Distimo- How Many Downloads are Needed To Hit the App Store Top 25

We already knew that life wasn’t all that easy for most iOS developers out there, and now an analytics firm called Distimo has come forward with numbers on just how many downloads are needed to break the top 25 paid and free apps. We’re about to give it away, so before reading on, take a second to guess some download numbers yourself… You might be surprised at how your guesses stack up against reality.

To get on the overall (all categories combined) top 25 free apps, a developer needs to figure out a way to garner a whopping 38,400 downloads… PER DAY. To get a paid app on the coveted list, it takes roughly 3,530 per day—a number that looks like just a fraction of 38,400, but imagine how much harder it is to get people to pay real money for your product!

If this wake up call is making you reconsider your app developing ambitions (which it probably should), then at least take heart in the fact that a spot in the categorized top app lists looks slightly more attainable. For a less popular category like photography, a developer can get on the top 25 paid apps list with only about 300 daily downloads… On the flip side, the super popular category of games commands about 25,300 daily downloads for a spot on the free list.

Now that there are plenty of numbers spinning in your head, take a second to reconsider that awesome app idea you had over lunch today. Are tens of thousand of customers going to be interested—on a daily basis? I don’t mean to be the voice of reason, but these numbers go to show just how special an app must be in order to stand out long term. Check out Distimo’s full report here (complete with even more graphs).

Note:  Some developers are pointing out that Distimo’s numbers may be a little low.  The download numbers needed to reach the top 25 during weekends are significantly higher.  Keep this in mind as you go over Distimo’s report. 

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Devin Wieland

 

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