Apple’s App Store is continuing to be hugely profitable for those developers at the top of the pack. According to a report from Distimo, an analytics firm, the top 200 apps in the store make a combined gross revenue of $18 million daily (on average). Meanwhile those over on the Google Play Store (Android’s main equivalent) earns developers just $12 million daily. It’s not all bad news for Android though: that figure is a rise of $8.5 million over last year.
This increase might be because of the move to in-app purchases in the last year. Most of the top 200 apps are free and charge for in-game add-ons and virtual currency through in-app purchases. This method actually ensures a long-term revenue stream from the app and increases the likelihood that someone will download it to try out in the first place (since it’s free). It also helps combat piracy, especially on Android where pirating apps is easy.
