# App revenue calculator by Top Grossing rank

By Mika Heinonen (Indie iOS developer and maker of Fledly). Published 2026-10-28, updated 2026-10-28.
Canonical: https://fledly.app/tools/app-revenue-calculator/

> Estimate how much an iPhone app makes from its US Top Grossing rank, overall or in its category, or work backwards from a revenue goal to the rank you'd need. Monthly range, daily revenue and what the developer keeps after Apple's commission.

*Interactive tool: open https://fledly.app/tools/app-revenue-calculator/ in a browser to use it.*

## How the calculator estimates revenue

Apple doesn't publish what any app earns. It does publish the **Top Grossing chart**, which ranks apps by how much money they make through the App Store each day. The calculator turns a rank into money with the same model Fledly uses everywhere it shows revenue:

- **Overall #1 ≈ $70 million a month** of gross US consumer spending.
- From #1 to #100, revenue falls as **rank<sup>−0.75</sup>**: #10 makes about a sixth of #1, #100 about a thirtieth.
- Below #100, it falls faster, as **rank<sup>−1</sup>**: #1,000 makes a tenth of #100. Apps deep in the chart earn less than a gentle curve would suggest.
- Every estimate is shown as a **range from a third to three times** the middle value.

The full reasoning, the sources for the two numbers and the honest error bars are in [How much do iPhone apps make at each Top Grossing rank?](/blog/how-much-do-top-grossing-apps-make/)

## Category ranks

Most apps never reach the overall top 100, but they do chart in their category. To use a category rank, the calculator first converts it to an overall rank, using the apps that were on both charts on October 27, 2026. For Health & Fitness, for example, #1 ≈ overall #47 and #10 ≈ overall #154.

That works for categories with several apps high on the overall chart: Entertainment, Games, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Photo & Video, Productivity, Social Networking and Sports. For the others, such as Food & Drink, Finance, Education or Utilities, no app reached the overall top 100, so the calculator says so instead of inventing a number.

## What the numbers don't tell you

- **Gross isn't what the developer keeps.** Apple keeps 15% in the Small Business Program (under $1 million a year) and on subscriptions after their first year, 30% otherwise. Refunds and taxes come off too.
- **Revenue isn't profit.** Many apps high on the chart spend much of what they earn on ads. Our guide on [how to tell if an app buys its growth](/blog/spot-apps-that-buy-growth/) shows the signals.
- **US only.** Other App Store countries have their own charts and far smaller totals. Fledly's estimates cover the US store.
- **Not calibrated against real sales.** If you know an app's real revenue and its rank on the same day, that's the best check of the curve there is. We'd like to hear about it: hello@fledly.app.

Fledly applies this model every day to every app on the US Top Grossing charts, and lists the [young apps that already earn](/blog/young-apps-us-top-grossing-october-2026/) and the app ideas they prove. [Try Fledly free](/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does the #1 app on the App Store make?

By Fledly's model, the US #1 Top Grossing iPhone app takes in roughly $70 million a month in gross consumer spending, with a likely range of about $23 million to $210 million. Nobody outside Apple and the developer knows the exact number.

### How much does an app in the top 100 grossing make?

About $2.2 million a month at overall #100 in the US, by this model, with a likely range of about $740,000 to $6.6 million. At #10 it is about $12 million a month.

### What rank do I need to make $10,000 a month from an iPhone app?

Keeping $10,000 a month after a 15% commission takes about $11,800 a month in gross US revenue. That is roughly overall #18,800 by this model, far below the public chart. Most apps that earn this never appear on Top Grossing.

### Is this calculator accurate?

It gives an order of magnitude, not a figure. The real revenue at a given rank can easily be a third or three times the middle estimate, and it changes by day of the week and season. Use it to compare apps and markets, not to forecast your own income.