# How to validate an app idea before you pay a developer > Cheap tests that tell you whether people want your app before you spend on a build: problem interviews, store and review research, search demand, a waitlist, a manual version and pre-sales. Published 2026-11-02 by ODEL. Validate an app idea by proving three things before you hire anyone: real people have the problem and are trying to solve it today, they can find a solution like yours (people search for it or already pay a competitor), and some of them will commit something, an email, a deposit or a payment, before the app exists. You can test all three in a few weeks for far less than a build. Skipping this step is the most expensive mistake in the [2026 r/Entrepreneur thread](https://reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/1r9agny/has_anyone_here_actually_hired_someone_to_build/) on hiring someone to build an app: one commenter spent about 12,000 USD and recouped about 1,200 USD. Another's advice: if the idea is not validated yet, build a rough version yourself first. With most hired projects landing at 10,000 to 49,999 USD ([Clutch, 2026](https://clutch.co/directory/mobile-application-developers/pricing)), a week of testing is cheap insurance. ## Step 1: Talk to people who have the problem Find people in your target group and ask about the past, not the future: - "When did this last happen to you? What did you do?" - "What do you use for it now? What does it cost you?" - "What have you tried that did not work?" Do not pitch your app and do not ask "would you use this?". Everyone says yes. You are listening for a problem that is frequent, painful and already costs time or money. If people solve it today with a tool they like, that is useful too: you now know your competitor. ## Step 2: Read the stores and the reviews Search the App Store and Google Play for the words your users used in step 1: - **Who is already there?** Many good apps means demand exists and competition is hard. No apps can mean no demand. - **Read the 1 to 3 star reviews** of the top apps. Repeated complaints (too complex, ads everywhere, price jumped, missing a feature) are your opening. - **Check prices and models.** If competitors charge subscriptions and still get reviews, people pay in this category. - **Check the developers.** A category full of large companies with marketing budgets is harder to enter than one with small, neglected apps. ## Step 3: Measure search demand People cannot download an app they cannot find. Two free or cheap signals: - **Apple Ads keyword recommendations** show search popularity from 1 to 5 ([Apple Ads](https://ads.apple.com/app-store/best-practices/recommendations)). It is coarse, but it comes from Apple. - **Google Trends and search suggestions** show whether people search the problem on the web. An ASO tool gives finer popularity and difficulty estimates per keyword and country. We built [Appalize](/project/appalize) for this and use it on our own apps; any ASO tool works for a first look. Our guide on [App Store keyword research](/blog/how-to-do-app-store-keyword-research-as-an-indie-developer) walks through it. ## Step 4: Run a waitlist or landing page test Write a one-page site that describes the outcome, shows a mockup and asks for an email (or a deposit). Send traffic from the places your users already are: a relevant forum, a Facebook group, a small ad test. Founders in an [r/Entrepreneur discussion (2026)](https://reddit.sentinel-team.org/posts/1rrkyus/snapshots/2026-03-12T21%3A01%3A44.642906Z) use exactly this waitlist test, and some push back that a working product beats a landing page. Both are right: a signup is weak evidence, a payment is strong evidence. Decide before you start what result would make you stop, and write it down. Otherwise any result will look like a yes. ## Step 5: Do it by hand first (concierge test) Deliver the service manually to a handful of users. A booking app can start as you taking bookings by message for one salon. A meal planner can start as a weekly plan you send by email. If people will not use the manual version, they will not use the app. If they do, you learn exactly which features matter, which becomes your brief. ## Step 6: Build a no-code or AI prototype A clickable prototype in Figma, a no-code tool or an AI app builder lets users try the flow. Treat it as a spec, not as the product: founders who ship this way are told to expect a rebuild when a developer joins ([r/SaaS](https://redlib.hbubli.cc/r/SaaS/comments/1d47p08/best_nolowcode_app_builder_to_start_with_before)). If you already have one, see [turn an AI-built prototype into a real app](/blog/turn-an-ai-built-prototype-into-a-real-app). ## Step 7: Ask for money The strongest signal is a payment: a pre-order, a paid pilot for a business, a deposit. For a business tool, a signed letter of intent from a real customer is worth more than any survey. ## Check the economics before you build Run the numbers on what one paying user is worth after store fees: - Apple's Small Business Program takes 15 percent on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers with up to 1 million USD in proceeds ([Apple](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/)). Outside the program, subscriptions pay you 70 percent in the first year and 85 percent after ([Apple](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/subscriptions/)). - Google Play changed fees in 2026 in the US, UK, EEA, Australia and Japan: auto-renewing subscriptions there carry 10 percent plus a 5 percent billing fee ([Google](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en)). - Add the 99 USD yearly Apple fee ([Apple](https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/)), hosting, and maintenance, which vendor blogs estimate at 15 to 20 percent of build cost per year as a rule of thumb ([Cleveroad, 2026](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/app-maintenance-cost/)). ## Does it need to be an app at all? A [Clutch report](https://clutch.co/report/should-your-small-business-invest-mobile-app) advises small businesses not to build an app just because others have one. If a mobile website, an existing booking or invoicing tool, or a shared spreadsheet solves the problem, start there. See [does my small business need an app](/blog/does-my-small-business-need-an-app). ## Validation checklist - [ ] I can describe the problem in one sentence in my users' own words. - [ ] I spoke to people who have it, about what they did last time. - [ ] I know how they solve it today and what that costs them. - [ ] I read the low-star reviews of the top competing apps. - [ ] I checked search demand for the words users use. - [ ] I wrote down my stop criteria before running a test. - [ ] Some people gave an email, a deposit or a payment. - [ ] I ran the service by hand or with a prototype. - [ ] The numbers work after store fees and running costs. When most boxes are ticked, write the brief: [how to write an app brief](/blog/how-to-write-an-app-brief). ## Where ODEL fits, and where it does not ODEL is a one-person studio that ships its own iPhone and Android apps and checks App Store search demand with its own ASO tool, Appalize, when planning them. Once an idea passes these tests, we can build a focused first version: see [MVP development](/services/mvp-development) or [MicroSaaS development](/services/microsaas-development). We quote after a discovery call, and you own the code and store accounts. Not a fit: if you have not tested demand yet, do not hire us or anyone; run the steps above first. If an existing SaaS covers the need, buy it. And for products that need a large team, 24/7 on-site support or certified regulated systems, an agency is the better choice. When you are ready, [send a short brief](/services#start).