My 2025 Recap as an Indie Developer
8 apps shipped, $1,464 earned, and why marketing matters more than code.
8 Apps Shipped, $1,464 Earned, and Why Marketing Matters More Than Code
In 2025, I shipped 8 digital products, earned $1,464 in total revenue, quit a stable developer job, and learned firsthand why most indie apps fail silently in the App Store.
This is my honest year-in-review as an indie developer.
No hype, no overnight success, real numbers, real failures, and the lessons I’m taking into 2026.
The Big Picture: 2025 in Numbers
Before diving into stories, here’s the reality of my year:
• Apps shipped: 8
• Total revenue: $1,464 (after Apple fees)
• Best-performing app: ~$700 revenue
• Main platform: iOS
• Biggest weakness: Marketing & distribution
This alone changed how I think about indie development.
What I Set Out to Achieve in 2025
At the end of 2024, I was confident. Standing on my balcony on New Year’s Eve, I told myself: 2025 will be my year as an indie developer.
I set four main goals:
1. Build multiple products consistently
2. Earn $3,000 per month from my apps
3. Build a YouTube channel around indie development
4. Improve my personal discipline and focus
Only one of these goals was fully achieved but it turned out to be the most important one.
The Goal I Achieved: Shipping Products Consistently
My main technical goal was to ship six digital products in 2025.
I shipped eight.
That single achievement shaped everything else. Shipping forced me to:
• Learn iOS development faster
• Understand App Store Optimization (ASO)
• Observe real user behavior
• Stop guessing and start measuring
At the start of 2025, I was naive. By the end of the year, I understood how much experience beats theory.
The Products of 2025 and What Each One Taught Me
CookieTime Time Tracking for Freelancers
A time-tracking app for freelancers to track projects, generate invoices, and export timesheets.
• Downloads: ~78
• Revenue: $0
This app failed completely.
But it taught me a critical lesson: custom UI often hurts usability. Users trust familiar iOS patterns more than creative design experiments.
Split & Tip: Tip Calculator App
An app to split restaurant bills and calculate tips, mainly for the US market.
• Downloads: ~50
• Revenue: $0
Another failure.
Here I learned that having a real problem isn’t enough — it must be a problem many people actively care about.
Blood Pressure App, First Step in the Right Direction
A manual blood pressure tracking app with export features for doctors.
• Downloads: 334
• Revenue: ~$30
Still small numbers, but this app validated two things:
• ASO matters
• Icons and screenshots significantly affect conversion rates
For the first time, optimization actually worked.
SmokeFree App, The First Real Success
An app to help people quit smoking.
• Downloads: ~1,480
• Revenue: ~$700
This app proved that:
• Solving a painful problem matters
• Monetization is possible
• A single focused app can outperform multiple experiments
This was the moment I realized: building is not enough, distribution is everything.
EasyPost: Voice-to-Text for Social Media
An app that turns voice input into LinkedIn or Twitter posts.
• Downloads: 61
• Revenue: €13
Technically fine. Market-wise irrelevant.
Another reminder that nice ideas don’t sell solutions do.
ThinkPool: Voice Notes Done Right
A voice-note app that converts spoken input into tasks, shopping lists, notes, and meeting summaries.
• Downloads: 458 in the last 3 months
• Revenue: Currently free (testing phase)
This app combines everything I learned in 2025:
• Native iOS UI
• Clear screenshots
• Strong ASO
• A real, recurring problem
It’s now in review with Apple in its second version — and it’s the app I’m most optimistic about going into 2026.
The Biggest Lesson of 2025
If I had to summarize 2025 in one sentence:
Marketing beats code. Every time.
A great app nobody knows about is invisible. Without marketing, your product is buried deep in the App Store and it might as well not exist.
This is obvious in theory. Living it is different.
My Focus for 2026
2026 is about execution, not experimentation.
My priorities:
- Fewer apps, higher quality
- Strong focus on marketing & distribution
- More presence on social platforms
- Building sustainable income from my products
One thing is clear: I don’t want to return to a traditional developer job.
Final Thoughts
2025 wasn’t my breakthrough year but it was my foundation year.
I shipped. I failed. I learned.
And now I know exactly what needs to change.
If you’re on a similar indie journey: keep shipping, measure everything, and don’t underestimate marketing.
I wish you a successful 2026 and if you’re curious, you’ll find links to all my apps and products on my website.
Thanks for reading.