How Do I Know If a Feature Will Actually Make Me Money?

Have you ever sat in a meeting where someone pitches a new feature and everyone nods along because it sounds good, but nobody actually asks if it'll make any money? It happens all the time—I've seen it with startups and big companies alike. Someone gets excited about a feature they've seen in a competitor's app or they think it'll be "really cool" and before you know it, you're investing thousands (or tens of thousands) into building something that might never generate a single pound in return.

Look, I've been building mobile apps for long enough to know that adding features feels productive. It feels like progress. But here's the thing—more features don't automatically mean more revenue, and actually, they often mean the opposite. Every feature you add comes with a price tag that extends far beyond the initial build cost; there's maintenance, testing, user support, and the mental load it puts on your users when they're trying to figure out what your app even does.

The most expensive features aren't the ones that cost the most to build—they're the ones that don't make you any money after launch

What really matters is understanding the relationship between what you build and what it returns. I mean, that's just basic business sense, right? Yet I've seen teams make the same mistakes over and over, building features because they seem like they should work, not because they've actually validated whether they will work. This guide isn't about theory or fancy frameworks—its about the practical, real-world process of figuring out whether that feature idea floating around your head (or your stakeholder's head) is actually worth pursuing. We're going to look at how you calculate feature ROI, what users actually pay for, and most importantly, how to avoid wasting your budget on features that look good on paper but fail in the real world.

Understanding What 'Making Money' Actually Means for Your App

Right, let's get something straight from the start—when people talk about a feature 'making money' they usually mean one of several different things and honestly, its not always clear which one they're referring to. This confusion leads to terrible decisions, wasted development time, and features that sit there doing absolutely nothing for your bottom line.

I mean, a feature can make money in direct ways; it's something users pay for, like a premium filter or an advanced reporting tool. Pretty straightforward. But here's where it gets interesting—features can also make money indirectly, and this is where most people get confused. A feature might not generate a single penny on its own but it keeps users coming back, which means they see more ads or they're more likely to upgrade later on. That's still making money, just not in the obvious way.

Then there are features that make money by stopping you from losing it. A better onboarding flow doesn't directly charge anyone anything, but if it reduces the number of people who download your app and immediately delete it... well, that's saved you whatever it cost to acquire those users in the first place. We're talking about preventing waste rather than generating income.

The Four Ways Features Actually Make Money

• Direct revenue—users pay for the feature itself through purchases or subscriptions
• Indirect revenue—the feature increases engagement which leads to more ad views or future purchases
• Cost avoidance—the feature prevents user churn or reduces support costs
• Strategic value—the feature attracts a specific type of high-value user or creates competitive advantage

That last one trips people up constantly. Sometimes a feature makes money because it positions your app differently in the market, even if nobody ever pays for it directly. Think about Face ID on banking apps—banks don't charge extra for it but it makes people feel safer, which means they're more likely to choose that app over competitors. That's strategic value and its bloody hard to measure but its definitely making money for someone.

The Real Cost of Building a Feature (It's More Than You Think)

When someone asks me "how much will this feature cost?" they're usually thinking about developer hours. Maybe they've done a bit of research and they know that building a chat feature or a payment system costs X amount. But here's the thing—that's just the beginning. The actual cost of a feature is like an iceberg; what you see on the surface is maybe 30% of what you're really paying for.

Let me break down what the real cost actually includes, because honestly most people miss half of these until its too late. You've got your initial development cost sure, but then theres design time (which people always underestimate), testing across different devices, bug fixes after launch, server costs if the feature needs backend support, maintenance updates every time iOS or Android releases a new version, customer support for users who dont understand how to use it...and the list goes on.

And you know what? The biggest cost isn't even financial—its opportunity cost. Every hour your team spends building feature A is an hour they can't spend on feature B. I've seen so many apps build elaborate features that took months to develop, only to realise they should have been focusing on something completely different.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Warns You About

Here's what actually adds up when you're calculating feature ROI:

• Design and UX work (usually 20-30% of development time)
• Quality assurance testing across multiple device types and OS versions
• Backend infrastructure and ongoing server costs
• Third-party service fees if you're integrating APIs or payment systems
• Documentation for your team and users
• Customer support training and resources
• Marketing materials to actually tell people the feature exists
• Maintenance and updates—typically 15-20% of the original build cost per year

I mean, take a payment feature for example. You might think "right, integrate Stripe, job done." But actually you need to design the checkout flow, handle error states, build a receipt system, deal with refund requests, ensure PCI compliance, test on different card types, handle international currencies if you're global...it adds up fast. A feature you thought would take two weeks suddenly becomes six weeks, and the cost triples.

Time Costs Money in Ways You Don't Expect

The longer a feature takes to build the more expensive it becomes—not just because you're paying developers for more hours, but because your competitors are moving forward whilst you're stuck in development. Every month you spend building is a month you're not making money from it. If a feature costs £10,000 to build and takes three months, but a competitor launches something similar in one month, they've got a two-month head start on gathering data, iterating, and capturing market share.

Before approving any feature, calculate the full cost including design, testing, infrastructure, support, and at least 12 months of maintenance. Then double that number—because in my experience, features always cost more than the initial estimate suggests.

The business value of a feature needs to justify all these costs combined, not just the development time. That's where proper cost-benefit analysis comes in; you need to project realistic revenue or user retention improvements that will pay back your investment within a reasonable timeframe. Most successful apps aim for features to pay for themselves within 6-12 months through either direct monetisation or improved retention metrics that reduce churn costs.

Which Features Users Will Actually Pay For

Right, let's get into the stuff that actually matters—what will people open their wallets for? Because here's the thing, users are happy to pay for features that save them time, make them money, or solve a genuine pain point. Everything else? They'll expect it for free.

I've watched countless apps fail because they tried to charge for features that users thought should be basic functionality. Its a mistake I see time and time again, honestly. You can't charge someone for the ability to change their profile picture or receive notifications—those are table stakes now, whether you like it or not.

The features that consistently generate revenue fall into pretty clear categories, and I mean genuinely consistent revenue, not just a flash in the pan. Users will pay to remove limitations (more storage, more projects, more team members), they'll pay for advanced tools that help them do their job better, and they'll pay to get rid of adverts because bloody hell do people hate adverts these days.

Features That Generate Real Revenue

Looking at the apps that actually make money, here's what users consistently pay for:

• Removing artificial limits—extra storage, more exports, additional users on an account
• Professional tools that deliver tangible results—advanced analytics, automation, batch processing
• Time-saving features—templates, presets, shortcuts that make work faster
• Priority access—faster processing, queue jumping, premium support
• Privacy and security upgrades—encrypted messaging, private albums, secure backups
• Customisation options—themes, branding removal, white-labelling

But here's what doesn't work? Charging for features that your competitors offer for free. Users will just leave, simple as that. And charging for features that feel like they should be included in the base price—that's how you end up with one-star reviews calling you greedy. You've got to find that sweet spot where users think "yeah, that's worth paying for" rather than "why isn't this included already?"

Free vs Paid Features: Getting the Balance Right

Right, so here's where most apps completely mess things up—they either give away everything for free and can't pay the bills, or they lock everything behind a paywall and nobody sticks around long enough to see the value. Its a bit mad really, because the answer isn't that complicated once you understand what you're actually trying to do.

Your free features need to do one job: prove your app's worth. That's it. They need to solve a real problem well enough that users think "okay, this is actually useful" and keep coming back. I mean, if someone downloads your fitness app and you lock basic workout tracking behind a paywall, they're gone before they've even seen what makes you different from the hundred other fitness apps out there.

Here's the thing though—your paid features should make the free experience better, not make it feel broken. Big difference. If users feel like you're deliberately crippling the free version to force them into paying, you've lost them. But if they're happily using your free features and then discover that premium unlocks something they genuinely want? That's when conversions happen.

The best freemium model feels generous with what it gives away for free, but makes the paid upgrade feel like an obvious next step for engaged users

What Actually Works as Free Features

Core functionality should always be free. Always. If your app is a to-do list, people need to be able to create and tick off tasks without paying. What you charge for are things like advanced sorting, team collaboration, or unlimited projects. See the difference? The app works perfectly fine for most people, but power users who get serious value from it will happily pay for extra capabilities.

Finding Your Conversion Sweet Spot

Most successful freemium apps convert between 2-5% of free users to paid. Sounds low, doesn't it? But when you've got thousands of users, that adds up quickly. The trick is making sure your free tier is good enough to build that user base whilst your paid tier is compelling enough to convert the right percentage. Understanding how to help users make confident purchase decisions can significantly improve these conversion rates. Test different feature splits, watch your metrics, and don't be afraid to move things between tiers based on what the data tells you.

Measuring Success Before You Build Anything

Right, so you've got a feature idea and you want to know if its worth building. Makes sense. But heres where most people get it wrong—they start building first and measure later. That's completely backwards and honestly, it's cost my clients thousands over the years until they learned this lesson.

You need to decide what success looks like before you write a single line of code. I mean, how will you know if something worked if you dont know what "working" means? Seems obvious when I put it like that, but you'd be surprised how many apps get built without clear success metrics.

Start with the basics. What do you want this feature to actually do for your business? Drive more sign-ups? Increase time spent in the app? Get people to upgrade to premium? Reduce support tickets? Pick one primary goal—maybe two at most. If you're trying to achieve ten different things with one feature, you're setting yourself up for confusion down the line.

Setting Numbers That Actually Mean Something

Once you know your goal, put a number on it. And make it specific. Don't say "increase engagement"—say "increase daily active users by 15%" or "reduce time to complete checkout by 30 seconds". Vague goals lead to vague results, and vague results mean you cant prove the feature was worth building.

But here's the thing—your numbers need to be realistic. I've seen people set targets like "this feature will triple our revenue" when they have no data to support that. Look at your current metrics, research what similar features achieved for comparable apps, and set something achievable. You can always aim higher once you've got real data.

What You Should Track From Day One

Think about what data you'll need to collect to measure your goals. If your feature is meant to increase purchases, you need to track conversion rates before and after launch. If its about engagement, you need baseline data on session length and frequency. Getting this tracking set up before launch is absolutely critical because you cant measure change without knowing where you started.

Also consider the timeline. Some features show results immediately—others take weeks or months. A new onboarding flow might show impact within days, but a social feature that relies on network effects could take much longer to prove its value. Set realistic timeframes for measuring success and stick to them.

When Features Should Lose You Money (Yes, Really)

This sounds completely mad, doesn't it? Why would you deliberately build something that loses money? But here's the thing—some features aren't meant to generate direct revenue, and that's actually fine. I mean, think about it. When you build a referral system, that costs you money to develop and maintain. It might even cost you money in incentives. But its job isn't to make money; its job is to reduce your customer acquisition costs. And if it does that well, it's worth every penny you lose on it.

I've built apps where we spent serious money on features that had zero direct monetisation attached to them. Free trials that cost us server resources and support time. Onboarding tutorials that took weeks to perfect. Social sharing features that only benefit us if people actually use them (and many dont). But these features serve a bigger purpose—they make the whole app more successful, even if they're money pits on their own.

Features That Should Cost You Money

Some features are investments in your app's future, not immediate revenue generators. Customer support chat systems rarely make money directly, but they prevent churn which saves you thousands in the long run. Analytics dashboards cost money to build and maintain, but they help you make better decisions across your entire business. Even simple things like app tutorials—they cost time and money to create, but they increase activation rates which affects everything downstream.

The trick is knowing which money-losing features are actually investments versus which ones are just... well, losing you money. A good rule I use is this: if the feature improves retention, reduces acquisition costs, or increases user lifetime value in a measurable way, it can lose money on its own. If it does none of those things? Cut it.

When to Embrace the Loss

You need to look at feature ROI across your entire business model, not just that individual feature. Sometimes a feature's value is in what it prevents (churn, support tickets, refunds) rather than what it generates. Sometimes its value is in how it positions you against competitors. I've seen apps where a completely free feature became their biggest differentiator, bringing in customers who then paid for other things.

• Features that reduce customer support costs over time
• Onboarding experiences that increase activation rates
• Referral systems that lower acquisition costs
• Social features that create network effects
• Free tiers that funnel users toward paid plans
• Educational content that builds trust and authority

Calculate the indirect value before you label a feature as "unprofitable"—measure its impact on retention, support costs, and user acquisition rather than just direct revenue generation.

The biggest mistake I see is looking at features in isolation. Sure, your help centre loses money. But how much would you lose if users couldn't find answers and just deleted your app instead? That free tier you offer costs you money in server resources, but what's the conversion rate to paid plans? These aren't costs—they're investments with different timelines and measurement criteria than your paid features.

Testing Your Feature Without Spending a Fortune

Right, so you've got a feature idea and you want to know if its going to make money—but you don't fancy dropping £50,000 on development just to find out nobody wants it. Smart thinking, honestly. I've seen too many clients build entire features based on gut feeling alone, and it never ends well.

The good news? You can test almost any feature concept without writing a single line of production code. Sure, it takes a bit of creativity, but its way cheaper than learning the hard way.

Quick Validation Methods That Actually Work

Start with what I call the "fake door test"—basically you add a button or menu item for your new feature in your existing app, and when users tap it they see a coming soon message (with an option to join a waitlist). If 2% or more of users click that button, you've got something worth exploring. If nobody clicks it? Well, you just saved yourself a ton of money and time.

Landing pages work brilliantly too. Build a simple page describing your feature, run some targeted ads to your ideal users, and see if anyone signs up for early access. I mean, if you cant get people interested with a well-crafted page and £500 in ad spend, they definitely won't care when its buried inside your app.

Low-Cost Prototypes and MVPs

Sometimes you need to let people actually try something before they know if they want it. Thats where prototypes come in—not full builds, but clickable demos made in tools like Figma or even just a wizard-of-oz approach where you manually fulfil requests behind the scenes. I've helped clients validate entire feature concepts by processing things manually for the first 50 users before automating anything.

Here's a practical testing timeline that wont break the bank:

• Week 1: Create a landing page and fake door test (£500-1000)
• Week 2-3: Run small ad campaigns to your target audience (£1000-2000)
• Week 4: Build a clickable prototype if interest is strong (£2000-5000)
• Week 5-6: Test prototype with 20-30 real users, gather feedback
• Week 7: Analyse data and decide whether to build for real

The beauty of this approach is that you're spending maybe £5000 maximum to validate something that could cost £50,000 to build properly. And if the tests show people dont want it? You've just saved £45,000. Not bad for a few weeks work, really.

Common Mistakes That Kill Feature ROI

Right, lets talk about the mistakes I see time and time again—because honestly, after building apps for so many different clients, these patterns become pretty bloody obvious. The first big one? Building features because your competitors have them. I mean, sure, it feels logical doesn't it? But here's the thing—you don't know if that feature is actually making them money or if its just haemorrhaging cash. I've seen companies spend £50,000+ copying a competitors feature only to discover it was never profitable in the first place.

Another killer is adding features without any way to measure their impact. You launch something new, watch downloads for a bit, and then... what? If you cant track how many people actually use the feature, how long they engage with it, and whether those users convert better than others, you're basically flying blind. And that's expensive guesswork, not business strategy.

The "Just One More Thing" Trap

This ones a bit mad really—teams often keep adding "just one more thing" to a feature before launch. What starts as a simple payment system becomes a payment system with receipts and refunds and subscription management and loyalty points integration. Each addition delays your launch and increases costs, but more importantly, it makes testing impossible because you've built ten features at once instead of one.

The most expensive mistake isn't building the wrong feature—its building the right feature in the wrong way and never getting real user feedback because you spent six months perfecting it first.

And finally, the mistake that hurts most? Not setting a kill date. You need to decide upfront: if this feature doesn't hit X metric by Y date, we're removing it. I've worked with apps carrying dead features that cost money to maintain but generate nothing—features nobody had the courage to remove because of sunk cost fallacy. Understanding what happens when you stop maintaining app features can help you make these difficult decisions. Your app isn't a museum; if something isn't working, get rid of it and move on.

Look—I'm not going to pretend this is simple stuff. Figuring out whether a feature will make you money involves juggling user psychology, business models, development costs, and quite a bit of educated guesswork. But here's what I've learned after building apps for years: the ones that succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the most features or the biggest budgets. They're the ones that understand their users deeply enough to know what's worth building and what's just noise.

The biggest mistake I see people make? They build features because they seem cool or because a competitor has them, not because theyve actually validated whether their users need them. And that's expensive. Really expensive. Every feature you add increases your development time, your maintenance burden, and the complexity of your app. Having a solid mobile app strategy helps you avoid building features just because they seem trendy. Some features will directly generate revenue through purchases or subscriptions; others will boost retention which indirectly increases lifetime value; and some—the ones nobody likes to talk about—will lose you money in the short term but are absolutely necessary for long-term success.

The good news is you don't need to guess anymore. We've got tools and methods to test ideas before spending tens of thousands on development. Use MVPs, run proper user testing, look at your analytics with a critical eye, and don't be afraid to kill features that aren't working. I mean it—sometimes the best decision is to remove something you spent months building.

What matters most is being honest with yourself about what you're trying to achieve. Are you building for retention? For monetisation? For competitive positioning? Each goal requires different features and different success metrics. Get clear on your why, validate ruthlessly, and measure everything. Do that and youll save yourself from building things nobody wants whilst focusing on what actually moves the needle for your business.

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