How to make money from an app: six models that work
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Six ways apps make money, from subscriptions and in-app purchases to selling to businesses, and what Apple, Google and payment processors take from each sale.
Short answer
Apps make money in six main ways: subscriptions, one-time paid upgrades, in-app purchases, ads, selling to businesses, and building apps for clients. Pick the model before you build, because it decides what the app needs, such as payments, sign-in or an ad network, and how much of each sale Apple, Google or your payment processor keeps.
Each model below says what the app needs to support it and how that works if you build in Vibely. Many apps combine two: a free tier with ads and a paid upgrade, or a subscription with one-off add-ons.
1. Subscriptions
People pay every month or year for as long as they use the app. It suits anything used regularly: a habit tracker, a booking tool for a small business, a members-only content site. The app needs accounts, so it knows who has paid, and a payment provider that handles renewals and cancellations.
On the web, Stripe handles subscriptions; see how to add Stripe checkout, or start from the paid membership site use case. In a store app, subscriptions go through Apple’s and Google’s in-app purchase systems, and RevenueCat manages them across both stores.
2. One-time purchases and paid upgrades
The core app is free and people pay once for more: extra features, no limits, a pro mode. It is the simplest model to explain and the easiest to try, because the free version does the marketing. On the web it is a single Stripe checkout; in a store app it is a one-time in-app purchase.
3. In-app purchases
People buy things inside the app as they need them: credits, extra exports, a premium template, an item in a game. In a store app, digital goods sold this way generally have to go through Apple’s and Google’s in-app purchase, which RevenueCat handles in a Vibely mobile app.
4. Ads
The app is free and earns from advertising. It only works at scale, with a large audience that opens the app often, so it suits consumer apps more than business tools. Vibely doesn’t ship an ad-network connector, so ads mean adding the ad provider’s SDK to your code and setting up the account with the provider.
5. Sell to businesses
A tool a business uses every day can often charge more than a consumer app: per seat, per location or a flat monthly fee. Good candidates are the jobs businesses still run on spreadsheets, such as a client portal, a booking system or an invoicing app. Businesses usually pay by card through Stripe, or by invoice.
6. Build apps for clients
You don’t have to own the app to make money from it. Freelancers and agencies build apps for clients and charge for the build and for changes after it. With Vibely you can show a working version in the first meeting and hand the client a GitHub repository they own; see Vibely for agencies.
What Apple, Google and payment processors take
| Where you sell | What they keep |
|---|---|
| Apple App Store | 15% of paid apps and in-app purchases in the Small Business Program, for developers under $1 million in proceeds a year; the standard rate above that |
| Google Play | 15% of the first $1 million of earnings each year and of auto-renewing subscriptions, with terms that vary by market |
| Your own web checkout | No store commission; the payment processor’s per-transaction fee (see Stripe’s pricing) |
Two costs on the Vibely side are worth planning for. Hosting is never metered, so a busy free app costs nothing extra to serve. But if the app’s own features use Vibely AI, such as a chat assistant or image generation, that usage draws from your workspace credits, and those features pause if the credits run out. Price AI features so each sale covers what it uses.
How to choose a model
- People use it every week or more: a subscription.
- It does one job well and people use it now and then: a one-time upgrade.
- A business would save time or money with it: sell it to businesses, per seat or per month.
- Millions of casual users, and nothing worth paying for: ads, and only if the audience is really there.
If you haven’t built the app yet, start with how to create an app, and pick the model before step 5, where you add payments.
Frequently asked questions
Can a free app make money?
Yes. Free apps earn through ads, through in-app purchases, or by keeping the core free and charging for an upgrade. Ads need a large audience that opens the app often; upgrades need a free version good enough that people want more of it.
Do I have to use Apple’s in-app purchase?
For digital content and features sold inside an iOS app, usually yes. Physical goods and real-world services can use another processor such as Stripe. The rules on linking out to a web checkout differ by country and have changed recently, so check Apple’s current App Review Guidelines before you launch.
Is it cheaper to sell on the web than in the app stores?
Per sale, usually. A web checkout pays the processor’s fee but no store commission, while the stores take 15% for most small developers. The stores make your app easier to find and install, so many products sell on both.
Can I build a paid app without coding?
Yes. In Vibely you describe the app, then add Stripe for web payments or RevenueCat for in-app purchases on iOS and Android. Store publishing is on Pro, and the store developer accounts are yours.