Setapp for iOS: A simple and effective way for developers to boost their business

MacPaw’s app subscription service has proven extremely popular for Mac, and the company is now investing more in the iOS platform to bring the same benefits to iPhone and iPad.

Users pay a single monthly subscription for full access to the Pro versions of a variety of apps. No ads, no in-app purchases, no update fees – just a low monthly payment. That’s an attractive offer for you, and if you’re an iOS and/or macOS developer with your own great apps, Setapp offers you a whole new market…

Setapp for Mac was launched back in 2017, with iOS apps added in 2020. The company is now explicitly welcoming developers offering cross-platform apps to further expand the reach of the service — and the number of developers who can benefit from it.

A win-win situation for users and developers alike

The service has been designed to be a win-win for both users and developers. Subscribers get a bunch of apps that would literally cost them thousands of dollars if they paid for each one separately. Developers get an easy link to a large user base and a sustainable additionally source of income.

Applications invited by macOS and iOS developers

The apps offered through Setapp for iOS are carefully curated to offer popular apps that perform useful tasks and provide a great user experience.

New applications from apps that meet these criteria are always welcome. The great thing for a developer is that Setapp does all the work needed to generate recurring revenue while still allowing you to sell your app through the App Store the same way you do today. This includes payment processing, updates, content marketing, support and much more. You maintain your own individual app sales while Setapp creates a parallel revenue stream for you.

• Access to tens of thousands of app users
• Predictable monthly earnings with commissions as low as 10%
• A simple, hassle-free way to add a subscription model to the mix
• You get paid even if users only open your app once a month
• Simple app review process with 24 hour turnaround time
• Likely more opportunities as antitrust measures reduce Apple’s dominance in app sales

Some developers report making as much money from Setapp as they do from their own sales.

What do developers love about Setapp?

No matter how great your app is, no one will know about it unless you are able to get it seen by the intended audience. But while developers love creating and refining their apps, many hate all the work, pain, and drudgery that goes into marketing those apps.

Once your app has been accepted, the Setapp team takes care of marketing, payments, account management, update mechanism, support and much more – so you can focus on the work you love.

But you don’t have to take Setapp’s word for it: just ask developers who have signed up.

“Setapp seems to have pools of productivity and business users. Session is a productivity app. So we’re a perfect match! Setapp also sent me their stats and that was a lot of people.”
Philip Young, Session

“Setapp not only offers a platform, but also user acquisition – it’s a win-win cooperation.”
Alexander Makhtin, Uplife

“Setapp is a source of income for us. We launch the app and when it solves a problem, users start using it. We do not carry out any additional marketing activities. Setapp does that for us.”
Ihor Stefurak, Lofi Garden

Young also highlighted another benefit of onboarding a lot of new users very quickly:

“Setapp has many subscribers. This means I get tons of replies when parts of the apps are missing, buggy, or confusing. If there’s a problem, I’ve fixed it, sent a new version to Setapp (which is always quickly approved), and then waited for new replies: a tight feedback loop. Do this for a few months/over the year and you will get less and less feedback and your product will keep getting closer to perfection.”

How much are developers paid?

Developers get 70% of the revenue. If you bring subscribers to Setapp, you’ll get an additional 20% discount for those users – a total of 90%.

How does sharing between apps work?

Traditional subscription models offer you either flat share or tiered payment depending on the time users spend in each app.

But that’s not fair to apps that offer a really useful feature but are used only briefly or infrequently. That’s why we track every app used by each user each month, and then split the revenue evenly between those developers.

How do I apply?

There are no fees, no complicated procedures. Visit this website for more information and then click Get in touch Apply button.

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