---
title: "App Revenue per Download: What a Download Is Actually Worth"
description: "Revenue per download across thousands of earning iOS and Android apps: the median, the spread, the platform gap, and what 10,000 downloads translate to."
url: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-revenue-per-download/
markdown: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-revenue-per-download/index.md
updated: 2026-09-11
apps: 59282
source: TrendApps
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# App Revenue per Download: What a Download Is Actually Worth

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

Among 7,744 apps with both revenue and downloads above the floor, the median app makes $1.43 per download. A quarter of them make less than $0.38 per download. A quarter make more than $4.29. The median iOS app makes 3.6× as much per download as the median Android app. Store revenue only; advertising income is not included, so ad-supported apps show as not earning here.

- **$1.43** — median revenue per download
- **$4.29** — top quarter starts at
- **24.1%** — of earning apps make $5+ per download
- **3.6×** — iOS vs Android, per download

## Median revenue per download

The median earning app makes $1.43 for every download it gets in a month; the bottom quarter makes $0.38 or less and the top quarter $4.29 or more.

Revenue per download is monthly store revenue divided by monthly downloads for apps where both are above the floor. Both inputs are bands, so the ratio is a band; and it is a monthly snapshot, not a lifetime value.

Revenue per download among earning apps: 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile

| Item | 25th percentile | Median | Top |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All earning apps | $0.38 | $1.43 | $4.29 |
| iOS | $1.00 | $2.50 | $6.67 |
| Android | $0.17 | $0.70 | $2.11 |

Data table

| Percentile | All | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 25th | $0.38 | $1.00 | $0.17 |
| 50th (median) | $1.43 | $2.50 | $0.70 |
| 75th | $4.29 | $6.67 | $2.11 |

## The spread: from under $0.50 to over $5

27.6% of earning apps make less than $0.50 per download and 24.1% make $5 or more; the two middle bands hold the rest.

The bands are roughly even: there is no "normal" revenue per download. $0.30 is a high-volume game with cheap consumables; $8 is a subscription app with a small, committed audience — the band where solo developers most often live.

Earning apps by revenue per download

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Under $0.50 | 27.6% |
| $0.50 – $2 | 27.4% |
| $2 – $5 | 20.9% |
| $5+ | 24.1% |

Share of earning apps per band

| Slice | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Under $0.50 | 2,140 · 27.6% |
| $0.50 – $2 | 2,118 · 27.4% |
| $2 – $5 | 1,622 · 20.9% |
| $5+ | 1,864 · 24.1% |

Data table

| Revenue per download | Apps | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under $0.50 | 2,140 | 27.6% |
| $0.50 – $2 | 2,118 | 27.4% |
| $2 – $5 | 1,622 | 20.9% |
| $5+ | 1,864 | 24.1% |

## Revenue per download by platform

The median earning iOS app makes $2.50 per download; the median earning Android app $0.70. At the 75th percentile the figures are $6.67 and $2.11.

This is the cleanest single number behind "iOS users pay more". Android delivers more downloads; each is worth a fraction of an iOS one in store revenue, and the two effects partly cancel.

Earning apps by revenue-per-download band, iOS vs Android

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under $0.50 | 14.9% | 41.0% |
| $0.50 – $2 | 25.3% | 29.5% |
| $2 – $5 | 26.0% | 15.6% |
| $5+ | 33.8% | 13.8% |

Share of earning apps making $5+ per download

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| iOS | 33.8% |
| Android | 13.8% |

## What 10,000 downloads are worth

At the median, 10,000 downloads a month is about $14,290 a month in store revenue — $3,750 in the bottom quarter, $42,860 in the top quarter.

Use the column that matches your model: consumables and cheap unlocks track the 25th percentile, a subscription with decent retention tracks the 75th. The revenue calculator does the same arithmetic with your own conversion rate and price.

Monthly store revenue by monthly downloads, at the 25th / 50th / 75th percentile of revenue per download

| — | Bottom quarter | Median | Top quarter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1,000 downloads | $375.00 | $1.4k | $4.3k |
| 10,000 | $3.8k | $14.3k | $42.9k |
| 100,000 | $37.5k | $142.9k | $428.6k |
| 1,000,000 | $375k | $1.4M | $4.3M |

Data table

| Monthly downloads | At 25th pct | At median | At 75th pct |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1,000 | $375 | $1,429 | $4,286 |
| 10,000 | $3,750 | $14,290 | $42,860 |
| 100,000 | $37,500 | $142,900 | $428,600 |
| 1,000,000 | $375,000 | $1,429,000 | $4,286,000 |

## Ads are not included

Every figure on this page is store revenue before the commission. Advertising revenue never passes through the store; an ad-supported app with 100,000 downloads a month shows here as zero revenue per download even if it earns thousands from ads. Benchmark ad-supported apps against network eCPMs instead.

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

Convert downloads to revenue with a band, not a point. The middle half of earning apps spans $0.38 to $4.29 per download, a 11× range, and where your app lands depends on the model more than the category.

Building for a small audience, aim for the $5-and-up band deliberately: a real subscription price and a free tier that proves the value. Building for volume, plan on the low band and make the volume real. At $0.38 per download you need roughly 2,667 downloads a month just to clear the $1,000 floor.

Next step: Run the numbers in the app revenue calculator → — https://trendapps.dev/tools/app-revenue-calculator/

## Questions developers ask

### How much money do apps make per download?

Among apps with real store revenue, the median is $1.43 per download, with the middle half between $0.38 and $4.29. Ad revenue is not included.

### What is a good revenue per download?

Above $4.29 puts an app in the top quarter of earning apps; 24.1% of them make $5 or more per download.

### How much is 10,000 downloads worth?

About $14,290 a month at the median revenue per download, between $3,750 and $42,860 for the middle half of earning apps. Store revenue before the commission, excluding ads.

### How much do apps make per download on Google Play vs the App Store?

The median earning Android app makes $0.70 per download, against $2.50 for the median earning iOS app.

### What is ARPU for mobile apps?

ARPU is revenue divided by active users; revenue per download divides by new installs instead and is what store data can measure. The median here is $1.43 per download; ARPU for the same app is usually lower.

### How much do apps make from ads per download?

Store data does not include advertising revenue, so this page cannot answer it. Use the ad revenue calculator with your own impressions and eCPM.

## 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)
- [iOS vs Android App Revenue: Which Platform Pays Developers More?](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/ios-vs-android-app-revenue/index.md)
- [Free vs Paid Apps: Which Model Actually Makes Money?](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/free-vs-paid-apps-revenue/index.md)

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