Built rota.tips - a route discovery app for travelers (web + mobile).
Subscription model + ads. Currently in App Store's Travel + Subscription
peer set.
Numbers (real, no fluff):
- 7 months live
- ~80-100 daily web visitors (mostly organic Google)
- 2-3 signups per day
- App Store conversion rate: ~7% (75th percentile is ~10%)
- Revenue: ~$1/month from ads
- Cost: $25/month
- SEO traffic peaked late March, dropped ~60% in April
(likely Google core update or AI Overviews impact)
What I tried:
- Heavy SEO (programmatic place/route/list content)
- App Store optimization
- Subscription tier (almost zero conversions)
What I haven't tried:
- Affiliate (Booking, GetYourGuide)
- Distribution beyond SEO
The honest question: is this category viable for a solo dev in 2026,
or am I fighting Booking/AllTrails/Komoot with a knife?
Looking for:
- Brutal feedback on the model
- People who've pivoted similar projects
- Whether affiliate-first would change the math
Not looking for:
- "Just keep grinding" platitudes
- DMs selling SEO services