---
title: "iOS vs Android App Revenue: Which Platform Pays Developers More?"
description: "App Store vs Google Play, measured on the same apps catalogue: which platform earns more often, which earns more per app, and where downloads and revenue per download diverge."
url: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/ios-vs-android-app-revenue/
markdown: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/ios-vs-android-app-revenue/index.md
updated: 2026-09-11
apps: 59282
source: TrendApps
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# iOS vs Android App Revenue: Which Platform Pays Developers More?

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

Android apps cross $1,000 a month more often than iOS apps, at 21.0%. iOS apps cross that line 16.4% of the time. iOS apps that earn make more, with a median of $70k a month. The Android median among earners is $30k. Store revenue only; advertising income is not included, so ad-supported apps show as not earning here.

- **21.0%** — of Android apps earn $1k+ a month
- **16.4%** — of iOS apps earn $1k+ a month
- **$70k** — iOS median among earners
- **$30k** — Android median among earners

## Which platform earns more often?

Of the 24,737 Android apps in the catalogue, 21.0% earn more than $1,000 a month; of the 34,545 iOS apps, 16.4% do.

Part of the gap is composition — the iOS catalogue carries more paid apps with nothing to buy inside — and part is reach: Google Play delivers more installs per app, which gives the purchase funnel more chances.

Share of apps earning $1k+/month

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| iOS · 34,545 apps | 16.4% |
| Android · 24,737 apps | 21.0% |

Crossing the floor: revenue vs downloads

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Earn $1k+/month | 16.4% | 21.0% |
| Pass 1k downloads/month | 23.3% | 43.7% |

Data table

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Apps tracked | 34,545 | 24,737 |
| Earn $1k+/month | 16.4% | 21.0% |
| Pass 1k downloads/month | 23.3% | 43.7% |
| Median revenue (earners) | $70,000 | $30,000 |
| Top 10% revenue (earners) | $900,000 | $400,000 |
| Median revenue per download | $2.50 | $0.70 |

## Which platform earns more per app?

Among apps that clear the floor, the iOS median is $70k a month against $30k on Android — 2.3× the size. At the top, the tenth-best iOS earners pass $900k a month versus $400k on Android.

This is the half of the cliché that holds: once an app is earning, it earns more on iOS at every percentile, and the gap widens toward the top.

Monthly revenue among earning apps: 25th percentile, median, 90th percentile

| Item | 25th percentile | Median | Top |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| iOS earners | $20k | $70k | $900k |
| Android earners | $10k | $30k | $400k |

Share of each platform's apps per revenue band

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ≤$1k | 83.6% | 79.0% |
| $5–9k | 2.0% | 4.7% |
| $10–90k | 7.3% | 10.9% |
| $100–900k | 5.5% | 3.9% |
| $1–9M | 1.4% | 1.2% |
| $10M+ | 0.2% | 0.2% |

## Downloads: Android's volume advantage

43.7% of Android apps get more than 1,000 downloads a month, against 23.3% of iOS apps. Above that line the median Android app gets 80,000 downloads a month; the median iOS app 50,000.

Google Play has roughly three times the active devices worldwide. That is the argument for Android first when the model is ads or reach itself is the product.

Share of each platform's apps per monthly downloads band

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ≤1k | 76.7% | 56.3% |
| 1–10k | 2.7% | 4.6% |
| 10–100k | 12.6% | 18.8% |
| 100k–1M | 7.1% | 15.4% |
| 1M+ | 0.8% | 4.9% |

Monthly downloads among apps above 1,000: 25th, median, 90th percentile

| Item | 25th percentile | Median | Top |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| iOS | 20,000 | 50,000 | 400,000 |
| Android | 20,000 | 80,000 | 1,000,000 |

## Revenue per download by platform

The median earning iOS app makes $2.50 per download; the median Android app $0.70 — an iOS download is worth 3.6× an Android one.

Android gives more downloads, iOS gives more revenue per download; the product of the two is what pays. For subscriptions the iOS side usually wins; for ads the download side wins and none of this revenue data applies.

Revenue per download among earning apps

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| iOS · 25th | $1.00 |
| iOS · median | $2.50 |
| iOS · 75th | $6.67 |
| Android · 25th | $0.17 |
| Android · median | $0.70 |
| Android · 75th | $2.11 |

Earning apps by revenue-per-download band

| — | 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% |

## Monetization model by platform

Free apps with IAP earn 53.2% of the time on iOS and 41.7% on Android; paid apps without IAP earn 1.2% and 5.7%.

The monetization model matters more than the platform. If you are debating iOS versus Android before free-with-IAP versus paid, you are debating the smaller variable first.

How each store's catalogue splits by model

| — | Free + IAP (share) | Paid + IAP (share) | Paid, no IAP (share) | Free, no IAP (share) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| iOS | 28.7% | 7.8% | 47.9% | 15.6% |
| Android | 45.4% | 2.9% | 23.2% | 28.5% |

Share earning $1k+/month, by model and platform

| — | iOS | Android |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free + IAP | 53.2% | 41.7% |
| Paid, no IAP | 1.2% | 5.7% |

Data table

| Model | iOS apps | iOS earn $1k+ | Android apps | Android earn $1k+ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free + IAP | 9,913 | 53.2% | 11,232 | 41.7% |
| Paid, no IAP | 16,558 | 1.2% | 5,742 | 5.7% |

## 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 an Android rating count is worth slightly less per rating as a signal. The shape is the same on both stores.

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

| — | 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% |

## Where the platforms differ by category

2 categories exist only on iOS, such as Sports, Developer Tools; 11 only on Android, such as Personalization, Events, Auto & Vehicles.

Every category page shows its own iOS-versus-Android split, which is where the platform question becomes useful — at the level of the category you are building in.

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

If your model is subscriptions or unlocks, start on iOS: an earning iOS app makes 2.3× the revenue of an earning Android app at the median. If your model is ads or reach is the product, start on Android: apps there pass 1,000 monthly downloads 1.9× as often.

Either way, settle the monetization model before the platform. Platform changes the size of the prize; the model changes whether there is one.

Next step: Compare top apps on iOS and Android → — https://trendapps.dev/top-trending-apps/

## Questions developers ask

### Which platform makes more money for developers, iOS or Android?

iOS apps that earn make more: a median of $70k a month against $30k on Android. But Android apps cross $1,000 a month slightly more often (21.0% vs 16.4%).

### Do iOS users spend more than Android users?

Per download, yes: the median earning iOS app makes $2.50 per download, against $0.70 on Android. Store revenue only; ad revenue is not measured.

### Should I launch on iOS or Android first?

Launch on iOS first if you sell subscriptions or unlocks — the revenue per app is higher at every percentile. Launch on Android first if you monetize with ads or need reach — apps there pass 1,000 monthly downloads about twice as often. Decide the monetization model before the platform; it matters more.

### Is the App Store or Google Play more profitable?

For an individual app that earns, the App Store: the top 10% of iOS earners pass $900k a month, against $400k on Google Play. Google Play delivers more downloads per app.

### Do Android apps get more downloads than iOS apps?

Yes. 43.7% of Android apps get more than 1,000 downloads a month, against 23.3% of iOS apps. Among apps above that line, the Android median is 80,000 downloads a month.

### Do paid apps sell better on iOS?

Paid apps without IAP earn more than $1,000 a month 1.2% of the time on iOS and 5.7% on Android. Both are far below free apps with IAP on either platform.

## 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)
- [App Revenue per Download: What a Download Is Actually Worth](https://trendapps.dev/statistics/app-revenue-per-download/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/ios-vs-android-app-revenue/ · Markdown: https://trendapps.dev/statistics/ios-vs-android-app-revenue/index.md · Methodology: https://trendapps.dev/methodology/