Most Mobile Developers Make Less than $500 Per Month—Unless They Build Enterprise Apps

VisionMobile has released its "State of the Developer Nation Q3 2014" report. It tracks a variety of mobile development trends, including targeted platforms and programming languages, but the most interesting data relates to developer earnings.

According to the report, 50 percent of iOS developers and 64 percent of Android developers earn less than $500 per month, the number VisionMobile sets as the "poverty line" for the mobile development industry. Nearly a quarter of those who hope to earn money make nothing from their apps in a given month. However, the report adds, "At the top end of the revenue scale, there are just 1.6 percent of developers with apps earning more than $500,000 per month; collectively they earn multiples of the other 98.4 percent combined."

One way developers can increase their odds of making good money is to be one of the 16 percent who build apps for enterprise users. Their apps are twice as likely to generate more than $5,000 per month and nearly three times as likely to bring in more than $25,000 every month.

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