rate you.

Lift in earning rate, bottom band → top band

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rating count | 15× |
| Rating score | 2.2× |

Earning rate across the two ladders

| — | By rating count (<100 → 100k+) | By rating score (<3.5★ → 4.5★+) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Band 1 | 3.6% | 11.8% |
| Band 2 | 16.5% | 17.2% |
| Band 3 | 35.1% | 25.4% |
| Band 4 | 47.7% | 25.5% |
| Band 5 | 53.9% | — |

## Ratings by platform

On iOS, apps with more than 100,000 ratings earn 51.3% of the time; on Android the same band earns 55.6%.

Google Play prompts for ratings more aggressively, so each Android rating is worth slightly less as a signal. The shape is the same on both stores: a steep climb with volume, a shallow one with score.

Share earning $1k+/month by number of ratings, iOS vs Android

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| <100 | 3.3% | 4.6% |
| 100–1k | 21.4% | 11.8% |
| 1k–10k | 46.8% | 26.2% |
| 10k–100k | 57.3% | 40.8% |
| 100k+ | 51.3% | 55.6% |

Share earning $1k+/month by star rating, iOS vs Android

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| <3.5★ | 6.9% | 19.1% |
| 3.5–4★ | 12.9% | 20.0% |
| 4–4.5★ | 23.3% | 27.0% |
| 4.5★+ | 24.5% | 27.5% |

## What this means if you're building an app

Ask for ratings early and often, within the store guidelines, from users who just did something successful in your app. The difference between under-100 and over-1,000 ratings is an earning rate of 3.6% versus 35.1%.

Stop optimising the score once it is above 4.0; reply to the one-star reviews that describe real bugs and let the score follow. Use rating counts as competitive intelligence — every store page shows them.

Next step: Find apps with few ratings that already earn → — https://trendapps.dev/top-trending-apps/?monetizing_only=true

## Questions developers ask

### Do app ratings affect revenue?

The number of ratings does, strongly: apps with 100k+ ratings earn more than $1,000 a month 53.9% of the time, against 3.6% for apps under 100 ratings. The star score matters less — 4.5★+ apps earn 25.5% of the time, sub-3.5★ apps 11.8%.

### How many reviews does an app need to be successful?

Around 1,000 ratings is where earning becomes common (35.1% of apps), and around 10,000 is where most apps earn (47.7%). Under 100 ratings, very few apps make money — usually because they have not found their audience yet.

### Does a 4.5-star rating matter?

Less than you would think: apps rated 4.0–4.5 stars earn 25.4% of the time and apps rated 4.5 or higher earn 25.5% of the time.

### Do bad reviews hurt downloads and revenue?

Yes, below a threshold: apps rated under 3.5 stars earn 11.8% of the time, against 17.2% for 3.5–4.0 stars and 25.5% for 4.5 stars and up.

### How do I get more app ratings?

Use the native rating prompt after a successful action, not at launch; reply to reviews; and grow installs, because rating count follows users. Crossing 1,000 ratings lifts the earning rate to 35.1%.

### Do ratings matter more on iOS or Android?

The pattern is the same on both. On iOS, apps with 100k+ ratings earn 51.3% of the time; on Android, 55.6%.

## Methodology

- An app counts as earning when its estimated monthly store revenue is above $1,000. Estimates below that sit at a floor of $1,000, so every population-wide figure is the share of a segment above that floor; medians are computed only among apps above it.
- Revenue and downloads are estimates in bands ($5k–10k by $1k, $10k–100k by $10k, then by $100k and $1M). Medians among earners are the median band.
- Store revenue only — paid downloads and IAP (in-app purchases, including subscriptions). Advertising income is never included, so ad-supported apps show as not earning.
- Apps enter the catalogue from the US top charts, including Top Paid, so paid apps are over-represented. Ratios by monetization model are unaffected; overall ratios lean slightly paid.
- Delisted apps are excluded; unrated apps are excluded from rating charts. Recomputed after every crawl.

## Related

- [How Much Do Mobile Apps Make? Revenue Data From Every Tracked App](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/how-much-do-mobile-apps-make/index.md)
- [How Long Does It Take for an App to Make Money?](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/how-long-until-an-app-makes-money/index.md)
- [Mobile App Revenue by Category: Which Categories Make the Most Money?](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-revenue-by-category/index.md)

Source: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-ratings-and-revenue/ · Markdown: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-ratings-and-revenue/index.md · Methodology: https://trendapps.dev/methodology/