Valuation and fees
How much is my app worth? App valuation multiples explained
Short answer
How much is my app worth? Most small iOS apps sell for about 1–4x annual profit before fees, and where yours lands depends on its trend, track record, traffic, revenue model and how much of your time it needs. Compare offers by what you net after fees: marketplaces and brokers take about 3–15% (marketplaces roughly 6–10%, FE International 3–5%, Empire Flippers up to 15% or a $10,000 minimum); a direct buyer takes nothing.
Want your own number? The free app valuation calculator checks your App Store listing and gives a range, with what moves it, in about 2 minutes.
Disclosure: I buy apps directly, so a direct offer from me is one of the routes compared here. Marketplace figures link to each platform’s own pages, checked September 2026.
Want a number for your app now? Try the free app valuation calculator
Is an app valued on revenue or profit?
An app is valued on profit, not revenue. Buyers start from your net profit: proceeds after Apple’s 15–30% commission, minus everything the app costs to run: ad spend, servers, APIs, tools, contractors. For small apps this is often called SDE (seller’s discretionary earnings): profit before paying yourself.
Then they apply a multiple. The multiple is a price for risk and growth: how confident the buyer is that the profit continues, or grows, after you leave.
What multiples do apps sell for in 2026?
Published sources put most app sales at about 1–4x annual profit, with the average around 2–3x. They quote multiples on different bases, which confuses a lot of founders, so here they are side by side:
| Source | Reported multiple | Basis | ≈ Monthly profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| RevenueCat (app sale guide) | 1–3x | Annual profit | 12–36x |
| Empire Flippers | ~1.5–4x+ | 12-month average net profit | 18–48x+ |
| Flippa (apps over $25K, H2 2024) | 2.93x | Annual profit | ~35x |
| Flippa (apps over $25K, H1 2025) | 3.39x | Annual profit | ~41x |
| Flippa (apps, 2025) | 2.4x average, 5.4x top quartile | Annual profit | ~29x average |
| Acquire.com (all deal types under $100K net income, 2025) | 3.7x average | Annual net income | ~44x |
| Acquire.com (SaaS, not apps, 2025) | 3.9x median | Annual profit | ~47x |
| My direct offers | 12–60x, up to 120x | Monthly profit (last 3 months, averaged) | 12–60x (up to 120x for apps with 5K+ monthly downloads and little or no revenue), no fees |
Figures as published by each source, checked September 2026. The monthly column is simple arithmetic (annual multiple × 12). SaaS multiples run higher than mobile apps.
Two things are worth noticing. First, marketplace figures describe apps that actually sold; many listings never do. Second, those prices are before the seller pays fees. Small apps tend to sit at the lower end of the 1–4x range; see what a small app is worth.
There is no public data that splits app multiples by platform, so the same profit-based logic applies if you sell an Android app.
How much can I sell my app for?
You can usually sell your app for about 12–48 times its monthly profit, the 1–4x annual range above. This table is pure arithmetic from those published multiples:
| Monthly profit | Low end (1x annual) | Middle (2.5x annual) | High end (4x annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $12,000 | $30,000 | $48,000 |
| $2,000 | $24,000 | $60,000 | $96,000 |
| $3,000 | $36,000 | $90,000 | $144,000 |
| $5,000 | $60,000 | $150,000 | $240,000 |
| $10,000 | $120,000 | $300,000 | $480,000 |
A guide, not an offer. Based on the published 1–4x annual-profit multiples above (checked September 2026), before fees. Your trend, traffic and store history decide where in the range you land.
Can I use listing prices as comparables?
Only with care. A price on a marketplace listing is what the seller is asking, not what a buyer paid; many listings sell below it, and many never sell. Flippa’s own guide even suggests sellers start around 2–2.5x annual net profit as an asking price (Flippa help center, checked September 2026), which is a listing rule of thumb, not a sale price. Asking prices also come before the seller’s fees. Use sold-price data (the reports in the table above) for the market, and your own numbers for your app: the app valuation calculator turns them into a range in about two minutes. If you already have an offer, here’s how to check it.
What pushes an app’s multiple up or down?
Trend, track record, traffic source, revenue model, concentration, owner time and technical health move the multiple most. The app valuation calculator scores your app on each of these (plus margin and public App Store signals) and shows how much every factor pushes your number up or down.
| Factor | Higher multiple | Lower multiple |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue trend | Growing for 6+ months | Declining |
| Track record | 3+ years of stable revenue | Under 12 months |
| Traffic | Organic App Store search, strong keyword rankings | Mostly paid installs |
| Revenue model | Subscriptions with good renewals, many annual plans | Ads or one-time purchases only (see selling an ad-supported app) |
| Concentration | Spread across countries and keywords | One country, one keyword, or one ad channel |
| Owner time | A few hours a week | Needs the founder full-time |
| Tech & store health | Modern code, clean App Review history | Old SDKs, rejections, incentivized reviews |
Which offer nets me more after fees?
The offer that nets you more is the one with the highest price after fees, not the highest headline price. Here’s a $50,000 sale through different routes, using each platform’s published seller fees, checked September 2026:
| Route | Seller fee on $50K | You net (before escrow & tax) |
|---|---|---|
| Empire Flippers (broker) | $10,000 minimum commission | $40,000 |
| Flippa (marketplace) | 10% success fee = $5,000, plus a listing package | under $45,000 |
| Acquire.com (marketplace) | 8% = $4,000, plus $25 a month while listed | under $46,000 |
| Microns (marketplace) | 8% (deals $10K+) = $4,000 | $46,000 |
| Direct buyer (me) | $0 | $50,000 |
Fee schedules change; check each platform’s pricing page before deciding. Escrow is extra and usually split by agreement; when you sell to me, I pay it. Escrow.com’s calculator shows about 1.9–2.4% at this size (checked September 2026). Full breakdown of marketplace fees.
So a $46,000 direct offer matches a $50,000 marketplace sale, arrives in about 14 days instead of months, and never goes on a public listing. At the same price, selling directly always leaves you with more.
How does a direct buyer value an app?
I value an app at around 12–60x monthly profit (average of the last 3 months), depending on trend, revenue quality and risk. Growing, organic, low-maintenance apps reach 50–60x. I start from the average monthly profit of the last 3 months, then look at the trend over the past 6–12 months, the traffic sources, the subscription metrics, and the App Store history. If there’s upside I can see (untranslated markets, a weak listing, untested pricing), I’m sometimes willing to pay for part of it. My app valuation calculator runs the same logic on your numbers, and how I value an app sets out the factors one by one, with worked examples.
Special case: strong downloads, low profit. Apps with little or no revenue are a fit too if they get 5K+ downloads a month; then downloads set the price, up to 120x monthly profit. I look at where the downloads come from and how well they could be monetized.
Market evidence and my own buying range answer different questions: the first is what apps have sold for on marketplaces, before fees; the second is what I pay, with nothing taken off. Here they are on one scale:
Market evidence
1–4x annual profit
≈ 12–48x monthly profit, what sold apps fetched
My buying range
12–60x monthly profit
= 1–5x annual profit, last 3 months averaged
- Up to 120x for apps with 5K+ monthly downloads and little profit
- No fees for you, and I pay the escrow fee
- Paid in full, in cash, at closing
Put simply: 12–60x monthly profit, up to 120x for apps with 5K+ monthly downloads but little profit, and you keep all of it. No fees, no public listing, payment in full, in cash, at closing (I pay the escrow fee), and a deal that typically closes about 14 days after the first message, everything included. Compare what you’d net, not headline multiples.
How can I increase my app’s value before selling?
You increase your app’s value by making profit easy to verify, less dependent on you, and still trending up when you sell. To see which lever matters most for your app, the app valuation calculator ends with a “How to raise it” list that prices each one in dollars. Already holding an offer that looks low? See how to check it and respond.
- Clean up your numbers. Separate app costs from personal expenses so profit is easy to verify.
- Stop unprofitable ad spend. Buyers value profitable, organic revenue over bought growth. Keep the campaigns that pay back; more in selling an app that runs on paid ads.
- Fix the obvious. Crashes, broken purchase flows, outdated screenshots.
- Document the app. How to build, release, and run it. Less founder dependence means a higher multiple.
- Don’t wait for decline. The best multiple is while the trend still points up.
Get your own number first with the free app valuation calculator. Once you know it, the next step is the sale itself. Here’s how to sell an app, step by step.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an app with 10,000 downloads worth?
Downloads alone don’t set a price; profit does. An app with 10,000 monthly downloads and $2,000 monthly profit might sell for roughly $24,000–$96,000 at 1–4x annual profit; the same downloads with no revenue are valued on potential and usually sell for much less. If your app gets 5K+ downloads a month but earns little or nothing, downloads set the price in my offers, up to 120x monthly profit. Enter your downloads in the app valuation calculator and it tells you when that case may apply.
How much is an app with 1 million users worth?
Users alone don’t set the price; profit does, or, for apps that earn little, steady monthly downloads. A million downloads over the years with no revenue can be worth little, while an app with far fewer users and steady subscription profit can sell for 1–4x its annual profit. Start from monthly profit and monthly downloads, not the total user count.
Should I use a monthly or an annual multiple?
Both are used, so always check the basis. Marketplaces and brokers usually quote annual profit (about 1–4x for apps); I quote monthly profit, averaged over the last 3 months (12–60x, up to 120x for apps with 5K+ monthly downloads but little profit). Divide a monthly multiple by 12 to compare it with an annual one, and remember that marketplace prices are before about 3–15% in fees; my offers have none.
Is my app valued on revenue or profit?
Profit. Revenue matters only as the starting point: take proceeds after Apple’s commission, subtract running costs and ad spend, and that profit is what the multiple is applied to.
Do subscription apps sell for more?
Usually, yes, if renewals are healthy. Recurring revenue is more predictable, so buyers pay more for it; apps with poor retention or mostly weekly plans can still be discounted. More on selling subscription apps.
What if my app’s revenue is declining?
It still sells, but at the lower end of the range. Be upfront about the reason (for example, stopped ads, a lost keyword, an iOS change). A buyer who can fix the cause may still pay a fair price.
Is there a free app valuation calculator?
Yes. My free app valuation calculator checks your public App Store listing, asks for your numbers and a few answers, and gives a range with a breakdown of what moves it, in about 2 minutes. Treat any calculator as a starting point; a real offer needs verified numbers.