iOS Posting Free Apps on App Store

Wellington2k said:

Hey.
I have a apple developer account and read that their is no fee for posting free apps. So I studied up and found I need iTunes Connect. When I went to download it, it then says I don't have the right privileges. I have had a developer account for years and can download the SDKs. I am also not signed up for the $99 developer program. Any help?

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You need to be in the $99 / year developer program to publish apps in iTunes, free or otherwise.

There's no fee per app then to publish though.

You can build an app in Xcode and as I recall test it on the iOS simulator all you want but then to test it on real devices or publish, that's when you need to be in the $99 / year program.

So, if you're just starting, you may want to first get into the project and have it working on the simulator before buying into the developer program to test it on devices and start the 1 year clock ticking.

As with anything there is risk involved and you may never see any return on investment. You would need to sell 143 apps at .99 in one year to recoup your $99 Developer fee. (143*.99*.70 = 99.10). That comes out to 12 sales per month.

Of course there are other costs to consider:
- A Mac
- An iPhone or iPodTouch
- Your time
- Other (ie, promotion, web hosting, etc)

I went into iOS development as a hobby with the hope that it would at least pay for itself and I could learn something along the way. The first app I developed, Knot Quiz, may come close to paying for the annual $99 Developer fee. It was free with an in-app purchase option. The skills I learned on that app I have been able to use on a subsequent app, Animated Knots 3D, that has proven more successful. (When I say successful I mean more than just lunch money but if I were to figure out what my hourly wage was considering the time put in, I would probably cry.)

A friend of mine who develops iOS apps full time and has been pretty successful mentioned to me that the average app makes $800 over its lifetime. Not sure if that is true or not but wouldn't be surprised. Of course that means for each 100k/year app there are a bunch that didn't do very well.

Good luck!

Wellington2k said:

Alright then. Yeah, I've been seriously thinking about signing up. But I guess it is best to have, say, 5 apps so that you have a better chance of making the 143 sale amount. Is there a separate fee to upload paid apps, besides Apple getting 30% of the sales?

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Nope -- no additional fee. $99 all you can eat... I mean publish. There is no distinction between paid or free. Good luck!

It is worth noting the fee is annual. If you don't pay again after a year all your apps are removed from the store...