Hey everyone!

I'm an indie developer building a workout tracking app for Android and iOS.

Recently, I decided to experiment with Meta ads to see whether a small advertising budget could actually bring in new users.

I spent around $85 (€73 / 316 PLN) targeting Android users in Poland.

Here are the results:

• 29,039 impressions
• 339 clicks
• ~72 app installs reported by Meta
• $1.18 average cost per install
• Best ad set: ~$0.80 per install
• Worst ad set: ~$5.90 per install

During the campaign, my registered user count grew from 132 to 200 (+51.5%).

But what makes me happier is that 8 new users are now actively working out with the app, logging roughly 1–2 workouts per week.

For a small indie project, that actually means a lot to me.

My biggest mistake: spreading the budget too thin

I started with 5 different ad sets, testing different creatives and audiences.

As the results came in, I gradually turned off the underperforming ones:

5 ad sets → 2 ad sets → 1 ad set.

The winner was an ad focused on workout plans rather than generic fitness messaging.

Its cost per install was roughly 7 times lower than the worst-performing ad.

But here's the part I wish I'd understood before spending the money.

The learning phase

I discovered that Meta generally needs around 50 optimization events per ad set per week to stabilize delivery.

Since I was optimizing for app installs, that meant roughly 50 installs per week for each ad set.

With just $85 spread across five ad sets, I wasn't even close.

In fact, my best-performing ad set generated only about 45 installs across the entire campaign.

According to the campaign report, none of my ad sets made it out of the learning phase.

Even after narrowing everything down to one ad set, my budget was still too small to generate enough weekly events.

I had focused so much on testing different creatives that I'd overlooked how little data each ad set was getting.

What I learned

1. With a tiny budget, testing too many ad sets at once can be counterproductive.
2. The message matters. An ad about workout plans dramatically outperformed my more generic ads, although targeting differences may have contributed too.
3. Cheap installs don't automatically mean engaged users.
4. The learning phase matters, but I'm still figuring out how much weight to give it when working with small budgets.

Was the campaign profitable? I can't say yet. The increase in registrations happened during the campaign, but I can't attribute every new account directly to the ads.

Still, seeing real people actually using something I built is incredibly motivating.

I'm curious: has anyone here managed to run successful app-install campaigns with budgets this small?

Would you focus on getting enough events to exit the learning phase, or simply optimize for the lowest cost per genuinely active user?

I'd love to hear your experiences.

About 9 months ago, I launched my Android app, and it has finally crossed 10K installs.

Here are the numbers so far:

• 10.2K total installs
• $250 total revenue
• $0 spent on paid marketing
• 9 months since launch
• Android only

I know $250 in 9 months isn't a huge amount, especially compared to the success stories we usually see here. But reaching 10K installs without spending anything on advertising feels like a pretty good milestone.

The growth has been gradual rather than a sudden viral spike.

One thing I've learned is that getting downloads and actually making money from an app are two very different challenges.

I'm sharing this because we often see posts about apps making thousands of dollars a month, but not much about the smaller, more realistic journeys of indie developers.

For those who have grown Android apps organically, what would you focus on next: getting more users or improving monetization?

hey guys,

kinda nervous to post this but ngl my mindless scrolling habit got so bad recently that I was wasting like 6 hours a day on endless short-form feeds. standard app blockers didn't work for me because I would just turn them off or bypass them.

so I got frustrated and coded my own strict blocker (Android).

the concept is kinda ruthless:

• it locks whatever specific distracting apps you choose.
• you want 15 mins of screen time? you have to put the phone on the floor and literally do 15 pushups (or squats/planks). 1 rep = 1 min.
• the catch: I hooked it up to an ML camera tracker. so you can't just lie on your bed and wave your hands to fake it. if your chest doesn't go low enough or your form is trash, it rejects the rep and flashes a red error.
• if you try to uninstall it or go to settings while locked, it instantly kicks you back to the home screen.

I’m getting ready to launch it soon, but I want to be fair about monetization because I know subscription fatigue is real rn.

my questions for you guys:

1. what is a completely fair price point for this? would you prefer a cheap monthly sub (like $2-$3/month) or a one-time lifetime buy (like $20-$30)? what's the max you'd drop on this without feeling ripped off?
2. what extra feature would make this an absolute instant-buy for you?

roast the idea or give me ideas, I'm just a solo dev trying to make this actually useful. appreciate y'all.

I know that rule number 1 is never fall in love with a name until you get the all-clear, but I couldn't prevent it. My app is almost finished and ready to be published, and there is a name that just fits perfectly. Easy to remember, related to what the app does, sounds good, I love it. The problem is that currently, there are 3 apps in the App Store with such name:

A) An app with a completely different use case from what mine would do. It's also the most successful one and they have copyrighted their name in the US (but not for the services my app offers)

B) An app in an area much closer to mine, but still with a different goal in mind (e.g. it's also a gardening app, but theirs is to collect an album of plant pictures while mine is to learn about plants // just an example). Not sure how many downloads, but < 100 ratings. Let's say similarity of 40%

C) The closest one, with a similarity of 80%. It's been out for several months and doesn't seem to have too much traction (< 20 ratings)

How would you approach this situation? Are the risks really that big? I've been thinking of:

1) Offering to buy (C) (or their 'rights' to the name)

2) If their name is "X - Blabla Ble", call mine "X - Bli blu Bleble"

3) Simply go to market with the same name

What would you do in my place?

Solo fitness app, freemium, subscription live since September. Conversion was close to zero, so I counted how often each locked feature was actually tapped:

• Live coaching during a workout: shown 421 times, tapped 16
• Adaptive weekly plan: shown 708 times, tapped 15
• Advanced analysis: shown 155 times, tapped 4

On top of that, about 90% of paywall views came from onboarding, from people with zero workouts logged. They had nothing to unlock yet.

What I took from it:

• Lock what active users touch every session, not what sounds premium.
• The apps in this category that make money sell the prescription ("what should I lift today?"), not the analysis.
• Never lock logging, history, PRs or export. Taking back something people already had is the fastest way to get 1-star reviews.

Rebuilding the Pro tier around that now. Has anyone moved their locks after launch? How did existing users react?

I've been studying how small apps use TikTok slideshows. Here is the checklist I put together from what the accounts that grow seem to do. No link.

1. Make an account about the audience, not the app. A sleep-tips account for a sleep app works better than the brand account.
   
2. Slide 1 names a pain or a surprising claim, never the app.
   
3. 5-7 slides. The app appears once, on the second-to-last slide, as one item in a list.
   
4. Native, slightly rough design beats polished templates.
   
5. Post 1-3 a day and judge after 3 weeks, not 3 days. Old posts get picked up by search later.
   
6. Repost the same slideshow as an IG carousel and a Short for extra reach.
   
7. Track profile visits and installs per post, not just views.
   

What would you add? Especially curious what has flopped for people.

Disclosure: I build a tool in this space; not linking it because of the sub rules. Everything above works with Canva and a phone.

I posted here a couple of weeks ago about launching a free consumer app with zero budget, and the thread turned into a good discussion about where the profit is in free apps. My answer has not changed: Read60 is free, no paid tier, no paywall. I am focused on getting real daily users first. Charging end users is not the only way an app can earn, and I would rather build the audience before worrying about that side.

What has changed since that post: the app is now live on Android as well as iOS. It went up on Google Play on Oct 22.

For context on how it works, since that matters to the question below: there are no human picks. A background system decides which stories publish, which ones need a second look, and which go out as notifications, and it routes each story at city, state, country, or global level depending on who it matters to. New cards land roughly every two hours, each card pulls from multiple outlets, and the original article is always one tap away. When a story keeps developing, a feature called Unfold follows it across cards in order.

What I am watching now is whether a second platform changes the shape of the thing. iOS gave me my first real users and real feedback, including readers this week who pointed out that the tech summaries sometimes skip why a story actually matters. They are right, and I am looking into that feedback and trying to work the why, and how things change, into the cards more consistently. The honest limit is that 60 words cannot hold everything every time, and it should not try. If you follow a story day to day, you build the context yourself, you know what it is and where it is heading, so each card only has to carry what changed and why it matters now. Android is a much bigger potential audience, but also a different one. If daily users do not move, the platform was not the bottleneck, awareness is.

For anyone who has run a free app on both platforms: did the second launch actually change your numbers, or was it just the same trickle in a new store?

This year I built a goal planner app.

The problem statement was that a person has a lot of dreams like buying their dream car, house, plane, etc.

So to convert these dreams to goals, you need to set a proper deadline for it and should know what sub goals are important for that goal, so as a developer I built it.

This app has both normal and lock screen widgets, sends you daily reminders, ultimately reminding you of your dreams and you start to work on them.

This app made me a good revenue, and this was my first profitable app, I want to make it better for new users too.

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to this, I launched my first little iOS app recently and I've been reading this sub a lot. I'm learning so much, thank you all 🙏

Two things keep coming up that I honestly don't understand yet:

1. ASO. Everyone says "do ASO," but what does that actually look like? Is it mostly keywords in the title and subtitle, or screenshots, or something else? If you were starting from zero, what would you change first, and how do you tell if it's working?

2. "Go where people have the problem." I keep seeing this advice, but almost every community I find bans self-promotion, and I totally get why. So what does this actually mean in real life? Do you just help people for weeks and never mention your app? Or is there a way to do it that doesn't feel spammy?

Sorry if these are dumb questions 😅 I'd really appreciate any real examples of what worked for you!

I thought launching My Krishna, my first iOS app, was the hardest part. Then I had to figure out how to reach people.

A Reddit post about my first 101 downloads got around 10K views. The most useful part was the feedback: Why require login before trying it? Why no Android?

I’d focused on making the app work. Users helped me see what made it difficult to try.

I shared the lessons here:
https://www.wisehoots.ai/blog/my-krishna-after-launch

What did you change after your first users tried your app?

could anyone tell me what am I doing wrong/good but I think I've invested to much time to receive NOTHING AT ALL. on the verge of give it all up.

Hi guys, I just launched my app in the App Store. The concept is like BeReal, but with songs. So you share one song a day with your friends, before 20:00 CET. then at 20:00 the feed opens and all the songs get revealed and you can react, save them to Spotify, comment etc.
Me and my friends genuinely love the app and retention so far is great, but the problem is going to be monetisation. If its not a huge app like BeReal, I dont think there is a freemium model and also I dont want to have too much advertisements on there as well. In general it's spreading well by itself, because people are actually inviting their friends. Do you think it has potential, or is it too hard to monetise this?

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Asking Price: $500

About the App

Algebra 7 is an Android educational application designed to help 7th-grade students learn algebra and mathematics through lessons, practice tests, and interactive learning features.

The app has already been published on Google Play and has attracted thousands of downloads, providing a foundation for a new owner to expand the product and its audience.

Key Features

- Educational mathematics lessons for 7th-grade students.

- Interactive tests and exercises.

- Multiple difficulty levels.

- Student learning progress tracking.

- XP and streak features to encourage consistent learning.

- Light and dark themes.

- Multilingual support.

- Android application built with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.

Business Metrics

- Asking price: $500

- Monetization: Not monetized.

- Monthly revenue: $0.

- Monthly profit: $0.

- Existing audience: Thousands of downloads on Google Play.

- Growth opportunity: Introduce advertising, premium features, subscriptions, or additional educational content.

Technology

The application is developed using Kotlin and modern Android development technologies, including Jetpack Compose. The project includes its codebase and the existing application features.

What's Included in the Sale?

- Android application source code.

- Existing application features and project files.

- Transfer assistance for the assets included in the agreed sale.

- Assistance with the application handover and technical setup.

Any Google Play transfer, signing keys, or other assets will be handled according to the agreed terms and applicable platform requirements.

Why Buy This App?

Instead of starting an educational app from scratch, you can acquire an existing product with an established download history and build on its foundation.

The app currently generates no revenue, so this is an opportunity for a developer, educational business, or entrepreneur who wants to develop and monetize an existing Android application.

Asking Price: $500.

Interested buyers are welcome to request additional information about the app's performance and included assets.

I’m just curious to know how others with a few mobile apps that earn revenue do it. For long term I see it being helpful for each app to have an llc instead of one llc that owns each app as an asset. Unsure would like to hear from people with experience leverage a mobile app for acquisition or just building it into its own high revenue cash flow asset

Worked very hard and never thought that somebody really would get the "pro" version because its not completely developed yet. (Not all features are available yet)

Will retire now.

It's not just new accounts that spam the stores. Even established accounts, which has one or two successful products, have started spamming. Like this one; https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8144560920157160997

This should be very easy to detect for Google or Apple. It takes me 1.5 years to make an app, so if someone is publishing many apps per month, that is not a good sign.

Want to own a launched app without starting from an empty Xcode project?

I’m selling AwayTime, a native Swift screen-time blocker that helps people stop doomscrolling—with a fox companion that reacts to their screen-time habits.

The product is built and live on the App Store. Now I’m looking for someone who wants to take it further.

What you get:

- Complete native Swift source code

- Existing iOS app and App Store listing

- App blocking, daily limits, schedules, and usage reports

- Focus tools, streaks, widget, and fox character assets

- RevenueCat subscriptions and AdMob integrations

- Awaytimeapp.com domain, website, and blog

- All associated TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, including existing content

Where it stands:

Early traction: approximately 1000 downloads in the reporting period, with no subscription revenue. You’re buying the product, code, brand, and launch work—not an established income stream.

Could suit an iOS developer looking for a head start, a marketer who wants a product to grow, or someone already building in productivity and digital wellbeing.

Price: budget friendly

Open to offers. DM me for a walkthrough, analytics, and details of the handover.

First app, solo, launched July 31. Pokémon card collection tracker.

Where I'm at:

• 392 downloads, 19.5K impressions, 1.34K page views
• About 74% of downloads come from App Store search. Haven't spent a dollar on ads or reached out to a single creator
• $198 in proceeds, 74 In-App Purchases (essentially 30 trials, 10 conversions, 15 renewals, and 10 "Bolts" purchases)
• 5 subscribers at $7.99/mo
• Day 1 download to paid was 6.19% in August. It's 1.67% now
• 2 refunds, both of them Apple just granted without a word (Which I assume is normal in this. Thanks, Apple.)

The weird part is that acquisition keeps getting better and conversion keeps getting worse. Impressions and downloads are the highest they've ever been. Same paywall, same price the whole time.

I've found and fixed two real problems already. My paywall was defaulting to the $49.99 yearly instead of the $7.99 monthly, which was not how I meant it to be, and conversions went up immediately when I switched it. I also had no billing grace period turned on, so failed charges were just silently killing conversions.

The other thing is my revenue is split. There's a subscription and there's a consumable currency for extra pack openings. Roughly half my revenue is consumables. My two biggest spenders ever, $80 and $33, both spent most of it on consumables, and both bought them while subscribed or on a trial. One guy/girl cancelled their trial and then came back a week later and dropped $33 on consumables.

Stuff I'm stuck on:

1. Four of my last six trials that made it to day 7 failed with billing errors. Is that just normal bad luck with payment methods or does it sound like a StoreKit/RevenueCat config thing? How would you even check?
2. Thinking about killing the 7-day trial and doing $2.99 or $3.99 for the first month instead. Reasoning is that if you charge at signup the person is right there to fix a declined card, instead of it failing a week later when they've forgotten about it. Anyone done this? Did you lose enough people at the top to make it not worth it?
3. If consumables are outperforming the subscription, should I just lean into that instead of trying to fix the subscription?

Happy to post any number anyone wants to see.

A lot of people are getting views on their videos, but those views aren’t turning into customers.

Their videos get thousands, sometimes millions of views, but very few people visit their website, sign up, or buy anything.

Getting attention and getting customers are two different things.

If you’re using short-form videos to promote your App or SaaS, try these 3 types of content:

1. Warning Content
Show people the mistakes they’re making and what they could lose by ignoring them.

2. Value Content
Share practical tips, useful tools, or solutions people can use immediately.

3. Proof Content
Show real results, customer success stories, or what your product can actually do.
Warning creates urgency.
Value attracts potential users.
Proof builds trust.

Don’t just make videos that people want to watch. Make videos that give people a reason to use your product.