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

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

10 Reasons to Wait for This Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday January 8, 2026 2:56 am PST 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...
Touchscreen MacBook Feature

Apple Is Expected to Launch These Four MacBooks in 2026

Friday January 9, 2026 8:17 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
samsung crease less foldable display ces 2026%402x

Foldable iPhone's Crease-Free Display Tech Spotted at CES 2026

Tuesday January 6, 2026 3:04 am PST by
CES 2026 has just provided a first glimpse of the folding display technology that Apple is expected to use in its upcoming foldable iPhone. At the event, Samsung Display briefly showcased its new crease-less foldable OLED panel beside a Galaxy Z Fold 7, and according to SamMobile, which saw the test booth before it was abruptly removed, the new panel "has no crease at all" in comparison. The ...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

Five New iPhone Features Rumored for iOS 27

Wednesday January 7, 2026 2:51 pm PST by
Though it's been just a few months since iOS 26 launched, we're already hearing rumors about the next-generation version of iOS, iOS 27. iOS 27 will be introduced at Apple's June WWDC 2026 event before it launches in September 2026. We don't know all of the details about iOS 27 yet, but we do have some information about what to expect. "Snow Leopard" Update iOS 27 will apparently focus...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Will Move From Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase

Wednesday January 7, 2026 12:57 pm PST by
JPMorgan Chase has reached a deal to take over operation of the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. Barring any "last minute hiccups," the deal should be announced shortly after over a year of negotiations. Reports began circulating over two years ago that current Apple Card issuer Goldman Sachs was looking to end its partnership with Apple as part of an effort to scale back on...
Logitech MX Master 3S

Logitech Blames 'Inexcusable Mistake' After Certificate Expiry Breaks macOS Apps

Wednesday January 7, 2026 5:27 am PST by
Logitech users on macOS found themselves locked out of their mouse customizations yesterday after the company let a security certificate expire, breaking both its Logi Options+ and G HUB configuration apps. Logitech devices like its MX Master series mice and MX Keys keyboards stopped working properly as a result of the oversight, with users unable to access their custom scrolling setup,...
ChatGPT Health Integration Connectors Feature

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health With Apple Health Integration

Wednesday January 7, 2026 11:27 am PST by
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Health, a dedicated section of ChatGPT where users can ask health-related questions completely separated from their main ChatGPT experience. For more personalized responses, users can connect various health data services such as Apple Health, Function, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, AllTrails, Instacart, and Peloton. Last month, MacRumors discovere...
safari icon blue banner

Apple Loses Safari Lead Designer to The Browser Company

Thursday January 8, 2026 10:50 am PST by
Apple has lost another senior figure from its Safari team as a lead designer departs for The Browser Company, extending a pattern of high-profile exits from Apple's browser team amid intensifying competition around AI-driven browsing. Marco Triverio was a lead designer for Safari and has now joined The Browser Company, the developer of the Arc and Dia browsers. The move was confirmed by The...

Top Rated Comments

jlseattle Avatar
91 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
91 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
91 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
91 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
91 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
91 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)