Journable · B2C · AI calorie counter app
Advertise to Android users first, since iOS ads cost about 4x more
Android converted as well as iOS and was far cheaper; now ~80% of revenue
Workedmarket-selectionpaid-social
What they did
Bootstrapped and short on cash, they couldn't afford iOS campaigns, so they ran Meta ads to Android users in the US only. Decision was backed by the RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps 2025 report: iOS users cost ~4x more to advertise to but convert only ~20% better. Later tested iOS campaigns too; Android stayed far more cost-effective, and Android ads spilled over into some iOS installs. Then doubled down and raised Android spend.
What happened
Android conversion was as good as iOS; Android far more cost-effective in head-to-head tests; ~80% of users and revenue now from Android
- Stage
- Growth (Early paid growth)
“So, we naturally um reverted to just running Android campaigns in the States, because we didn't have the money. Now, when we ran the Android campaigns, we saw that they had a conversion rate just as good as our iOS users.”
“Eventually, we tested iOS as well, and found that, you know, Android was way more cost-effective. We also realized that by running ads on Android, we get some spillover into iOS.”
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