Updated Category benchmarks, free
App Store revenue calculator
See what a subscription app earns on the App Store each month, from downloads to trials, paying subscribers and net profit after Apple's commission, costs and tax. Start from benchmark numbers for your category.
Est. monthly net profit $173.08, gross revenue $2,599.
Your monthly estimate
Steady stateFrom download to subscriber
- Downloads1,000per month
- Trials696.9% of downloads
- New subscribers2637.7% of trials
- Active subscribers26010% cancel monthly
Steady state is when new subscribers each month equal the ones who cancel. Starting from zero, you reach 90% of it in about 22 months.
Where the revenue goes
- Gross revenue$2,599
- Apple commission (30%)30% of revenue−$779.61
- Marketing1,000 downloads × $1.50−$1,500
- Server costs4% of revenue−$100.00
- AI costs0% of revenue$0.00
- Income tax (21%)2% of revenue−$46.01
- Net profit$173.08
Per subscriber
- Revenue per subscriber
- $9.99/mo
- Cost per subscriberAll costs except tax ÷ active subscribers
- $9.15/mo
- Profit per subscriber
- $0.67/mo
- Lifetime value$69.93 after Apple's commission · about 10 months per subscriber
- $99.90
- Cost to acquire a subscriberCost per download ÷ (trial rate × trial-to-paid rate)
- $57.66
- Payback periodMonths of revenue after Apple's cut to earn back the acquisition cost
- 8.2 months
Est. at steady state, before refunds and sales tax. Revenue is what subscribers pay; Apple's commission is taken from it above.
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How to estimate your App Store revenue
- 1
Pick your category
Fills in benchmark median prices, download-to-trial and trial-to-paid rates, and monthly churn. Change any number to match your app.
- 2
Set your price and plan
Monthly, annual or both. With both, set the share of subscribers on the annual plan; annual revenue is spread over 12 months.
- 3
Add your costs
Apple's commission, server and AI costs, and what you spend on marketing per download. Pick where your company pays income tax.
- 4
Read the steady state
See active subscribers once new ones equal cancellations, monthly profit, break-even downloads, lifetime value and payback.
Common questions
How much does a subscription app make on the App Store?
It comes down to downloads × trial rate × trial-to-paid rate × price, held back by churn. For example, 1,000 downloads a month with 6.9% starting a trial and 37.7% of trials paying gives 26 new subscribers a month. At 10% monthly churn that settles at about 260 subscribers, or $2,599 a month at $9.99.
What are typical subscription conversion and churn rates?
Benchmark download-to-trial rates run from 2.1% for Shopping apps to 9.1% for Business apps, and trial-to-paid from 22.2% for Photo & Video to 43.5% for Travel. Monthly churn sits between 18% and 25% across categories. Pick a category in the calculator to fill in its numbers.
How much does Apple take from subscriptions in the US and Canada?
30% by default. It drops to 15% if you've enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program (up to $1 million in proceeds), and on auto-renewable subscriptions once a subscriber has a year of paid service. See every case in the App Store fee calculator.
What does steady state mean?
The point where the new subscribers you add each month equal the ones who cancel, so the active base stops growing. It's new subscribers per month ÷ monthly churn. Starting from zero, an app gets to 90% of it in about 22 months at 10% churn, or 10 months at 22%.
How is break-even calculated?
Each monthly download brings in its lifetime subscription revenue after Apple's commission, minus what it cost to get. Break-even is your monthly server and AI costs ÷ that amount per download. If a download costs more than it earns, there's no break-even until conversion, price or cost per download changes.
Which income tax rate should I use?
US corporations pay a 21% federal rate, plus state corporate tax where it applies. In Canada the general rate is 15% federal plus a provincial rate, 11.5% in Ontario for 26.5% combined; Canadian-controlled private corporations pay less on their first $500,000 of active business income. Use custom for your effective rate. Tax only applies to a profit.
What isn't included?
Refunds, sales tax that Apple collects on top of prices, the months it takes to reach steady state, and subscribers who switch plans. Annual subscribers use the same monthly churn as everyone else, so lower it if most of yours are on annual plans. Revenue is what subscribers pay, before Apple's commission, which is taken out in the breakdown.
Sources (5) · Written by Hyunjong Choi, Go-to-market, Airbridge Core
- Category benchmarks
- 2026 subscription app industry benchmark: median monthly and annual price, download-to-trial, trial-to-paid and monthly churn by app category.
- Apple: App Store Small Business Program
- 15% commission for developers with up to $1 million in proceeds in the prior calendar year.
- Apple: Auto-renewable subscriptions
- Net revenue rises to 85% of the price after a subscriber has one year of paid service.
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1120
- US federal corporate income tax: taxable income × 21%.
- Canada Revenue Agency: Corporation tax rates
- 15% general federal rate after the general tax reduction; Ontario's general rate is 11.5%.
Every number above starts with a download.Know which campaigns bring the ones that pay.
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