Gitnux/Report 2026

App Development Industry Statistics

The global app-development market is forecast at $618.65 billion by 2031, and the latest estimates imply a 15.18% CAGR from 2026 to 2031, explore the growth figures, company activity and 2025–2026 trends.
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App Development Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The app development industry at a glance

The global app economy reached $167 billion in consumer spending in 2025, while downloads approached 150 billion as AI, subscriptions and non-gaming apps reshaped mobile competition.

$167B[19]
Consumer spending in 2025
150B[19]
Downloads in 2025
5.3T[19]
App hours in 2025
10%[57]
Software jobs growth, 2025–2035
Market size
Global consumer spending on apps and games reached $167 billion in 2025 across Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower. This measures consumer spending rather than the full value of app-development services, advertising or enterprise software.[19]
Forecast & CAGR
Market-research estimates place the global app-development market at $264.96 billion in 2025 and forecast it to reach $618.65 billion by 2031, implying a 15.18% CAGR from 2026 to 2031. The estimate covers app-development services and related market activity, which is broader than consumer in-app spending.[58]
Market share & regions
The United States was the largest mobile market by revenue in 2025, with consumer spending of nearly $60 billion. Asia Pacific accounted for 34.9% of the global mobile-application market’s revenue in 2025 in Grand View Research’s estimate, making it the largest regional market.[19][59]
Segmentation
Apps are commonly segmented into gaming and non-gaming categories, with further divisions such as entertainment, finance, retail, social media and productivity. In the second quarter of 2025, non-gaming apps generated more in-app-purchase revenue than mobile games for the first time, while finance apps recorded more than 7 billion global downloads in 2024.[19]
Key players & concentration
Apple and Alphabet remain the core distribution-platform players because their App Store and Google Play stores cover the principal iOS and Android ecosystems. The European Commission designated Apple and Alphabet as DMA gatekeepers for their app stores in 2023, reflecting the platforms’ market power and dependence of developers on store access.[60]
Pricing
Apple’s App Store Small Business Program charges a 15% commission on paid apps and in-app purchases for eligible developers with up to $1 million in proceeds in the prior calendar year. Apple’s developer terms also state a standard 26% commission for certain sales, with reduced rates applying in specified cases.[61]
Trends, drivers & challenges
AI is a major growth driver: Sensor Tower reported that ChatGPT became the number-one app by downloads in the second quarter of 2025 after a major advertising campaign. At the same time, mature markets face slower download growth, intense competition for attention and rising pressure to monetize through subscriptions and higher spending per user.[19]
Consumer behavior & competition
Mobile users spent 5.3 trillion hours in apps in 2025, equivalent to roughly 3.6 hours per mobile user per day, while total downloads reached nearly 150 billion. Competition is shifting from user acquisition alone toward retention, subscriptions, advertising, AI features and monetization of high-engagement categories.[19]
M&A
Mobile-app and game assets continued to attract strategic buyers: Tripledot Studios agreed in 2025 to acquire AppLovin’s mobile-games studio portfolio for about $800 million in cash and stock. The deal illustrates continued consolidation around proven mobile content and development teams, although it is specific to mobile gaming rather than the entire app-development market.[62]
Regulation
The EU Digital Markets Act requires designated gatekeepers including Apple and Alphabet to meet obligations affecting app stores, including allowing developers to steer users toward alternative purchasing channels. The European Commission opened non-compliance proceedings concerning Apple and Alphabet’s app-store practices in 2024.[60]
Latest news
Sensor Tower’s 2026 State of Mobile report found that 2025 consumer spending on apps and games reached $167 billion, up 10.6% year over year, while downloads rose 0.8% to nearly 150 billion. The report identifies AI, changing monetization models and competition for attention as the leading developments entering 2026.[19]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the App Development Industry

The leading companies in the app development industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Infosys stands out for end-to-end application development, maintenance and management because it reports a 21% operating margin, while Accenture focuses on application services from new application development through modernization and maintenance since it reports a 15.4% operating margin.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in application services

    Infosys

    IN

    Ranked #1 · 9.8 · Application services

    Why we picked it: It delivers end-to-end application development, maintenance and management services, with a 21% operating margin.

    See in ranking ↓Visit infosys.com ↗

  2. #2 overall

    Accenture

    IE

    Ranked #2 · 9.4 · Application services

    Why we picked it: It provides application services spanning new development, modernization and maintenance, with a 15.4% operating margin.

    See in ranking ↓Visit accenture.com ↗

  3. #3 overall

    HCLTech

    IN

    Ranked #3 · 9.4 · Application services

    Why we picked it: Its portfolio includes application development, modernization, testing and support, with an 17.2% operating margin.

    See in ranking ↓Visit hcltech.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. No other segment places in the top 5, so picks 2 and 3 follow rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the app development industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Infosys

Application services · IN

9.8
2

Accenture

Application services · IE

9.4
3

HCLTech

Application services · IN

9.4
4

EPAM Systems

Application services · US

9.3
5

Capgemini

Application services · FR

9.3
6

Cognizant

Global application engineering and modernization services · US

9.1
7

Tata Consultancy Services

Global application development and maintenance services · IN

9.1
8

Appian

Low-code application development platform · US

8.9
9

OutSystems

Low-code web and mobile app development platform · US

8.8
10

Globant

Digital product, software and application engineering · LU

8.5

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Top 10 companies in the app development industry. In App Development Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/app-development-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

Worldwide mobile app downloads

Worldwide mobile app downloads grew from 83.8 billion downloads in 2016 to 142.7 billion downloads in 2021.

83.8
Start
+11.25%
CAGR · 5y
143
Projected
20162021
source-verifiedaeaweb.org2021

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is directly visible in development work: 83% of developers in HackerRank’s 2024 AI Skills Survey said generative-AI tools helped them complete projects faster or much faster.

AI in the app development industry

  • 79% of developers identified misinformation or disinformation in AI results as an ethical concern in Stack Overflow’s 2024 Developer Survey.[1]
  • 2,173 software-development specialists were included in Salesforce’s global survey of AI and application development decision-makers.[2]
  • 83% of developers said generative-AI tools helped them complete development projects faster or much faster in HackerRank’s 2024 AI Skills Survey.[3]
  • 76% of software developers reported using ChatGPT for work in HackerRank’s 2024 Developer Skills Report.[4]

Automation in the app development industry

  • Nearly 50% of mobile-app development and testing professionals had automated no more than 24% of their tests in Kobiton’s 2024 survey.[5]
  • 35% of technology organizations identified software development as a primary domain for generative-AI automation in the Linux Foundation’s 2024 talent report.[6]
  • 66% of U.S. mobile-app marketers used AI tools for creative development or optimization in 2025.[7]
  • 61% of U.S. mobile-app marketers were increasing creative-testing budgets while using AI to accelerate creative production in 2025.[7]

Digital Transformation in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 45% of North American technology and business decision-makers planned to adopt AI and machine learning to improve business within 12 to 24 months.[8]
  • 75% of digital leaders globally planned to increase AI-related business expenditure in 2024.[8]
  • 54.8% of surveyed organizations reported having a chief digital officer or another executive responsible for digital transformation.[9]
  • 34% of surveyed organizations globally identified replacing or upgrading legacy technology as a top digital-transformation goal in 2024.[8]
  • 72% of digital leaders globally expected to increase technology spending in 2024, compared with 50% of digital laggards, according to a survey of 855 technology and business decision-makers.[8]

Technology Adoption in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 57.7% of surveyed organizations reported having a chief information security officer or equivalent in 2024.[9]
  • 51.8% of surveyed organizations reported that AI solutions were somewhat or extremely rare in 2024.[9]
  • 67.6% of IT services were delivered through cloud infrastructure among surveyed organizations in 2024.[9]
  • More than 50% of surveyed global IT decision-makers were exploring AI use cases or piloting AI technologies in 2024.[8]

Cloud Computing in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 52.7% of EU enterprises with at least 10 employees used paid cloud-computing services in 2025.[10]
  • 26.1% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services used computing platforms for application development, testing or deployment in 2025.[10]
  • 85.2% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services used them for email in 2025.[10]
  • 65.5% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services used them for security software applications in 2025.[10]
  • 71.7% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services used them for office software in 2025.[10]
  • 71.5% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services used them for file storage in 2025.[10]

Big Data in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Big-data analytics adoption averaged 14% among OECD enterprises with at least 10 employees, compared with 49% for cloud computing in the latest comparable data.[11]
  • 3% was the lowest reported enterprise adoption rate for big-data analytics across OECD countries in the latest available data through 2023.[11]
  • 40% was the highest reported enterprise adoption rate for big-data analytics across OECD countries in the latest available data through 2023.[11]
  • 14% of enterprises with at least 10 employees across the OECD used big-data analytics on average, based on 2022 data or the latest available year.[11]

IoT in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 53% was the highest reported enterprise adoption rate for IoT technologies across OECD countries in the latest available data through 2023.[11]
  • 27% of OECD enterprises used IoT technologies on average, compared with 49% using cloud computing in the latest comparable data.[11]
  • 6% was the lowest reported enterprise adoption rate for IoT technologies across OECD countries in the latest available data through 2023.[11]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Business intelligence in the app development industry

  • 27% of developers in JetBrains’ 2024 survey reported data science or data analytics among their application-development activities.[12]
  • 31% of developers in JetBrains’ 2024 survey reported artificial intelligence and machine learning among their application-development activities.[12]
  • 58% of developers in JetBrains’ 2024 survey ran code on browser platforms.[12]
  • 35% of developers in JetBrains’ 2024 survey reported data processing and analytics among their application-development activities.[12]

Data analytics in the app development industry

  • 27% of developers reported data science or data analytics as an application-development activity in JetBrains’ 2024 survey.[12]
  • 26% of developers reported integrating applications with artificial intelligence in JetBrains’ 2024 survey.[12]
  • 35% of developers reported data processing and analytics as an application-development activity in JetBrains’ 2024 survey.[12]
  • 6% of developers reported security, encryption and cryptographic protocols among their application-development activities in JetBrains’ 2024 survey.[12]

Data Quality in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • In 2025, 35% of organizations globally rated their data excellent for consistency and standardization, across surveyed technology and business organizations.[13]
  • In 2024, 95% of enterprise data leaders and practitioners reported a data-quality issue with a direct impact on business outcomes, across companies with at least $1 billion in revenue.[14]
  • In 2025, 46% of organizations globally said they were fully confident in their data quality, across surveyed technology and business organizations.[13]
  • In 2025, 46% of organizations globally rated their data excellent for accuracy and integrity, across surveyed technology and business organizations.[13]
  • In 2025, 34% of organizations globally rated their data excellent for relevance and suitability, across surveyed technology and business organizations.[13]
  • In 2025, 43% of organizations globally rated their data excellent for quality and completeness, across surveyed technology and business organizations.[13]

Data Governance in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • In 2024, 35% of U.S. technology executives prioritized data governance among their data-management areas for the next 12 months.[15]
  • In 2024, 18.3% of organizations reported having a data-governance or catalog solution as part of their governance program, according to a global governance study.[16]
  • In 2024, 81.7% of organizations reported having no data-governance or catalog solution as part of their governance program, according to a global governance study.[16]
  • In 2024, 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function, based on an Institute for Supply Management survey.[17]
  • In 2026, 76% of global data leaders said their company’s AI governance did not completely keep pace with employee use of AI technology.[16]
  • In 2024, 32% of global technology leaders prioritized data governance among their data-management areas for the next 12 months.[15]

KPIs in the app development industry

  • 14% of non-gaming app marketers reported less-aggressive year-over-year KPI targets in 2024.[18]
  • 61% of non-gaming app marketers set more aggressive KPI targets in 2024.[18]
  • 47% of gaming app marketers set more aggressive KPI targets in 2024.[18]
  • 26% of gaming app marketers reported less-aggressive year-over-year KPI targets in 2024.[18]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Market activity continues to expand through deals: 432 AppDev and Deployment transactions were announced or completed in 2024 worldwide, a record high.

Growth in the app development industry

  • 49.6 billion mobile-app downloads were recorded worldwide in 2024, down 6% year over year.[19]
  • 2.5x was the increase from 2019 to 2024 in App Store earnings of U.S.-based developers.[20]
  • $81 billion in mobile-game consumer spending was recorded worldwide in 2024, up 4% year over year.[19]
  • 76% was the growth in earnings of small U.S.-based developers active on the App Store in 2021 by 2024.[20]

Differentiation in the app development industry

  • 3.9x was the growth from 2019 to 2024 in App Store earnings for business apps from U.S.-based developers.[20]
  • 3.9x was the growth from 2019 to 2024 in App Store earnings for education apps from U.S.-based developers.[20]
  • 4.1x was the growth from 2019 to 2024 in App Store earnings for productivity apps from U.S.-based developers.[20]
  • 5.9x was the growth from 2019 to 2024 in App Store earnings for photo and video apps from U.S.-based developers.[20]

Mergers and acquisitions in the app development industry

  • 60% of AppDev and Deployment sector transactions involved strategic acquirers in 2024 worldwide.[21]
  • 62% of AppDev and Deployment M&A targets were services companies in 2024 worldwide.[21]
  • $52.1 billion was the total disclosed AppDev and Deployment sector deal value in 2024 worldwide, up 29% year over year.[21]
  • 36.2% was the year-over-year increase in software-segment deals involving international-based targets in 2024.[21]
  • 432 AppDev and Deployment transactions were announced or completed in 2024 worldwide, a record high and 10.2% year-over-year increase.[21]

Strategic partnerships in the app development industry

  • $8 billion in revenue was estimated to have been contributed to the U.S. grocery industry by Instacart through its app platform and retail partnerships by 2024.[20]
  • 700 million hours were estimated to have been saved for Instacart customers through its app-enabled retail partnerships by 2024 in the United States.[20]
  • Nearly 100,000 retail stores partnered with Instacart, a mobile app platform, in 2024 in the United States.[20]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce availability is tightening: 28% of newly hired technology employees left within six months in 2026, up from 19% in the prior year.

Hiring in the app development industry

  • Front-end and back-end developers generally had shorter hiring periods than many other technology roles in the Linux Foundation’s 2024 global talent study.[6]
  • Hiring and onboarding new technology staff took 53% longer than upskilling existing staff in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 talent research.[6]
  • 61% of organizations with 250 to 4,999 employees were represented in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 technology-talent sample.[6]
  • 28% of new technology hires left within six months in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 talent research.[6]

Employee retention in the app development industry

  • 28% of newly hired technology employees left within six months in 2026, up from 19% in the prior year.[6]
  • Upskilling had a 7.7-times advantage over hiring for staff retention in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 technology-talent research.[6]
  • Productivity apps recorded a 9.63% average 30-day retention rate in OneSignal’s 2024 mobile-app benchmarks.[22]
  • The average 30-day retention rate for mobile apps was 7.88% in OneSignal’s 2024 benchmark dataset.[22]

Remote Work in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 34.8% of global software and IT services respondents worked remotely in 2026, according to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey.[1]
  • 6% of global respondents worked fully remotely in 2025, defined as spending less than one day per week in the office.[23]
  • 84% of technology-services employers agreed in 2025 that the ability to work remotely is important for employee retention.[23]
  • 10% of technology-services respondents worked under fully flexible arrangements in 2025, allowing employees substantial control over remote work.[23]
  • 48% of U.S. software and IT professionals surveyed worked remotely in 2026, compared with 21% in France.[1]

Hybrid Work in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 56% of IT employees worked in hybrid arrangements in 2025, while 31% were fully remote and 13% attended the office daily.[24]
  • 52% of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs worked in hybrid arrangements in May 2026, according to Gallup.[25]
  • 55% of technology-services respondents worked in a hybrid arrangement in 2025, the highest share among industries measured by Cisco.[23]
  • 61% of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs preferred hybrid work in November 2025, compared with 33% preferring fully remote work.[25]
  • 47% of global respondents worked in hybrid arrangements in 2025, down from 63% in Cisco’s 2022 study.[23]

Upskilling in the app development industry

  • Upskilling was preferred over hiring by 7.3 times for improving team cohesion in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 research.[6]
  • 43% of technology organizations prioritized upskilling in the Linux Foundation’s 2024 State of Tech Talent Report.[6]
  • 69% of developers reported spending time learning new coding techniques or programming languages in the 2025 Developer Survey.[1]
  • Upskilling was preferred over hiring by 7.9 times for building business-context knowledge in the Linux Foundation’s 2026 research.[6]

Employee Engagement in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 54% of exclusively remote U.S. employees were thriving in May 2026, compared with 52% of hybrid employees and 49% of on-site employees with remote-capable jobs.[25]
  • 92% of employees ranked collaboration and community as very important aspects of office culture in Cisco’s 2025 global study.[23]
  • 37% of exclusively remote U.S. employees were engaged in May 2026, compared with 34% of hybrid employees and 29% of on-site employees with remote-capable jobs.[25]
  • 22.2% of global software and IT respondents were happy with their current professional role in 2026, while 32.6% were unhappy.[1]
  • 74% of respondents approved of fully flexible hybrid policies in 2025, the highest positive sentiment among the policy types Cisco measured.[23]

Change Management in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 59% of SAP change-management respondents expected AI to automate manual processes in change management, according to the 2025 survey.[26]
  • 48% of SAP change-management respondents faced pressure in 2025 to implement changes more quickly.[26]
  • 87% of SAP change-management respondents believed AI would influence change management during the five years following the 2025 survey.[26]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Retention and billing reliability matter in monetized apps: nearly one-third of Google Play subscription cancellations were involuntary billing failures in 2026.

Customer experience in the app development industry

  • 74% of consumers across generations wanted a more personalized banking experience in Q2 Holdings’ cited Harris Poll research.[27]
  • 25% higher engagement followed Chase’s individualized mobile-app home screens, according to Q2 Holdings’ cited customer-experience research.[27]

Customer retention in the app development industry

  • 28.29% was the average one-day retention rate for mobile apps in OneSignal’s 2024 benchmark dataset.[22]
  • 6.94% was the average 30-day retention rate for business apps in OneSignal’s 2024 benchmarks.[22]
  • 17.86% was the average seven-day retention rate for mobile apps in OneSignal’s 2024 benchmark dataset.[22]
  • 8.48% was the average 30-day retention rate for health-and-fitness apps in OneSignal’s 2024 benchmarks.[22]

Customer acquisition in the app development industry

  • 77% of U.S. mobile-app marketers ranked video ads among their top-performing formats in 2025.[7]
  • 76% of U.S. mobile-app marketers updated advertising creatives at least every two weeks in 2025.[7]
  • 73% of U.S. mobile-app marketers said Google’s Privacy Sandbox had a major impact on growth activity in 2025.[7]
  • 43% of U.S. mobile-app marketers allocated more than one-quarter of spending to retargeting or lifecycle marketing in 2025.[7]

Customer loyalty in the app development industry

  • 4× higher Year-1 retention was recorded for the best-performing subscription-app category than for Social & Lifestyle apps in RevenueCat’s 2024 dataset.[28]
  • Nearly one-third of Google Play subscription cancellations were involuntary billing failures in RevenueCat’s 2026 report.[28]
  • 5% was the annual reactivation rate for canceled annual app subscribers in RevenueCat’s 2026 subscription-app research.[28]
  • Monthly app subscribers returned at 4× the rate of annual subscribers in RevenueCat’s 2026 subscription-app research.[28]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Acquisition experimentation is broad: 95% of app marketers expanded beyond traditional social, search and display channels in 2024.

Marketing in the app development industry

  • 44% of app marketers experimented with podcasts or audio channels for user acquisition in 2024.[29]
  • 27% of app marketers experimented with connected television for user acquisition in 2024.[29]
  • $65 billion was spent on mobile-app user-acquisition advertising globally in 2024.[18]
  • 95% of app marketers expanded beyond traditional social, search and display channels in 2024.[29]

Digital marketing in the app development industry

  • 66% of U.S. mobile-app advertisers used artificial-intelligence tools for creative development or optimization in 2025.[7]
  • 76% of U.S. mobile-app marketers updated advertising creatives at least biweekly in 2025.[7]
  • 43% of U.S. mobile-app marketers allocated more than one-quarter of spend to retargeting or lifecycle marketing in 2025.[7]
  • 77% of U.S. mobile-app advertisers ranked video ads among their top-performing formats in 2025.[7]

Branding in the app development industry

  • 65% of non-gaming subscription-app revenue came from organic users in the AppsFlyer 2024 high-income-market sample.[18]
  • Over 1 billion users worldwide were reachable by U.S.-based developers through the App Store in 2024.[30]
  • 29 travel-booking apps across 17 countries were analyzed for their effect on correct brand recognition in 2024.[31]
  • 6,819 consumers in 17 countries were surveyed on brand lift from 29 travel-booking apps in 2024.[31]

Social media in the app development industry

  • Short-form video was identified as a leading investment priority by U.S. mobile-app growth teams in 2025.[7]
  • 27% of mobile growth teams planned to increase investment in influencer marketing in 2025.[7]
  • 27% of app marketers used connected television as an experimental acquisition channel in 2024.[29]
  • YouTube, Meta and TikTok were the channels receiving the largest planned investment increases from mobile-app marketers in 2025.[7]

Influencer Marketing in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across B2B companies, 55% of marketing organizations were using influencers in 2025, based on an Ipsos survey of 1,500 marketing leaders.[32]
  • Across B2B companies, 43% of marketers reported outstanding results from their influencer programs in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[33]
  • Across technology companies, 27% of marketers reported dedicated but flat budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026, according to Nielsen’s global marketing survey.[34]
  • Across B2B companies, another 29% of marketing organizations planned to adopt influencer marketing within the next year in 2025, based on an Ipsos survey of 1,500 marketing leaders.[32]
  • Across B2B companies, 58% of marketing teams reported using an always-on influencer marketing approach in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[33]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Delivery throughput is sensitive to adoption: AI adoption was associated with an estimated 1.5% reduction in software-delivery throughput for every 25% increase in adoption in 2024.

Process optimization in the app development industry

  • 89% of software-development respondents reported using an internal developer platform in the 2024 DORA research.[35]
  • The average business-change request took three weeks from initiation to completion in a 2023 European application-delivery survey.[36]
  • AI adoption was associated with an estimated 1.5% reduction in software-delivery throughput for every 25% increase in adoption in 2024.[35]
  • 63% of developers’ working time was allocated to activities other than writing new application functionality in a 2023 European survey.[36]

Operational efficiency in the app development industry

  • 37% of European organizations identified cross-platform or universal testing as a complexity challenge in 2023.[36]
  • 40% of developer work time was spent on tasks other than new functionality in the 2023 European application-delivery survey.[36]
  • 80% of enterprise application dependencies had not been upgraded within a year in Sonatype’s 2024 analysis.[37]
  • 29% of developer work time was devoted to change-request activity in the 2023 European application-delivery survey.[36]

Quality management in the app development industry

  • 41.7% of organizations reported testing only during the testing phase of the software-development life cycle in 2024.[38]
  • 7.1% of organizations reported testing only during deployment in 2024.[38]
  • 61.5% of software-development teams reported using unit testing during development in 2024.[38]
  • 58.9% of software-development teams reported using integration testing during development in 2024.[38]

Supply chain in the app development industry

  • 90% of commercial software code can consist of open-source code, according to Sonatype’s 2024 software-supply-chain analysis.[37]
  • 35% of security professionals said their organizations produced software bills of materials in 2024.[39]
  • 54% of organizations reported suffering a software-supply-chain attack during the year covered by Synopsys’s 2024 report.[39]
  • 180 open-source components were included in the average application analyzed by Sonatype in 2024.[37]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the software and IT services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across European organizations, 35% planned to increase their use of nearshore outsourcing in the 2024/2025 sourcing study.[40]
  • Across EU enterprises sourcing business functions internationally during 2021–2023, 28.7% moved information and communication technology services abroad.[10]
  • Across German digital-experience service providers, 13.2% of services for customer projects were delivered nearshore in 2024.[41]
  • Among German IT-service generalists, 10.2% of digital-experience services for customer projects were delivered offshore in 2024.[41]
  • Among German IT-service generalists, 19.5% of digital-experience services for customer projects were delivered nearshore in 2024.[41]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Subscription models dominate near-term conversion metrics: 1.7% of app downloads converted into paying subscribers within the first 30 days in RevenueCat’s 2024 dataset.

Pricing strategy in the app development industry

  • 1.7% of app downloads converted into paying subscribers within the first 30 days in RevenueCat’s 2024 dataset.[28]
  • 27% of subscription apps primarily offered weekly plans in 2024.[42]
  • 29.8% of subscription apps primarily offered monthly plans in 2024.[42]
  • 41.4% of subscription apps primarily offered annual plans in 2024.[42]

Cost reduction in the app development industry

  • 30% of application-development and maintenance work was expected to be outsourced in 2024.[43]
  • 20%–30% lower costs were reported for offshore development compared with domestic outsourcing in a 2023 survey covering smartphone-app development.[44]
  • 45% of application-development and maintenance organizations identified portfolio cost reduction as a priority in 2024.[43]
  • 23% of application-development and maintenance resourcing was expected to come from staff augmentation in 2024.[43]

Profitability in the app development industry

  • $900 million in verified in-app-advertising revenue was included in AppsFlyer’s third-quarter 2024 high-income-market sample.[18]
  • $130 million in verified in-app-purchase revenue was included in AppsFlyer’s third-quarter 2024 high-income-market sample.[18]
  • $6.7 billion in subscription-app revenue was tracked across more than 30,000 apps in RevenueCat’s 2024 report.[28]
  • 3.5% of subscription apps were projected to reach $10,000 in revenue in the RevenueCat dataset reported in 2024.[45]

Financial planning in the app development industry

  • $1.54 was the average revenue per user for non-gaming subscription apps on Android in AppsFlyer’s 2024 high-income-market analysis.[18]
  • $8.39 was the average revenue per user for non-gaming subscription apps on iOS in AppsFlyer’s 2024 high-income-market analysis.[18]
  • $40 million in verified subscription revenue was included in AppsFlyer’s third-quarter 2024 high-income-market sample.[18]
  • 95% was the day-90 return on ad spend for non-gaming in-app-advertising apps on Android in AppsFlyer’s 2024 analysis.[18]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Engagement and retention remain persistent constraints: 53.1% of mobile-app creators identified user engagement and retention as a major challenge in 2023.

Product development in the app development industry

  • 56.2% of mobile-app creators worldwide found product prioritization challenging in 2023.[46]
  • 83% of US web and app developers said ecosystem fragmentation could reduce innovation, app quality or security in 2024.[47]
  • 89% of US web and app developers said ecosystem fragmentation could increase costs, workload, incompatibility or learning requirements in 2024.[47]
  • 76% of surveyed UK app developers developed apps for mobile devices in 2024.[48]

Product lifecycle in the app development industry

  • 17.86% was the average seven-day retention rate for mobile apps globally in 2024.[22]
  • 7.88% was the average 30-day retention rate for mobile apps globally in 2024.[22]
  • 28.29% was the average one-day retention rate for mobile apps globally in 2024.[22]
  • 40 billion was the average number of automatic app updates delivered weekly through Apple platforms in 2022.[20]

After-sales in the app development industry

  • 85.2% of mobile-app makers collected user feedback in 2023.[49]
  • 53.1% of mobile-app creators identified user engagement and retention as a major challenge in 2023.[46]
  • 67% was the average 30-day retention rate for Alchemer Mobile customers in 2022.[50]
  • 46.3% of mobile-app professionals collected user feedback periodically in 2023.[49]

Value proposition in the app development industry

  • 131% was the five-year growth in App Store in-app advertising revenue through 2024.[20]
  • $1.3 trillion in billings and sales were facilitated by the global App Store ecosystem in 2024.[20]
  • 162% was the five-year growth in App Store physical-goods and services billings and sales through 2024.[20]
  • 109% was the five-year growth in App Store digital-goods and services billings and sales through 2024.[20]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability requirements are moving into development agendas: 74% of software developers surveyed in 2026 wanted ways to measure the environmental impact of their software or development process.

Sustainability in the app development industry

  • 70% of software developers surveyed in 2026 were interested in contributing to open-source sustainability projects.[51]
  • 74% of software developers surveyed in 2026 wanted ways to measure the environmental impact of their software or development process.[51]

Ethics in the app development industry

  • $5 billion in fraudulent transactions were prevented by Apple since 2020 through App Store protections.[20]
  • 93% of mobile-app security professionals surveyed were confident their applications were secure in 2024.[52]
  • 1.7 million App Store submissions were rejected for guideline violations in 2022.[20]
  • 62% of mobile-app security professionals surveyed reported a security breach during the previous year in 2024.[52]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Localization coverage is broad but uneven: 54.1% of organizations developed all their localized apps or websites in-house in 2024 globally.

Globalization in the app development industry

  • $1.3 trillion in billings and sales were facilitated by the global iOS app ecosystem in 2024 worldwide.[20]
  • 36% was the increase from 2019 to 2024 in worldwide App Store downloads of apps from U.S.-based developers.[20]
  • 12.4 billion app downloads from U.S.-based developers occurred worldwide through the App Store in 2024.[20]
  • 24 App Store storefronts were used on average by active U.S.-based developers in 2024.[20]

Cultural adaptation in the app development industry

  • 65.6% of multilingual apps and websites were available in 2–5 languages in 2024 globally.[38]
  • 54.1% of organizations developed all their localized apps or websites in-house in 2024 globally.[38]
  • 16.6% of multilingual apps and websites were available in 6–9 languages in 2024 globally.[38]
  • 64% of software development, product and QA professionals said their apps or websites were available in multiple languages in 2024 globally.[38]

Supplier management in the app development industry

  • 15% of surveyed app developers had an organisational plan to update apps after third-party SDK security or privacy updates within the following 12 months in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 25% of surveyed app developers planned to implement third-party SDK security or privacy updates over a longer timeframe in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 55% of surveyed app developers updated apps when a third-party library or SDK received a security or privacy update in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 82% of surveyed app developers had a process to monitor and update software dependencies in all published app versions in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]

Stakeholder management in the app development industry

  • 69% of surveyed app developers avoided requesting permissions that were not required by their apps in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 57% of surveyed app developers ensured an app’s primary function continued when users disabled optional functionality in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 47% of surveyed app developers shared requested app permissions with app-store operators for cross-checking in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]
  • 59% of surveyed app developers ensured their apps had a simple uninstall process in 2023 in the United Kingdom.[48]

Distribution channels in the app development industry

  • 175 App Store storefronts were available to U.S.-based developers distributing apps globally in 2024.[20]
  • 131 billion dollars of digital goods and services billings and sales were facilitated by the global iOS app ecosystem in 2024.[20]
  • 90%+ of the $1.3 trillion facilitated by the global App Store ecosystem in 2024 generated no Apple commission.[20]
  • 150 billion dollars of iOS in-app advertising revenue placed by developers was generated in 2024 worldwide.[20]

Key questions about the app development industry

What is the 2025 size of the app-development market?
The global app-development market is estimated at $264.96 billion in 2025.
How fast is the app-development market expected to grow into 2031?
Estimates forecast the market to reach $618.65 billion by 2031, implying a 15.18% CAGR from 2026 to 2031.
Which companies lead the app development industry?
Infosys stands out for end-to-end application development, maintenance and management because it reports a 21% operating margin, while Accenture focuses on application services from new application development through modernization and maintenance since it reports a 15.4% operating margin.
How are AI and automation changing developer workflows in the app industry?
In HackerRank’s 2024 surveys, 83% of developers said generative-AI tools helped them complete projects faster or much faster, and 76% reported using ChatGPT for work.
How concentrated is the app distribution layer for app developers?
Apple’s App Store and Google Play are the core distribution-platform players because they cover the principal iOS and Android ecosystems, and the European Commission designated them as DMA gatekeepers in 2023.
What monetization pressure shows up most clearly for mature app markets?
Mature markets face slower download growth and intense competition for attention, alongside pressure to monetize through subscriptions and higher spending per user.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). App Development Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/app-development-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "App Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 11 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/app-development-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "App Development Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/app-development-industry-statistics.

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