Business plan, fall 2026
How Maple's Closet makes money.
A free closet that people use every morning, a cheap paid plan for families who want more, and labeled store picks when an outfit is missing a piece.
Every money number on this page is an estimate.
$2.99
Maple Plus a month
or $19.99 a year, 44% off
Estimate
$2.60
kept per member a month
after card fees
Estimate
4%
of free users pay
freemium apps often land at 2% to 5%
Estimate
25%
of profit to animal charities
Fiona's rule
Estimate
Revenue model
Two ways money comes in.
Stream 1
Maple Plus
- $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year (launch estimates to test).
- First 30 days free, then a grown-up decides.
- Unlocks unlimited picks, Plan my week and closet stats. The closet itself stays free.
- Card fees about 2.9% + $0.30 per payment (estimate).
Stream 2
Affiliate store picks
- Target Partners pays about 5% on apparel; Target says about $3 to $4 per 100 clicks.
- Amazon Associates pays about 4% on clothes, shoes and accessories.
- We plan for 2 store clicks per user a month at about $0.035 a click (estimate).
- Run through a parent's account, labeled on every card.
Estimates
What a month could look like.
Three sizes, using the guesses above. Real numbers come from real users; these are for planning.
| Monthly estimate | Friends and family | Growing | Big |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free users | 100 | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Plus members (4%) | 4 | 40 | 400 |
| Plus after card fees | $10.41 | $104 | $1,041 |
| Affiliate fees | $7.00 | $70.00 | $700 |
| Costs (hosting, domain) | $0.00 | $20.00 | $100 |
| Profit | $17.41 | $154 | $1,641 |
| To animal charities (25%) | $4.35 | $38.53 | $410 |
All figures are monthly estimates in US dollars, not results. Nobody has paid yet; payments are in test mode.
Competitors
Real businesses we studied.
Prices as published by each company, checked November 3, 2026. They change often.
| App | Free | Paid | Other money | What we copied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whering Digital wardrobe and outfit planner, 10M+ users | All standard features | Credits $2.99 to $12.99, Outfit Maker $4.99 | Commission on items it suggests | Weather pick, free core, commission on suggested pieces |
| Acloset AI outfit picks, 8M+ users | Up to 100 items | $3.99 to $24.99 a month | Credit packs, in-app ads | Weather and plans picks, 3 steps, problem-first homepage |
| Indyx Closet catalog, stylists, resale | Unlimited closet | Insider $12.99 a month | Human stylists $60 to $295 | Free closet forever, paid plan unlocks planning |
| Cladwell Daily outfits from your own clothes | Closet only | $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year | Shopping list of real products | Missing-piece shopping list, two-plan pricing page |
| Stylebook Closet organizer since 2009 | None | $4.99 one time | None | Simple, honest price |
Copied, then made better.
From Whering, Indyx, Cladwell
Free closet forever, no item cap
Unlimited clothes free. Acloset's 100-item wall was the top complaint we found.
From Whering W Pick, Cladwell
A daily pick from your own clothes and the weather
One tap: tell Maple the weather and the day, get a matching outfit.
From Cladwell shopping list
A missing-piece shopping list with real products
Maple spots the one missing piece and shows 3 labeled store picks. Shop your closet first.
From Whering affiliate model
Commission on suggested products
Target and Amazon affiliate links, run by a parent's account, labeled on every card.
From Acloset and Cladwell pricing
Free plus one paid plan, monthly or yearly
Maple Plus at $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year (estimates). Cheaper than every paid plan we found.
From Whering and Acloset sites
Editorial pages, real outfit boards, 3 steps, pricing table, FAQ
Real-photo boards and a real fawn pug as the stylist, not a cartoon.
Left out on purpose
- Virtual try-on on a photo of the user (no photos of kids, ever)
- Social feeds of strangers' closets
- In-app ads shown to kids
- Credit packs sold to kids
Marketing
The ads, and who sees them.
Audience. Parents of 9 to 14 year olds in the US, interests: kids' fashion, back to school, organizing.
Channels. Pinterest promoted pins first (outfit boards already look like Pinterest), then Instagram.
Budget. First test: about $50 over two weeks (estimate, not spent, needs a parent's OK).
Goal. Free closet sign-ups under about $1 each (estimate). Keep the ad that wins, drop the rest.
“Nothing to wear? Maple picks it in one tap.”
Instagram and Pinterest feed (4:5)
“Rain today. Maple already picked the boots.”
Instagram feed (4:5), runs on rainy-day forecasts
“One closet. Four looks.”
Pinterest and Facebook square (1:1)
“Your closet, picked by a pug.”
Instagram and Pinterest story (9:16)
Rules we keep
- A parent owns every money account: affiliate programs, payments and ad accounts. Fiona is 12, so she cannot.
- Every store link is labeled "Affiliate pick" on the card (FTC rule). Some programs limit sites for kids under 13, so a parent reads the rules first.
- No accounts and no personal data: the closet lives on the device, which keeps kids' privacy simple.
- Payments stay in test mode until a parent sets up billing with Future Masters.
Next steps
- 1A parent applies to Target Partners and Amazon Associates.
- 220 friends and family try the free closet for two weeks.
- 3Count picks per day and how many people open the week planner.
- 4Run the $50 Pinterest test (estimate) with the best ad.
- 5Turn on real Plus billing only after people ask for it.