It seems nearly every app offers a subscription these days, so it might come as a surprise that most apps don’t make much money either.
As spotted by TechCrunch, an analysis from mobile subscription toolkit provider RevenueCat offers an overview of the subscription app world thanks to the nearly 30,000 apps that use its tools. The report looks at data from more than 29,000 apps and over 18,000 developers that collectively generate more than $6.7 billion USD (roughly $9 billion CAD) in revenue across 290 million subscribers.
One of the most notable findings in the ‘State of Subscription Apps‘ report is that the top five percent of apps generate 200 times the revenue of the bottom 25 percent after their first year. Even more surprising is that the median monthly revenue an app generates after 12 months is less than $50 USD (about $67.31 CAD).
RevenueCat says that a little over 17 percent of apps will reach even $1,000 in monthly revenue. However, there’s some good news for apps that make it to that point — the odds of growing increase. For example, 59 percent of apps that reach $1,000 will go on to reach $2,500, and 60 percent of those apps will go on to hit $5,000.
Unfortunately, after that point, the numbers drop off, with only 3.5 percent of apps going on to reach $10,000 in revenue.
There are a few other notable highlights from the report. For one, North America-based apps have four times the monetization of the global average. Interestingly, Japan and South Korea monetize better on Android than iOS — usually, it’s the other way around.
The report also notes that the number of monthly subscribers that stick around after 12 months dropped by around 14 percent last year, possibly indicative of consumers being more careful about subscriptions and cancelling ones they no longer need (or ones that raised prices). However, other metrics are up year-over-year, which is a good sign for the subscription industry.
Those interested can find the full report here.
Source: RevenueCat Via: TechCrunch
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