Valuation and fees
Got a low offer for your app? How to check it, and how to respond
Short answer
If an offer for your app looks low, don’t accept or reject it the same day. First check the basis: many “low” offers use a different profit figure (a 12-month average instead of the last 3 months, or costs you didn’t count) or an annual multiple where you expected a monthly one. Then ask the buyer how they got to the number, fix what’s fixable (missing proof, a misread cost, a one-off dip), and counter with a number and a reason. If it’s still below what the app is worth to you, compare it with other offers, or keep the app.
Is the offer actually low?
Put it on the same basis as your own number first. Three things cause most of the gap:
- Monthly vs annual multiple. 30x monthly profit and 2.5x annual profit are the same price. Marketplaces and brokers usually quote annual multiples; many direct buyers quote monthly ones. Divide a monthly multiple by 12 to compare.
- Which profit. The average of the last 3 months, the last 12 months, or your best month give very different numbers for a growing or seasonal app. Ask which one the buyer used.
- What counts as a cost. Ad spend, servers and APIs, tools, contractors, and sometimes a fair value for your own time. If the buyer counted a cost you didn’t, the profit, and the price, drop together.
Then compare with evidence rather than a hope: published multiples put most small app sales at about 1–4x annual profit before fees (how much is my app worth), and the app valuation calculator gives a range from your own numbers. An offer inside that range is in line with the market; what’s left is comparing what you’d net.
What should I ask the buyer?
One question does most of the work: “How did you get to this number?” A serious buyer can answer it in a few lines:
- Which monthly profit figure they used, and over which months.
- Which multiple, and why that one.
- What pulled the number down.
- What would change it.
A buyer who can’t, or won’t, explain their number is telling you something about how the rest of the deal will go.
Why do offers come in low?
Usually for reasons that are about risk, not about the buyer’s mood:
| Reason | What the buyer sees |
|---|---|
| Declining trend | Revenue falling month over month, so today’s profit may not last |
| Paid traffic | Profit that depends on ad spend and could shrink when costs rise |
| Concentration | Most revenue from one country, one keyword or one channel |
| Owner dependence | An app that needs you daily, which is partly a job, not only an asset |
| Store history | Rejections, policy warnings, bought ratings or a recent rating drop |
| Missing proof | Numbers without screenshots, which a buyer prices as uncertain |
How each factor moves a multiple, with worked examples, is in how I value an app.
What can I fix before countering?
- Missing proof: send App Store Connect or Play Console screenshots for the same months, and cost invoices. Uncertainty is often the biggest discount, and it’s the cheapest to remove.
- A misread cost: if a one-off cost (a redesign, a yearly tool) was counted as monthly, show it.
- A one-off dip: a bad month with a known cause (an outage, a store feature ending) reads differently once it’s explained with data.
- Seasonality: if the app always slows in the same months, show two years side by side.
What you can’t fix in a week is the trend itself. If revenue is really falling, a buyer will price that, and so would anyone else.
How do I counter?
- Give a number and a reason. “I’d sell at $X, because the last 3 months average $Y and the trend is flat” moves a buyer; “that’s too low” doesn’t.
- Negotiate terms, not only price. All cash at closing, who pays escrow and fees, and how fast the deal closes can be worth more than a few thousand dollars on the headline.
- Keep your floor to yourself. Decide the lowest price you’d accept before you talk, and don’t say it.
- Use real alternatives only. If you have other offers, you can say so. Inventing one is easy to see through and ends the trust you need to close.
A reply that keeps the door open without locking you in:
Thanks for the offer. I’m open to selling, but not at this price. The app has averaged $[profit] a month in profit over the last 3 months, [trend], and I’m collecting a few offers this week. If you’d like to revise yours, I’m glad to keep talking. Before any exclusivity I’d need proof of funds, a short period with clear dates, and the right to end it if the terms change.
The easiest way to have alternatives is to ask several buyers in the same week: see selling your app to several buyers.
When should I walk away?
- The price stays below what the app is worth to you if you keep running it.
- The terms move risk to you: a large earn-out, instalments, or payment “once funding closes”.
- The buyer lowers the price late in the deal without a new finding. More on that in LOI and exclusivity.
- The pressure grows while the explanation doesn’t.
Keeping the app is always an option, and a profitable app you don’t have to sell is a strong position. Should I sell my app? helps with that decision.
How do I make offers?
With the reasoning attached. I pay around 12–60x monthly profit (average of the last 3 months), and growing, organic, low-maintenance apps reach 50–60x; apps with 5K+ downloads a month but little or no profit are priced on their downloads, up to 120x monthly profit. When I send an offer, I explain the number rather than just naming it: what pushed it up, what pulled it down, and what would change it. So if you think it’s low, you know exactly what to send back.
The offer comes with no fees for you, the escrow fee paid by me, and the full price in cash at closing. Send me your app; I reply within 1 hour.
Frequently asked questions
Should I accept the first offer for my app?
Not before you’ve checked its basis and compared it with evidence: published multiples, a valuation calculator, or other offers made in the same week. The first offer can be fair; you just can’t know it until you’ve compared.
How do I know if an offer for my app is fair?
Put it on the same basis (monthly or annual multiple, which months of profit, which costs) and compare it with the 1–4x annual profit most small apps sell for before fees, and with what you would net after fees on other routes.
How much can I negotiate on an app sale?
As much as your numbers support. Buyers move for proof, a clear trend and lower risk, not for a bigger ask. Terms such as all-cash payment and who pays escrow are negotiable too.
Why is an offer based on annual profit so much lower than a monthly multiple?
It usually isn’t. 2.5x annual profit is the same as 30x monthly profit. Divide a monthly multiple by 12 before comparing the two.
What if a buyer lowers the price after due diligence?
Ask what they found. If due diligence showed something different from what you disclosed, a change can be fair. If nothing new came up, you can say no and return to your other buyers.