How to get your first users for your app

The short answer

Your first users do not come from a launch. They come one at a time, from three places: people you ask directly, a community where your kind of user already talks, and other builders who trade a test for a test.

TestMyBuild is the third kind. Builders list their apps, the team tests each one, and testers sign up to the apps and post feedback. The people who sign up are real accounts in your app.

Three ways that work at zero users

Ask ten people who have the problem

Write to ten people who have the exact problem your app solves. Ask each of them to do one task in the app, not to "check it out". It is slow and it is the most useful thing you can do in the first week.

Go where they already talk

Find the forum, group or subreddit where your users spend time. Help there first. Share your app when it answers a question someone asked, and read the rules, because most communities remove plain promotion.

Trade tests with other builders

Other builders finish the task and write down what they saw, because they want the same from you. This is what TestMyBuild organises, with a person on the team checking every post.

What a first user means here

On TestMyBuild a tester signs up to your app, uses it and posts a screenshot of the signup with honest feedback. So each approved post comes from a person who made an account in your app and told you what happened.

These are testers, and many are builders themselves. Some stay because they like the app. Count on them for the truth about your first two minutes, and treat the ones who stay as a bonus.

Our guarantee: every app you submit is tested by the team and gets feedback from at least one real person.

What it does not do

TestMyBuild does not send you thousands of users and it does not write store reviews or ratings for you. It gives you the first people and what they think, so the users who come later do not hit the same problems.

See how many apps and people are here on TestMyBuild in numbers, or read Where to get app feedback: the options compared.

How to start

A listing costs 10 credits. You earn them by testing other apps or buy them, from US$9.99 for 10 credits, with no subscription. How to submit a listing explains each step.

Ready to try it? Paste the link to your app on the home page. You see your listing before you create an account.

Questions and answers

Where can I get my first users for my app?

From people you ask directly, from a community where your users already talk, and from other builders who trade tests. On TestMyBuild you list your app, the team tests it, and testers sign up to it and post feedback.

Are the people who sign up real users?

Our rules allow one account per person, a person on the team checks every post, and each post shows a screenshot of the tester's signup. They come to test, and some keep using the app.

How fast do the first users come?

We do not promise a time. In the 30 days to 13 November 2026, half of the 48 apps we listed went live within 9 hours of being submitted, and 42 of them within a day. Apps we did not list are not counted. A tester's post was approved or rejected within two and a half hours in half of 345 cases, and within a day in 338 of them. These numbers change. Testers can post from the moment your app is live, and how soon they do depends on your app and on who visits.

Do I need a finished app?

No. It has to open and be usable, and it must be free or have a free trial.

Questions? Support