It’s still small compared to big apps, but I wanted to share what actually worked for me because a few months ago I had 0 users and honestly no idea if anyone would even use it.

My app helps people save recipes from Instagram/TikTok/YouTube and Organize them.

Some things that helped me improve conversion rate (currently ~44.4% store conversion):

• ASO (App Store Optimization)
  • I spent a LOT of time testing keywords, subtitles, screenshots, and descriptions.
  • Small keyword changes actually moved rankings.
• Screenshots > Long descriptions
  • Most users don’t read paragraphs.
  • I changed screenshots to clearly show:
    • “Save Recipes”
    • “Grocery List”
    • “Organise your Cookbook”
  • Conversion improved after simplifying messaging.
• Fast iteration
  • Every bad review became a feature/fix.
  • Users were basically the roadmap.
• Reducing friction
  • Simplified onboarding.
  • Reduced unnecessary signup steps.
  • Improved recipe extraction speed.

Biggest lesson:
You really don’t need a huge team to launch anymore. Consistency matters more. Most growth came from continuously improving small things every week.

Still learning every day, but hitting 1k downloads felt like a big milestone for me.

Thanks for Reading.

I’m a solo developer and launched my app “EzyCooking : Recipe Saver” around 2 months ago.

The app helps users save recipes from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, websites, etc. into one place with AI-powered organization.

These are my current Google Play stats after ~2 months:

• 490 total installs
• 125 active devices
• ~96 monthly active users
• ~22 daily active users average
• 49.1% store listing conversion rate

I’m honestly not sure whether these are considered good early-stage KPIs or just average, so I’d genuinely love feedback from other indie hackers / app founders here.

A few things I’m currently focusing on:

• improving retention
• making onboarding smoother
• adding AI recipe/chat features
• converting free users into subscribers

Would love to know:

1. Which metric should I focus on most at this stage?
2. What helped your app grow early on?
3. Any feedback on improving retention for utility/recipe apps?

I know it’s small, but this honestly feels huge for me.

I built EzyCooking from scratch and have been improving it day and night — fixing bugs, adding features, redesigning UI, trying to actually make something useful instead of just another app.

Seeing someone actually pay, even just $1, feels like validation that I’m on the right track.

Still a long way to go:

• Working on making recipes smarter
• Adding better conversions (servings, units, etc.)
• Improving overall experience
• Figuring out what features people actually value

Thanks for reading — back to building 🚀

I’m building a small app called EzyCooking, and today I noticed it reached #51 in the Food & Drink category on the store.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this so early.

Some context:

• ~200 downloads so far
• Growth has been 100% organic (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube)
• No paid ads at all
• App is currently free (focused on feedback)

What I’m trying to understand:

• Is ranking around #51 actually meaningful?
• Or does this happen easily in less competitive categories?
• Does it signal I’m on the right track, or is it too early to tell?

I’m still very early in this journey, so I’m trying not to get carried away by numbers without understanding what they actually mean.

Would really appreciate honest opinions from people who’ve been through this : Is this something to be excited about, or just noise?

Thanks

Hey everyone,

Quick update — my app EzyCooking just crossed 200 downloads, all organic (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, no ads).

I’m at a point where I’m thinking about introducing a minimum subscription (very low price)… but I’m not sure if it’s too early.

Current situation:

• ~200 downloads
• Growth from 100 → 200 in ~10 days
• Users are coming in, but I’m still figuring out retention/real usage
• App is currently 100% free

🤔 My dilemma:

Should I:

1. Start monetizing now (even a small subscription)
2. Or wait and grow more users + improve retention first

My concerns:

• If I add subscription too early → I might kill growth
• If I wait too long → I might miss early revenue signals

What I’d love your input on:

• At what stage did you introduce monetization?
• Is ~200 users too early to test subscription?
• Would you personally pay for something like a recipe-saving / meal planning app?

Not trying to promote — just genuinely trying to make the right decision early.

App is free right now, so if context helps I can share more details/screenshots.

Would really appreciate honest advice