How to sell your app

There are a few ways to earn money directly with apps: building apps for clients, advertising, and selling the app itself in the stores. This article covers the last one.

When can I charge for my app?

Apps can be profitable for a business even when they’re free. Consider charging when your app offers something people want and can’t easily get for free elsewhere. Paid apps tend to work when:

• You have a loyal, existing audience, such as a specialized magazine, trade journal or popular blog.
• Your content meets a specific need that isn’t covered yet and can’t easily be replaced, such as exam preparation.

Consider other pricing models

Many apps are freemium: free to download, with a paid version that adds content or features, or removes ads. Charging for your app will significantly reduce downloads, so look at what similar apps charge before you decide.

Selling on Google Play

A developer account lets you publish free apps. To sell apps, you also need to set up a payments profile (merchant account) in your Google Play Console. You can then set a price in your local currency and let Google convert it, or set prices individually for some countries.

Selling on the App Store

In App Store Connect, go to Agreements, Tax, and Banking, accept the Paid Apps agreement and add your bank and tax details so Apple can pay you. Then select your app and set its price under Pricing and Availability. Apple uses preset price points, which it converts automatically for each country’s currency.

The bottom line

The app stores make it easy to sell a product worldwide with very low upfront costs. Before charging, think carefully about who your app is for and what it does for them.