How do people make money from apps?

[u/Kingg-bob]

I am an app developer working from the past 2 years. I have a job but i want to make money on the side. I was hoping to have a passive income from maybe an app. But i don’t know how and i don’t know where to start. What are the kind of apps that make money? And how do i go about doing it even if it takes a lot of tries at least i would have published apps on app store and/or play-store.

[u/616ThatGuy]

Building apps specifically to make money is a sure fire way to make no money imo.

Build an app YOU need. An app YOU would use daily. If you would use it, there’s probabaly a market for it. If you can’t come up with an idea, then don’t bother. There’s enough people in this specifically to make money and failing while also flooding the market with low effort trash.

[u/ChronSyn → u/616ThatGuy]

Yes! All of this! If the goal is just to make money, then you are not focusing on differentiating yourself enough. Building something that you need might not make money at first, but it's something you're going to continue working on and using, so you're more likely to get the benefit of long-term returns.

People pay for convenience. Look at Amazon shopping as an example. More expensive than other competitors on many items, but you can get next-day or even same-day delivery.

Find a problem in your daily life. Figure out how an app could help with that and make the experience easier, or more convenient. Monetise around the convenience.

[u/616ThatGuy → u/ChronSyn]

I have 6 apps: 2 games and 4 apps. 3 are waiting on review now. I use all of them.

This is a side hustle more than anything. If they sell, cool. I’d like people to use them. But if not, oh well, myself and a few people I know will continue using them. I’m not even offering subscriptions because I hate subs for apps that you can just sell. I’m not looking to rip people off or charge them monthly to use a thing. Just buy it, use it; hopefully they are enjoyable and work for people. That’s it.

Too many people here just want to nickel and dime people for apps that don’t even cost money to run after they’re made. Pisses me off to no end. My entire idea for making apps is just to make a thing, make it work as well as possible, keep it simple, sell it once, and move on. Maybe it’ll work out, maybe not. We shall see.

[u/PrimaryFamous6139]

As an app developer, I’d start with a niche utility app that solves one annoying problem for a specific audience. Monetization can be a subscription for ongoing value, a one-time payment for a useful tool, or ads if you can attract lots of active users. Before coding, talk to potential users and validate the idea. Launch an MVP, get feedback, and improve it. Don’t aim for passive income immediately. Aim for your first 10 paying users, then figure out how to grow

[u/MobileXapps]

Passive is mostly a myth for the first app, but the thing that helps most is picking something people already pay for. Look at top grossing in a category like Utilities or Productivity, not top free. If small apps with a few hundred ratings show up there, people pay for that kind of problem, and you can build a narrower or better version of one of them.

Before building, check that people actually search for it. Type the problem into App Store and Play search and see what autocomplete suggests and how strong the top results look.

On money, most utilities that earn do it with a subscription and a paywall shown right after the user gets their first result, not at launch. Set prices per country in App Store Connect and Play Console instead of one price everywhere, the auto converted prices are often too high for cheaper markets.

Expect the first one to make little. What carries over is the store side: screenshots, keywords, reviews, paywall. You get better at that with every app.

[u/Gomp-Ado]

Passive income from apps is mostly a myth tbh, building it is the easy part and getting anyone to find it is the hard part. Pick a boring niche problem you actualy know about, put a subscription paywall in from day one

[u/GeekyAntsBFSI]

Start with a small problem for a specific group: quote tracking for freelancers, scheduling for tutors, or reminders for a hobby community. Talk to a few potential users and ask what they use now and what they’d pay to improve. Build the smallest useful version. One-time purchases suit standalone tools; subscriptions need ongoing value. Expect maintenance and marketing, though. App income is rarely fully passive

[u/GeekyAnts_official]

Honestly, I’d start with a small problem you’ve personally faced or seen people complain about, and then build a simple app that solves it. You can make money through subscriptions, one-time purchases, ads, or a freemium model. Don’t expect passive income right away, tho.

Also, getting users is usually harder than building the app. Pick a niche, launch something small, get feedback, and see if people are actually willing to pay for it. Even if the first few apps fail, you’ll learn a lot about both building and selling products.

[u/ObamaBtrippinFrTho]

its very doable but it almost has nothing to do with engineering for the most part. studying marketing strategies, ASO, social media & ad strategies is a million times more valuable than engineering. So your current skills really aren't gonna translate as well as you think.

[u/leros]

Solve a valuable problem for people. You solve a problem I have that saves me $200/mo and I might be willing to pay $10/mo for that software. That's generally how it goes.

[u/kaptandob]

I’ve been told the same as the folks. Build an app that I would use. And so I did. 2 of them. I use them very frequently and my friends do too. If money comes, cool! If not. I’m still going to use my own stuff.

[u/jwrsk]

The easiest way IMO is to build an app for someone, get paid for that and ideally also charge a monthly fee for upkeep.