Mobile App Revenue Calculator
Thinking about building an app? Estimate the monthly revenue, costs, and net profit before you write a line of code — using realistic, median-based revenue benchmarks (RevenueCat, AppsFlyer, Business of Apps), not survivorship-biased top-chart numbers.
iOS users monetize roughly 1.8× higher per install than Android.
RevenueCat 2026: freemium apps earn ~$0.38 per install by day 60; ~$0.50 over lifetime. For ad-supported apps, use the Ad Revenue Calculator.
Model × category × platform sets a realistic revenue-per-install of $0.75 for iOS — editable below.
$1,040
$12,474/year · 69% margin
Revenue-per-install benchmarks are median figures from RevenueCat, AppsFlyer & Business of Apps — not top-chart apps. Downloads are your assumption. Estimates, not guarantees.
Find a category to build inHow the estimate is built
- 1.Gross revenue = your expected monthly downloads × a realistic revenue-per-install set by your monetization model, category, and platform (median industry data, not top-chart apps).
- 2.Store commission (30% or 15%) is taken off the top — Apple and Google's cut.
- 3.Paywall tool fees (RevenueCat / Adapty, ~1%) come off your post-commission revenue.
- 4.Fixed costs (development, LLM credits) are subtracted to land on net profit.
How much money can a mobile app make?
Most mobile apps make very little. According to RevenueCat's State of Subscription Apps 2026 — which tracks more than 115,000 apps — the median app earns roughly $72 per month a year after launch. Only about 17% of apps ever reach $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue, and fewer than 5% reach $10,000. A realistic mobile app revenue calculator has to start from those median numbers, not from the top-charting apps that dominate most “how much do apps make” articles.
Your revenue comes down to two things: how many downloads you get, and how much each download is worth over its lifetime (revenue-per-install). This calculator multiplies the two, then subtracts the real costs of shipping an app, so you can sanity-check an idea before building it.
What determines your revenue per download
- Monetization model. A subscription app with a hard paywall can earn around $3 per install, while an ad-supported free app earns closer to $0.20.
- Platform. iOS users monetize roughly 1.8× higher per install than Android — annual ARPU is about $138 on iOS versus $72 on Android.
- Category. Health & Fitness, Finance, and Dating apps monetize far better per download than Photo & Video, News, or Weather apps.
- Costs. Apple and Google take 15–30%, and paywall tools like RevenueCat and Adapty take ~1% of your revenue. Add your fixed monthly costs (development, AI/LLM credits) to land on real profit.
How to use this calculator
Pick your platform and category to load a realistic revenue-per-install benchmark, enter the monthly downloads you expect to reach, and open the assumptions to tune the revenue-per-install, commission, paywall fees, and fixed costs. The tool returns your estimated gross revenue, every cost line, monthly net profit, profit margin, and the break-even download count — a fast, honest way to compare app ideas before you commit a single weekend to building one.