Building custom monday.com apps: Is the marketplace worth developing for?
I'm a developer considering building a custom app for the monday.com marketplace. I have an idea for a resource planning tool that goes beyond the native Workload view. Questions for developers who've built marketplace apps: 1. What's the development experience like? Good docs? Helpful support? 2. How does the review/approval process work? 3. What's the revenue model? Revenue sharing? 4. How many users can you realistically expect? 5. What technology stack works best? 6. Any gotchas or limitations I should know about?
2 Answers
I have 2 apps on the monday.com marketplace. Here's the real experience:
Developer experience: 7/10 • Documentation is good but has gaps (especially for complex features) • The monday-sdk-js is essential and well-maintained • React is the recommended frontend framework • Tunneling for local development works well • Support is responsive but slow for edge cases
App review process: • Submit app → Initial review (1-2 weeks) • Security review → Functionality review → UX review • Can take 4-8 weeks total for first submission • Updates are faster (1-2 weeks) • They're strict about UX guidelines — plan for revisions
Revenue model: • You set your own pricing • monday.com takes 20% marketplace commission • You handle billing through monday.com's system • Payouts are monthly
Realistic user expectations: • Niche app: 50-200 installs in first year • Good category app: 500-2000 installs • Top apps: 10,000+ installs • Conversion from free to paid: ~5-10%
Tech stack: • React + TypeScript for frontend • Node.js for backend (or serverless — Lambda/Cloud Functions) • monday.com SDK for platform integration • OAuth 2.0 for authentication
Gotcha: The app runs inside an iframe in monday.com. Cross-origin limitations apply. Plan your architecture accordingly.
Honest revenue reality check:
My app has ~800 installs. About 60 are paid subscribers at $10/user/month.
Monthly revenue: ~$3,500 before monday.com's 20% cut = ~$2,800 net.
It took 6 months of development and 3 months to get traction. I'm a solo developer.
Is it worth it? As a side project, absolutely. As a full-time business, you'd need a top-tier app.
The marketplace is growing fast though. monday.com's user base is expanding, and there are genuine gaps in functionality that third-party apps can fill.
Your resource planning idea has potential — the native Workload view is basic and teams are actively looking for better solutions. I'd validate demand by posting in the monday.com community forum before building.