Censuus Research · updated 2026-11-02
The Indie App Landscape: what indie app makers build
What independent app makers are building right now — and where visit traffic goes — across every app tracked on Censuus.
How we measured this
Every figure below is computed live from the 421 independent apps currently tracked on Censuus. Apps are ranked by their real first-party visit traffic; sponsors can add points on top of that traffic, and we never invent a rank. Nothing here is hand-entered — the numbers move as the catalogue and its traffic change.
At a glance
What indie makers are building
Number of tracked apps in each category — the busiest eight.
Where the visit traffic goes
Share of all recorded visits by category. Building in a crowded category is not the same as capturing its attention.
Where indie apps ship
Most tracked makers ship iOS first; a minority go cross-platform from day one.
Store quality
4.71Average store rating across 310 rated apps — indie quality runs high.
Attention is concentrated
37%of all visit traffic goes to just the ten busiest apps — a steep long tail below them.
Who leads the busiest categories
The most-visited app in each of the top categories right now.
Explore the data
This report is a live snapshot — read it against the ranking it is drawn from. Browse the live leaderboard, the best-in-category guides, or what is trending right now. Every app is ranked by visit traffic and sponsorship; the rank is buyable, and we never invent one.
Go deeper on one market: Mercado de apps ucranianas 2026, a study of 261 apps by Ukrainian developers: niches, ratings, update cadence, AI, subscriptions and languages.
Beyond our catalog: where App Store attention goes, a study of how ratings split across 79 App Store niches and how rarely new apps reach the first screen.
FAQ
How does Censuus rank apps?
Every app is ranked by its real first-party visit traffic on Censuus. Sponsors can add points on top of that traffic to lift their position, and we never invent a rank.
What does this report cover?
It reflects the 421 independent apps currently tracked on Censuus, aggregated by category, platform and store rating. Figures update as the catalog and its traffic change.
Which category gets the most visit traffic?
Health & Fitness currently draws the largest share of visit traffic among tracked apps.