App Masters · 2026-09-12
How He Built an $800K ARR App Using Simple Strategies
Chris Bick (Bickster, app studio since 2013, 20+ apps) breaks down the Fitbit-to-Apple-Health sync app (~$6-7M lifetime revenue; flipped from $5.99 paid to subscription/lifetime in Dec 2021; ~110K MRR trajectory; 50/50 organic/paid via ASA, Google and Bing search) and his 'proof of pay' playbook used on a new AI Bible app: minimal believable product, hard paywall, one lifetime offer, constant ASA spend while laddering price ($4.99 -> $29.99 -> $49.99), literal App Store page, then Meta purchase campaigns. Ends with audits of a book-summary app and Privacy AI.
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Numbers mentioned
| Subject | Metric | Value | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | revenue Lifetime revenue over ~10 years; transcript garbled ('almost seven six million dollars') | USD 6M–7M approximate | “almost seven six million dollars you know over the last 10 years” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | revenue Before switching from paid app to subscription | USD 200/day approximate | “we went from like $200 a day to $2,000 a day just by making a subscription app” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | revenue Overnight after switching to subscription | USD 2,000/day approximate | “we went from like $200 a day to $2,000 a day just by making a subscription app” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | price Original paid-app price | USD 5.99/one-time | “it was a paid app 599” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | conversion rate App Store impression -> install | 6% approximate | “we have a, you know, impression to install rate about six percent” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | conversion rate Install -> purchase, total (5% on the upfront paywall + 1% after closing the soft paywall) | 6% approximate | “we have about six percent installed purchase rate uh five percent are up front one percent is kind of on the back end” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | conversion rate Install -> purchase after users close the soft paywall (part of the 6%) | 1% approximate | “one percent is kind of on the back end you know after they close we have a soft paywall” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | share organic share; Share of installs from organic vs paid (50/50 target they maintain) | 50% approximate | “we have a 50 percent organic, 50 percent paid. And that's what we like to keep it.” |
| Bickster | roas Target ROAS on any paid channel | 2–3 x goal | “you would like to keep like a two times three times row as on any channel anytime” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | price Lifetime plan on simple paywall (host restates as $60 lifetime; guest confirms) | USD 59.99/one-time | “so you have 60 lifetime and 40 three-day trial yearly yep” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | price Yearly plan with 3-day free trial | USD 39.99/year | “so you have 60 lifetime and 40 three-day trial yearly yep” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | mrr Current trajectory | USD 110K approximate | “right now we're at trajectory of about 110k mrr or 1 million plus um that's projected by the end of the year” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | arr '1 million plus' projected by end of 2026 | USD 1M projection | “right now we're at trajectory of about 110k mrr or 1 million plus um that's projected by the end of the year” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | arr Host's intro figure ('over $800,000'); guest gave MRR trajectory instead | USD 800K approximate | “he's got one app that's already doing over $800,000 in ARR” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | downloads Part of the '10K installs/week, 50/50 paid, 6% install->purchase' formula | 10K installs/week approximate | “10k installs a week 50 50 paid six percent sold purchase” |
| Fitbit to Apple Health Sync | arpu Revenue per 1,000 users/installs; transcript garbled ('in addition to that 1K, 1.3K for 1,000 users') | USD 1,300per 1,000 installs approximate | “in addition to that 1K, 1.3K for 1,000 users” |
| Bickster | count Apps built and launched since 2013 ('over 20') | 20 apps approximate | “we've been around since 2013 doing apps, over 20 apps” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | conversion rate Install -> purchase at $4.99 lifetime (ASA traffic, hard paywall) | 16% approximate | “the $4.99 is about 16% conversion rate from install” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | conversion rate Install -> purchase at $29.99 lifetime (ASA traffic, hard paywall) | 6–7% approximate | “And then the $29 was about 6% to 7%.” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | arpu Day-one ARPU at $49.99 vs $29.99 lifetime | $49.99 day-one ARPU lower than $29.99 approximate | “we went to $49.99. Day one ARP was lower than the $29.” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | conversion rate Newer $39.99 lifetime price vs $29.99 (possibly helped by reviews/word of mouth) | $39.99 beating $29.99 by a good margin approximate | “39.99 is our new price it's actually beating 29.99” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | roas About break-even; climbed from 0 through 25%, 50%, 75% | 100% approximate | “we're about break even right now” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | ad spend Apple Search Ads during price-ladder testing ('a thousand dollars a day probably'); since stopped | USD 1,000/day approximate | “we were spending a lot thousand dollars a day probably more than people willing” |
| Bickster AI Bible app | ad spend Meta, testing creatives before scaling | USD 500/day approximate | “In meta, we're doing about $500 a day still just to test creatives” |
| Bickster | conversion rate Install -> purchase on Meta purchase-optimized campaigns, up from ~6% after creative iteration (app not specified) | 18–20% approximate | “we've gone you know from you know like six percent conversion rates we're up to like 18 20 purchase rates installed purchase rates yeah on meta” |
| Bickster | attribution gap Meta AEM-reported installs/purchases vs App Store Connect source data | 15–20% approximate | “we've measured about 15 to 20 percent installs and purchases it's off by if you look at the app store connect console” |
| Bickster | conversion rate Paywall plan layout switched from vertical to horizontal; guest unsure of exact figure ('two percent or some crazy number'); app not specified | +2% estimate | “there was like a huge change in conversion rate like it was like two percent of some crazy number like that” |
| benchmarkMinimum daily ASA budget for a low-budget validation test | ad spend Test takes longer at low spend but still directional | USD 50/day approximate | “Put a $50 in ASA a day, right? Whatever you can afford, right? To test.” |
| guest's prior file-sharing company | funding raised | USD 26M approximate | “one company raised 26 million” |
| host's fitness app for 65+ | ad spend Meta spend without purchases, at ~$150/day | USD 3,000–5,000 approximate | “we spent, you know, three, $5,000 on Meta, 150 bucks a day” |
| host's fitness app for 65+ | ad spend Meta daily budget | USD 150/day approximate | “we spent, you know, three, $5,000 on Meta, 150 bucks a day” |
| host's fitness app for 65+ | price Yearly offer 'around $40' | USD 40/year approximate | “it is a yearly offer up around $40” |
| host's friend's app (Meta, no trial) | conversion rate Pay rate from Meta traffic, no trial (host's friend) | 18–20% approximate | “he's saying like 18%, 20% just pay rate from Meta” |
| book-summary app (viewer Read Bay's app) | count App Store ratings count, average 4.8 | 238 ratings | “238 ratings right so it looks like it just launched you know 4.8” |
| Privacy AI | price Yearly plan with 7-day trial | USD 20/year | “It's $20 a year.” |