My app acquisition criteria

Which platforms do you buy on?

• iOS first. The App Store is where I operate my own portfolio, so it’s where I can value an app quickly and grow it after the sale.
• Android apps when the fit is right. I’ve bought on Google Play before, and the process is the same on my side. See selling your Android app for what changes in the transfer.
• Both platforms? Send both. Tell me how revenue splits between them, because that usually decides how the deal is structured.

What size deals do you do?

Deals of any size, up to $1M+. That covers apps earning a few hundred dollars a month at one end and $50K+ a month at the other. There is no minimum deal size, and the size of the app doesn’t change how I buy it: the same reply time, the same escrow, the same transfer. The three apps on my deals page ran from about $20K to about $100K.

Which categories fit best?

Apps people open because they need to do something, not because they’re bored:

• Utilities: scanners, PDF and file tools, device and printing utilities, photo tools, security and authenticator apps. More on selling a utility app.
• Productivity and business: note, task, document, invoice and small-business tools.
• Everyday tools: the small single-purpose apps that solve one problem well and get used again next month.
• AI wrapper mobile apps: yes, I buy these. What I check is in selling an AI wrapper app.

Which revenue models work?

All the normal ones, as long as the money is real and repeatable:

• Subscriptions, which is the most common mix in what I buy. What I look at is in selling a subscription app to me.
• One-time purchases and paid apps, valued on how steadily new buyers arrive.
• Ads, usually alongside subscriptions. See selling an ad-supported app.
• Mixed, which most real apps are.

What track record do you need?

• A track record, the longer the better. There’s no minimum age, but a few months of revenue is thin evidence next to a year or more, and the price reflects that.
• Steady revenue, measured as the average of the last 3 months. Growing is better; flat is fine; a sharp recent drop needs an explanation.
• A clean store history: an account in good standing, no open rejections or guideline problems, and nothing that would block an App Store transfer.
• Owner workload you can describe. If the app needs a few hours a month, say so. If it needs you personally every day, that lowers the price rather than ending the conversation.

What don’t you buy?

• Games, of any size.
• SaaS and web-only products. The app has to live on the App Store or Google Play.
• No revenue and few users. An app that earns little or nothing needs 5K+ downloads a month; below that there’s nothing to value yet.
• Apps I can’t legally take over: content or code you don’t own, unresolved disputes, or a store account that can’t transfer.

If your app is in one of those groups, a marketplace is usually the better route, and where to sell an app says which one fits what.

What happens after you send an app?

1. You send the basics: the store link and rough monthly proceeds and costs (average of the last 3 months). Nothing else is needed for a first look.
2. I review it myself and reply within 1 hour, with either a direct question, an indicative range, or an honest no.
3. An offer, with the reasoning behind the number.
4. Checks, light and specific: App Store Connect numbers, costs, and anything unusual. The seller’s side of this is in the due diligence checklist.
5. Escrow. Payment goes through Escrow.com, so the money is secured before the app moves.
6. The transfer, through Apple’s official App Store app transfer (or the Google Play equivalent), then a practical handover.

The whole thing takes about 14 days from first message to a closed deal, everything included, and costs you nothing: I’m the buyer, not a broker or marketplace, so there is no listing fee or commission. An NDA is available on request.

Not sure whether you fit?

Get a number first with the free app valuation calculator, read how selling directly works, or just send the app. An honest no costs you one email and tells you something useful. How my criteria compare with what marketplaces and brokers ask for is in app buyer requirements.