u/Few-Engineering26

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Hey everyone,

I’m thinking about getting into indie iOS development and building small niche apps as a solo developer.

My goal isn’t to make a huge amount of money. I’d be happy to reach around $200/month from my apps.

For those who started recently or have experience with the iOS indie market:

- Is it still realistic for a newcomer to reach $200/month in 2027?

- Would you recommend focusing on subscriptions, one-time purchases, or paid apps?

I’d really appreciate honest experiences, especially from developers who are making a few hundred dollars per month...

Hello everyone,

I recently created an Apple Developer account and I want to make sure that I can use In-App Purchases and Auto-Renewable Subscriptions with my account.

How can I check if subscriptions are allowed/available for my account before I start developing my app?

I’m based in Morocco, so I’m also wondering if there are any country-specific restrictions.

Thanks!

I recently saw an indie developer on X say:

>

I’m in a similar situation. I have a full-time job, but I want to build small niche iOS apps during my free time.

I’m not expecting to become rich or replace my salary quickly. My goal is to launch several useful, focused apps and hopefully make a few hundred dollars from them over time.

For developers who have tried this approach:

• Is it realistically possible to make money from small niche iOS apps?
• How long did it take you to get your first paying users?
• What worked best for you: ASO, Reddit, social media, or something else?

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from developers who also have full-time jobs.

Thanks in advance!

I recently saw an indie developer on X say:

>

I’m in a similar situation. I have a full-time job, but I want to build small niche iOS apps during my free time.

I’m not expecting to become rich or replace my salary quickly. My goal is to launch several useful, focused apps and hopefully make a few hundred dollars from them over time.

For developers who have tried this approach:

• Is it realistically possible to make money from small niche iOS apps?
• How long did it take you to get your first paying users?
• What worked best for you: ASO, Reddit, social media, or something else?

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from developers who also have full-time jobs.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I want to learn native macOS app development with Swift and SwiftUI.

I already have some front-end development experience, and I recently finished a SwiftUI course. I can dedicate around 28 hours per week to learning and building projects.

I asked ChatGPT how long it might take, and it said that while I could build simple apps within a few months, it might take around a year to become comfortable with more saas macOS apps development.

Is that realistic?

Do I really need one full year before I can build and release useful macOS apps, or can I start shipping smaller apps much earlier if I learn by building?

I’d especially like to hear from indie developers who learned Swift/macOS development while building their own apps.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the iOS app business and I’m interested in building and publishing my own indie apps.

I know the App Store is very competitive, so I’m wondering whether iOS apps are still worth pursuing for someone starting from zero.

Is it realistically possible for a new developer to make money using mostly free, organic traffic through App Store search, ASO, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, ...etc?

I don’t expect to become rich quickly. My goal is to build small, useful apps, improve over time, and eventually generate some side income (like $140/month) without spending a large amount on paid advertising.

For those who started recently:

• How difficult was it to get your first users?
• Can ASO and organic marketing still work for small niche apps?
• What mistakes should newcomers avoid?

I’d really appreciate honest experiences from indie developers.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I have a programming background, and I want to start building and monetizing my own indie iOS apps.

I recently completed a Figma course on Udemy. I understand the basics of Figma, Auto Layout, components, spacing, typography, and colors. I can also recreate or clone existing app designs for practice.

However, I’m not trying to become a professional UI/UX designer or work for a design agency. My goal is simply to design clean, usable, and attractive interfaces for my own small iOS apps.

How much UI/UX knowledge do I realistically need before I start building and publishing apps?

Should I continue studying UI/UX for several months, or should I start building real apps now and improve my design skills along the way?

I’d especially appreciate advice from indie iOS developers who design their own apps.

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm a frontend developer and I'm interested in learning how to build SaaS apps for macOS.

Whenever I ask AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude about macOS development, they often tell me that it's quite difficult compared to web development.

For developers who have actually built macOS apps:

• Is macOS development really that hard?
• What are the biggest challenges?
• Is it realistic for a frontend developer to learn and build a small macOS SaaS app as a solo developer in 4 months(i can dedicate 28h/week of learning)?

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm interested in building small niche ios apps, and I'm wondering how effective ASO (App Store Optimization) is in 2026.

Is it still possible to get downloads mainly through ASO if you're targeting a small niche?

For developers who have launched niche apps recently:

• Are you still getting organic downloads from ASO?
• How long did it take before you started seeing results?
• Is ASO enough, or do you also need social media, ads, or other marketing channels?

I'd love to hear your experiences.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I’m new to SaaS and I’m interested in building macOS apps as a solo developer.

I have a question for people who are already building and selling apps: is it realistic to make around $3k total revenue within 1.5 years from macOS apps?

I’m not expecting to build a huge business overnight. My goal is just to learn, ship some apps, and see if I can generate my first few dollars.

For those who are doing indie apps:

• Is the macOS app market still good ?
• What type of apps have better chances for a solo developer?

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone,

I’m a front-end developer and I want to start building SaaS macOS apps.

I’m curious if it’s realistic for an indie developer to reach around $2k (in total of revenue in 1 year) with macOS apps.

Most of my background is in front-end web development, and recently I’ve been interested in the Apple ecosystem and SwiftUI.

For people already building macOS apps:

• Are macOS users willing to pay for small SaaS apps?

Would love to hear real experiences and advice.

​

Hello everyone,

I have a full-time job, but outside of work I can dedicate around 28 hours per week to learning and building apps.

I’m not married and I have free time after work. My main goal is building mobile iOS apps.

I’d love to hear from people who managed to grow an app business or make money from apps while working full time.

Do you think 28 hours per week is enough to make meaningful progress?

I’d really appreciate hearing real experiences, advice, or timelines from people who’ve done it

​

سلام عليكم خوتي

واش ممكن نطلق اعلانات Apple search ads ببطاقة بنكية مغربية لاستهداف الاجانب من خلال حسابي مطور ابل

شكرا

Hello, what’s the best Figma design system for SaaS founders?

I’m a front-end developer and I want to learn UI/UX design fast so I can design my own SaaS web apps.

I’m looking for a good Figma design system or UI kit that helps me design apps quickly .

Any recommendations for beginners or indie hackers?

Thank you in advance.

Hey everyone, I'm using the Preline UI kit in Figma and I have a navbar with multiple nav links. Each link has a component called "Nav Foreground" that contains both text and an icon.

https://preview.redd.it/qh469vc1mn5h1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f4a1b5e0657945cd4d220b3d73d6881f3a3926a

I want to keep the text but remove/hide the icon from ALL the nav links at the same time — without having to go into each one individually.

Any tips would be really appreciated. Still getting used to how components and variants work in Figma. 🙏

Hello everyone,

I have a full time job, but I can dedicate around 28 hours per week outside work to building apps and learning.

I want to know if anyone here managed to grow an app business or make money from apps while working full time.

How long did it take before you saw results?

Is 28 hours weekly enough to make meaningful progress on mobile ios apps?

I’d love to hear real experiences and advice.

سلام عليكم خوتي

واش ممكن نطلق اعلانات Apple search ads ببطاقة بنكية مغربية لاستهداف الاجانب من خلال حسابي مطور ابل

شكرا

Hello everyone,

I have a full time job, but I can dedicate around 28 hours per week outside work to building apps and learning.

I want to know if anyone here managed to grow an app business or make money from apps while working full time.

How long did it take before you saw results?

Is 28 hours weekly enough to make meaningful progress on mobile ios apps?

I’d love to hear real experiences and advice.

Hello everyone,

I have a full time job, but I can dedicate around 28 hours per week outside work to building apps and learning.

I want to know if anyone here managed to grow an app business or make money from apps while working full time.

How long did it take before you saw results?

Is 28 hours weekly enough to make meaningful progress on mobile ios apps?

I’d love to hear real experiences and advice.

​

Hello,

I'm interested in building and marketing small mobile apps.

I was wondering if organic traffic from Instagram and TikTok is still effective in 2026 for getting app downloads, or if paid advertising has become necessary.

For those of you running small apps or indie projects:

Are Instagram and TikTok still good sources of free traffic?

What marketing channels are working best for you right now?

I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Thanks!