We studied the Kids' section of the App Store to see which price points and monetisation strategies are the most successful. Do games have to be free to be a success?

1. Dubit -
Pricing of Kids’ Games
on the App Store
Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store

2. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
Pricing Kids Games: What We’ve Done
Kids’ Mobile Games
Smartphones and tablets have changed the games industry: The most popular games are free and
in-app purchases are mainstream. But is this the case with children’s games? To find out we’ve
combed Apple’s App Store to see the affect free-to-play has had on games for young children and to
provide a guide to how to price your children’s mobile game or app.
What is a Kids’ Game?
It’s difficult to say what is and isn’t a kids’ game. Angry Birds and Minecraft could be, but neither are
exclusively played by children and neither’s publisher releases player demographics. For the
purpose of this report we’ve looked specifically at games that Apple feature in the ‘Kids’ section of
their App Store. These are targeted at pre-teens.
What’s a Game?
For this report we’ve looked specifically at the iPhone section of the store. In comparing with non-
kids games we’ve discounted non-entertainment apps, such as productivity apps, but included
entertainment apps that aren't games, such as video streaming and music apps.

3. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
Pricing Kids Games: Kids’ Store
As a bit of background, in September 2013 Apple added a ‘Kids’’ section to its App Store. The new
section separated apps into three age ranges, those 5 and under, those between 6 and 8, and
finally, those for kids between 9 and 11.

4. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Comparisons
Let’s start by comparing prices across all three age groups. We can see that apps for children aged
nine to eleven are priced in a similar way to those for children aged 6-8, but with fewer apps priced
at ‘free’. Children aged 5 to seven have the greatest break between free and paid for apps, with the
prices leaping from ‘free’ to £1.49. They’re also the only group with apps priced at more than £4 in
the highest grossing chart.
40%
36%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49
5-7
9-11
6-8

5. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Under 5s
Looking at the top 50 grossing apps for under-5s we see that most are paid for upfront: free apps
take up only 36% of the top 50, but this is the greatest share of free apps across all ages. There are
seven different price points, with none under £1.49. The three most expensive (£4.99) apps are Jolly
Phonics, Endless Alphabet and ABC Pocket Phonics (all are educational - we’ll cover this later).
12% 36%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49

6. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Six to Eight
For children aged six to eight we see the emergence of the cheaper app, and fewer free apps
making the top 50 cut. Free games make up only 22% of the 50 highest grossing and the most
dominant app price is still £1.99. 58% of apps are priced at £1.49 or higher, compared with 64% at
the younger ages.
22%
24%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49

7. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Nine to 11
With nine to 11 year-olds we see the greatest range of prices yet (nine), with no price point having a
share greater than 30%. Free apps are much lower - perhaps parents aren’t as trusting of their IAPs?
- and the £1.99 price point is still the most dominant.
30%
24%
14%
10%
20%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49

8. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: All Kids Games
Now, when we order ALL those highest grossing apps from all ages something interesting happens.
Although most games are still paid for, now we find a higher proportion are free (36%), meaning that
- of the free apps detailed by age - they are more likely to gross higher than paid apps. Plus, this also
reinforces the £1.99 price point as being the most successful of the lot - strong evidence of the
thresholds that parents and kids will entertain.
40%
36%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49

9. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
All Apps: 98% Earn All Revenue From IAP
To see how different the ‘Kids’’ part of the App Store is to the broader market let’s look at the Total
App Store Top Grossing chart. 98% of the games in the top 50 get all their revenue from IAP and
only one game in the top 50 is paid for, this being Minecraft (£4.99). If evidence was needed that
freemium is the most successful business model for mobile games, this is it.
94%
0.69 1.37 2.06 2.75 3.43 4.12 4.80 5.49
£4.99£4.49£3.99£3.49£2.99£2.49£1.99£1.4999p69pFree £5.49

10. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Education
An educational bias to your game will generally help to sell it. Many of the apps aimed at these age
groups include a level of educational benefit, whether it’s recognising colours or basic maths. But
around a quarter of the 50 most successful apps are those that make their educational benefit clear
in their title, using words such as ‘maths’, ‘phonics’, and ‘ABCs’.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Under 5s Six to Eight Nine to Eleven
Percentage of Apps in the Highest Grossing Chart With Educational Titles

11. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Free Less Important for Kids
It’s clear that to be a successful game in the Kids’ section doesn’t mean your app has to be free.
Whereas 98% of the games in the general Highest Grossing chart are free, the majority of kids’
games in the three age groupings charge for downloading.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
All Apps Under 5 Six to Eight Nine to 11
Percentage of Free Apps in the 50 Highest Grossing Chart

12. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
App Prices: Changes by Age
The price of paid-for-apps for kids which perform well in the Highest Grossing chart follow a similar
pattern regardless of age. £1.49 - £1.99 is the most successful price point, although apps aimed at
children aged six to eight peak a little later at between £2.49 and £2.99, implying that the middle-
age-group can tolerate a slight hike in prices.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
69p - 99p £1.49 - £1.99 £2.49 - £2.99 £3.49 - £3.99 £4.49 - £4.99 £5.49 - £5.99
Under 5s Six - Eight Nine - Eleven
22%
4%
4%
22%

13. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
IAP: Prevalence of IAP in Kids’ Games
The growth of “free-to-play” games has raised concerns around in-app payments that may draw kids
into spending unwittingly. Of all the games in Apple’s curated kids’ sections we can see that fewer
than half of these games contain IAP - less than expected - which is in stark contrast to IAPs being
present in 98% of All Games - a number that would be 100% if it wasn’t for Minecraft.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Under 5 Six to Eight Nine to 11 All Kids All Games
Percentage of Apps Featuring In-app Purchases

14. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
IAP: Paid Games With IAP
It’s not only free games that carry in-app purchases: some paid for games do too, although it is rare.
In most cases across kids games, if an app is paid for, it is free of IAP. (Some price-points were blank
due to no apps being priced at these points in the top 50).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
69p 99p £1.49 £1.99 £2.49 £2.99 £3.99 £4.99 £5.49
Percentage of Kids Paid-for Apps Featuring In-App Purchases

15. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
Pricing of Kids Apps: Summary
It doesn’t have to be free. Unlike apps designed for all demographics, kids’ apps don’t have to be
free to be successful. The majority of the highest grossing kids’ apps are paid for, with many costing
more than £1. The average price of a successful kids’ app is £1.99 and this seems to be the most
popular price point across most ages.
Most successful apps in the Kids section do not have any in-app purchases.
The older they are, the more they will pay. It’s possible to charge more for apps for older children
with £1.49 and £1.99 being the optimum price points. These apps are less likely to contain IAP than
those for children aged five and under.
In-app purchases for kids are used in a different way to other games. Instead of charging for
‘energy’ and other micro-payments they charge for subscriptions, extra books, lessons, or more
levels/content.
Most apps for young children contain some educational content and a quarter make that clear in
their title.
94%

16. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
Pricing of Kids Apps: The Future
We expect to continue to see a range of pricing strategies on the kids’ section of the App Store and
also an increase in IAP as discoverability becomes a bigger issue. discoverability is already a
challenge and it’s one of the reasons why games sell expansions, such as extra levels or books.
Creating an excellent hub-app allows your brand to become the destination parents and children go
to for more games, rather than the App Store. It’s what apps like the hugely popular Disney apps,
Disney Junior Play, Disney Storytime and Disney Princess: Story Theatre are doing already.
94%

17. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
Pricing Kids Games: Kids Apps
To be featured in the ‘Kids’ section, apps need to follow the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
(COPPA) requirements. In addition they can’t use ads that ask kids to complete some sort of in-app
activity, and they have to ask for parents’ permissions before they link outside the app to the web or
other software, for the purpose of commerce.
There are separate areas for apps created by leading studios such as Disney, Toca Boca, Sesame
Street, and PBS Kids.
The charts were based on data from this Kids section of the App Store. We wanted to find out if
kids’ apps use monetisation strategies that are different to apps elsewhere in the store and which
price points are the most successful.
Points to note:
• We reviewed the 50 highest grossing apps. We presume these are the ones that an app producer
would want to imitate.
• It isn’t possible to estimate what percentage of their revenue has come from IAP or download
fees.

18. Dubit - Pricing of Kids’ Games on the App Store
International Pricing Matrix
Due to the App Store being international and price points rarely being direct currency conversions
we’ve supplied this useful matrix to with international currency comparisons.
94%
Tier UK US Canada Mexico Australia
New
Zeland
Japan Euro China Singapore
Hong
Kong
Russia India
Saudi
Arabia
UAE
1 0.69 0.99 0.99 13.00 0.99 1.29 100 0.89 6 1.28 8.00 33 55 3.69 2.58
2 1.49 1.99 1.99 26.00 1.99 2.59 200 1.79 12 2.58 15.00 66 110 7.29 5.10
3 1.99 2.99 2.99 39.00 2.99 4.19 300 2.69 18 3.98 23.00 99 170 10.99 7.69
4 2.49 3.99 3.99 49.00 4.49 5.29 400 3.59 25 4.98 28.00 129 220 14.99 10.49
5 2.99 4.99 4.99 65.00 5.49 6.49 500 4.49 30 5.98 38.00 169 270 17.99 12.59
6 3.99 5.99 5.99 79.00 6.49 8.29 600 5.49 40 6.98 48.00 199 350 20.99 14.69
7 4.99 6.99 6.99 89.00 7.49 9.99 700 5.99 45 8.98 53.00 229 390 24.99 17.49
8 5.49 7.99 7.99 99.00 8.49 10.99 800 6.99 50 9.98 58.00 269 450 29.99 20.99
9 5.99 8.99 8.99 119.00 9.49 12.99 900 7.99 60 10.98 68.00 299 490 32.99 23.09
10 6.99 9.99 9.99 129.00 10.49 13.99 1000 8.99 68 12.98 78.00 329 550 36.99 25.89