Most paid Google Play Store apps cost under $3, while their iOS counterparts in the App Store come at an average price tag of just $0.88. Furthermore, paid apps are in the minority: 97% of Android apps and almost 95% of iOS apps are free and rely on in-app purchases to turn a profit.
However, there are outliers in this trend – apps that cost hundreds of dollars. What’s the most expensive app, you may wonder? Let’s cover the 19 priciest mobile apps in the App Store and Play Store – and break down why they’re so expensive.
9 most expensive apps in the App Store
What is the most expensive app you can buy as an iPhone owner? Let’s review the nine priciest apps the Apple App Store offers.
CyberTuner
Developed by Reyburn Piano Service, CyberTuner belongs to the exclusive club of 1000-dollar apps, sharing the title of the world’s most expensive app with the next entry on our list.
CyberTuner is a piano tuning app designed for professional piano technician use. The most expensive app in the App Store helps tune pianos by analyzing sound recordings and detecting anomalies.
roc.Kasse
Another $999.99 app on our list, roc.Kasse can also be called the most expensive app in the App Store – and the world. As a $1,000 app in the App Store, this Apple app transforms iPad devices into a fully compliant and user-friendly cashier system for restaurants and retailers.
As it’s an app for cash businesses, the fact that it’s geared toward professional use explains why it’s the users in the store. This cash app is an investment: an app that costs 999.99 is still cheaper to buy than developing a similar solution from scratch.
viaCAD Pro
What’s the most expensive app in the App Store in the design and modeling software category? Let us introduce you to viaCAD Pro – the third most expensive app in the world. While it’s not the most expensive app in the App Store, this iOS app has a price tag of almost $700.
ViaCAD Pro is computer-aided design (CAD) software that allows users to create 2D drafts and 3D models for architectural, engineering, and construction projects. It’s the third most expensive Apple app on our app list because it’s an irreplaceable tool for certain specialists.
Verituner
Our next most expensive app shares the same purposes as the most expensive app for iPhone, available on apple.com, CyberTuner. If you decide to invest in it, Verituner will help you professionally tune pianos with its proprietary technology for the iOS operating system.
With the help of this most expensive Apple Store app, piano tuning specialists can quickly pinpoint disharmonies. Verituner is one of the apps in the App Store that analyzes the recording of the sounds a piano makes, detecting the out-of-tune notes.
DDS GP
Next up on our list of the most expensive apps ever is the DDS GP app. The fifth most expensive app in the App Store, this mobile app can help dental professionals explain conditions and treatments to their patients with pre-made and custom visuals and videos.
As for the App Store apps above, the app price for DDS GP results from two factors. DDS GP is designed for professional use, like many other expensive apps on the App Store.Two, buying one of the expensive apps for iPhone for users costs less than creating a similar one from scratch.
Harrison’s Internal Medicine
Harrison’s Internal Medicine may not be the most expensive app. But it remains an expensive Apple app for what it is: a diagnostic imaging atlas with treatment plans packed in an iOS app container. However, this atlas of internal diagnostic imaging is still on our list of high-price apps, all because of the intellectual property you can access.
Available for iPhone and iPad users, this atlas of Internal Medicine costs almost the same as the textbook in its physical form. As it’s a must-read for medical students, it’s among the most expensive iPhone apps with a narrow target audience.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is among the most expensive software for professional post-production in the industry. Available on iPad since 2023, according to apple.com US, it’s also one of the most expensive apps in the App Store.
Final Cut Pro offers a full range of professional video editing features, from motion effects to photo source color correction. It’s also the most reviewed app in the App Store on our list. This US app is a de-facto standard tool in the industry, both among the applications the App Store has to offer and beyond.
Classic TC with WordPower
Classic TC is an app for the iOS operating system designed to help people who can’t use their voice to communicate with others. This expensive iPhone app transforms the input – selected pictures or typed messages – into speech using a voice synthesizer.
As one of the most expensive iOS apps, Classic TC relies on proprietary technology to make this most expensive app for iPhone users accessible to people with limited mobility and cognitive functioning. It’s also among the few apps available for this purpose, which also explains why it’s one of the most expensive Apple apps.
Pharmacotherapy Principles
Although not the most expensive app in the App Store, this iPhone app still comes with a high price tag. Pharmacotherapy Principles is another McGraw-Hill Education textbook for medical students that comes at the same price as an app available in the iOS App Store.
In addition to the textbook contents, this most expensive app in the Apple Store comes with a smart search. With the app, the user can easily find relevant passages – or just study on the go.
The reason why it’s one of the most expensive apps in the App Store is similar: proprietary content. (McGraw-Hill Education textbooks for healthcare professionals turned into expensive iPhone apps deserving their own App Store type.)
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10 most expensive apps in Google Play Store
With our most expensive iOS app list finished, let’s turn our attention to Google Play Store apps. What is the most expensive app Android users can splurge on?
Here are the nine most expensive apps and games that Google Play Store has to offer. (However, none can rival App Store prices or take the title of the world’s most expensive app.)
Fisherpunk
Fisherpunk isn’t just the most expensive game on Google Play – it’s also the most expensive app in the store. With the price tag at $400.00, few can download the game. Still, Fisherpunk has managed to reach 500+ downloads since its release.
In Fisherpunk, you keep your fish alive by catching the feed falling down the screen. The design, however, is nowhere near what you’d expect from the most expensive Google Play app. Fisherpunk also openly mocks users who buy the most expensive Android games: its interface even says, “You’re The Richest.”
Most expensive clicker
What is the most expensive mobile game? Well, the Most expensive clicker can argue it should be awarded the title of the most expensive game in the world in 2022 and 2023, considering it’s just one cent cheaper than Fisherpunk.
Although listed under Games, the app developed by Sit Think Develop Earn Studio has basic gaming mechanics. The point of the game in this most expensive app in the Play Store is to tap the button as many times as possible until the timer runs out.
Even if it belongs on our list of expensive apps, the Most expensive clicker can’t boast the title of the most expensive app ever. Several apps the App Store has to offer are pricier than this one.
Most expensive counter app
What is the most expensive app for purchase? If you’re an Android user, the Most expensive counter app is one answer to this question. This Android app isn’t just the most expensive time game money can buy – it’s also the most expensive phone app for Android users. (Well, it shares the title with the two entries above.)
Such an expensive app is a simple time counter, albeit with an appealing minimalist interface design. (That’s surprisingly rare among the most expensive apps for Android.)
Ball Drop
Ball Drop is almost the most expensive mobile game on Google Play Store. Its price is currently just 10 US dollars lower than that of the Most expensive clicker. But even if it’s not the most expensive game in the Play Store, it still deserves its spot on our most expensive app list.
In this one of the most expensive apps for Android, you’ll have to overcome obstacles as a ball, with integrated physics determining the gameplay.
iVIP Black
Dubbed ‘The Millionaire’s App’, the iVIP Black app is the fourth most expensive app in the Play Store. Although its price doesn’t compare with the most expensive app on iPhone, VIP Black is the most expensive app in its category – lifestyle.
The VIP Black app is designed for people with a high net worth. It gives users access to VIP treatment at partner venues across the world. The company behind the VIP Black app handpicks and curates those luxurious partner venues to provide members with only the finest establishments.
Lousy Airplane!
Lousy Airplane! may not be the most expensive app ever, but it’s one of the most expensive apps Android has to offer. It’s also among the most expensive mobile games ever.
In this game, you’ll take charge of private jets and guide them through obstacles level after level. Besides having a fun time, Lousy Airplanes! users can also boast flaunting their wealth on one of the top expensive apps – even if it’s not the most expensive app in the world.
This game is a success story among the most expensive apps on Android: Lousy Airplanes! app purchases exceed 10,000!
The most expensive calculator
The next most expensive app Android users can flaunt their wealth on is conveniently named The most expensive calculator. When you use the app, you won’t mark any differences with a regular calculator – except that this app costs $269.99.
This is indeed the world’s most expensive calculator we could find, although it’s not the most expensive mobile app for Android users. Like the Most expensive clicker, The most expensive calculator’s developers seem to have set the price this high simply to compete for the title of the most expensive Play Store app.
2048 Game Pro Most Expensive
2048 Game Pro may be a familiar entry among the priciest Android apps and games. It’s a version of the 2048 game made for those who can easily splurge on it: you can download the app only after paying over $200 for the install.
(If you’re unfamiliar with 2048 mechanics, you need to swipe tiles with numbers to join them and get to 2048.)
Despite being an expensive Android game, it was downloaded over 1,000 times. This makes 2048 Game Pro another relatively successful entry on our list of expensive Android apps. Now, the game is unavailable.
Zollinger Atlas of Surgery
What’s the most expensive app for medical students who use Android? It’s Zollinger Atlas of Surgery. This color atlas packaged in an app will cost you over two hundred dollars – all just so that you can use it to learn how to perform surgical operations.
While this surgical atlas is among the most expensive phone apps, the reason behind its price is simple. You essentially buy a McGraw-Hill Education textbook.
That said, students don’t seem to want to buy their most expensive app on Google Play. This app currently has 0+ downloads, making it one of the least successful Android apps.
Pharmacotherapy Principles
Closing our list of the most expensive apps ever for Android users is another textbook in the expensive app form – Pharmacotherapy Principles. While it’s not the most expensive app for Android, it’s pricey – but not more than its physical alternative.
As we described in the most expensive app list for iOS devices, this app simply allows users to browse and search the McGraw-Hill Education textbook of the same name.
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Why are these apps so expensive?
Be it the most expensive app in the App Store in 2022 or the top expensive app in the Play Store, their price may seem inflated. Here’s why expensive App Store and Google apps can cost hundreds of dollars:
- Development costs are high. A mobile app can cost thousands of dollars to develop, depending on the technologies the app will rely on, its complexity, chosen platforms, and required expertise.
- Intellectual property is valuable. The intellectual property can include the underlying proprietary technology (e.g., CyberTuner) or app content itself (e.g., Pharmacotherapy Principles).
- The app is intended for professional use. An expensive app can be an upfront investment for professionals necessary to do their jobs (e.g., Final Cut Pro).
- The app targets an affluent audience. Some apps, especially on Android, are intended to be the means of demonstrating the user can afford to spend that much on an app. Others, like iVIP Black, provide a tangible service intended for wealthy individuals.
- It’s the monetization strategy. Some users may also prefer to pay a lot once than to entail subscription fees once per month for years. Case in point: Dr.Web Security Space Life costs $72.99 for a lifetime subscription, as opposed to a $25.98 annual fee.
Conclusion
Whether it’s a piano tuning tool for professionals or a luxury concierge service for the ultra-wealthy, the most expensive apps on the App Store and Google Play prove that value comes in many forms — from unique functionality and specialized use cases to exclusive content and prestige. While most users stick to free or freemium models, these outliers show what’s possible when a mobile app solves a niche problem exceptionally well.
If you’re looking to develop a high-value app — whether for specialized industries, premium audiences, or scalable monetization — Sombra can help. Our custom software development services cover everything from mobile app design and architecture to launch and ongoing support. Let’s build something users are willing to pay for. Contact us today to get started.
