All businesses / Paid mobile app

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a paid mobile app: the real numbers

An app for one specific need. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€500–€4,000

Hours / week

12–35

First income

~26 wks

Net margin

88%

Saturation

high

Realistic ceiling

€200–€4,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

The store brings traffic without marketing, which is rare. But discovery is a lottery: most apps are never found, and the platform takes 30%.

The route, in five steps

  1. Check people already search for it in the stores
  2. Build for one platform only
  3. Prepare the store screenshots before the code
  4. Launch with a price, not free with ads
  5. Reply to every review in the first three months

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every paid mobile app pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

developer accountdesign toolsbackend services

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack