With smartphone popularity showing no signs of waning, people are increasingly reliant on apps in their everyday lives. In this overview of the latest app usage statistics, we’ll examine how many apps there are, how often people download them, and how much revenue they generate. We’ll also look into the app user demographics and discuss the most popular apps across different categories. Finally, we’ll touch upon the growing popularity of mobile payment apps.
Top 10 App Usage Statistics and Facts for 2023
As of Q1 2022, there were more than 7.4 million Android and iOS apps.
The global mobile app revenue in 2022 is projected at $469.2 billion.
Consumers worldwide spent $170 billion on mobile apps in 2021.
Google Play and the App Store recorded 143.6 billion app downloads in 2021.
China’s smartphone owners downloaded 98.3 billion apps in 2021.
An average smartphone user has 40 apps installed on their device.
Brazilians spent 5 hours and 26 minutes a day using apps in 2021.
People aged 18–24 are the most ardent mobile app users.
TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app in 2021.
Crypto app usage saw a 902% year-over-year increase in 2021.
General App Usage Stats
As of Q1 2022, there were more than 7.4 million Android and iOS apps.
The total number — 7,457,459 — includes 2,654,747 apps on the Google Play Store and 4,802,712 apps, of which 1,012,065 (21.1%) games, on Apple’s App Store. Of course, there’s a lot of overlap, as most popular apps are available on both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, the two leading smartphone operating systems. Both platforms are dominated by games. To that point, analysts project that games will account for 71% of Google Play app revenues by 2025.
(Statista)
The global mobile app revenue in 2022 is projected at $469.2 billion.
App statistics point to a 17.1% increase over 2021, when the global revenue was estimated at $400.7 billion. Unsurprisingly, games should account for the largest share of the revenue in 2022, with $295.6 billion (63.1%), followed by social networking apps ($46.4 million; 9.9%) in second and entertainment apps ($31.6 million; 6.7%) in third place. Experts predict the global app revenue will reach $613.4 billion in 2025 — a sizable 30.7% increase over just three years.
(Statista)
Consumers worldwide spent $170 billion on mobile apps in 2021.
According to app user statistics, in-app spending was up by 18.9% from $143 billion in 2020. Since 2016, consumer spending on apps (paid apps and free apps with in-app purchases) has steadily increased. Back then, worldwide consumer spending totaled $57.7 billion, pointing to a massive 194.6% increase over the last five years. In 2021, there were 233 top-performing apps that generated more than $100 million in consumer spending — up by 20.7% from 193 in 2020.
(Statista, Data.ai)
Google Play and the App Store recorded 143.6 billion app downloads in 2021.
The number marked a slight increase from 2020, when there were 142.9 billion app downloads, statistics reveal. Although the year-over-year increase was minimal, the app market proved strong by not shrinking following massive gains in 2020. Namely, amid the global pandemic in 2020, app downloads went up by 24.1% from 115.1 billion in 2019. Of the two major stores, Google Play accounted for the larger share of downloads in 2021 — 111.3 billion (77.5%).
(Business of Apps)
China’s smartphone owners downloaded 98.3 billion apps in 2021.
Even though Android holds 78% of the Chinese smartphone market, Google Play isn’t available in China, so mobile app users must rely on local providers. Looking at total app downloads by country in 2021, India ranked second with 26.6 billion, while the United States finished third with 12.1 billion. The list also includes Brazil (10.3 billion), Indonesia (7.3 billion), Russia (5.5 billion), Mexico (4.8 billion), Turkey (3.5 billion), Vietnam (3.3 billion), and the Philippines (3 billion).
(Business of Apps, Swrve)
An average smartphone user has 40 apps installed on their device.
Mobile app usage statistics from a 2020 study show that users spend 89% of their screen time between 18 apps. This means that the remaining 22 apps (55%) are either underused or not used at all. The largest share of unused apps was recorded among older Gen-Zers and young millennials aged 21–30. Namely, an average person in this age group has 67 apps installed on their phone, but they only regularly use 25 — leaving nearly 63% of installed apps underused.
(Simform)
Brazilians spent 5 hours and 26 minutes a day using apps in 2021.
For the second consecutive year, Brazilians are the most avid mobile app users, having upped their daily time spent in apps from 5 hours and 11 minutes in 2020. Indonesians rank second with 5 hours and 25 minutes — up from 4 hours and 58 minutes in 2020, while South Koreans rank third with 4 hours and 59 minutes. Meanwhile, at 4 hours and 9 minutes, the United States ranks 11th on the list of countries whose citizens spend the most time using smartphone apps.
(Statista)
App Usage Demographics
People aged 18–24 are the most ardent mobile app users.
According to app usage statistics by age, people in this age group spent an average of 112.6 hours per month using apps in 2021. At the same time, those aged 25–34 spent 102.4 hours a month using mobile apps. As the users’ age progresses, their monthly app usage decreases. Research shows that people in the 35–44 age group spent 93.6 hours a month using apps, significantly more than those in the 45–54 (75.6 hours), 55–64 (69.3), and 65+ (51.4) brackets.
(Simform)
21% of millennials open apps more than 50 times a day.
Mobile app user statistics from a 2018 survey reveal that 49% of millennials open their apps up to 20 times a day, while 30% do so 21–50 times a day. This further proves millennials are the most avid app users. For comparison, 69% of Gen-Xers say they check apps up to 20 times a day, 28% do so 21–50 times a day, and 10% do so more than 50 times. Meanwhile, 84% of baby boomers open apps up to 20 times, 14% 21–50 times, and 2% more than 50 times a day.
(The Manifest)
News and weather apps have the oldest user bases.
Android app usage statistics show that only 47% of news app users are below 35 years of age. The rest of the user base comprises 18% of people aged 35–49, 33% of those aged 50–64, and 2% of people aged 65 and more. Over on iOS, news apps have a similar skew, but weather apps skew even older. Namely, only 41% of iOS weather app users are below 35. Meanwhile, 22% of users are aged 35–49, 35% fall into the 50–64 bracket, and 2% are in the 65+ group.
(Statista)
App Downloads and Popularity Statistics
Games is the most popular app category on Google Play and the App Store.
As of Q2 of 2022, games accounted for 13.54% of all apps on the App Store and 13.63% on Google Play. Other popular categories on the App Store include Business (#2; 10.22%), Education (#3; 9.52%), Utilities (#4; 9.19%), and Lifestyle (#5; 8.19%). The Google Play top five is similar, with Education in second (10.44%), Business in third (7.15%), and Tools in fourth place (6.39%). The only difference is the Entertainment category, which ranks fifth at 5.5%.
(Statista)
TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app in 2021.
With 656 million downloads worldwide, mobile app usage statistics show TikTok outperformed its rivals Instagram (#2; 545 million downloads) and Facebook (#3; 416 million). Messaging and video call apps feature prominently and include WhatsApp (#4; 395 million), Telegram (#5; 329 million), Snapchat (#6; 327 million), Zoom (#7; 300 million), and Messenger (268 million). The video editing app Cap Cut (#9; 255 million) and Spotify (#10; 203 million) round out the top ten.
(Forbes)
In September 2022, TikTok generated $75.8 million in in-app revenue.
TikTok made $35.14 million via the App Store and $40.66 million via Google Play, app statistics show. Candy Crush Saga was another high performer, with a total of $59.77 million. Besides these two, the App Store top five also included Tinder ($37.58 million), Honor of Kings ($24.05 million), and Puzzle & Dragons ($20.84 million). Meanwhile, Coin Master ($47.96 million), Roblox ($18.26 million), and Royal Match ($12.36 million) made the top five on Google Play.
(Statista)
Sweatcoin was the world’s most downloaded health app in H1 of 2022.
According to health app usage statistics, Sweatcoin amassed 34 million downloads worldwide in the year’s first half. The top five also included PeduliLindungi (32 million), Blood Pressure App (25 million), Flo Period Tracker (18.25 million), and Home Workout (18.22 million). Over in the US, the most popular health and fitness app was Planet Fitness, with 12 million downloads in 2022’s first half. Meanwhile, the global leader Sweatcoin placed third with 5.1 million downloads.
(Apptopia)
In 2021, DoorDash was the most popular food app in the US.
DoorDash recorded 37 million downloads, down by 5% year-over-year. Food delivery app usage statistics point to McDonald’s as the runner-up with 24 million downloads in 2021. Interestingly, McDonald’s recorded the biggest growth of all food apps — up by 33% over 2020. Other top performers include Uber Eats (21 million; #3), Yelp (12.7 million; #4), Grubhub (12.5 million; #5), Starbucks (12.4 million; #6), Instacart (11 million; #7), and Domino’s Pizza (10.2 million; #8).
(eMarketer)
As of May 2021, Tinder was the world’s most popular dating app.
According to dating app usage statistics, Tinder had more than 6.5 million downloads during that month alone. It was well ahead of the second-placed Badoo, which had 3.9 million downloads. The rest of the top five included Bumble (1.7 million), Lamour (1.6 million), and Tantan (1.5 million). Tinder is also the most popular dating app in the US, with 957,700 downloads in June 2022. Other top performers include Bumble (786,310), Hinge (547,720), and Paired (543,810).
(Statista)
Mobile Payment App Statistics
25.7% of people worldwide relied on mobile payment apps in 2020.
Mobile was the preferred payment method of consumers worldwide, ahead of credit cards (22.4%), debit cards (22.3%), and cash (20.5%). By 2024, experts predict mobile payment apps will continue increasing their lead, eventually accounting for 33.4% of all transactions worldwide. Meanwhile, 101.2 million Americans — 43.2% of the country’s smartphone owners — used mobile payments in 2021. By 2025, that number is expected to grow to 125 million (50.1%).
(Merchant Machine, eMarketer)
China is the global leader in mobile payment app usage, data reveals.
In 2021, 87.3% of China’s smartphone users relied on mobile apps as their go-to contactless payment method. The world’s most populous country is far ahead of second-placed South Korea (45.6% of the country’s smartphone users) and third-placed United States (43.2%). Other countries with high mobile payment app penetration rates include India (40.1%), Japan (34.9%), Canada (29.1%), Italy (25.9%), Indonesia (24.6%), the UK (24.4%), and France (21.1%).
(eMarketer)
AliPay is the world’s leading mobile payment app.
Seeing as China is the global leader in mobile payments, it’s no surprise that two of the world’s most popular mobile payment apps hail from this country — Alipay (650 million users) and WeChat Pay (507 million). According to smartphone app usage statistics, other major players in the market include Apple Pay (507 million), Google Pay (421 million), PayPal (377 million), Paytm (333 million), PhonePe (300 million), Samsung Pay (140 million), and Venmo (52 million).
(Merchant Machine)
Crypto app usage saw a 902% year-over-year increase in 2021.
In 2021, crypto app installations were up by 400% over 2020, while the number of sessions was up by 567%. According to Android and iOS crypto app usage statistics, Binance was the most popular app in 2021, with 20% of its downloads coming from Turkey and 9.3% from the US. Other most downloaded apps were Crypto.com (#2), Coinbase (#3), Trust (#4), MetaMask (#5), Coinbase Wallet (#6), eToro (#7), CoinMarketCap (#8), CoinSwitch (#9), and CoinCDX (#10).
(Finbold)
App Usage Statistics FAQ
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Mobile App Usage Statistics: The Takeaway
There’s an app for everything under the sun these days, so it’s no surprise people are spending more and more time using apps. In 2022, the global app revenue is projected to see a 17.1% year-over-year increase and reach $469.2 billion. The growth will continue in the coming years; by 2025, the market should generate $613.4 billion — a 30.7% increase over just three years.
App usage statistics show that games are driving market growth. They are the most popular app category on Google Play and the App Store, and they account for the lion’s share of the global revenue — $295.6 billion (63.1%) in 2022. In the coming years, we’ll also see growth in mobile payment apps. By 2024, they should account for 33.4% of all transactions worldwide.
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