“Users are willing to pay more for meaningful AI-driven experiences — but simply adding AI isn’t enough,” said Jacob Eiting, chief executive officer of RevenueCat. Developers must build something that is “unique and sticky,” he said.
The report examined data from 2024 and found that “subscriptions alone don’t cut it any longer,” and 35% of apps now mix subscriptions with consumables or lifetime purchases, a trend that is growing, Eiting wrote separately in a blog post.
“Hybrid monetization models are a strong way to capture more revenue without losing the benefits of subscriptions,’’ Eiting said, noting that gaming (nearly 62%) and social & lifestyle (39%) are “leading the way.”
One of the main findings is that most apps fail to garner $1,000 in monthly revenue within their first two years. The median number of days to reach $1,000 is 60, according to the report.
The top 5% of newly launched apps make $8,880 in earnings – over 400x as much revenue after two years as the bottom 25%, which make no more than $19, according to the report. “This gap has widened dramatically since last year’s 200x difference, proving that the best apps optimize pricing, iterate fast, and retain users better,’’ the report said.
Top app categories users download to trial
The report shows that health and fitness including medical apps are most often purchased for trial (24%), followed by utilities including weather, reference, and finance at 23%, education (21%) and photo & video (20.5%).
Cancellations within one month
Nearly 30% of annual subscriptions are canceled in the first month, according to the report. “If you don’t win them back over, at the end of that first year, they’re gone,’’ Eiting said. “The most successful apps engage early and continuously deliver value, giving users reasons to stick around long enough to renew.”
Monthly vs. annual plans
Monthly subscriptions drive the highest reactivation rates, likely due to lower commitment barriers, the report said, followed by weekly plans at nine percent, while yearly plans “struggle.”
In terms of categories, photo & video and productivity lead in monthly reactivations, while gaming underperforms, and the report speculates that this may be due to player fatigue. Shopping also struggles, possibly because of limited recurring engagement, the report said. Media & entertainment and photo & video show the strongest reactivations as both benefit from continuous content refreshes, the report said.
