How Much Money Does a Subscription App Make?
A modestly successful subscription app typically reaches $3,000 to $15,000 in monthly recurring revenue by the end of year one, before the 15 to 30% app store commission. Under Revenue Map's preset assumptions, a $12,000 monthly ad budget at a $3 to $3.50 cost per install and a 7 to 10% install-to-paid rate adds roughly 250 to 400 new subscribers a month at $9.99 each, with churn claiming a share back every month.
Consumer subscription economics are a race between acquisition and churn. Each preset subscriber is worth $9.99 a month, but consumer apps commonly lose 5 to 15% of subscribers monthly, so the base only compounds while new subscribers outpace cancellations. That is why the honest month-12 range is thousands, not the six-figure MRR of category leaders, and why the vast majority of apps earn very little.
The top decile is defined by retention and conversion rather than downloads. Freemium-to-paid conversion of 2 to 5% is typical across consumer apps while productivity apps reach 7 to 10%, and annual-plan mix matters enormously: annual subscribers at the preset $49.99 price prepay a year and cannot churn monthly. And every projection must be net of the platform cut: Apple and Google take 15 to 30% before the money reaches you.
Revenue Breakdown
Subscription app revenue reference points, from preset assumptions
| Item | Typical range | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue per subscriber (monthly) | $9.99 gross, about $7 to $8.50 net | Preset monthly price, less the 15 to 30% app store commission | Revenue Map model presets |
| New subscribers per month (funded) | Roughly 250 to 400 | Preset $12,000 growth ad budget at $3 to $3.50 CPI and 7 to 10% install-to-paid | Revenue Map model presets |
| Month-12 MRR, modest success | $3,000 to $15,000 | Depends heavily on how much of each cohort churn removes | Revenue Map model presets |
| Freemium-to-paid conversion | 2% to 5% | Productivity reaches 7 to 10%; entertainment often converts at just 1 to 3% | Revenue Map model templates |
| App store commission | 15% to 30% | Drops to 15% after a subscriber's first year and for smaller developers | Revenue Map model templates |
| LTV to CAC (healthy) | 3:1 or better | Below 2:1 the acquisition math is unsustainable | Revenue Map benchmark tables |
Sources: Revenue Map model presets (default investment, pricing and funnel assumptions in our industry templates), Revenue Map model templates (vertical research in each financial model), Revenue Map benchmark tables (the thresholds behind our free calculators), and honest industry ranges where our own data is thin. Ranges are planning bands, not guarantees.
What Moves the Number
Early retention
A one-point improvement in Day-30 retention compounds through every downstream cohort and lifts lifetime value more than an equivalent bump in price. Retention is the master variable; acquisition just fills whatever bucket retention gives you.
Annual plan mix
Annual subscribers prepay at the preset $49.99, improving cash flow and removing twelve months of churn risk per subscriber. Shifting even a fifth of new subscribers to annual plans visibly changes both revenue stability and LTV.
Category conversion norms
The same funnel produces triple the revenue in a category converting at 7 to 10% versus one converting at 2 to 3%. Benchmark against your own category, and treat cross-category revenue comparisons with suspicion.
What kills subscription app revenue
Churn above 10% monthly, scaling paid installs before retention supports payback, and forgetting the platform commission in the model. The last one is the most common: a projection built on gross prices overstates net revenue by up to 30%.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the average app make?
How many subscribers does an app need to make $10,000 a month?
What percentage of app users pay for subscriptions?
How much of app revenue does Apple take?
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