App Store Pricing Analysis
US App Store top charts across 22 categories · 2,169 paid apps priced in 10 storefronts · data pulled 2026-11-11
5,805
unique apps analyzed
99%
of top‑grossing apps are free
$3.99
median paid‑app price
98%
of paid prices end in .99
Key findings
- Freemium wins revenue. 99% of Top Grossing apps are free to download — money comes from in‑app purchases and subscriptions, not the upfront price. Lowest share: Medical (93%).
- Charm pricing dominates. 98% of paid apps end in .99; the most common price point is $0.99, and the median paid app costs $3.99.
- Category matters. Median paid price ranges from $1.99 (Social Networking) to $5.99 (Medical).
- Price vs. rank. Pooled Spearman correlation between price and chart rank is -0.12 (pricier apps tend to rank higher).
- Regional pricing. The same app is cheapest in Canada (index 94) and most expensive in United Kingdom (index 133) after converting to USD. Much of the gap is tax: UK/EU/JP/AU prices include VAT/GST while US prices do not. The UK sticker index of 133 falls to 111 once VAT is removed; tax‑adjusted, indices range from 90 (Japan) to 112 (Brazil).
- Paid apps are a long tail. Median Top Paid app is updated every 133 days vs 7 for Top Free, with far fewer ratings — the developers with ad budgets are the freemium/subscription apps.
What this means for Apple Ads
- Who buys ads: nearly all revenue-generating apps are free to download, so advertiser LTV comes from in-app purchases and subscriptions. Plan advertiser growth around freemium developers.
- Category mix as a forecast driver: engagement share (ratings volume) sizes each category's advertiser pool; median paid price is a willingness-to-pay index for spend per advertiser.
- International prioritization: compare markets on a tax-adjusted price index, not the sticker price, when sizing revenue per advertiser abroad.
- These drivers feed
reports/Apple_Ads_FPA_Model.xlsx(forecast, opex/headcount, budget-vs-actual, market NPV, sensitivity).
1 · Free‑to‑download apps dominate revenue
Share of each category's Top Grossing chart that costs $0 upfront. Dotted line = all categories.
Table
| chart_genre | apps | free_share |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 100 | 100% |
| Food & Drink | 100 | 100% |
| Health & Fitness | 100 | 100% |
| Sports | 100 | 100% |
| Social Networking | 100 | 100% |
| Entertainment | 100 | 100% |
| Reference | 100 | 100% |
| Productivity | 100 | 100% |
| Finance | 100 | 100% |
| News | 100 | 100% |
| Books | 100 | 100% |
| Lifestyle | 100 | 100% |
| Education | 100 | 99% |
| Games | 100 | 99% |
| Music | 100 | 99% |
| Photo & Video | 100 | 99% |
| Shopping | 100 | 99% |
| Navigation | 100 | 98% |
| Business | 100 | 98% |
| Weather | 100 | 96% |
| Travel | 100 | 96% |
| Medical | 100 | 93% |
2 · Price points cluster at .99
The 15 most common prices among apps in the Top Paid charts.
3 · Paid price by category
Median and interquartile range for Top Paid apps (categories with ≥ 5 apps).
Table
| chart_genre | apps | median | p25 | p75 | max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical | 98 | $5.99 | $2.99 | $14.74 | $79.99 |
| Music | 98 | $4.99 | $3.99 | $9.99 | $29.99 |
| Utilities | 98 | $4.99 | $1.99 | $9.99 | $29.99 |
| Business | 98 | $4.99 | $1.99 | $10.74 | $99.99 |
| Education | 98 | $4.99 | $2.99 | $9.74 | $249.99 |
| Productivity | 98 | $4.99 | $2.99 | $7.99 | $24.00 |
| Photo & Video | 99 | $4.99 | $2.99 | $9.99 | $29.99 |
| Health & Fitness | 96 | $4.49 | $1.99 | $5.99 | $24.99 |
| Navigation | 98 | $4.49 | $1.99 | $8.99 | $89.99 |
| Games | 99 | $3.99 | $1.99 | $5.99 | $19.99 |
| Lifestyle | 100 | $3.99 | $1.99 | $6.99 | $129.99 |
| Books | 96 | $3.99 | $2.99 | $7.24 | $49.99 |
| Reference | 100 | $3.99 | $1.99 | $8.24 | $54.99 |
| Sports | 100 | $3.99 | $1.99 | $7.99 | $29.99 |
| Finance | 100 | $3.49 | $0.99 | $5.25 | $60.00 |
| News | 97 | $2.99 | $0.99 | $4.99 | $17.99 |
| Food & Drink | 100 | $2.99 | $1.99 | $4.99 | $24.99 |
| Entertainment | 99 | $2.99 | $1.99 | $4.99 | $99.99 |
| Travel | 99 | $2.99 | $1.99 | $4.99 | $30.00 |
| Weather | 100 | $2.99 | $1.99 | $4.99 | $19.99 |
| Shopping | 98 | $1.99 | $0.99 | $2.99 | $9.99 |
| Social Networking | 100 | $1.99 | $0.99 | $3.99 | $23.99 |
4 · Does price affect chart rank?
Top Paid listings split into price quartiles; median chart position in each.
Table
| price_band | apps | median_rank | median_rating | median_reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (0.289, 1.99] | 681 | 54 | 4.17 | 12 |
| (1.99, 3.99] | 507 | 52 | 4.47 | 67 |
| (3.99, 6.99] | 477 | 42 | 4.53 | 76 |
| (6.99, 249.99] | 504 | 47 | 4.57 | 114 |
5 · Same app, different country
For each paid US app, its local price elsewhere converted to USD and indexed to the US price (100). Median across apps. Light bars = sticker price; dark bars = after removing the VAT/GST built into the local price (US and Canada list prices exclude sales tax). Sorted by tax‑adjusted index. VAT/GST rates are standard headline rates; Brazil (set to 0%) and China (6%) have more complex indirect taxes, so treat their adjusted values as approximate.
Table
| country_name | currency | apps | availability | median_index | vat_rate | net_index | p25 | p75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | JPY | 380 | 95% | 99 | 10% | 90 | 94 | 105 |
| India | INR | 377 | 94% | 107 | 18% | 90 | 107 | 107 |
| Germany | EUR | 368 | 92% | 111 | 19% | 94 | 111 | 130 |
| Canada | CAD | 391 | 98% | 94 | 0% | 94 | 88 | 98 |
| China | CNY | 286 | 72% | 105 | 6% | 99 | 102 | 113 |
| Australia | AUD | 386 | 96% | 110 | 10% | 100 | 103 | 114 |
| United States | USD | 400 | 100% | 100 | 0% | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| South Korea | KRW | 373 | 93% | 118 | 10% | 107 | 110 | 124 |
| United Kingdom | GBP | 386 | 96% | 133 | 20% | 111 | 133 | 133 |
| Brazil | BRL | 376 | 94% | 112 | 0% | 112 | 108 | 120 |
6 · Maintenance and maturity by chart
Paid apps vs. free and top‑grossing apps: update cadence, age, ratings.
| chart | apps | median_days_since_update | share_updated_90d | median_age_years | median_rating | median_reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Free | 2195 | 7 | 95% | 7.9 | 4.73 | 62,416 |
| Top Grossing | 2200 | 8 | 91% | 6.8 | 4.67 | 16,974 |
| Top Paid | 2169 | 133 | 46% | 9.7 | 4.44 | 46 |