If you're an indie developer deciding what to build next, you don't need a $500/month market research subscription. The data you need is publicly available — you just need to know where to look and how to interpret it.
This guide walks through a practical, data-driven approach to app market research that anyone can do.
The Indie Developer's Advantage
Big companies spend months on market research. They commission surveys, hire consultants, build focus groups. As an indie developer, you can move faster because you're not trying to justify a $2M development budget to a board of directors. You just need to know: is this idea worth my next 3 months?
That question requires different data than what a Fortune 500 company needs. You don't need TAM/SAM/SOM analysis. You need to know three things:
