Methodology
IndieRank classifies "indie-ness" and computes an IR rate using only public App Store and Google Play data. It is a heuristic — imperfect by design. This page lists the actual formulas and the known failure modes.
Each developer name (the seller name) is scored against the following signals:
- Person-like naming (FirstName LastName, kanji/katakana personal name tokens)
- Absence of corporate suffixes ("Inc", "LLC", "株式会社", etc.)
- App count in the 1–20 range
- Total review volume bucket (<1M = indie, <100K = solo)
- Android-only: install count (the 1K–100K range is the core indie band)
Combined score above threshold → classified as an individual developer. Below threshold → classified as a corporate entity.
The IR rate is an integer (0–100,000) representing community contribution. For developers not yet on IndieRank, a reference value derived from public data is shown.
Composed of:
- log(total review count) — reach
- avg star rating (bonus ≥ 4.0, penalty ≤ 3.0)
- updates in last 90 days — sign of life
- Registered users earn additional credit from UGC (articles, hosted betas)
* Exact coefficients intentionally undisclosed to avoid gameable optimization.
A one-person LLC trading under a personal name often classifies as "indie". Conversely, a real individual using a handle ("PixelKit") tends to classify as corporate.
Review counts vary by region. Japanese apps trend an order of magnitude lower than English-speaking markets; never compare IR rates across regions in absolute terms.
IndieRank does not unilaterally "rank" unregistered developers. Once a developer claims their page, IR rate becomes editable by their actions — UGC contributions raise it organically.
Weekly snapshots via the iTunes Search API (Apple) and google-play-scraper (Google Play). We only collect public metadata — review counts, star ratings, categories, app counts. We do not store review bodies.
User-submitted articles, beta posts, and reports are stored separately in CF D1. See the privacy policy for details.