How much is your idea worth?

How this app idea estimate works

Describe an app idea in a sentence. We read it, search a database of App Store apps for the ones that do something close to it, and add up their estimated monthly revenue. What comes back is the size of the space your idea sits in, plus the list of apps already competing there.

  1. Your description is normalised into a short product statement.
  2. That statement is matched against App Store listings by meaning, not keywords.
  3. The closest 20 apps are kept and ranked by estimated revenue.
  4. Their estimates are summed into a single figure for the category.

What the number is, and what it is not

It is a measure of how much money the apps nearest your idea already take. It is not a prediction of your revenue, and it is not Apple's data. Apple publishes no per-app revenue, so figures like these are modelled estimates and coverage is partial: many apps carry no estimate at all, which pulls a category total down without meaning the category is small.

Read it alongside movement. A category worth a lot but flat is a harder place to enter than a smaller one that is climbing — see which apps are rising and the current App Store charts by country and category.

Questions

How is an app idea valued?
We find apps already on the App Store that do something close to your idea, then add up what those apps are estimated to earn. The result is a size-of-market figure for the space your idea sits in, not a forecast of what your app would make.
Where do the revenue numbers come from?
They are third-party monthly revenue estimates attached to App Store listings. Apple does not publish per-app revenue, so every figure of this kind on any site is modelled. Treat them as an order of magnitude.
Why does my idea show a low number?
Usually one of two things: the space is genuinely small, or the closest matching apps have no revenue estimate attached. Coverage is partial, so a low total can mean missing data rather than missing demand.
Does a big number mean I should build it?
No. A large total means the category earns money, which also means it is competitive and already served. A small total in a growing category is often the better opening. Check the ranking trend, not just the size.
What should I do with the list of similar apps?
Read it as your competitive set. Look at how long each has been live, how it ranks now, and whether it is climbing or sliding. An app idea competes against what already exists, not against an empty market.