
Updated · Mar 30, 2023
Updated · Jan 27, 2023
Nowadays you can manage most of your work (and life!) from your smartphone - independent of location. Most people take advantage of that.
This is why developing mobile-first software has become crucial to a business’ bottom line. We already live in the days of mobile-first.
Mobile apps are taking over - people spent more than 90% of their mobile time using applications. That’s what we ultimately found while gathering data across several statistics about the app industry.
Statistics about continuously growing app revenue easily prove this fact.
Research demonstrates responsive design is getting outdated. It offers poor user experience and often times pages get stuffed because of too much information for a mobile screen.
Meanwhile, looking at the mobile application markets, the number of app downloads amounted to the mind-blowing 194 billion, showing a 10% increase compared to the previous year. To top this off, these numbers are expected to continue growing in the future. This allows app publishers to reach unprecedented records in terms of revenue.
In this post, we’ll talk about the shifts in profit over time and the variety of app revenue sources available.
I am excited to walk you through the most important app revenue trends.
Let’s find out together how apps are changing the way people use smartphones.
Before diving deep into the statistics, let’s take a closer look at the most thrilling app revenue trends.
Let me be your guide through the details of every app revenue stream out there. This way you’ll know why they are important and how to choose the one that works best for you.
App revenue stats in 2022 tell us there are in excess of five million apps out there, 96.4% of which are free of charge on the Google Play store. So, considering that the majority are free, how do apps actually make money? Advertising plays a big role, as well as in-app purchases.
(Source: ZDNET)
In-app purchase statistics for 2021 reveal that the amount customers are spending on in-app purchases around the globe is $380 billion. Therefore, it’s safe to say that the economy for mobile apps is doing really well at present.
(Source: Statista)
Ever wondered how many apps are there in the world? The most recent figure we could find was in excess of five million, which is the total number of apps currently available on various app stores, including Google Play, Windows, Apple, and Amazon.
(Source: Statista)
The winner of the highest fitness app revenue goes to Calorie Counter - MyFitnessPal which generates an impressive revenue of $1,241,651. This is according to up-to-date information provided by J Clement, a research expert covering e-commerce and the internet which was published on Statista.
Interesting fact: MyFitnessPal fell victim to one of the biggest data breaches in history, back in 2018.
(Source: Sensor Tower)
Apple’s revenue rose almost a third compared to the previous year. We can attribute this growth to the pandemic when people turned to apps for work and entertainment.
(Source: 42 Matters)
So, why is this so significant? Well, take a look at the figure above regarding the amount of revenue being generated by Google Play. It is $8.3 billion according to Google Play store statistics. In our opinion, this isn’t bad considering that this comes from only 3.6% of the total number of apps available!
Here's the list of the top-selling apps for this year.
App | OS | Price | Total downloads/sales |
Minecraft | Android, iOS, Windows Phone | $6.99 | 21+ million downloads |
Hitman: Sniper | Android, iOS | $0.99 | 10+ million downloads |
Fruit Ninja Classic | Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian | $0.99 | 1+ billion downloads |
Grand Theft Auto III | Android, iOS | $4.99 | 1+ million downloads |
True Skate | iOS, Android | $1.99 | 5+ million downloads |
Poweramp Full Version Unlocker | Android | $4.99 | 5+ million downloads |
Camera ZOOM FX Premium | Android | $3.99 | 1+ million downloads |
Beautiful Widgets Pro | Android | $2.49 | 1+ million downloads |
Cut the Rope GOLD | iOS, Android | $0.99 | 960+ million downloads |
Smart Tools | Android | $2.99 | 1+ million downloads |
Surprising or not, most are gaming apps. No wonder why more and more smartphone companies release phones focused on gaming.
The mobile app is a software application, developed to be used on mobile devices. When using a phone, tablet, or even a smart-watch, mobile apps are way faster and easy to use than regular websites. This is partly why they are becoming a major focus for software developers, allowing the market to constantly grow.
(Source: Statista)
The two biggest mobile application distribution platforms deliver quite different results in terms of revenue and downloads.
The total number of app downloads from the iOS App Store is 8 billion. This looks like a tiny fraction, compared to the impressive 21.6 billion downloads from the biggest Android app store.
(Source: Statista)
Interesting fact - Google Play offers 37% more apps to its users than Apple’s App Store. Regardless of this fact, the app revenue statistics reveal the App Store’s income is greater.
(Source: Statista)
Even if developers admit the in-app advertising monetization model is one of the most disliked by app users, it is also one of the most widely used revenue streams. It creates a large piece of the creator’s return.
(Source: The Verge)
Apps that charge for download (paid apps) are expected to decrease even more in the next few years.
The download numbers don’t always imply retention. Here's an interesting fact - in 2019, a quarter of all downloaded apps have been used just once in the first six months of ownership. This is far from optimal in terms of app ad revenue.
(App Brain)
The number of low-quality apps has slightly reduced from May 2020 to May 2021. These are applications that provide little to no value to users. Luckily, Google removes them from the Play Store every quarter.
The average number of Android apps that developers published per day in February 2021 was 3142.86. That saw the mobile app market drop by half in production compared to 2018.
(Source: TechCrunch)
Despite the fact game apps are most commonly created and on top spots in terms of revenue, only 65% of users say they have any games on their mobile devices. Preceding game apps, in terms of market reach, are communication and social, productivity and task management tools, as well as shopping and travel, among others.
This data clearly shows the supply of mobile game apps is not exactly in line with the demand.
(Source: Business of Apps)
Paid apps are expected to go down in the next years, giving way to the in-app advertising revenue model. Another app revenue trend for the future is - а subscription model for non-game apps and in-app purchases for game apps.
Now: The majority of consumer spending on apps is going to gaming apps, through in-app purchases. However, in 2022 paid subscription as an app revenue stream is becoming more prevalent in non-game apps.
(Source: SensorTower)
The bottom line:
The top revenue-driving non-game apps are from the Photo & Video category, followed by Entertainment. App Anie foresees these app revenue trends to stay around in the years to come. Video services like Netflix and Hulu already provide apps for their users.
Almost 25% of all available applications in Apple’s App Store are games. This makes games the largest category. It is indeed three times bigger than the Lifestyle category. Trailing closely is the Education category, which is third-highest in the ranking.
(Source: Statista)
The data clearly shows the enormous contrast between the relatively few successful games that drive the market - and the swarms of games that, well, don’t.
On the other hand, 97.9% of users have a web browser and social media apps, and they have much fewer and overall more prominent options to pick from.
The number of mobile games downloaded is at 38.3 billion. Interestingly enough, while more apps were downloaded from Google Play, 29.4 billion to be exact, Apple App Store still has higher revenue.
(Source: The Verge)
Mobile gaming has become a massive industry, where developers of successful games generate millions in revenue. In November 2019, the extremely popular mobile version of Fortnite - a battle royale game, has produced over $387,000 on a daily basis.
Fortnite mobile had a huge success also in 2018 with $455 million gross revenue.
(Source: Statista)
Play Store released 85,000 new apps in the second month of 2021. That was a significant drop compared to October 2020, when there were 130K new solutions in the apps industry.
There are many different ways to generate revenue from mobile apps, these days. Some of them include, but are not limited to:
- integrating in-app ads and getting paid from ad networks
- offering consumable in-app products for purchasing
- requiring a paid subscription plan
- demanding per-device royalties
- charging a small amount per download
Mobile app industry analysis demonstrates some to be more effective than others.
(Source: Business of Apps)
There are many different app categories out there. These include games, dating apps, productivity and project management apps, lifestyle apps, and many more. Different categories often use a wildly different mix of strategies and monetization models. For this reason, their revenue differs greatly.
The fact only 0.01% of all apps ever created actually become successful is not really promising. On the other hand, taking a look at the revenue top apps make every year makes you wonder if the challenge might be worth it.
As I said earlier, statistics show we are already living in the mobile-first times. Reviewing the estimation of downloaded apps worldwide every day and the revenue successful apps reach annually, we can surely state - the app market is growing and has plenty of tricks up its sleeve to keep growing.
Now, if you have some inspiring app ideas - seize the moment and go get some work done. Future app revenue statistics can very well feature your own work.
And don’t forget to have fun while doing it!
See ya next time!
Terry Stancheva
Terry spends her time researching all things digital — from marketing through online business creation to software tools and how they make life easier. When not behind the keyboard, she can be found on the yoga mat or enjoying a good meal somewhere in the world.
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