Most Popular Mobile Apps Revenue and Growth Statistics (2024)
Amazing facts about the Most Popular Mobile Apps
- App downloads have increased from 140.68 billion in 2016 to 255 billion in 2022.
- Google Play Store has almost 14 million Android apps as of 2022.
- In 2022, the Apple App Store had 7.9 million apps available for download.
- In 2022, the Microsoft Store had over 44,000 gaming apps, the largest number of available apps.
- Global mobile app revenue has been steadily increasing, from $258 billion in 2019 to $346 billion in 2022.
Most Popular Mobile App Usage at a Glance
Mobile apps are software designed for wireless mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, with specific functionalities for each device.
According to a global survey, users primarily use mobile devices for communication and entertainment.
App stores such as the Google Play store for Android, the Apple App Store for iOS, or third-party providers like the Amazon Appstore offer a selection of apps.
Google Play generates the largest amount of app downloads, while the Apple App Store dominates the market in terms of revenue. BeReal, a social media and photo-sharing app, has become increasingly popular in 2022.
After Facebook's rebranding, mobile apps in several popular categories have added the keyword "metaverse" to their titles or descriptions. Mobile-first platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok have made ample usage of their incorporated augmented reality (AR) features, managing to attract a large number of users in the process.
Most Popular Mobile Apps Overview by Number of Downloads
Mobile apps have become essential for entertainment, communication, and productivity.
The number of app downloads has increased globally, reaching 255 billion in 2022. Games had the highest downloads at 130.6 billion, followed by Photo & Video and other segments.
Social media apps are still the most popular, but there could be other factors affecting usage rates. BeReal, TikTok, and X-HERO were the most downloaded iPhone apps worldwide in 2022, with a significant presence of social media and entertainment apps in the top 10.
Popular Mobile App downloads (Worldwide)
Mobile apps have become an essential part of our daily lives.
People around the world use apps for entertainment, communication, and productivity.
According to recent data, the number of app downloads has been steadily increasing from 140.68 billion in 2016 to 255 billion in 2022.
Source: Statista
Popular Mobile App Downloads by Segment
As shown in the table below, Popular Mobile App downloads by Segment reached a staggering 130.6 billion downloads in games, 26.4 billion downloads in Photo & Video, and 18.2 billion downloads in other segments by the end of 2022.
Source: Statista
Popular Mobile App Downloads: Apple App Store vs. Google Play
The number of app downloads has increased for both platforms over the years. In 2022, a total of 35.6 billion apps were downloaded across both platforms.
Source: Statista
Most Downloaded Apps on Google Play Store in 2022 (Android)
Recent data shows that social media apps are still highly popular and the most downloaded Android apps worldwide in 2022.
However, there may be other factors that affect usage rates, such as age or geographic location. The dominance of social media apps in the Google Play Store could be due to pre-installation on Android devices, skewing download numbers.
Despite this, social media apps remain important in our daily lives, connecting people globally.
Source: Statista
Most Downloaded Apps On Apple App Store In 2022 (iOS)
In 2022, BeReal became the most downloaded iPhone app worldwide, followed by TikTok and X-HERO.
This report displays the top 10 iPhone apps in the Apple App Store, based on the number of downloads in 2022.
The leading iPhone apps of 2022, ranked by the number of downloads, reveal a significant presence of social media and entertainment apps.
Source: Statista
Overview of Most Popular Mobile App Stores
Number of Android Apps on Google Play Store
As of 2022, the Google Play Store offers nearly 14 million Android apps.
The Google Play Store has been the primary platform for Android mobile apps, offering a wide variety of applications for users.
This consistent growth in the number of available apps is evidence of the thriving mobile app development industry, with developers consistently producing apps that meet the needs of Android users.
Source: Statista
Number of Apps on Apple App Store
As of 2022, there are 7.9 million apps available for download on the Apple App Store.
It's amazing to think about how many different apps are available on the App Store for almost any purpose imaginable. From games and entertainment to productivity and education, there is something for everyone on the App Store, and the possibilities are endless.
With so many options available, users are bound to find something that perfectly suits their needs and interests.
Source: Statista
Number of Apps on the Amazon App Store
Currently, there are nearly 2 million apps available on the Amazon App Store as of 2022.
This displays the continuous growth of the platform and its commitment to providing its users with the latest and most innovative application options available in the market.
Source: Statista
Number of Apps on the Microsoft Store
As of 2022, the Microsoft Store had the largest number of available apps, with gaming apps being the most popular with over 44,000 titles.
Utilities and tools followed with around 10,000 apps, while personalization had the fewest mobile titles, with only 192 apps available.
The table below displays the number of apps available in each category on the Microsoft Store as of 2022.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps Overview by Revenue
In 2022, the revenue from global mobile apps was $346 billion. In 2021, it was $332 billion. In 2020, it was $318 billion, and in 2019, it was $258 billion.
The mobile games segment generated the highest revenue at more than $200 billion, followed by social networking mobile apps at around $31 billion.
According to a report, most popular mobile app revenue segments are expected to continue to grow over the next few years, with overall revenue projected to reach around $613 billion by 2025.
Worldwide Revenue by Mobile Apps by Segment
Based on current estimates, global mobile app revenue for 2022 is projected to be approximately $346 billion. The mobile games segment is expected to lead with the highest revenue of nearly $300 billion, followed by social networking apps generating approximately $46 billion.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps revenue by app version
Tinder and Coin Master were the highest earners among mobile apps worldwide, with TikTok ranking high in both app stores. Gaming apps were the majority of the top grossing apps, showing their continued popularity.
- Most Popular Mobile Apps Revenue for iOS
- Most Popular Mobile Apps Revenue for Android
Source: Statista 1, Statista 2
Overview of Most Popular Mobile Apps by users’ spending
The gross consumer mobile app spending has decreased from the previous year and is gradually normalizing. Although app usage and engagement surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, spending trends are returning to pre-pandemic levels. However, there is still potential for further impact on user spending behavior, as several key global markets face a possible recession.
Source: Statista
Overview of Most Popular Mobile Apps by users engagement and activity
Overview of Most Popular Mobile Apps by users activity
The majority of smartphone users reported using their devices for messaging and emailing.
Listening to music and accessing online banking were also popular activities, while watching videos was also common.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps by time spent per category
Social media apps take the top spot, with users spending an average of 55.48 minutes per day. Gaming comes in second, with 16.7 minutes per day, and entertainment apps take third place with an average of 13.53 minutes per day.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps by time spent per category share
Mobile social media and communication apps were the most popular category of mobile apps in terms of user engagement, accounting for the majority of time spent on mobile apps worldwide.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps retention by app version
The study examined how long people keep using popular mobile apps on Android and iOS.
Results showed that only 2.6% of Android users still use the app after 30 days, compared to 22.6% after one day, indicating most users quit within the first month.
More research is needed to understand why retention rates are low and how to improve long-term user engagement.
On the other hand, iOS apps showed higher retention rates.
- Android apps retention rate
- iOS apps retention rate
Source: Statista 1, Statista 2
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Country and Time spent
This report highlights the daily mobile app usage of different countries, with some spending as much as 5 hours and 39 minutes using mobile apps each day, while others spend as little as 3.33 hours.
Source: Statista
In-depth Overview of Most Popular Mobile Apps (Regions, Demographics and Others)
Social media apps usage by Regions
Android users in Asia spent the highest number of hours engaging with mobile social apps, with approximately 449 billion hours spent in the first half of 2021, which is a 15% increase from 2019. In comparison, Android users in South America spent 84.4 billion hours on social media apps in the same period.
Source: Statista
Social media apps spending by regions
Asia has consistently had the highest consumer spending on mobile social apps, with users generating $6.6 billion over the years.
This table provides information on the number of mobile phone users (in millions) in various regions across the globe in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Source: Statista
Social media apps usage by age group (Demography)
Users aged between 40 and 44 years spent the longest average time on social media apps, while global users aged 19 or younger spent the least amount of time. Users aged 50 years or older spent around 56.43 minutes per day on social media apps.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Social Media Overview
Social media app downloads on the Apple App Store
In June of 2022, BeReal was the most-downloaded social networking app for iPhone in the Apple App Store worldwide, with almost 14 million downloads from iPhone users worldwide. WhatsApp was the second most downloaded iPhone app, with approximately seven million downloads from iPhone users, followed by Telegram with roughly four million downloads from global users.
Source: Statista
Social media app downloads on Google Play Store
In September 2022, TikTok was the top downloaded social media app for Android devices globally, followed by Instagram and Facebook. TikTok had almost 24 million downloads in that month, while Instagram had over 21 million downloads and Facebook had approximately 14.22 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
Source: Statista
Social media app downloads Worldwide
The popularity of social media apps continues to grow, with millions of downloads reported across various platforms.
In 2022, Instagram emerged as the most downloaded social media app worldwide, followed by WhatsApp and Telegram.
Furthermore, a newcomer, BeReal, entered the ranking as the tenth most downloaded app with over 90 million global downloads.
Source: Statista
Social media apps by open rate
Social media platforms are known for their massive user bases, but how frequently are users engaging with them? In 2022, data showed that some platforms had higher daily user engagement rates than others. Here's a summary of the engagement rates of some of the most popular social media apps.
Source: Statsista
Social media app engagement time
Social media apps have become an integral part of daily life for many people, and engagement rates on these apps continue to rise. In 2022, TikTok emerged as the most engaging social media app, with users spending an average of 95 minutes per day on the platform. YouTube ranked second in terms of engagement, while Snapchat had the lowest average engagement rate. Let's take a closer look at the engagement rates of these popular social media apps.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Messaging and Business App Overview
Messaging apps monthly downloads
Mobile messaging apps are increasingly popular, with millions of downloads each month. In June 2022, WhatsApp was the most downloaded app, followed by Snapchat.
Telegram also had a significant number of downloads, indicating the growing use of instant messaging worldwide.
Source: Statista
Mobile app user preference for business
About half of respondents in a poll conducted between December 2020 and January 2021 in ten international marketplaces said they preferred email for business communications.
Only 12% of respondents preferred Facebook Messenger, while 25% of respondents each found SMS and WhatsApp to be popular.
Surprisingly, despite TikTok not being a standard messaging app, 9% of the smartphone users polled selected it as their preferred route for business interactions.
Source: Statista
Mobile apps usage for Workspace
With the widespread usage of mobile devices, messaging apps have emerged as a common form of workplace communication.
In all of the nations studied, with the exception of France and the United States, the majority of individuals use public messaging applications for mobile work communications, according to a global poll performed in January 2021.
84 percent of Brazilian users surveyed said they used WhatsApp or a comparable instant messaging service for business communications.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Video Apps Overview
Video apps downloads
The popularity of short-form video apps has been on the rise, with TikTok emerging as the most downloaded video app globally in 2021.
According to data from Google Play and Apple App Store, TikTok garnered over 796.7 million downloads, followed by YouTube's mobile app with 220.7 million downloads.
Indian video-sharing platform MX TakaTak ranked third with 182 million downloads worldwide.
Source: Statista
Video streaming apps downloads
In recent years, video streaming has become an increasingly popular way for people to consume entertainment on their mobile devices.
In 2021, several video streaming apps saw significant growth in terms of downloads.
Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime were among the top three most downloaded video streaming apps worldwide during this period, with Netflix taking the lead with approximately 130 million downloads.
Source: Statista
Most Popular Mobile Apps: Gaming App Overview
Mobile gaming users by regions
The mobile gaming industry has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, with Asia leading the way. According to data from 2021, Asia had over 1.29 billion mobile gaming users, accounting for more than 48 percent of the global mobile gaming audience.
In comparison, Europe ranked second with approximately 551.7 million mobile gaming users. Furthermore, mobile gaming has emerged as the top-grossing gaming segment worldwide, surpassing traditional console and PC gaming.
Source: Statista
Mobile Gaming Apps Revenue
Mobile gaming continues to be the biggest revenue segment of the worldwide gaming market.
According to estimates, global mobile gaming app revenues are expected to grow from $86.9 billion in 2020 to $92.2 billion in 2022.
The impressive growth is attributed to the increasing demand for mobile games and the rise in smartphone ownership worldwide.
Source: Statista
Mobile gaming spending apps by genres
Mobile gaming is booming, led by RPGs which are the most popular genre with 31% of in-app spending and a global revenue of $25.5 billion.
Strategy apps come in second with $12.1 billion in revenue.
Source: Statista
Mobile gaming spending apps by sub-genres
In 2021, the mobile gaming market grew due to the popularity of hypercasual games.
Hypercasual action games and puzzles had 4.01 billion and 3.78 billion downloads respectively, showing a significant year-over-year increase and a preference for hypercasual games among mobile gamers.
Source: Statista
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About the author
Ch Daniel is the co-founder of SignHouse and chairman of the CH Group. Daniel is leading the development of SignHouse's product, as well as strategising how else the company can reach its main mission: empowering 100M+ to use the world's most efficient document organisational tools.
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