Guides
Choosing, pricing, launching and growing an app, from what the stores already show.
Finding app ideas
- How to find a profitable app nicheWhere app niches come from, what separates the ones that make money from the ones that only get downloads, and the signs that a niche has room for one more app.7 min read
- How to find product ideas in app store reviewsLow-star reviews are the most honest product research there is. How to read them, what separates a real gap from one person's bad day, and how to turn a repeated complaint into a better app.6 min read
- How to find app ideas in 2026: seven places that still workBrainstorming produces ideas everyone has. These seven sources produce ideas people already search for and pay for: store suggestions, reviews, neglected leaders, other countries, your own job and more.8 min read
- AI app ideas that last: how not to build a wrapperAdding AI to an app is easy; building an AI app that survives the next model release is not. How to tell a durable AI app idea from a thin wrapper, and what users already complain about.7 min read
Validating an idea
- How to validate an app idea before you build itSix checks you can run in the App Store and Google Play in an afternoon: demand, money, competition, momentum, complaints and the traps that make a niche look better than it is.8 min read
- Mobile app or micro SaaS: which should you build?How a mobile app and a small web SaaS differ for a solo developer: how customers find you, how you get paid, what you keep, and what each asks of you after launch.6 min read
Pricing and revenue
- How to estimate how much an app makesNeither store publishes revenue, but the store page holds enough to estimate it: ratings or installs, age and price. A four-step method, its assumptions and where it goes wrong.6 min read
- How to price an app subscriptionHow indie developers can set a subscription price: read what the leaders charge, anchor yearly against monthly, decide on a trial and a lifetime plan, and check the numbers with lifetime value.7 min read
- Paywall best practices for indie appsWhere to show a paywall, hard versus soft, what to put on it, how to handle free trials, and the mistakes that turn into one-star reviews. For subscription apps on iOS and Android.7 min read
- Subscription vs one-time purchase: which should your app use?When a subscription is fair and when users resent it, what a lifetime or one-time unlock is good for, and how to choose a pricing model from what the leaders in your niche already charge.6 min read
- How much money do apps make?Why most apps earn little and a few earn a lot, the funnel from installs to revenue with a worked example, and how to estimate what the apps in your niche make from their store pages.7 min read
Building, launching and growing
- App Store vs Google Play for indie developersHow the two stores differ for a small team — what each shows you about a niche, how people pay, and a simple way to decide where to launch first.6 min read
- Building an app with AI: what to check before you shipAI coding tools can build an app in a weekend. Store review, privacy rules, payments and support still take the same care. A checklist for shipping an AI-built app to the App Store and Google Play.8 min read
- ASO checklist for a new appEvery field that decides where a new app ranks and whether people install it, for the App Store and Google Play: name, subtitle, keywords, description, screenshots, ratings and updates.9 min read
- How to get more app ratings and reviewsWhy ratings matter for ranking and installs, when and how to ask with the stores' own prompts, what both stores forbid, and how replying to reviews turns one-star ratings around.6 min read
- How to market an app with no budgetThe free channels that work for indie apps — store search, communities, launch sites, content and building in public — what each is good for, and the order to use them in.8 min read