Analysis of ARPD on the example of several small mobile applications and games

Introduction

I decided to write this article a month ago. But all did not dare. I am 100% sure that due to this article I will receive a lot of criticism. Like you do everything wrong, and generally a fool. And I, as they say, pay for the Internet not to insult me ​​here. Well, okay, afraid of wolves - not to go to the forest.

Every developer knows that the profit from the application can be calculated using a very simple formula:

profit = ARPD * number of Loads - expenses
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In simple terms, the profit is the number of downloads of the application * the average income from one download minus expenses. In the article I will not write anything about the costs. Someone has this private time in the evenings and $ 25 for a developer account on Google Play. And someone has millions to develop, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in a marketing budget per month. Also skip how you can increase the number of downloads. I am in this complete zero.

The bottom line is to talk about ARPD from various types of applications. Starting from live wallpaper for Android, ending with free play and adult games. Please note, I do not know how to monetize applications. All examples will be from my personal experience. For market professionals, it only remains, indulgently, to smile, looking at my performance. So the article is aimed at absolute beginners who are just trying to conquer mobile app stores.

Article structure

It so happened that my whole way in the field of developing my own applications is as follows:
office work - an attempt to make money on their applications - failure - office work ...
Accordingly, I will try to say as briefly as I could what knowledge I had before each attempt to conquer the mobile market. Nevertheless, the article turned out huge.

Live wallpaper. Android

In the summer of 2011, he worked as a senior client programmer (ActionScript 3) at the wonderful St. Petersburg company Creat Studios. We made a game for social networks - War of Tanks. Investors have decided to close the project. At this moment, the producer of the project, shared with me the information that a couple of employees from Kriat also left the studio and started developing live wallpapers for android. The figure was announced about $ 100 per month from each wallpaper. Since I myself had to look for a new job, I thought, why not try it?
The engine, after a runaway google, was chosen AndEngine 2. To deal with the engine, quickly, along with my wife, the first wallpaper was launched.



Then he found another great artist, with whom he made the second wallpaper.



There was also a call on one Internet resource, with which I found 3 more artists.

It was decided to monetize the wallpaper as follows: a slightly trimmed free version, in the settings screen of which there was an advertisement and a link to the full paid version. Here is the first blunder - LeadBolt was chosen as the advertising provider. And the error is that very many users have identified it as a virus. Thus, there were a lot of reviews with 1 star and text like “aah, don't download, virus!”.

I didn’t manage to get close to $ 100 from each wallpaper. Most likely due to insufficient quality. Although, in my opinion, there were very decent ones.



If you take on all the wallpaper, it turned out 423 downloads of paid versions to 100,677 free. Those. average ARPD for all wallpapers:
423 * $ 0.7 / 100677 == $ 0.0029
At the same time, the best indicator is $ 0.005, and the worst is $ 0.0015
Having released 6 live wallpapers, I had to admit that it was impossible to earn them.

Free to play game

Wallpaper brought nothing, but I want to eat. Once again, storming headhunter. I managed to get a job in a wonderful company Social Quantum. Also, for the position of senior client programmer, to participate in the development of the farm for social networks. But, as it probably happens with many - after six months, the work has ceased to meet development needs. In the evenings I began to learn Unity and make a maze game. And to make it more interesting to do - smugglers carrying Mexicans and drugs across the border have become key characters.



Having made a simple prototype with a dead-end graphics for a month, it was decided to go to Moscow for a conference, then also FlashGAMM. The purpose of the trip was to participate in the Speed ​​Game Dating event, where in a short time you can show your project to a couple of dozen publishers. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the prototype did not interest anyone. Despite this, I believed in him. But the level designer, a former colleague from Creat Studios, turned out to be overwhelmed by the top of his main job and left the project. The lack of interest of the publishers and the unwillingness to work further on the level designer led me to believe that it was even easier to start with the project. Literally for a month of development.

And so, I did not have time to make a prototype, as well as Social Quantum decide to close the project on which I worked. I had the choice to go to another project or quit and devote myself completely to developing my game. I chose the second option, but in order to chop off all the ends, go downstairs to Thailand so that nothing would distract.



I will not talk about development, I can only say that we managed to attract a talented game designer from Wargaming to the development, and the development was delayed for half a year. If in a nutshell, the publisher could not be found (the result of the search and samizdat resulted in a document from my previous post ), and samizdat practically did not produce results.
Well, about the numbers for which the article was started.

Android:
iAP - $ 2.76
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 114.37
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 62.7
Were still connected Revmob and Applovin, but there are generally pennies, I did not receive payments from there (too small amount).
The number of downloads - 10580
ARPD == $ 0.017

iOS
Paid app - $ 34.92
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 111.1
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 37.76
Number of downloads - 4750
ARPD == $ 0.038

Games clones

After the “deafening” success of the Jelly Fruit, I decided not to do my projects with labor costs for more than a month in the absence of investments or a publisher. Thus, I came to the desire to touch the market clones of simple games. Such as 2048, flappy bird, etc.
Earning my daily bread on freelancing, I made the clones of the following games

2048 (2 applications)

Monetization using advertising and in-game purchase of disabling advertising.

Android:
iAP - $ 8
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 76.6
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 6
Admob (small banner) - $ 79.5
Number of downloads - 2058
ARPD == $ 0.0826

iOS
iAP / paid app - $ 146
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 116.8
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 9.8
Admob (small banner) - $ 150.5
Number of downloads - 5980
ARPD == $ 0.07

Timberman

Monetization using advertising and in-game purchase disable advertising.

Android:
iAP - $ 0
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 21
Admob (small banner) - $ 2
Number of downloads - 1578
ARPD == $ 0.0146

iOS
Did not pass review

Simple games on old mechanics

After the clones I decided to try to make one or two extremely simple games, but without reference to the megapopular original. A couple of trash games was born.
Monetization using advertising and in-game purchase disable advertising.

Android:
iAP - $ 0.7
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 12.92
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 1.8
Admob (small banner) - $ 1.5
Number of downloads - 2206
ARPD == $ 0.007

iOS
iAP / paid app - $ 0.7
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 7.8
Playhaven (more games button) - $ 0.4
Admob (small banner) - $ 0
Number of downloads - 295
ARPD == $ 0.03

Application for adults

Monetization using the free version, where you can buy access to the full version and separately immediately paid full version of the application.

Android:
iAP / paid app - $ 2018.8
Number of downloads - 143500
ARPD == $ 0.014

iOS
iAP / paid app - $ 986
The number of downloads - 20200
ARPD == $ 0.0488

Entertaining app (tests for women)

Monetization using advertising and in-game purchase disable advertising.

Android:
iAP - $ 0
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 0.2
Admob (small banner) - $ 8.42
Download Count - 6330
ARPD == $ 0.0013

iOS
iAP / paid app - $ 0.7
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 2.9
Admob (small banner) - $ 5.24
Download Count - 3860
ARPD == $ 0.0022

Educational application (dictation simulator in the Russian language)

Monetization with the help of advertising in the free version, from where you can buy access to the full version and separately the paid full version of the application.

Android:
iAP / paid app - $ 61.81
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 0
Admob (small banner) - $ 9.74
Number of downloads - 6490
ARPD == $ 0.011

iOS
iAP / paid app - $ 53.91
Chartboost (fullscreen banner) - $ 0
Admob (small banner) - $ 0.48
Number of downloads - 336
ARPD == $ 0.162

Conclusion

I gained a lot of experience in the process of creating applications for myself, learned new technologies, read hundreds of articles about monetization and promotion, but unfortunately, having gone all this way, I did not learn how to make money on my applications. All applications bring a penny, and my most profitable application was banned on Google Play due to erotic texts. I hope some of you will be helped by this article to decide on the next application for development.

PS

Now I live in Vilnius and would be happy to meet with the developers for the exchange of experience, or just for a mug of other beer.