Google Play monetization models compared with data

Paid, ad-supported, in-app purchases or a mix: how to measure which model dominates a category.

The four models

• Paid: a price before install, no free tier.
• Ad-supported: free, paid for by ads.
• Freemium: free to install, in-app purchases or a subscription inside.
• Hybrid: ads and in-app purchases together, common in casual games.

Measuring a category

curl -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" \
  "https://apknimbus.com/api/v1/search?category=HEALTH_AND_FITNESS&min_installs=100000&iap=true&ads=false&per=1"

The total field of the answer is the number of matching apps. Run it once per model and you have the mix of the category, for 2 tokens a query.

Who earns

Install totals show where users are, not where money is. Check the leaders of each model in /charts?collection=grossing: in many categories most grossing apps are freemium even when ad-supported apps have more installs.