In today’s digital economy, there are various promising business models that can generate most revenue with breakthrough mobile apps. Catering to the market across diverse categories ranging from gaming and entertainment, mobile finance and mobile Commerce and allied sectors, the hold that app developers hold continues to grow with immense potential for monetization.
Statista reported by the end of this year, the global mobile app industry will grow to $935 billion. Now this is a whopping data that dictates that the industry is not only growing immensely but also offers sheer opportunities for developers to gain in-demand skills for a successful carer.
Within this blog, we will identify categories of money making apps and expose techniques which make such applications effective.
The Lucrative World of Mobile Apps
Mobile application market worldwide is expected to generate the revenue of over 935 billion USD by the year 2024. This colossal figure explains the kind of prospect that the mobile apps have to generate the income. But of course, not all applications developed boast of these features when it comes to the generation of revenues. As much as there are apps that quickly have people glued to them, there are those that hardly experience the same. For that reason, it is crucial to know more about which categories of applications are profitable, and which are not, and why?
1. Gaming Apps
Gaming apps have always been leading the money making apps in the mobile app business. Gaming apps, without a doubt is revenue streaming platform to surpass $175 billion in revenue generation in 2023. Apps like PUBG, Candy Crush Saga are making billions in an year with different revenue in-app models.
- With a whopping earning of $2.6 billion with in-app purchases in 2020, PUBG mobile has created a milestone in the world of gaming apps.
- Another such app to make $1.9 billion in earnings in 2021 is Candy Crush Sagar.
There are several reasons why gaming apps are so successful in the digital era. Some of these key factors are:
- In-app Purchases: If you have ever played even a single game of Candy Crush, you will know that there are options to purchase different tools to master the level. This is called in-app purchase. Many gaming apps generate massive revenue through the same.
- Preemium Model: This is quite an interesting model in the gaming apps. This model allows users to play games for free but also excites them to make extra small purchases to compete with others and stay on the top.
- Engagement and Retention: Popular gaming apps are those with high retention and user monetization that offers the users an opportunity to spend some amount of money to advance through the game or gain a better playing arial.
2. Subscription-Based Apps
‘The big money comes from number two – and it really is big money – recurring revenue’
Paid apps by a subscription model have now taken a position of one of the most stable revenue streams in the app market. Such apps get users to pay the subscription fee, which may be on either a daily, monthly or yearly basis for them to access the paid contents or services.
Spotify alone is one such subscription based application that made $12.9 billion in revenue in 2022, just alone with subscription models. Netflix, the giant and most popular OTT platform for entertainment also reported $31.6 billion in revenue in the same year. Now., these are whopping numbers that one cannot ignore.
Why Subscription-Based Apps Succeed:
- Recurring Revenue: This type of business model leads to reliable and stable income allowing to make better estimates of the future sales and revenue growth.
- High Retention Rates: The most popular applications are those that provide users with useful and new content; this is why they can have a constant income in the long term.
- Personalization: Since some of the applications are charged based on subscription, there must be some methods by which the users are compensated for the continuous charges.
3. E-Commerce and Retail Apps
Taking the Idea of Turning Shopping Experiences into Profits
There are few convenient points to penetrate hence e-commerce and retail apps are some of the most profitable apps. It is more convenient for user to be able to search, select, and even buy the products all through their handheld devices.
Highlighting the recent statistics of e-commerce giants, Amazon reported $469.8 billion in revenue, marking it as one of the most domination e-commerce app currently in the globe. Etsy came up ith surprising numbers too, reporting $2.3 billion revenue in 2022. The key factors contributing to such giant numbers in revenue include in-app purchases, sponsor lisintgs, online advertising and affiliate marketing.
Key Revenue Drivers for E-Commerce Apps:
- In-App Purchases: First, the source of revenue to the e-commerce apps comprises of the direct sales of products such as, the amazon, eBay, and Alibaba apps.
- Affiliate Marketing: As with the previous discussion, certain types of e-commerce apps also possess extra income by way of affiliate marketing, where the apps receive percent from other sellers.
- Sponsored Listings and Ads: Retail apps can also make their money from business since the latter has a chance to place an advert or promotion of their firm or their items.
4. On-Demand Service Apps
To state – meeting immediate needs produce immediate revenues.
On-demand service applications are on the rise because there is a need to get everything at the tap of a button. These apps link people to service providers in real-time, and thus are very convenient to use. Whether it is for obtaining a ride, buying groceries or food, on-demand service apps are some of the best money making applications.
Apps like Uber and DoorDash are also predominant in this industry that are very well catering to their users’ demands. Doordash reported $6.6 billion revenue in 2022. This revenue was supported by premium sucscriptions and service fees.
Revenue Models for On-Demand Service Apps:
- Service Fees: Most of these apps usually require the service provider to pay a certain amount of money or a certain percentage for each transaction conducted hence offering a constant source of revenue.
- Dynamic Pricing: Relatively, some on-demand apps implement ‘surge’ pricing, whereby prices increase during high-demand periods so as to increase the overall earnings.
- Subscription Plans: A large number of on-demand service applications have features that provide benefits to their users in addition to the subscription fee they pay, for instance, offers that allow for the provision of services at a cheaper price or delivery of the services within a short period.
Must Read: On-Demand App Development Company
5. Social Networking and Communication Apps
Over time, the social networking and communication applications play important roles in people’s daily life and more than billions of users access those applications. Most of the apps mentioned in this list are free and have used innovative ways to revenues which make these some of the best money making apps.
The industry is dominated by apps like Facebook ad reporting $84.2 billion revenue in 2022 and snapchat making $4.1 billion in the same year. This revenue was supported by in-app purchases and advertising tools.
Revenue Strategies for Social Networking Apps:
- Advertising: Most of the applications, including Facebook, Instagram, snapchat among others source most of their income through advertisement, ad using the users’ data to market them.
- In-App Purchases: Some of the social networking apps, for instance, TikTok and Snapchat, have some features that can attract purchases within the application, for example, availing recognizable characters or unique filters.
- Freemium Model: Taking for example WhatsApp and other such communication applications, they are able to provide basic services for free while charging for other additional features like additional security or extra Cloud space.
6. Health and Fitness Apps
Living off the Convention of the Wellness Economy
As people are more concerned about their health after the tragic period of pandemic, the sudden demand of health and fitness apps grew in the last few years. These apps are dominating the market offering features like home workout, diet plans, workout routines, calorie counts and so on. Everything available at the confort of people’s homes. This marks the industry as lucrative money making apps.
Heath apps like Peloton and headspace are thriving the industry among the users. Sensor Tower reported that in 2021, fitness apss witnessed a growth of 30% in downloads with Peloton reporting $939 million subscription revenue. In the wellness space, Headspace reported $150 million annual subscriptions in 2021.
How Health and Fitness Apps Generate Revenue:
- Subscription Plans: Some popular health and fitness applications provide extra features including exercises, or mediations only to those that would pay for them.
- In-App Purchases: Some applications enable users to buy specific facilities for a definite period or within the application, for example, enhanced tracking options or extra materials.
- Partnerships and Sponsorships: This can also be achieved through advertisers or through the selling of events or challenges by the fitness applications.
App Development Services by Owebest Technologies
If you feel motivated with these best money making apps and want to design your own then Owebest Technologies is her for you. Since we offer app development services, our priority is to offer custom and appealing apps that will address your needs.
Our Services Include:
- Custom App Development: Our developers are able to create applications targeted for a specific operating system all built for performance.
- UI/UX Design: A perfect interface is the soul of any application. Our team of experts masters in making an interactive interface to grow more users on the app.
- App Monetization: Whether it’s subscriptions or in-app purchase that you focus on to multiply your revenue, we assist you in building the right strategies for business growth.
- App Maintenance and Support: We provide maintenance for the app, guaranteeing the up to day performance of the app.
Welcome to Owebest Technologies: a company dedicated to bringing your ideas to life in form of App. This is true whether you are planning on creating a gaming application, creating a subscription service, or even an e-commerce platform for your app, our team is ready to help and guide you to app success. Get in touch with us today and let us show you how we’ll develop one of the best money-making applications in the market.
Analyzing these trends and using the experience of the Owebest Technologies, you can develop the application that will be versatile and bring handsome revenues. We are here to assist you in avoiding the pitfalls of the App development cycle and transform your idea to one of the best money grossing App.