Phones and app stores (plain)¶

Detail: ../business/mobile-store-cost.md.

Why phones¶

Influencer groups live on iPhone and Android. ForeignX should be a normal free app they can install — not only a website.

How we do it without spending a fortune¶

We use Capacitor: free software that wraps our existing web app so Apple and Google will take it. We do not use Electron for phones (that’s for desktops).

What we pay the stores¶

Google Play: about $25 once
Apple: about $99 every year
First year together: about $124
After that: about $99/year (Apple)

What we do not have to pay¶

Capacitor itself: $0
Mac builds: $0 — Andrew has a Mac at home for Xcode and TestFlight
No paid “Mac in the cloud” service required for v1

How members pay (important for sales)¶

Download the app: free
The group still pays the monthly plan (Starter/Pro) — usually on the website
If everything is sold inside Apple/Google checkout, the stores can take about 15–30%. We avoid that when the rules allow

What Mariah can say¶

“Free on the App Store and Play. Log in with X. Your group pays one subscription — members just install and join the drop.”

Order of work¶

Website works well
Android store (Play)
iPhone store (home Mac builds)

Same servers either way (home Docker or Cloud Run).