Do Shopify Apps Make Money? My First Year Revenue Report

Let's talk about the number everyone wants to know but few share openly: $735.66

That's my total revenue from ezInvoices after one full year. Not per month. Total.

Before you close this tab thinking "why bother?", let me explain why this number doesn't tell the whole story - and why I'd do it all over again.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Shopify App Revenue

ezInvoices Installs vs Earnings

Looking at my installs versus earnings graph, you can see the stark reality:

1,171 total installs
587 active merchants
$735.66 total revenue

That's about $1.25 per active merchant for the entire year.

Revenue Timeline: The First 9 Months Were $0

July 2024 - March 2025: The Free Era

For the first 9 months, ezInvoices was completely free. Why?

I was still learning and improving the app
Building trust and getting reviews was more important than revenue
Server costs were manageable
I wanted to validate the idea before asking for money

This was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing: rapid growth to ~400 merchants. The curse: setting expectations that this would always be free.

April 2025: The Billing Introduction

By April, reality hit:

Server costs were becoming uncomfortable
3-4 stores were doing 1,000+ invoices per month
I was spending significant time on support
The app needed to become sustainable

I used Shopify's Managed Pricing (incredibly easy to set up) with a simple philosophy: keep it free for 80% of users while the top 20% power users would support everyone.

April - July 2025: The Revenue Reality

Once billing was introduced:

Install rate dropped dramatically (see the graph)
But uninstall rate actually decreased
Revenue started trickling in
Higher quality merchants stuck around

The Economics of a Small Shopify App

Let's be real about the math:

Total Revenue: $735.66
Months with billing: ~4 months
Monthly average: ~$184

At this rate, annual revenue would be around $2,200. Better, but still not quit-your-job money.

Why I Didn't Introduce Billing Earlier

Looking back, waiting 9 months was a mistake. My reasons seemed logical at the time:

"I need more features first"
"I need more merchants first"
"I need more reviews first"

But here's what actually happened when I introduced billing:

The freeloaders left (good riddance)
Serious merchants stayed
Feature requests became more thoughtful
Support conversations became more valuable

The Billing Model That Actually Works

I used a simple tiered approach based on usage:

Free tier: Perfect for 80% of merchants doing 1-3 invoices per month
Paid tier: For power users doing 100+ invoices

This wasn't about maximizing revenue - it was about sustainability while keeping the app accessible.

The Personal Message That Made a Difference

When introducing billing, I added a banner with a personal message explaining:

Why I needed to introduce billing
That it only affected ~20% of heavy users
That I couldn't continue supporting the app for free
My commitment to keeping it free for most users

The response was surprisingly positive. Merchants appreciated the transparency.

On my app's billing page, I created a banner with a message from me so that when merchants saw they needed to upgrade their billing plan, they saw a message from me explaining the situation.

Why Most Shopify Apps Don't Make Money (And Why That's Okay)

The Learning ROI

What I gained in year one:

Deep understanding of Shopify's ecosystem
Real-world React/Remix experience
Customer support skills
Product management experience
A portfolio piece that actually has users

These skills are worth far more than $735.66.

Building for Tomorrow, Not Today

Year one revenue isn't the goal. It's about:

Validating the idea (✓ 587 merchants think it's valuable)
Building a foundation (✓ 5-star reviews and BFS status)
Learning what merchants actually need (✓ through support interactions)
Creating a sustainable base for growth (✓ billing model proven)

The Compound Effect

Each paying customer is validation. Each review builds trust. Each feature improves the product. Year one is about building these compound effects, not maximizing revenue.

The Hard Truth About Billing

Looking at my uninstalls graph, something interesting happened when I introduced billing:

ezInvoices Uninstalls

Uninstalls actually decreased after introducing billing. Why?

Free users who weren't invested left
Paying users are more committed
Quality over quantity

As I learned: "All the feedback I've ever received on my app were from stores that would eventually sign up for a subscription."

Realistic Revenue Expectations for Shopify Apps

If you're building a Shopify app, here's my honest timeline:

Year 1: Learning and building ($0-1,000)

Focus on product-market fit
Get reviews and feedback
Build your reputation

Year 2: Growth and optimization ($2,000-10,000)

Refine pricing based on year one data
Add features paying customers want
Improve conversion and retention

Year 3+: Potential profitability ($10,000+)

Compound effects kick in
Word of mouth grows
Feature set matures

Should You Build a Shopify App for Money?

Wrong Reasons to Build:

"I'll make passive income"
"It's easy money"
"I'll get rich quick"

Right Reasons to Build:

You have a problem to solve
You want to learn the ecosystem
You're building a portfolio
You're playing the long game
You enjoy helping merchants succeed

My Advice: Introduce Billing by Month 3

Looking back, here's what I'd do differently:

Month 1-2: Launch free, get initial feedback
Month 3: Introduce billing with generous free tier
Focus on paying customers: They drive real product value

Waiting 9 months meant I spent too much time serving users who would never pay. Those 3-4 power users doing 1,000 invoices per month? They would have happily paid from day one.

I think by introducing billing to our shopify app you are weeding out a lot of unqualified merchants (i.e., newly created stores evaluating Shopify and its apps, random developers checking out the store, and merchants that simply do not want to pay for an app).

The Verdict: It's Not About Year One

$735.66 isn't impressive. But that's not the point.

I now have:

587 merchants who trust my product
A 5-star rating
Built for Shopify status
Real customer feedback
A foundation for growth

Year one was an investment. Year two is when the real business begins.

If you're building a Shopify app expecting immediate returns, you're in the wrong game. But if you're willing to invest in learning, building, and serving merchants well, the long-term potential is real.

Just don't quit your day job yet.

This is part 4 of my series on building a bootstrapped Shopify app:

Part 1: My Shopify App After One Year - The journey begins
Part 2: How I Grew My Shopify App to 587 Merchants - Growth strategies revealed
Part 3: Is Built For Shopify Worth It? - The BFS impact

Want to support a bootstrapped app? Check out ezInvoices on the Shopify App Store ↗