You don't need an original idea to start earning. The App Store has a whole tier of “evergreen” niches — not flashy, but with real paying users month after month, some clearing seven figures. The move isn't to invent; it's to pick a niche and build a version closer to a specific group of users.
How to use it
- Scan the 20 niches below and pick one or two you already understand, or know people who need.
- Each niche has 5 concrete ideas — a starting point, not a script. Shape it closer to the users you know.
- Once something clicks, validate and start it with the App Store Reverse Engineering resource and the Vibe Coding course.
100 ideas, 20 evergreen niches
Click any niche to jump to its 5 concrete ideas.
- AI video editing
- Language learning
- Faith & prayer
- Brain training
- Strength training
- Self-care habits
- Kids learning
- Animal training
- Meditation & sleep
- Journaling & reflection
- Personal budgeting
- Habit tracking
- Meal planning
- Focus & productivity
- Dating & relationships
- Parenting
- Astrology & horoscopes
- Local services booking
- Niche hobby communities
- Travel planning
The real examples and monthly revenue for the first 8 niches come from Ernesto Lopez's breakdown of evergreen App Store categories; the other 12 are AAA's own extensions, with no figure attached.
Not sure which? Let AI narrow it down
Tell the AI about your background and what you want, and it picks the 3 best fits from the whole list.
Here are 100 app ideas, grouped into 20 niches: [AI video editing] Auto-cut Instagram Reels for small-business owners, A tool that cuts property-tour clips for estate agents, Auto-pulls the quotable moments out of a podcast into shorts, Turns a tutor’s lesson recording into a revision clip, Cuts pet footage into shareable funny clips [Language learning] Cantonese for domestic helpers — the exact phrases for groceries and childcare, Everyday Cantonese for new immigrants settling in Hong Kong, Plain-language smartphone terms for elderly users, Drilling workplace English emails for HK professionals, A Pinyin game for kids learning Mandarin [Faith & prayer] A daily scripture verse with a Cantonese reflection, Check-ins for a church small group’s Bible-study plan, Gentle reminders that build a daily prayer habit, Mindfulness meditation framed around faith, A gratitude journal written from a faith angle [Brain training] Short daily games aimed at slowing cognitive decline in seniors, Memory drills for students before DSE or other public exams, Arithmetic and logic games built for kids, Focus-training games designed for ADHD users, Cognitive rehab exercises for stroke recovery patients [Strength training] A 15-minute no-equipment routine you can do at home, Logs lifts and progress for first-time gym-goers, A postpartum strength-recovery plan for new mums, Stretch reminders for office workers who sit all day, Warm-up and cool-down routines for hikers [Self-care habits] Grow a virtual pet by hitting your water and sleep goals, Tracks mood and stress for people in full-time jobs, One small self-care task a day, as a running challenge, Self-care reminders written for unpaid carers, Helps you cut phone screen time, gently [Kids learning] An interactive app teaching kids Cantonese poetry, A game that teaches kindergarteners to read characters, Teaches kids money basics through play, Illustrated steps for kids cooking simple meals, Social-skills practice for kids with special needs (SEN) [Animal training] A first-time cat owner’s guide with daily check-ins, Tracks a dog’s behaviour-training progress, Reminders for pet jabs and deworming schedules, Teaches kids how to behave around pets, Matches stray-animal volunteers with adopters [Meditation & sleep] Pre-exam calming meditations for students, Helps shift workers reset their sleep schedule, Cantonese-narrated wind-down audio before bed, Short recharge naps for new parents mid-childcare, White noise paired with breathing exercises for focus [Journaling & reflection] AI asks you questions that prompt the journal entry, A shared reflection journal for couples, A weekly work review ritual for professionals, Tracks a fresh graduate’s job-hunt journey and reflections, A lightweight mood log — one photo, one line [Personal budgeting] Tracks income and tax prep for freelancers, Helps students manage their pocket money, Flags forgotten or rising subscription charges, Splits shared expenses between couples, Logs and reviews trades for first-time investors [Habit tracking] A quit-bubble-tea / quit-sugar streak challenge, Tracks a book club’s reading progress, Morning-run check-ins with friends cheering each other on, A streak for putting the phone down before bed, A daily operations checklist for small shop owners [Meal planning] One-portion meal planning for people living alone, Calculates protein-focused meal plans for gym-goers, Turns leftovers into meal inspiration, Illustrated home-cooking recipes for domestic helpers, A cooking challenge that gets picky kids to eat [Focus & productivity] A Pomodoro timer that grows a virtual plant, Tracks which project a freelancer’s time is going to, Blocks social media specifically during study sessions, A pre- and post-meeting prep-and-follow-up checklist, Breaks homework into small steps for SEN kids [Dating & relationships] Icebreaker prompts for couples just starting out, A daily check-in ritual for long-distance couples, A pre-marriage conversation checklist on money and values, A support community for single parents after divorce, Logs shared memories for a couple over time [Parenting] Logs feeds and nappy changes for new parents, An emotional-support community for exhausted parents, Bridges grandparents’ and new parents’ parenting styles, Tracks a child’s growth milestones, A childcare division-of-labour planner for dual-income families [Astrology & horoscopes] A Cantonese daily-horoscope app, An AI-assisted tarot reading app, Compatibility readings for couples, A simple date-picking (擇日) tool based on feng shui, Weekly lucky-colour and outfit suggestions [Local services booking] Matches home tutors with students, Books a dog walker on demand, Fast call-outs for estate plumbers and electricians, A neighbourhood second-hand furniture marketplace, Sign-ups for community classes — yoga, art, and more [Niche hobby communities] Matches board-game fans looking for a group, Shares hiking routes and finds hiking buddies, Tracks and trades an anime figure collection, A community for vinyl record collectors, A sharing community for pet photographers [Travel planning] Plans short weekend getaways, Designs accessible travel routes for elderly travellers, Splits costs and coordinates itineraries for backpackers, A packing checklist for family trips with kids, Finds vegetarian-friendly restaurants while travelling My background: [what you know, what you're interested in, how many hours a week you have] What I want: [side income / to learn to build with AI / to solve my own problem] From these 100 ideas, pick the 3 that fit my background best. For each: two sentences on why it fits, which audience would be easiest to find the first 10 users in, and which one I could get a first version of in two weeks.
Every idea, by niche
🎬 AI video editingReal example: VideoGPT · $300K/mo
Everyone now posts video, almost nobody enjoys editing it — hand the boring part to AI.
- Auto-cut Instagram Reels for small-business owners
- A tool that cuts property-tour clips for estate agents
- Auto-pulls the quotable moments out of a podcast into shorts
- Turns a tutor’s lesson recording into a revision clip
- Cuts pet footage into shareable funny clips
🗣️ Language learningReal example: Speak · $3M/mo
The market is huge and nobody ever finishes learning a language — recurring revenue by design.
- Cantonese for domestic helpers — the exact phrases for groceries and childcare
- Everyday Cantonese for new immigrants settling in Hong Kong
- Plain-language smartphone terms for elderly users
- Drilling workplace English emails for HK professionals
- A Pinyin game for kids learning Mandarin
🙏 Faith & prayerReal example: Hallow · $900K/mo
A daily habit people already keep, with almost no Cantonese-first competition.
- A daily scripture verse with a Cantonese reflection
- Check-ins for a church small group’s Bible-study plan
- Gentle reminders that build a daily prayer habit
- Mindfulness meditation framed around faith
- A gratitude journal written from a faith angle
🧠 Brain trainingReal example: Impulse · $1M/mo
An anxious audience (ageing parents, exam students) that actively searches for this.
- Short daily games aimed at slowing cognitive decline in seniors
- Memory drills for students before DSE or other public exams
- Arithmetic and logic games built for kids
- Focus-training games designed for ADHD users
- Cognitive rehab exercises for stroke recovery patients
🏋️ Strength trainingReal example: LADDER · $7M/mo
Fitness apps are crowded at the top but wide open once you pick a specific body or situation.
- A 15-minute no-equipment routine you can do at home
- Logs lifts and progress for first-time gym-goers
- A postpartum strength-recovery plan for new mums
- Stretch reminders for office workers who sit all day
- Warm-up and cool-down routines for hikers
🫧 Self-care habitsReal example: Finch · $2M/mo
A virtual pet or streak turns an unglamorous habit into something people actually open daily.
- Grow a virtual pet by hitting your water and sleep goals
- Tracks mood and stress for people in full-time jobs
- One small self-care task a day, as a running challenge
- Self-care reminders written for unpaid carers
- Helps you cut phone screen time, gently
🧒 Kids learningReal example: Lingokids · $3M/mo
Parents will pay for anything that keeps a kid both occupied and actually learning.
- An interactive app teaching kids Cantonese poetry
- A game that teaches kindergarteners to read characters
- Teaches kids money basics through play
- Illustrated steps for kids cooking simple meals
- Social-skills practice for kids with special needs (SEN)
🐾 Animal trainingReal example: Woofz · $300K/mo
Pet owners already spend freely — the gap is good, bite-sized guidance.
- A first-time cat owner’s guide with daily check-ins
- Tracks a dog’s behaviour-training progress
- Reminders for pet jabs and deworming schedules
- Teaches kids how to behave around pets
- Matches stray-animal volunteers with adopters
😴 Meditation & sleep
Evergreen because stress and bad sleep never go out of style — Calm and Headspace proved the category, there is still room for a sharper niche inside it.
- Pre-exam calming meditations for students
- Helps shift workers reset their sleep schedule
- Cantonese-narrated wind-down audio before bed
- Short recharge naps for new parents mid-childcare
- White noise paired with breathing exercises for focus
📓 Journaling & reflection
Day One and Reflectly built a real category here — a daily-use app with a natural reason to reopen.
- AI asks you questions that prompt the journal entry
- A shared reflection journal for couples
- A weekly work review ritual for professionals
- Tracks a fresh graduate’s job-hunt journey and reflections
- A lightweight mood log — one photo, one line
💰 Personal budgeting
YNAB and Copilot show people will pay monthly to feel in control of money — the opening is a sharper audience.
- Tracks income and tax prep for freelancers
- Helps students manage their pocket money
- Flags forgotten or rising subscription charges
- Splits shared expenses between couples
- Logs and reviews trades for first-time investors
✅ Habit tracking
Habitica and Streaks turned a to-do list into a game people keep playing — the hook is the streak, not the task.
- A quit-bubble-tea / quit-sugar streak challenge
- Tracks a book club’s reading progress
- Morning-run check-ins with friends cheering each other on
- A streak for putting the phone down before bed
- A daily operations checklist for small shop owners
🍳 Meal planning
Paprika and Mealime show the willingness to pay for less decision fatigue around food.
- One-portion meal planning for people living alone
- Calculates protein-focused meal plans for gym-goers
- Turns leftovers into meal inspiration
- Illustrated home-cooking recipes for domestic helpers
- A cooking challenge that gets picky kids to eat
🎯 Focus & productivity
Forest and Flora proved a playful focus timer is worth paying for — the mechanic travels well into new audiences.
- A Pomodoro timer that grows a virtual plant
- Tracks which project a freelancer’s time is going to
- Blocks social media specifically during study sessions
- A pre- and post-meeting prep-and-follow-up checklist
- Breaks homework into small steps for SEN kids
💑 Dating & relationships
Paired and Lasting show couples will pay for structure, not just a dating-app swipe.
- Icebreaker prompts for couples just starting out
- A daily check-in ritual for long-distance couples
- A pre-marriage conversation checklist on money and values
- A support community for single parents after divorce
- Logs shared memories for a couple over time
👶 Parenting
Peanut and BabyCenter built large communities on a simple truth: new parents are desperate for other parents.
- Logs feeds and nappy changes for new parents
- An emotional-support community for exhausted parents
- Bridges grandparents’ and new parents’ parenting styles
- Tracks a child’s growth milestones
- A childcare division-of-labour planner for dual-income families
🔮 Astrology & horoscopes
Co-Star and The Pattern turned horoscopes into a daily-open habit app — one most Cantonese readers still get from a website, not an app.
- A Cantonese daily-horoscope app
- An AI-assisted tarot reading app
- Compatibility readings for couples
- A simple date-picking (擇日) tool based on feng shui
- Weekly lucky-colour and outfit suggestions
🔧 Local services booking
No global app nails every local-service niche — a tight, trusted HK directory still wins locally.
- Matches home tutors with students
- Books a dog walker on demand
- Fast call-outs for estate plumbers and electricians
- A neighbourhood second-hand furniture marketplace
- Sign-ups for community classes — yoga, art, and more
🎲 Niche hobby communities
A small, specific community with nowhere else to gather converts far better than a general social app.
- Matches board-game fans looking for a group
- Shares hiking routes and finds hiking buddies
- Tracks and trades an anime figure collection
- A community for vinyl record collectors
- A sharing community for pet photographers
🧳 Travel planning
A good itinerary planner is still a messy spreadsheet for most people — real room for something focused.
- Plans short weekend getaways
- Designs accessible travel routes for elderly travellers
- Splits costs and coordinates itineraries for backpackers
- A packing checklist for family trips with kids
- Finds vegetarian-friendly restaurants while travelling
Don't chase more than one at a time: Pick one. Then use the App Store Reverse Engineering resource to find real complaints in similar apps and the actual gap, and the Vibe Coding course's method to get a first version out in two weeks and find your first 10 users — before you think about the whole App Store.