Overall Findings
Despite a long, drawn-out approval process and intense competition, the Apple App Store is a great investment for developers, with a reasonable registration fee and a high percentage of sales going to the developer. Developers for the Google Play Store enjoy a less tedious approval process, and it’s affordable to submit apps. Both app stores have wide audiences, ensuring good visibility for an app, but you may have to work a little harder to make money with a Google Play Store app, as Android users tend to prefer free apps.
Approval Process: Google Play Store Is Easier
App Store
When developing for the iOS App Store, the biggest problem developers face is getting their app approved. It’s not easy to get an app into the App Store. Apps can be rejected for slight errors, which can be frustrating for developers who have specific ideas about how their apps should look and function. Developers have to take a great deal of time and care to make sure their apps fit Apple’s standards and rules. Many apps get rejected on the first try, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The App Store’s efficient app review team gives the developer clear feedback about why their app didn’t make the cut. Developers might be frustrated in the short term, but ultimately become more skilled at mobile app creation.
Google Play Store
Getting an app into the Google Play Store is an easier process. Apps have a low chance of being rejected on the Android app platform. This avoids the frustration App Store developers face and leaves developers free to experiment with their ideas. The only downside to this freedom is that it boosts the chances of buggy apps heading out to users, causing frustration on their end, as well as security concerns. It’s also hard to stand out in a field of so many apps, and since apps aren’t getting the kind of feedback the App Store provides, apps with a lesser chance of success go live and don’t always succeed.
Visibility: Pluses and Minuses for Both Platforms
App Store
The App Store offers developers incredible visibility. Once you go through the grueling approval process, your app has a good chance of being promoted through multiple channels, such as being featured on the Popular App category, App of the Week, and more. Maintaining visibility, however, can be difficult. With such high competition and newer and more exciting apps coming in all the time, developers have to get creative to get their app to stand out. Part of your app’s visibility is reaching the right target audience. When you submit an app to the iOS App Store, you choose keywords that match your app in the submission form. A user conducting a search would have to search for one of those keywords to find your app. This is helpful if certain keywords are apparent and fit your app well, but if keywords don’t match well, it could hurt your app’s visibility.
Google Play Store
Once an app is live on the Google Play Store, developers can work to build a customer base with good customer service, updates, and an app that provides a useful service. But just like the App Store, maintaining visibility is hard within such a sea of competition. The Google Play Store’s model doesn’t rely on the keywords you select. If a user conducts a search, the Google Play Store acts more like a search engine, matching a query with everything from an app’s name to its description. This makes it much easier for users to find your app.
Costs and Monetization: Google Is Cheaper Initially
When you enroll as an App Store developer, you pay $99 per year, and you get a plethora of developer resources at your disposal. A developer receives 70% of the sales of the app, so the more popular your app is, the more you’ll make. The Google Play Store charges a one-time $25 fee to become a Google Play developer, and then the Google Play Console walks you through the app creation process. Developers also receive 70% of app revenue and can publish as many apps as they want. However, most of the apps on the Google Play Store are free apps. Android users seem more inclined to download free apps, as opposed to iOS users, who are used to paying for good apps. This forces the Android developer to think of alternative ways to make money with their free app.
Final Verdict
The iOS App Store and the Google Play Store are the big players in the app industry. Both have wide audiences and popular platforms, and both have formed excellent developer resources and user bases. While Google powers a bigger mobile device market than Apple, the App Store brings in more profits and has more monetization opportunities for developers. Many developers prefer to launch an app first on the App Store, and then create an Android version if all goes well.
