"Everything other apps charge for is free here": a no-ads prayer app built by a Turkish developer, and the dozen-plus rivals crowded into the same chart

Turkish indie developer Gökhan Kaya launched an Islamic lifestyle app called Elif in June 2026: prayer times, Quran, qibla, tasbih, short videos and AI Q&A, all packed into one app, with not a single ad. Four months later it had 39k installs on Google Play, adding five hundred to over a thousand a day, and the iOS version ranked #11 in Turkey's Reference free chart. The numbers aren't big. What's worth watching is the wave behind it: in 2026 Turkey saw a dozen-plus Islamic apps built on the same "no ads + subscription" template, and Elif is just one of them, sitting in the second tier. Below: why this template works, where Elif's users come from, how it makes money, and whether there's still room for you to get in.

Three reviews, four months apart

On Jun 2026, 21, a user named Ahmtky47 on the Turkish App Store gave Elif five stars with one line: "Diğer uygulamaların ücret aldığı her özellik ücretsiz" (every feature other apps charge for is free here). Elif's official Instagram account later posted that review as a screenshot, and it became the app's slogan.

July 27, another user, Katip65, put it more bluntly: "The well-known app out there has ads that drive you crazy. I hope you don't change once you get big."

October 30, a one-star review appeared: "Ücretli uygulama boşuna yüklemeyin" (Don't waste your time installing a paid app).

These three reviews pretty much sum up this category's story this year: users have been tormented by the established apps' ads for years, a wave of new apps came in promising "100% ad-free," and then they made money from subscriptions.

What it is

An "all-in-one Islamic lifestyle" app. The core is prayer times (precise to the district, with a countdown to the next prayer and reminders with an optional muezzin voice), qibla (compass and camera-based AR qibla) and the Quran (translations, transliteration, multiple reciters, real-page layout with tajweed marking, and a memorization mode). On top of that it stacks a lot: tasbih counting, hundreds of prayers, kaza (make-up prayer) tracking, Hajj guides, biographies of the Companions, "Ilham," a vertical short-video feed like Instagram Reels, group Quran reading for family and friends, and an AI Q&A called "Elif'e Sor" (Ask Elif), which states it follows Sunni positions and cites sources.

Users most often praise how comprehensive it is. In October 21, one review listed a long string of features and concluded "it's basically an Islamic social media platform"; in September 24, someone wrote "no need to install several apps anymore, it's all in one"; in October 18, someone wrote "I used to waste dozens of minutes scrolling on social media, now I scroll Elif."

The developer is one person. The App Store developer name is Gokhan Kaya personally, while on Play it's his company Kaya Teknoloji Geliştirme; his personal website is a freelancer page offering WordPress and mobile development outsourcing. Three other small apps under the same developer account never took off.

How big it is

The curve is a steady climb, not a spike. There was a small pulse from October 3 to 7, peaking at over three thousand installs in a single day; the cause wasn't found (guess: store featuring or a paid push). The iOS version launched first in June 10, with Play a month later; updates are very frequent, with 5 versions shipped in one week from October 28 to November 4.

Where the money comes from

Free to download, no ads, monetized with a subscription called Elif Premium. The part worth copying is what it locks: prayer times, Quran, and qibla are all free. Paid only buys the "looks" and "sounds": color themes, more reciters and adhan voices, replacement icons. The November release also added 20 paid widget skins. In a religious app, locking core features draws bad reviews. Locking decoration doesn't.

Pricing is still being tested. On the Turkish App Store page, the monthly plan shows three tiers at the same time: ₺49.99, ₺99.99, ₺129.99. Annual shows three tiers too: ₺199.99, ₺249.99, ₺499.99 (11-06). On Play, the in-app purchase range for Nov 3 was lowered from $1.99–10.99 to $0.79–10.99.

Revenue is not public. The iOS reference chart entry bar for 40–67 is low, so monthly revenue is likely in the low thousands of dollars (inferred, not verified).

Why now: a whole wave of people are building the same thing

Prayer times + Quran + qibla apps are one of the most crowded categories in the Muslim market. The established players look like this (Google Play installs, 11-06):

These apps built their numbers over more than a decade and monetize with ads, which is where user resentment comes from. In 2026, a batch of new Turkish apps appeared using the same reverse template: no ads, subscription, good design, widgets and lock screen. These are Elif's real competitors (Turkish App Store ratings and reference chart rankings, 11-06; Play installs, 11-06):

Among the top 15 grossing apps in Turkey's iOS Reference chart, 7 are Islamic apps launched this year. Elif's rating count is about 1/35 that of Quran Widgets and 1/17 that of Nurlu.

The most useful point in the comparison: the biggest, Quran Widgets, does only one thing, a home and lock screen widget that shows a new verse every hour. Elif does everything, and its reputation is good, but breadth hasn't turned into growth. Elif is now adding widgets too (hourly verse widget, Live Activity countdown, paid skins), which copies the leader's approach.

Where users come from

Mostly app store search. Its Turkish title is literally "Elif: Namaz Vakti, Kur'an" (prayer times, Quran), the subtitle stacks "Ezan, Kıble, Zikir" (adhan, qibla, dhikr), all terms Turkish users search when they look for this kind of app. The App Store's "customers also bought" section lists it alongside Rahman, Esma, and Nurlu. The install curve is steady with no spikes, which fits organic search (inferred, fairly confident). Some claim it runs Apple Search Ads, unverified.

Other channels are weak. I found no TikTok or X content about it (Elif is a common women's name, so searches are very noisy). No media coverage. The download buttons on the official site elifmuslim.com link to "#" (11-06 opened). The official Instagram account posts screenshots of user praise, but its impact is unclear.

November's acceleration came mainly from expanding to new markets. It now supports 7 languages (Turkish, English, Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, French). The English iOS page specifically says it calculates using the UK Moonsighting Committee method, close to London mosque timetables, and offers Hanafi and Shafi'i options for Asr. The update notes say "overseas city support (for expats)." The result was Indonesia: iOS Indonesia rating count went from 39 to 142 in 9 days, and it ranked #12–18 in the Reference free chart. On Play, it entered Indonesia's Lifestyle free chart starting Nov 2. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, but willingness to pay there is lower than in Turkey, so how much revenue the new users bring is still unclear.

If it were you

One-line verdict: "No ads + subscription" as a rebuild of the old ad-funded prayer app has been proven to work, but Turkey is already packed. Building another all-in-one copy of Elif makes it the 10th-plus Elif.

Who it suits: indie devs who are Muslim themselves, know the fiqh details (Asr timing across schools, each country's religious affairs algorithm, how to calculate makeup prayers), and can write strong content in one language. Also suits people who already have mature widget or habit-app code and want a new audience.

Who it doesn't suit: people who aren't confident in religious content. Users of this category are extremely sensitive to accuracy and stance. One wrong prayer time, or an AI giving a wrong answer on a fiqh question, and the bad reviews arrive. It's also a poor fit for anyone counting on paid acquisition to pay back quickly, because the average order value and conversion rate can't support expensive ads.

How to build it: don't build everything. Copy Quran Widgets' single-point focus: make the widgets, lock screen, and Live Activity as good as possible, keep core features free, and only charge for themes and sounds. Pick a language market not yet filled by new no-ads apps: Malaysia, Egypt and Gulf Arabic, Pakistan's Urdu, and Turkish and North African diaspora in Europe. Start by counting how many Islamic apps launched this year in each country's App Store Reference Top Grossing chart.

How to acquire users: lead with app store search. Put the exact phrases locals search for, like "prayer times", "qibla", and "Quran", into the title and subtitle. Reviews that say "the old apps have too many ads" are a ready-made selling point, so put it on the first screenshot. Ramadan is the biggest traffic and conversion window for this category each year. Ramadan in 2027 starts around Feb 8 (calculated from the Islamic calendar). Launch and build your rating count before then.

Deadline: be live in your target market by mid-January 2027. Miss this Ramadan and you wait another year, while new apps using the same template keep appearing every month (in October, several more appeared on Turkey's Play store, including Ayahfy and Ezan Vakti: Reklam Yok!).

Signs you've misread the market: three or four new no-ads Islamic apps from this year already sit in the top 20 of the target market's Reference Top Grossing chart. Or, two months after launch, ratings climb fast but almost nobody buys the subscription (meaning this market only accepts free). Or established players like Muslim Pro or Ezan Vakti Pro launch cheap ad-free subscriptions and take back the "no ads" selling point.