App startup simulator
See what your app would turn over, how many subscribers you'd win and who you'd lose them to — quarter by quarter for four years — before you spend real money.
Downloads are easy; the second week is the business. This one opens as Habitloop: A consumer app people pay for by subscription after a free trial. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own app and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady app ends up with
Played steadily for all four years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady app here ends its last year on $634k of revenue and $266k of profit, with 13,500 subscribers and 11% of the market (#3 of 6).
It starts from nothing: $15k in the bank and you, 50 hours a week, with no subscribers yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $634k
Profit in the last year: $266k
Subscribers at the end: 13,500
Share of the market: From nothing to 11%
Where it finishes: #3 of 6
Years and decisions: 4 years, quarterly
What you'll decide each quarter
Each quarter you price the subscription, split spend between winning subscribers and keeping them, choose new features against reliability, and decide when to raise money.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your subscribers are
Downloads are cheap; the second week is the business. Most people who try it leave, so what matters is how many subscribers stay and pay, and what it cost to find them.
400,000 subscribers in all, across United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Free-tier tourists: They try everything, pay for little, and leave for the next thing. About 200,000 of them, worth $25 a year each.
Committed users: It is part of their week, and they pay because it earns its place. About 120,000 of them, worth $65 a year each.
Power users: They want every feature and will tell everyone when it breaks. About 40,000 of them, worth $125 a year each.
Families and teams: One account for several people, bought by whoever is organised. About 40,000 of them, worth $110 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The app everyone has heard of: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 34% of the market.
The free, ad-funded one: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
The darling of the reviews: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 8% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of subscriber, three rivals and five markets.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your app in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady app ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it quarter by quarter for four years.
Also for
mobile app · ios · android · consumer · freemium
How much does the app startup simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this app market, change anything in it and see what a steady app ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own app?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the subscribers and what they pay, the rivals, the markets, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your app in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for an app?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year four turning over between $40k and $1.5m, with between 1,500 and 40,000 subscribers. This one's preview comes to about $634k and 13,500. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test an app business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward quarter by quarter, and see whether the money lasts, how many subscribers you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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