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There are about 5.15 billion mobile users in the world and more than 700 million in India. And of all the time they spend on the mobile phones, 90% is spent on applications. The usage of mobile applications – be it for android phones or iOS phones – is undeniable. This statistics is like a green flag, encouraging business, to invest in developing a mobile application for their businesses. No wonder, today in 2020, Apple App Store has about 1.85 million apps, while Google Play about 2.56 million apps available for users to. 

Mobile applications are a great way to help your business create your brand identity, increase the traffic, improve the conversions, and thus revenue. Not only that, but if your app will also directly earn money for you. And let’s be real, no matter what type of mobile application you develop, the underline need is to make money, or else why would you spend on Mobile app development cost if it is not going to get you some real money?  

So, How to Build a Mobile App that actually makes money? Well, there are various monetization models through which your mobile application can earn.

• Premium Apps:

Premium Apps or Paid Apps are those mobile apps, which require the users to pay a one-time download fee for the app. However, 90% of apps available on iOS mobile device and 95% of apps available on android mobile device are free. Wondering why? Well, for obvious reasons, users prefer free applications. You may than wonder, why choose to make Premium Apps? Well, there are users out there who are willing to pay if you are able to provide value for their money. For example, premium apps in educational field perform well.  Premium Apps will get you good money, but to get people to download your app, you may require advertising for your app. The cost spent to get one person to download your app should first be calculated. Also, to determine the price of your app, study the average prices which your competitors are charging.

• In-app Ads:

Even if you are providing your app free of cost, you can make money by affiliate marketing within it. Here you allow for advertising of the products of your affiliates within your app. The ads can be Banner ads i.e. which appear at the bottom or top, video ads, rich media ads, etc. Initially In-app ads won’t bring you much money, but once you have increased number of users, you’ll be able to make good money either on the basis of CPC i.e. Cost Per Click, CPV i.e. Cost Per View, or CPI Cost Per Install, etc.

• In-app Purchases:

In-app purchases enable you to make great money. Your app will be essentially free, but you allow for purchases right within the app. The purchases can either be made for consumable products – which can be used just once such a s virtual points or money, etc. which are very much common in mobile games; or the purchases can also be non-consumable – which are permanent for use such as some additional features or functions within your app. In-app Purchases also includes subscription which we’ll discuss below in detail.

• Subscription Apps:

Subscription is a recurring payment or repeat fee which you ask of your users. The subscription is normally monthly, however, you can also provide longer options such as quarterly subscription, yearly subscription, etc. Subscription Apps are mostly freely downloadable, thus, you can get large number of downloads and thus users. You can provide users free access to some of your features. And if they want a full access to all your services/feature, they’ll have to subscribe for it. In this method, due to free download, you’ll get access to users, whom you can persuade to subscribe. The subscription can also be layered so that for less costing subscription you provide some features/services, and for more costing subscription you can provide extra layer of features. Access to media, or add free access is included in subscription apps. Netflix, Amazon, etc. are some examples.

• Freemium Apps:

These are free to download applications. They provide features which are free for users, while also provide some premium features which are set up with a paywall, so that to get access to these premium features, users need to pay up. Thus, you’ll be having two versions of your app – one free and another paid. The ones who are using your free app, if interested to spend for extra features/services, will then be directed to the playstore for the paid version of your app. The payment is one-time and not recurring like that of Subscription apps.

As a Mobile App Development Company, we have been developing applications for quite some time with our team of expert designers and developers. Based on our experience, we suggest that before you begin building your mobile app, you should have in place a strategy which will help you achieve your goal. No matter what app you build, it can be strategized to make good money for you.