IndieDev FIREThe math of a small app
A subscription app at $9.99/mo with 1,000 paying users generates $120,000/yr in gross revenue. Apple and Google take 15–30% (15% under the Small Business Program for revenue under $1M/yr, 30% above). Web checkout via Stripe runs ~3% per transaction. Net: $84,000–$102,000/yr.
That's roughly the same income as a $2.5M index portfolio at a 4% withdrawal rate. With one difference: the app keeps producing while you sleep, and unlike a portfolio, you can keep ramping it.
This is why a subscription app is the closest thing an indie dev has to a rental property — passive-ish income, leveraged build effort, and cash flow that compounds independently of the equity markets.
What 1,000 paying subs actually means
It's not viral. It's not lottery-ticket math.
1,000 paying subs at $9.99/mo from a niche app — productivity tool, fitness tracker, vertical SaaS — is a real, achievable target. Many indie devs hit it within 18-36 months of launch with consistent shipping and basic distribution.
Compare to the portfolio path. A 30% savings rate from a $100k income reaches FI in roughly 28 years — landing at a ~$1.75M portfolio that supports a $70k/yr life at 4% withdrawals. The 1,000-sub app reaches comparable income in 2–3 years of focused work.
Where the comparison breaks
Apps are not a perfect index fund. Three real risks.
Churn. Subscription apps lose 3–8% of users per month. To net 1,000 paying subs at 5% churn, you have to acquire 50 new ones per month just to stand still.
Platform risk. Apple and Google can change rules, take a bigger cut, or pull your app. Diversify across platforms when possible. Don't bet the FIRE plan on a single store.
Maintenance. Apps decay. OS updates, framework changes, customer support, security patches. Budget 5–10 hours per week for a healthy app, more for a growing one.
The portfolio doesn't churn. The portfolio doesn't get pulled from a store. The portfolio doesn't email you about a bug.
The hybrid play
The strongest indie-dev FIRE plan combines both.
- Build the app. Grow it to a stable subscriber base.
- Treat the subscription revenue as a salary equivalent.
- Funnel a high savings rate into index funds, hitting Coast FIRE on the portfolio.
- The app + the portfolio become two independent income streams. Either alone could fund the life. Together, they're redundant — sequence-of-returns risk on the portfolio is buffered by the app, churn risk on the app is buffered by the portfolio.
This is the closest thing the indie dev world has to durable financial freedom.
The discipline
The one thing that breaks this plan: spending the app revenue on lifestyle.
App MRR is not income to spend. It's a runway-extension and an investment-feed. Pay yourself a stable salary from a separate account. Send the rest to investments.
The app builds the wealth. The portfolio holds it. The salary funds the life. Three buckets, one system.
Ship. Stack. Live.