What you are buying
Buying one of these mobile apps for sale usually means taking over a store listing rather than a website. On iOS, Apple's app transfer process moves the app between App Store Connect accounts while keeping its bundle ID, ratings, reviews, and App Store availability, and existing users continue receiving updates. Source code and assets are not part of that store transfer; Apple's documentation says the transferor must provide code and assets directly to the recipient. On Android, Google Play's transfer process moves users, statistics, ratings, subscriptions, and the store listing to the target developer account after Google support reviews the request.
Monetization in mobile apps typically runs through in-app purchases and auto-renewing subscriptions processed by Apple and Google, often managed with RevenueCat, which is how many app founders connect revenue to RevenueBug. Transfers have category-specific gaps. Apple warns that historical sales data stays with the previous owner, Apple Pay merchant IDs and Game Center configurations need rework, and subscription verification needs a shared-secret handover. Google notes that orders placed before the transfer remain in the original account, earnings reports must be downloaded beforehand, and integrated services such as Firebase must be relinked. If RevenueCat is used, the project has its own ownership transfer, and RevenueCat's documentation says changing the underlying store developer account requires regenerating store credentials.
What to check before making an offer
Confirm the app is eligible to transfer
Apple lists conditions that block a transfer, including apps with no released version, apps on pre-order, apps in review, in-app purchases that are not Approved or Ready to Submit, and product IDs that clash with an app already in your account. Check these before signing. Google requires both accounts to be active and policy-compliant.
Split new subscriptions from renewals
Ask for subscription data showing new trials, trial conversion, renewals, and refunds by month. App revenue can be driven by paid acquisition campaigns that stop when the seller stops spending. Renewal revenue from older cohorts is the more durable part of the trailing figure.
Review paid user acquisition
Request ad-network spend, cost per install, and cost per paying user by channel for the last year. If installs depend on paid campaigns, model the business with and without that spend. Organic installs from search ranking and featuring are more transferable but can also change after an ownership move.
Inventory SDKs, keys, and backend services
List every SDK, push notification key, analytics project, and backend the app uses. Apple notes that APNs certificates stay valid until expiry but the recipient needs new ones, and keychain sharing breaks until the app is rebuilt with the new team ID. Plan the first post-transfer release before closing.
Check store policy and review history
Ask for any App Review rejections, policy warnings, or Play Console enforcement notices. A history of warnings can follow the app. Read recent reviews for crashes, billing complaints, or features users expect that the seller has promised but not shipped.
How these businesses are valued
Mobile app valuations hinge on whether revenue is a dependable stream of subscription renewals or a function of current advertising spend. Two apps with the same trailing revenue can be worth very different amounts if one acquires most paying users through paid campaigns and the other ranks organically. The SBA's income and market approaches both apply; the income approach forces you to project renewals and acquisition cost explicitly instead of capitalizing a single good month.
Store fees matter for profit even though verified revenue is shown before them. Revenue processed through Apple and Google is reported before the platforms' commission and before RevenueCat or other tooling costs, so use the app store fee calculator and your own subscription data to estimate net proceeds. Add the cost of the first post-transfer release, including any SDK or key rework, as a one-time deduction from what you are willing to pay. RevenueBug does not publish app valuation multiples.
Model a range with the SaaS valuation calculator, then work through the buyer due diligence checklist.