How to Make Money with Apps: Top Strategies and Profitable Ideas

Mobile apps are very popular these days, but developing one is not easy or cheap. If you want to make money with an app, you need to come up with a profitable idea. We collected some information about a few app types that seem to be popular and profitable. We also want to highlight a few trends and strategies of making money through apps. Let’s take a look!

Make Money with Apps: A Practical Guide

First, let us consider how to make money with apps. Just creating an app is not enough; you need to figure out a few things first. 

• Search for a need to satisfy. It is always important to focus on things that can improve the well-being of users. It can be a minor improvement, for example, more convenient journaling. However, it can also be something major like facilitating grocery shopping. Either way, your future user must need your app for it to be successful.
• Prioritize the user. User experience is crucial! Your app should be created to be comfortable and easy to use. Otherwise, users will not select it and will choose a competitor.
• Select a monetization strategy. There are numerous ways to monetize your app, from ads and freemium approaches to subscriptions. Think of what would be best for both you and your potential client.
• Promote your app. You need to find reasonable methods of advertising. Otherwise, nobody will learn about your app, and it will remain unused.
• Remember about maintenance and continuous improvement. This way, your app will remain useful even as the needs of the users change.

What Are the Trends for Mobile Apps?

The following can be considered trends in apps in 2025. Take this into account while developing your own app.

• Mobile apps are very popular due to people spending a lot of time with their mobile devices. Americans, for example, dedicate around 4.5 hours a day to their phones. Extensive mobile usage means that mobile apps are a profitable niche. There are no signs of that changing, which means that this is a good time to start making or ordering mobile apps.
• AI, augmented and virtual reality, and the Internet of Things are also growing in popularity. Mobile apps employ these new technologies to bring the best experience to their users. 
• Cross-platform frameworks make app development easier. Indeed, it is much simpler to create code that will work on any platform than creating separate code for each of them. 
• Developer salaries are rising. There is also a shortage of qualified developers, particularly, senior ones. The issue is partially mitigated by the global reach of many freelancers. Keep in mind, though, that a cheap team can end up being more expensive as you hire someone to fix their errors.

These trends support the idea that it is a good time to make money from apps both as a client and developer.

How to Make Money with Apps

There are a few methods of monetizing apps. Here are the main ones.

• One-time purchase. This method is quite popular, especially among users. They pay only once and then they own their copy of the app. 
• Subscription. A method that is very helpful to developers due to producing steady income. However, it can be difficult to retain customers using this method.
• In-app purchases and freemium. This approach allows combining free services with paid ones. It is easier to retain customers this way since they can use the app for free. But this approach also allows selling various paid features.
• Ads. Most customers find ads annoying. However, when implemented well, this approach can produce sufficient income without turning away the clients.
• Transaction fees. When an app allows for payments between users, it can deduct fees from the sum exchanged. This approach does not fit all of the apps listed below, but it is a very common way to make money with an e-commerce project.

The new Internet is app centric…

Keith Teare, entrepreneur

Make Money with Apps: 5 Ideas

Social Media

Social media can be considered a very lucrative approach to creating apps, even though the competition on the market is significant. However, there is a solution: to specialize. Niche areas mean less competition. For example, creating a Tumblr-like app may lead to serious competition from the already established app. However, a social media app that focuses on crocheting, for instance, might experience less resistance. Admittedly, that approach also means a smaller user base. Most of the above-described monetization methods can be used with social media apps.

Games

Statista reports that worldwide, the mobile gaming industry will reach over 126 billion USD in 2025. The same source also suggests that the sector will keep growing over the next few years. The most common methods of making money with these apps are in-game purchases and ads. Examples of successful mobile games include PUBG MOBILE, Candy Crush Saga, and Pokémon GO. The latter uses augmented reality.

Language Learning

Language learning is another popular app idea in 2025, and its market is projected to reach 16.2 billion USD by 2033. Duolingo is the most popular app in this niche, which had more than 14 million downloads in 2024. Common methods of making money with this type of app include ads, subscriptions, and the freemium approach.

E-commerce

While the competition in e-commerce is notable, it is still possible to find a niche for a new app. After all, eBay and Etsy are very different, each catering to its audience. This field also has encouraging prospects with a market size that is projected to reach 83.26 trillion USD in 2030. The common methods of making money with these apps are ads, subscriptions and transaction fees.

Translation Apps

Helping people transcend language barriers is a very useful and lucrative idea for an app. Translation apps can focus on translating text, voice, or pictures. The market size for these apps was valued at around 3.5 billion USD in 2023, and it is projected to grow at a steady rate of over 12% annually. Google Translate and Apple Translate are among the most popular apps in this sector. It can use varied monetization methods, from one-time fees to freemium systems. 

In Conclusion

Creating apps to make money is quite possible, especially nowadays. Mobile apps keep growing more popular. Many methods of monetization, from ads to freemiums, exist. Five ideas for mobile apps that would make money in 2025 include social media, games, e-commerce, language learning, and translation apps.