What Small Apps Actually Sell For: Multiples From Real Listings (2026)
By AppAcquire · 29 September 2026 · 6 min read
Most valuation advice quotes multiples without saying where they come from. This guide uses the live numbers from every app listed on AppAcquire, recalculated automatically each hour, and shows you how to read them. One caveat up front: these are the prices sellers ask, not confirmed sale prices.
Key takeaways
- Asking prices vary enormously by category and by whether the app earns real revenue.
- A price-to-revenue multiple only means something for apps with meaningful revenue, so the tables below exclude tiny earners.
- Verified revenue lets a buyer trust the multiple, which is why we show verified and seller-reported listings separately.
- Treat an asking price as a ceiling for negotiation, not a fixed value.
The marketplace right now
- Apps for sale
- 99
- Verified revenue
- 9
- Median asking price
- $10,000
- Median revenue / month
- $275
- Added in 30 days
- 31
9% of listings
apps reporting revenue (54)
Every figure on this page is calculated from live listings and refreshes hourly. For the full dataset, including how each number is worked out, see the market data page.
Asking price by category
Medians are more useful than averages here, because one very expensive listing would drag an average up. Revenue medians only include apps that report revenue.
| Category | Listings | Median asking price | Median revenue / month | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity | 27 | $11,225 | $275(16 report) | 3 |
| Lifestyle | 17 | $9,809 | $2,000(9 report) | 2 |
| Entertainment | 15 | $15,000 | $54(9 report) | 2 |
| Education | 12 | $2,000 | $10(5 report) | 1 |
| Health | 7 | $5,000 | $17(3 report) | 0 |
| Communication | 5 | $80,000 | $22,530(2 report) | 0 |
| Finance | 5 | $10,000 | $300(3 report) | 0 |
| Design | 4 | $45,000 | $2,796(4 report) | 1 |
| Business | 4 | $15,000 | $2,658(1 report) | 0 |
| Development | 3 | $2,500 | $1,027(2 report) | 0 |
How asking prices compare with revenue
A multiple is the asking price divided by annual revenue (monthly revenue × 12). A 2× multiple means the seller is asking two years of revenue. We only count apps with at least $100 a month in revenue, because a $5-a-month app asking $10,000 produces a multiple that says nothing about value.
| Listings | Counted | Median asking multiple | Middle half of listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| All apps with revenue | 30 | 1.7× | 1.3× to 4.2× |
| Verified revenueRevenueCat, Stripe or TrustMRR | 3 | 1.3× | 1.0× to 1.5× |
| Seller-reported revenue | 27 | 1.9× | 1.4× to 4.5× |
Asking price divided by annual revenue (monthly revenue × 12), for apps reporting at least $100 a month. These are prices sellers ask, not confirmed sale prices.
Revenue multiples are a blunt tool. Buyers who track profit usually think in multiples of annual net profit instead, where Flippa sales data for H1 2026 puts app businesses at about 2.6× on average, with the top quartile around 5.5×. The two are related, but the profit version accounts for running costs.
Where listings sit by price
- Under $1k10 listings · 10%
- $1k to $5k21 listings · 22%
- $5k to $25k37 listings · 39%
- $25k to $100k16 listings · 17%
- $100k and over12 listings · 13%
Most of the market is small. That matters if you are buying, because it means plenty of apps are within reach of a single operator, and if you are selling, because it shows what buyers expect to see at each price.
What pushes a price up or down
Usually supports a higher multiple
- Recurring revenue from subscriptions, which is easier to forecast than one-off sales.
- Verified revenue, connected from RevenueCat, Stripe or TrustMRR rather than typed in.
- Steady or growing monthly revenue over 12 months or more.
- Low running effort: little support, stable code, few moving parts.
- Diverse revenue and users, not dependent on one country, network or channel.
- A documented handover and a seller who stays for a support period.
Usually pulls a multiple down
- Declining revenue, or a single spike inside the average.
- Heavy reliance on one ad network or one paid channel.
- Undocumented code or a contractor who is not staying.
- Old SDK or API targets that need work before the app is safe to grow.
- Revenue the seller cannot show at the source.
Asking price is not closing price
A listing shows where a seller starts. The final price depends on what due diligence turns up and on how the two sides negotiate. As a buyer, use verified numbers to make an offer. As a seller, connecting a revenue source is the fastest way to defend your asking price, because it removes the buyer's biggest question.
Put the numbers to work
- Selling? Run the app value calculator, then compare its result with the tables above before you set a price.
- Buying? Check the payback calculator to see how long an asking price takes to earn back.
- Browsing? See every app for sale, filter by verified revenue, or read the due-diligence checklist.
Frequently asked questions
- What multiple do small apps sell for?
- It varies with growth, stability and how well revenue is proven. Flippa sales data for H1 2026 puts app businesses at about 2.6× annual profit on average, and about 5.5× in the top quartile. Revenue multiples run lower, because profit is only part of revenue. The tables on this page show what sellers on AppAcquire are currently asking, by category and by verified or seller-reported revenue.
- Are these the prices apps actually sold for?
- No. They are asking prices set by sellers. Final prices depend on due diligence and negotiation, and are often lower than the asking price.
- How often is this data updated?
- Every hour. The tables are calculated from the live listings on AppAcquire, so they change as listings are added, updated or sold.
- Why do you exclude apps with very low revenue from the multiples?
- A multiple of an app that earns a few dollars a month is dominated by the price the seller happens to want and says little about value. Only apps reporting at least $100 a month in revenue are counted, and multiples above 100× are left out.
Buying or selling an app?
AppAcquire lists iOS and Android apps with real numbers on every listing. Browse what is for sale, or list your own.
Keep reading
Sources
Further reading and references used in this guide. Links open in a new window and are not affiliated with AppAcquire.