5 ms·
What is the annual revenue from Mac vs. Windows apps?
How do Mac and Windows compare in terms of the annual revenue they generate for all app developers?
For this purpose, it doesn't matter whether the app is sold on the app store or on the developer's web site.
I'm thinking of developing a PC app, and trying to figure out whether to build it on Mac or Windows.
- jakobegger 10y agoIt really depends on your target audience. For example, I make an app for hipster web devs, and it does really well on the Mac. On the other hand, if you make an app for payroll accounting, I strongly recommend to make a Windows app. Some apps, like a citation manager for researchers, really should be cross-platform and work on Linux too; a browser extension might work really great here. If you'd like more specific advise, tell us more about the field you're interested in! If you don't have an idea yet, I recommend looking for a niche first. Once you identified your target audience, you only need to find out what platform they use.
- tedmiston 10y agoSpeaking of cross platform and browser extensions, there's always the possibility of doing a web front end in a browser container to reduce your cost for launching / supporting both.
- kartickv 10y agoYes, I considered that, but it doesn't work for the particular app I'm thinking of.
- kartickv 10y agoGood points. This is a productivity app, but I'd like an answer to the original question, please: how many billions of dollars of revenue does the Mac generate for all developers across all categories of apps? Windows?
- akulbe 10y agoI'm guessing this isn't something that is easily determined, for any platform. Microsoft can guess, at best, what kind of revenues there are for third-party software. They have no idea. Apple, they can only speak authoritatively about their own App Stores, but they don't give out these numbers. Linux, well... it's Linux. My guess would be that revenues are smaller for this platform, because hardly anyone charges for their stuff. Actually, I wish more paid work would be done for Linux. I'd be happy to pay for good apps.
- ProblemFactory 10y agoNobody knows these numbers. There are some reports from developers on how much they make from the Mac App Store (for example http://www.cultofmac.com/321860/youll-never-guess-how-little-a-top-10-mac-app-makes-per-day/ http://www.cultofmac.com/321860/youll-never-guess-how-little...), but I've never seen any aggregate numbers. On both Windows and Mac, all big and many small app developers have their own billing and sales. When you buy Photoshop, MS Office, IntelliJ, or even many small tools, then you skip the app store, pay them directly, and download from them directly. So not even Apple or Microsoft know the numbers.
- kartickv 10y agoHow about Mac App Store vs Windows Store revenue?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]