Subscription apps: Why only a few apps are growing strongly Apfelpatient

Subscription apps have long since become an integral part of the app economy. Many developers rely on recurring revenue rather than one-time purchases because this allows for long-term and predictable sales. At the same time, the market is changing rapidly. New technologies, increased competition, and shifting user habits mean that not every app benefits from this growth.

RevenueCat's "State of Subscription Apps 2026" report analyzes market developments and examines the sustainability of the subscription app business model. The analysis is based on extensive data on revenue, pricing strategies, user retention, and monetization models.

The results show a clear trend: While some apps are growing extremely fast, it is becoming significantly more difficult for many others to establish themselves successfully in the long term.

The market for subscription apps has changed dramatically in recent years. Developing new apps, in particular, has become easier. Modern development tools, AI support, and new ways of working, such as vibe coding, have significantly lowered the barriers to entry for developers.

The result: In 2025, a record number of new app releases was achieved. Never before have so many apps been launched as in this period.

Despite this strong momentum, the report reveals another, less obvious trend. While the market is growing overall, revenues are becoming increasingly unevenly distributed. Particularly striking is the widening gap between the most successful apps and the rest of the market.

RevenueCat describes this development as an "increasingly disappearing middle ground." Mid-range apps are losing importance, while top-performing apps are growing strongly and weaker apps are increasingly losing ground.

An increasingly disappearing middle ground in the market

The data from the report clearly shows how much the market for subscription apps is diverging.

The top 25 percent of apps increased their monthly recurring revenue (MRR) by 80 percent year-over-year. The trend is even more pronounced for the most successful applications: the top 10 percent of apps saw their revenue increase by a staggering 306 percent.

In contrast, the picture is quite different at the lower end of the market. The bottom quartile of apps saw a 33 percent decline in revenue. The vast majority of applications only achieved moderate growth of 5 percent.

These figures show that the subscription app market is increasingly dominated by a small group of particularly successful apps. Applications without clear differentiation or a strong user base have a significantly harder time achieving sustainable growth.

Record number of new apps – but declining chances of success

Another focus of the report is the development of new apps. Thanks to AI-powered tools and simplified development processes, significantly more developers can now publish their own apps.

This led to a new record for app releases in 2025. However, a high number of new apps does not automatically guarantee greater success in the market.

The share of new apps that achieved at least $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue has even decreased slightly.

2024: 19 percent of new apps reached this threshold
2025: only 17 percent

A similar trend is evident even with higher revenues. The share of new apps generating more than $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue also declined.

2024: 5.3 percent of new apps
2025: 4.6 percent

This trend shows that competition in the subscription app market has intensified significantly. Although more apps are being released, fewer are succeeding in generating high revenues.

Successful categories in the subscription app market

The report also analyzes in which app categories new applications are particularly successful.

In the Photo & Video category, most new apps surpassed the $1,000 monthly recurring revenue mark, accounting for 21.4 percent of the market. This category benefits from consistently high demand for image and video editing tools.

When it comes to particularly high revenues, however, another category leads the way. Gaming apps most frequently reach the $10,000 monthly recurring revenue mark, accounting for 8.9 percent of total revenue. Other areas, by contrast, are considered significantly more difficult for new providers. According to the report, the following categories are particularly challenging:

Education
Productivity
Travel
Shopping
Business

The market in these areas is already highly saturated. New apps must therefore offer particularly clear unique selling points in order to prevail against established solutions.

Pricing strategies and lifetime value

Besides the category, pricing also plays a crucial role in the success of subscription apps. The report reveals significant differences between high-priced and low-priced offerings.

High-priced apps generate significantly higher revenue per user. The median lifetime value per user per year is $62.19.

For low-priced apps, this figure is significantly lower, at $10.69 per user per year. However, the trend in user retention is interesting. Cheaper apps retain their users longer on average.

Low-priced apps: 36 percent average retention rate
High-priced apps: 23 percent average retention rate

This means that while more expensive apps generate more revenue per user, cheaper apps often build more stable and long-term user relationships.

Paywalls convert significantly better than freemium

Another important point in the report concerns the monetization strategy. According to RevenueCat, paywalls achieve significantly better conversion rates than classic freemium models. Apps with paywalls convert users into paying subscribers almost six times more often than freemium apps.

Despite this large difference in conversion rates, there are hardly any differences between the two models in terms of user retention.

Paywall apps: 27 percent retention
Freemium apps: 28 percent retention

These figures show that paywalls can be a very effective tool for monetization without significantly impacting the long-term use of the app.

The market for subscription apps is becoming increasingly competitive

RevenueCat's "State of Subscription Apps 2026" report paints a clear picture of the current market for subscription apps. The business model remains attractive and can generate high revenues. At the same time, competition is becoming significantly fiercer.

Particularly striking is the growing gap between highly successful apps and the rest of the market. While top apps are massively increasing their revenue, many other applications are struggling with stagnant or even declining sales.

Even for new apps, getting started is becoming more difficult. Although more and more applications are being released, fewer of them achieve high monthly revenues.

The data also shows that factors such as category, pricing strategy and monetization model are crucial for the long-term success of subscription apps.

RevenueCat points out that the current report is only part one of a two-part analysis. The second part will contain additional evaluations and regional breakdowns. Further insights into market developments will follow once it is published. (Image: Shutterstock / SashaMagic)