--- title: "Buying an app business: store dependence, reviews and platform fees" url: https://firstpassmemo.com/buy/app/ updated: 2026-10-07 publisher: FirstPass Memo (hello@firstpassmemo.com) --- Is it worth it? # Buying an app business: store dependence, reviews and platform fees Short answer: an app is worth buying when its subscription revenue has a churn figure you can check, at least a year of history, and a transfer plan that keeps reviews, subscribers and sign-in working. It is not worth it when one store change could stop sales and the listing cannot show how subscribers renew. Updated 7 October 2026 · About 6 minutes to read ## What moves with an app when it is sold, and what does not? Apple App Store. Apple says an app can be transferred to another developer while it stays on sale, and that it keeps its reviews and ratings, with users continuing to receive updates. The seller must hand over the code and build assets directly. Apps with auto-renewable subscriptions need an app-specific shared secret before the transfer, Apple Pay merchant IDs do not transfer, and apps using Sign in with Apple need a transfer identifier generated for each user. After the transfer the new owner sees sales and payment data only from the transfer date. Google Play. Google says users, statistics, ratings, reviews and subscriptions transfer with the app, while earnings and payout reports, promotions and test groups do not. Both accounts must be registered and active, and Google's support team reviews transfer requests within 2 business days. ## What do Apple and Google charge app sellers in 2026? - Apple charges 15% on paid apps and in-app purchases to developers in its Small Business Program, which covers developers with up to $1 million in proceeds in the prior calendar year. When an app is transferred, that year's proceeds count towards both accounts. - Google Play changed its fees for users in the US, UK and EEA from 30 June 2026. Auto-renewing subscriptions carry 10% plus a 5% billing fee; other transactions depend on whether the user installed before or after that date. Check that the P&L shows revenue after store fees, and ask whether the buyer's own account would qualify for the same rate. ## What do small online-business listings ask in October 2026? Too few mobile apps priced $10k–150k appeared in FirstPass Memo's October 2026 listing sample to publish a median (1, against a minimum of 8). Across all 36 listings in that sample, collected 6 September to 6 October 2026 from the WebsitesForSaleOnline public API, the median asking payback was 26.8 months of profit, or 2.23 times annual profit. Payback and multiple for mobile apps, October 2026 Not enough listings to show a fair median. Only 1 listing of this type priced $10k–150k appeared in the data we can publish (we need at least 8). Use the overall figures on Is buying a website worth it? (https://firstpassmemo.com/buy/website/) as a rough guide, and work out payback for the listing in front of you with the true payback calculator (https://firstpassmemo.com/tools/payback-calculator/). Source: our aggregates of listings featured in the WebsitesForSaleOnline (https://websitesforsaleonline.com/) public API daily collections, 6 September to 6 October 2026. Empire Flippers listings are excluded. Asking prices and seller-stated profit, not sale prices; each listing is counted once, at its latest price. Full table, CSV and method: listing benchmarks (https://firstpassmemo.com/data/). ## Checker rules that matter most for apps - Platform dependence (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/depends-on-a-platform/). Flags reliance on the Apple App Store or Google Play. - No churn figure (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/no-churn-figure/). Flags subscription revenue without a churn rate. - History length (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/under-12-months-of-history/). Flags apps with under 12 months of revenue. - No connected data source (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/no-connected-data-source/). Flags listings that do not mention App Store Connect, Play Console or a revenue tool. Each rule links to a page that explains it. Run them on any listing with the free red-flag checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/). ## A worked example Composite example, not a real listing iOS habit-tracker app with subscriptions on the App Store, 4.6 rating Asking price: $28,000 Average monthly revenue: $1,400 Average monthly profit: $1,250 Business age: 9 months Owner hours: 4 hours per week What the red-flag checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/) returns: payback of 22.4 months on average monthly profit, and these top three flags (the benchmark comparison is left out here): Depends on Apple App Store Medium Ask: If Apple App Store changed its rules or closed the account tomorrow, what share of revenue would be at risk? Has it happened before? No churn figure for a recurring-revenue business Medium Ask: What were monthly customer churn and revenue churn for each of the last 12 months? About 9 months of history Medium Ask: Can you show monthly revenue and profit since launch, with the main source of new customers each month? Also raised: No connected data source mentioned; Concentration not disclosed. A 22.4-month payback on nine months of history leaves little to judge. Without a churn figure, there is no way to tell whether subscribers renew. Ask for subscription retention by monthly cohort and run it through the churn stress test (https://firstpassmemo.com/tools/saas-churn-stress-test/). ## Eight questions to send the seller - What were monthly customer churn and revenue churn for each of the last 12 months? - How is churn calculated: by customers or by revenue, and are annual plans included? - How many new paying customers arrive each month, and from which channels? - Is the stated ARR a run-rate or contracted revenue, and which figure is current? - Can you share 12 months of monthly revenue so the ramp to the current run-rate is visible? - How many paying customers are there, and how many are on discounted, legacy or lifetime plans? - Does the product depend on another company's API or app store, and what do its terms allow? - What are monthly hosting, third-party API and AI model costs, and how do they grow with usage? ## Frequently asked questions ### Does an iOS app keep its reviews after a transfer? Yes. Apple's App Store Connect help says a transferred app retains its reviews and ratings, stays available for download and keeps its Bundle ID, and users continue to receive updates. ### What does not transfer with an Android app? Google's Play Console help says earnings and payout reports, promotions, test groups and integrated-service permissions do not transfer. Orders made before the transfer stay with the original account. ### What fee does Apple charge a small app business? 15% on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers in the App Store Small Business Program, which covers developers with up to $1 million in proceeds in the prior calendar year. Check a listing now. Paste it into the red-flag checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/). For a full memo on a live listing priced $10k–150k, apply for the free beta (https://firstpassmemo.com/#beta). FirstPass Memo is independent and is not affiliated with Apple, Google or any marketplace. Policies and fees are as published on the dates shown and may change. The example is a composite. This page is not investment, legal or tax advice. ## Sources - Apple Developer, Overview of app transfer (https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/transfer-an-app/overview-of-app-transfer), read 7 October 2026. Back - Play Console Help, Transfer apps to a different developer account (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6230247?hl=en), read 7 October 2026. Back - Apple Developer, App Store Small Business Program (https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/), read 7 October 2026. Back - Play Console Help, Service fees (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en), read 7 October 2026. Back --- FirstPass Memo is informational screening, not investment, legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and not an audit. Seller figures are not independently verified. HTML version: https://firstpassmemo.com/buy/app/