Sunil GillValidating an app idea means collecting evidence that people want it, and will pay for it, before you spend months building. The odds make it worth the effort. In RevenueCat's 2026 data, new subscription app launches rose from about 2,000 a month in January 2022 to more than 14,700 in January 2026, and only 4.6% of new apps reach $10,000 in monthly revenue within two years.
The evidence that counts is behavior: a search, a sign-up, a payment. Opinions do not count, including your own and those of friends who say it sounds great. The steps below go from cheapest to most expensive. Stop as soon as the evidence says no. That is the whole purpose.
What validation can and cannot tell you
It can tell you whether the problem is real, whether people already look for a solution, and whether your pitch gets a response. It cannot tell you whether your finished app will be good. Validation reduces the chance of building something nobody wants. It does not remove the risk of building it badly.
Step 1: write the idea as a statement you can test
"A habit tracker" is a category. A testable idea names who it is for, what problem they have, what they do about it today and why they would switch. For example: "People who take several medications forget doses. They use phone alarms, which do not show what was taken. They would switch for a reminder that tracks each dose and tells a family member when one is missed."
Each part of that sentence is a claim you can check. If you cannot write it, the idea is not ready to test.
Step 2: do market research in the stores
The App Store and Google Play are the best free research tools you have, because they show what people already search for and install.
- Type your main terms into store search and note the suggestions that appear. Suggestions are drawn from what people search for.
- Look at the top charts for your category, free and paid, in the countries you care about.
- Check how many ratings the leading apps have and when they were last updated. Thousands of recent ratings mean an active market. A handful of ratings on apps untouched for three years means either no demand or an opening, and the next steps will tell you which.
- Read the one, two and three star reviews of the top apps. People describe exactly what is missing, in their own words.
Search demand can also be measured. Apple Ads shows a search popularity score for App Store keywords, and the method is in the guide to App Store keyword research. Outside the stores, Google Trends shows whether interest in the problem is rising or falling.
Step 3: read your competitors properly
Finding competitors is good news. It means people spend time or money on the problem. An idea with no competitors at all has often been tried and dropped by others.
| Look at | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Number and recency of ratings | How large and how active the user base is |
| Price and in-app purchases | What people already pay, and how |
| Update history | Whether the developer is still investing |
| Low-star reviews | The gap you could fill |
| Whether they advertise | If they pay for installs month after month, the users are worth money. Meta's Ad Library is public and shows every ad a competitor is running and how long it has run. |
The question to answer is why someone would choose yours. "Better design" is rarely enough. A specific audience the leaders ignore, or one job done much better, usually is.
Step 4: talk to the people who have the problem
Ten to fifteen conversations will teach you more than a survey of five hundred. Find people who match the statement from step 1, in communities where the problem is discussed, and ask about what they have done, not what they would do.
- "When did this last happen? What did you do?"
- "What have you tried? What did it cost?"
- "What is annoying about the way you handle it now?"
Do not describe your app until the end, if at all. People are polite, and "would you use this?" gets a yes that means nothing. Someone who has already paid for a clumsy workaround is the strongest signal you can find at this stage.
Step 5: test demand with a landing page
Put up one page that states the promise, shows what the app will look like and asks for an email address to get early access. Then send it some relevant traffic: a post in the communities from step 4, or a small ad campaign aimed at the search terms you found in step 2. A budget in the low hundreds of dollars is enough to tell a promise that gets ignored from one that gets sign-ups.
Measure the share of visitors who sign up. The absolute number matters less than the comparison, so test two or three versions of the promise and see which one people respond to. That also gives you the wording for your store listing later.
You can test price the same way. Show the plan and the price on the page with a button to reserve it, and count the clicks. People who click a price have told you more than people who say it sounds reasonable.
Step 6: ask for a commitment
An email address is cheap to give. The next level is money or effort: a paid pre-order on your website, a deposit, or a place in a closed beta that requires filling in a form. A few dozen people who commit are better evidence than a thousand who clicked "notify me".
The stores' own pre-launch features come later. An App Store pre-order can only be published once the app has been submitted and reviewed, so it builds an audience for something you have already built.
Step 7: build the smallest version that tests the core
If the earlier steps hold up, build only the one thing the app exists to do. A clickable prototype is enough to watch five people try it. A working first version can go to testers through TestFlight or a Google Play testing track, and then to a single country as a soft launch, which is where you learn whether people come back.
Reading the signals
| Signal | Strength |
|---|---|
| Friends and family like the idea | None |
| Survey respondents say they would use it | Weak |
| People search for the problem and competitors have active users | Moderate: the market exists |
| Strangers give you an email address | Moderate |
| People already pay for a worse solution | Strong |
| Strangers pre-pay or join a beta and keep using it | Strongest |
If the signals are weak, change one part of the statement, usually the audience, and test again. Narrowing an idea to a group that cares a great deal tends to work better than broadening it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Asking people whether they like the idea.
- Treating the absence of competitors as proof of an opportunity.
- Building for six months before showing anyone.
- Counting sign-ups from friends and colleagues.
- Ignoring the question of who pays, and how much, until after launch.
Once the idea has passed, the guide to app marketing covers what comes next.
FAQs
How do I validate an app idea?
Write the idea as a specific statement about who has the problem and why they would switch. Check store search and competitors for existing demand, interview people who have the problem, test your pitch with a landing page, and ask for a commitment such as a pre-payment before you build.
How do I do market research for an app?
Start in the App Store and Google Play. Look at search suggestions for your terms, the top charts in your category, how many ratings competing apps have and what their low-star reviews complain about. Add keyword popularity data and Google Trends to see whether demand is growing.
Is competition a bad sign for an app idea?
No. Competitors with active users show that people want a solution and will pay for one. The risk is entering without a clear reason for someone to choose your app over the ones they already know.
How many people should I interview?
Ten to fifteen people who match your target audience is usually enough to hear the same problems repeated. If every conversation brings something new, the audience is too broad and needs narrowing.
Can I validate an app idea without building anything?
Yes, up to a point. Store research, interviews, a landing page and pre-sales need no code. They show that demand exists. Whether your app keeps users can only be tested with a working version.
Sources
- RevenueCat: State of Subscription Apps 2026 (new app launches and share reaching $10,000 in monthly revenue)
- Apple Developer: offering your apps for pre-order and TestFlight
- Google Play Console Help: testing tracks