How Indie Developers Make Money From Apps: Ads, In-App Purchases, Subscriptions and Coins
Building an app is the fun part. Deciding how it pays for itself is where many indie projects stall. Should you show ads? Charge upfront? Add a subscription? There is no universal answer, and anyone promising a formula for guaranteed app income is selling something.
What we can offer is a clear map of the main models, the trade-offs we have seen, and examples from the apps we ship at CellHubs. We use different models for different apps on purpose, and the reasons are more useful than any single number.
The five main ways apps make money
1. Advertising
You give the app away and show ads, usually through a network such as Google AdMob.
Works well when: the app solves a quick, frequent task for a large audience and people would not pay upfront.
Watch out for: ads that interrupt the core task, privacy disclosures you must keep accurate, and the fact that ad income depends heavily on audience size.
Our example: ExifTool and Total Media Converter are free and ad-supported. People open them to view or strip photo metadata or convert a file, finish in a minute and move on. Charging upfront would block most of them from ever trying.
2. Ads plus a paid “remove ads” upgrade
The free tier carries ads; a purchase removes them.
Works well when: some users use the app intensively for a period and are happy to pay for a calmer experience.
Our example: Thi Lái Xe 600, our Vietnamese driving theory test app, is free with ads. An optional VIP upgrade, available for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months or lifetime, removes ads. Learners study hard for a few weeks before their exam, so time-limited options match how they actually use the app.
3. In-app purchases and virtual currency (coins)
Users buy individual items, or buy coins and spend them on items.
Works well when: the app has many discrete pieces of content and different users want different pieces.
Watch out for: clear prices, honest descriptions, and making sure purchases are restorable across devices.
Our example: in WidgyKit, free widgets need no account, while premium widgets are unlocked with coins or bought as themed bundles. Unlocked widgets stay with the buyer. Coins also make a creator marketplace possible: creators set prices in coins for widgets they design. We wrote a separate guide on selling widgets on the WidgyKit Creator Marketplace.
4. Subscriptions
Users pay monthly or yearly for ongoing access.
Works well when: the app keeps delivering new value, such as new content, sync or cloud storage, that costs you money to provide.
Watch out for: subscription fatigue. Users expect a subscription to keep earning its price every month, and stores require clear cancellation paths.
Our example: WidgyKit Pro is a monthly or yearly subscription that unlocks every premium widget while it is active, managed by the App Store or Google Play. Widgets unlocked with coins or bundles stay the user’s even if Pro ends, which keeps the two models fair to each other.
5. Freemium for business (seats)
Individuals use the app free; teams pay per seat for management features.
Works well when: the product solves a work problem and the buyer is a business, not a consumer.
Our example: SnapID Mark, our verified timestamp camera, is free for personal use, and every business workspace includes 5 free seats. Larger 10, 25, 50 and 100 seat plans are coming.
A sixth option: free now, paid later
Some tools start free to build trust and add paid tiers once the value is proven. ADB Kit is free today, and a paid plan for automation is planned. Lịch Âm Việt, our Vietnamese lunar calendar, has no ads and no purchases at all. Not every app needs to be the one that pays the bills.
How to choose a model: a practical checklist
- How often is the app used, and for how long? Brief, occasional use leans toward ads. Daily, long-term use can support a subscription.
- Does serving a user cost you money? Servers, storage and data providers point toward subscriptions or seats.
- Is the value content people want to own? Coins, bundles and one-time unlocks fit.
- Who pays: a person or a company? Businesses buy seats and features like dashboards and exports.
- What would annoy your best users? Design the free tier so it stays genuinely useful.
- Can you explain the price in one sentence? If not, simplify.
Test monetization flows like any other feature
Purchase and ad bugs cost you money directly and are easy to miss in an emulator. Before each release:
- Install the release candidate on real devices. With ADB Kit you can install an APK from the browser after a confirmation prompt, with no platform-tools to set up. See how to install an APK from your browser.
- Stream logcat while you buy, restore and cancel. Filter by your app’s tags to catch billing errors and ad SDK warnings in real time.
- Screenshot and record every paywall state. Store reviewers and support tickets both benefit from clear evidence. Our screenshot, screen record and logcat cheat sheet covers the details.
- Test without a network. Check that restored purchases, offline content and ad placeholders behave sensibly.
- Test on Wi-Fi when cables are inconvenient. See ADB over Wi-Fi with ADB Kit.
Honest expectations
Most apps never earn enough to replace a salary, and the ones that do usually took years of steady improvement. Monetization does not create value; it captures part of the value users already feel. Start with a product people come back to, pick a model that matches how they use it, keep your privacy disclosures accurate and measure before you change anything.
Summary
Indie developers mainly earn through ads, ad removal upgrades, in-app purchases and coins, subscriptions and business seats, often combined. Match the model to how often people use your app, what it costs you to serve them and who pays. Then test every money path on real devices before you ship. Try ADB Kit free in your browser or on your phone for your next release test.
FAQ
Which app monetization model is best for an indie developer?
There is no single best model. Ads suit utilities used briefly by many people, subscriptions suit apps that keep delivering new value, one-time purchases or coins suit content people want to own, and seat plans suit tools that teams use for work. Many apps combine two models.
Can I combine ads and in-app purchases?
Yes. A common pattern is a free app with ads plus a paid upgrade that removes them. Our driving test app, for example, is free with ads and offers an optional VIP upgrade that removes ads.
How do I test monetization flows before release?
Run them on real Android devices and watch the logs. ADB Kit lets you stream logcat, take screenshots, record the screen and install APKs from your browser or phone, which helps you catch purchase and ad errors before users do.
A local-first workspace for Android in your browser and on your phone: mirror and control a device, capture screenshots and recordings, install APKs, stream logcat and move files over USB or Wi-Fi.