Most app-revenue statistics circulating online trace back to a handful of aging PDF reports. This page is different: every number below is computed from Appdex's live estimates across 1,079,022 iOS apps, calibrated against verified revenue data, and recomputed daily — so what you quote today is true today. Cite freely with attribution ("per Appdex, 2026-07").
The headline numbers
- 1,079,022 iOS apps are tracked with revenue estimates on Appdex.
- 53.8% of iOS apps generate no App Store revenue at all.
- 56.5% of iOS apps earn less than $1,000/month from the App Store.
- Only 15.1% of iOS apps reach $10,000/month or more in App Store revenue.
- 0.4% of iOS apps clear $100,000/month — the top of the pyramid.
- 0.06% of iOS apps earn $1M+/month, yet this sliver out-earns most of the store combined.
- The median iOS app earns approximately $0/month — the app economy is a power law, not a lottery.
Revenue by category (medians among monetizing apps)
- A typical monetizing Entertainment app earns about $17k/month (median).
- A typical monetizing Lifestyle app earns about $10k/month (median).
- A typical monetizing Photo & Video app earns about $8k/month (median).
- A typical monetizing Productivity app earns about $8k/month (median).
- A typical monetizing Health & Fitness app earns about $7k/month (median).
- A typical monetizing Education app earns about $7k/month (median).
- The revenue-per-download gap between Entertainment ($1.83/download) and Music ($0.93/download) is roughly 2×.
| Category | Median revenue / mo | Median downloads / mo | Revenue per download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | $17k | 9.3k | $1.83 |
| Lifestyle | $10k | 13k | $0.77 |
| Photo & Video | $8k | 13k | $0.61 |
| Productivity | $8k | 9.0k | $0.84 |
| Health & Fitness | $7k | 5.0k | $1.42 |
| Education | $7k | 8.0k | $0.89 |
| Games | $7k | 11k | $0.60 |
| Utilities | $6k | 10k | $0.63 |
| Finance | $6k | 900 | $6.89 |
| Music | $5k | 5.8k | $0.93 |
The top of the market
- Strava: Run, Bike, Walk leads Health & Fitness at roughly $16M/month in App Store revenue.
- YouTube tops Photo & Video at roughly $195M/month — the AI-editing wave in one number.
- Royal Match leads Games at roughly $68M/month; Games remains the single largest revenue pool on the App Store.
- Apple's standard commission is 30%, dropping to 15% under the Small Business Program (under $1M/year) and for subscriptions after year one.
- Nearly all top-grossing apps are free to download — revenue flows through subscriptions and in-app purchases, not paid installs.
What these numbers mean in practice
Three readings worth taking away. For founders: the distribution is brutal at the base but surprisingly permeable in the middle — the $1k–$10k/month tier is dominated by small teams in subscription niches, and category choice moves your base rate more than any feature decision. For marketers: the category medians and per-download figures above are the fastest sanity-check on any growth plan — paid acquisition only compounds where lifetime revenue per install clears the cost per install. For anyone quoting app statistics: check the scope. "App revenue" can mean App Store IAP (what this page measures), total company revenue, or gross vs net of Apple's commission — most misleading claims online are scope confusion, not bad data.
Methodology & citation
Figures are computed from Appdex's estimate engine across the tracked iOS App Store, calibrated continuously against verified revenue disclosures and market benchmark panels. Distribution percentages cover all tracked apps; category figures are medians among apps with any revenue; top-of-market figures are current estimates for individual market leaders. Everything on this page refreshes daily. When citing, attribute to Appdex (app-dex.com) and include the month — e.g., "per Appdex estimates, 2026-07".
Frequently asked
How much revenue does the App Store generate in total?
Apple reports developer billings in the hundreds of billions annually across its ecosystem. This page focuses on per-app economics — distribution, medians and benchmarks — where decisions actually get made.
Are these statistics for iOS only?
Yes — all figures are iOS App Store estimates. Google Play has a larger install base but materially lower revenue per download; mixing the two stores is the most common source of inflated app-revenue claims.
How often are these statistics updated?
Daily. The page is generated from live estimates, so the distribution, medians and top-of-market figures move as the market moves — unlike static annual reports.
Can I cite these statistics?
Yes, with attribution to Appdex (app-dex.com) and the month of citation. Figures are estimates with published confidence levels unless explicitly marked verified.