App Developers Have Earned $120 Billion Since App Store Launched in 2008

App Store developers have earned a total of $120 billion since the ‌App Store‌ launched back in 2008, Apple announced today. More than a quarter of that total was earned in the past year alone, according to Apple.

The ‌App Store‌ has seen significant growth in revenue with each quarter and it brings in a major part of Apple's growing services revenue.

app store trio
The new ‌App Store‌ metric was highlighted as part of an Apple Newsroom article covering the launch of the Entrepreneur Camp, which allows female-founded app development companies to attend a program at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino.

Entrepreneur Camp is designed to provide female app creators with "the tools needed to thrive in today's global app economy." There are 11 female app founders who are joining the inaugural program, which will last for two weeks.

appleentrepreneurcamp
Each attendee will have access to an immersive hands-on technology lab where participants will be able to work one-on-one with Apple experts and engineers to accelerate their apps.

"In the past, starting a small business often meant having to invest in overhead, inventory or retail space. Today, a world of opportunity opens up with some coding skills and an entrepreneurial spirit," said Esther Hare, Apple's senior director, Worldwide Developer Marketing and executive sponsor, Women@Apple. "The App Store is the new digital Main Street, and creative developers are tapping into the vast potential of the global app economy. We hope that this program helps to inspire women around the world to learn to code, join the iOS development community and share in the thriving app economy."

Sessions on design, technology, and ‌App Store‌ marketing are included, as are ongoing guidance and support from an Apple Developer Relations representative. Apple says attendees will learn about new Apple technologies, including optimizing for the A12 chip, integrating CoreML into apps, building experiences for ARKit, and more.

Those who attend Entrepreneur camp will be provided with two tickets to the 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference and a complementary one-year membership to the Apple Developer Program. Apple has a list of the first app companies accepted to the program in its Newsroom article.

Going forward, Apple plans to hold Entrepreneur Camp sessions on a quarterly basis, with up to 20 app companies accepted for each round. As outlined when the program was announced, app-driven businesses need to be female founded, co-founded, or led, and must have at least one woman on the product development team.

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
iOS 26

Apple This November: iOS 26.2 Beta, Rumored New Products, and More

Thursday October 30, 2025 12:42 pm PDT by
Tomorrow is Halloween, and then November is upon us. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple next month, as the slower holiday season approaches. Apple is expected to kick off November by releasing iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1. With beta testing now wrapped up, the updates will likely be released this Monday, November 3 or Tuesday,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Revamped Siri on Track to Launch Next Year

Thursday October 30, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said that a more personalized version of Siri remains on track to launch at some point next year, with the new set of features expected to debut on the iPhone as part of iOS 26.4 in March or April. "We're also excited for a more personalized Siri," said Cook, on Apple's earnings call for the third quarter of the 2025 calendar year. "We're making good progress on it,...

Top Rated Comments

jlseattle Avatar
88 months ago
The app store sucks now. I barely buy anything off from it nowadays (plus I got everything i wanted) because of the subscription model or the gems model that developers are going for.

I hate subscriptions. I hate purchases are for gems instead of purchasing features or extra for just cash.

I only buy apps that I can purchase the app forever. So an example is the Calm app. I don't want a subscription. They offer a lifetime membership. I purchased that. I'll pay more to avoid subscriptions. It's like a death by a million cuts.

What I would like to see is any app that exists put an "purchase" price out there as well for the app. So like 1Password offers subscription but you can also get the one time purchase of the current version. I go that route. The more apps that want a subscription amount. The more they have to "justify" the monthly costs.

Give me a quality app with very aggressive changes to make the app better and more useful. I might go subscription then. But subscribing to an app that's static (like most are minus minor bug fixes) no thank you.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
88 months ago
120 Billion for Developers
51.4 Billion for Apple

There are a few legal disputes right now regarding Apple's 30% take for apps and 15% take on app subscriptions after 12 months. Apple still provides I think a service and that service isn't free to run (review, guidelines, hosting, marketing, search, App Stores).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
88 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/28/app-store-developers-120-billion-earned/')

Entrepreneur Camp is designed to provide female app creators with "the tools needed to thrive in today's global app economy." There are 11 female app founders who are joining the inaugural program, which will last for two weeks.



Article Link: App Developers Have Earned $120 Billion Since App Store Launched in 2008 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/28/app-store-developers-120-billion-earned/')
I maybe a man through n through, yet I LOVE the representation of women in the developer community. I'm not afraid of strong willed, strong minded and happy enterprising women who control their own destiny. Mom and my sista are of this nature.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
88 months ago
I’d love to know how that $120B is split up by developer. Is it one big game developer getting most of the payout?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
88 months ago
After that report in the NYT about Apple's problems with getting manufacturing going in the U.S. it seems that Apple is going all out today to show that they contribute a lot to the U.S. economy.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainMac Avatar
88 months ago
I have purchased a lot of apps in that time. I wish I could see a chart of how much I spent broken down by app purchases, original purchase, upgrades, and how much I spent that was lost when the app was pulled because it was 32-bit, developer left appstore, no longer works, etc. And broken down by year.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)