GITNUXREPORT 2026

Mobile App Statistics

Mobile app revenue keeps surging thanks to subscriptions and in-app purchases.

Sarah Mitchell

Senior Researcher specializing in consumer behavior and market trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

Our Commitment to Accuracy

Rigorous fact-checking · Reputable sources · Regular updatesLearn more

Statistic 1

There are 3.55 million apps on Google Play as of 2024.

Statistic 2

Apple App Store hosts 1.84 million apps in 2024.

Statistic 3

94% of mobile developers use Agile methodology.

Statistic 4

Average time to develop a mobile app is 4-6 months.

Statistic 5

Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter used by 42% of devs.

Statistic 6

Native development still dominates at 68% of projects.

Statistic 7

Average mobile app development cost is $50,000-$150,000.

Statistic 8

87% of devs prioritize performance optimization.

Statistic 9

AI/ML integration in apps rose 35% in 2023.

Statistic 10

62% of apps now support 5G features.

Statistic 11

PWA adoption grew 25% among developers in 2023.

Statistic 12

75% of devs use CI/CD pipelines for app releases.

Statistic 13

Average app update frequency is every 30 days.

Statistic 14

40% of apps incorporate biometric authentication.

Statistic 15

Low-code/no-code platforms used by 28% of devs.

Statistic 16

React Native market share is 38% among frameworks.

Statistic 17

55% of devs focus on privacy-by-design.

Statistic 18

App crash rate averages 1.6% per session.

Statistic 19

70% of apps are tested on real devices before release.

Statistic 20

Edge computing integration in apps up 20%.

Statistic 21

45% of new apps are super apps in Asia.

Statistic 22

Web3 integration in mobile apps grew 50%.

Statistic 23

Average app size is 75MB on iOS, 20MB on Android.

Statistic 24

60% of devs use cloud services like AWS for backend.

Statistic 25

Sustainability features in 15% of new apps.

Statistic 26

Voice UI development up 28% YoY.

Statistic 27

52% of apps now support foldable devices.

Statistic 28

Microservices architecture in 35% of app backends.

Statistic 29

80% of mobile traffic is video in apps by 2024.

Statistic 30

Global mobile app downloads hit 257 billion in 2023.

Statistic 31

Google Play saw 146 billion downloads in 2023, 57% of total.

Statistic 32

Apple App Store had 111 billion downloads in 2023.

Statistic 33

India led with 30 billion app downloads in 2023.

Statistic 34

Gaming apps were downloaded 25 billion times in 2023.

Statistic 35

Social networking apps downloads reached 15.2 billion in 2023.

Statistic 36

TikTok was downloaded 1.7 billion times globally in 2023.

Statistic 37

Average downloads per app on Google Play is 1,300.

Statistic 38

90% of downloads occur on Android devices worldwide.

Statistic 39

China app downloads totaled 52 billion in 2023.

Statistic 40

US app downloads were 25.1 billion in 2023.

Statistic 41

First-time installs grew 3% YoY to 90 billion in 2023.

Statistic 42

WhatsApp downloads hit 1.2 billion in 2023.

Statistic 43

Photo & video apps downloaded 12.8 billion times in 2023.

Statistic 44

Productivity apps saw 8.5 billion downloads in 2023.

Statistic 45

Travel apps downloads surged 35% to 4.1 billion in 2023.

Statistic 46

Finance apps downloaded 5.2 billion times in 2023.

Statistic 47

Health apps downloads reached 7.3 billion in 2023.

Statistic 48

Education apps downloads grew 22% to 6.8 billion.

Statistic 49

Shopping apps had 9.4 billion downloads in 2023.

Statistic 50

Re-downloads account for 65% of total app downloads.

Statistic 51

Brazil app downloads totaled 11.2 billion in 2023.

Statistic 52

Average app launch after download is within 24 hours for 70%.

Statistic 53

Third-party stores like Huawei AppGallery had 12 billion downloads.

Statistic 54

Google Play top 1,000 apps averaged 10 million downloads each.

Statistic 55

App Store top apps saw average 5.2 million downloads.

Statistic 56

Projected downloads for 2024: 275 billion globally.

Statistic 57

Global mobile app revenue reached $171 billion in 2023, marking a 10% year-over-year growth driven by in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Statistic 58

iOS apps generated 65% of global app store revenue in 2023, totaling approximately $111 billion compared to $60 billion on Google Play.

Statistic 59

Gaming apps accounted for 48% of total mobile app revenue in 2023, generating over $82 billion worldwide.

Statistic 60

Non-gaming apps saw revenue grow by 16% in 2023 to $89 billion, led by entertainment and social categories.

Statistic 61

Subscription revenue from mobile apps hit $50 billion in 2023, up 15% from the previous year.

Statistic 62

In-app purchase revenue worldwide was $126 billion in 2023, representing 74% of total app monetization.

Statistic 63

US mobile app spending reached $46.2 billion in 2023, the highest of any country.

Statistic 64

China followed the US with $38.5 billion in app revenue in 2023.

Statistic 65

Advertising revenue from mobile apps totaled $362 billion globally in 2023.

Statistic 66

Projected mobile app revenue for 2024 is $194 billion, with a CAGR of 8.5% through 2027.

Statistic 67

TikTok generated $2.3 billion in app store revenue in Q4 2023 alone.

Statistic 68

Spotify earned $1.1 billion from iOS App Store in 2023.

Statistic 69

Mobile game revenue in APAC region was $93 billion in 2023, 55% of global total.

Statistic 70

Freemium model apps generated 92% of app revenue in 2023.

Statistic 71

Average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile apps was $1.35 globally in 2023.

Statistic 72

Dating apps revenue grew 12% to $4.2 billion in 2023.

Statistic 73

Health & fitness apps saw revenue increase of 25% to $3.8 billion in 2023.

Statistic 74

Photo & video apps generated $12.5 billion in revenue in 2023.

Statistic 75

Music streaming apps revenue hit $9.1 billion in 2023, led by Spotify and Apple Music.

Statistic 76

E-commerce apps within apps contributed $15 billion to revenue in 2023.

Statistic 77

Global mobile app ad spend projected to reach $400 billion by 2024.

Statistic 78

In 2023, 80% of app revenue came from the top 200 apps.

Statistic 79

Latin America app revenue grew 22% to $7.8 billion in 2023.

Statistic 80

MENA region app revenue reached $5.2 billion, up 18% YoY in 2023.

Statistic 81

Enterprise app revenue was $4.9 billion in 2023 globally.

Statistic 82

Cross-platform apps revenue share increased to 35% in 2023.

Statistic 83

AR/VR mobile apps revenue grew 40% to $1.2 billion in 2023.

Statistic 84

Fintech mobile apps generated $8.7 billion in 2023.

Statistic 85

Travel apps revenue recovered to $6.3 billion post-pandemic in 2023.

Statistic 86

Education apps revenue doubled to $5.4 billion in 2023.

Statistic 87

Mobile app data breaches affected 2.6 billion users in 2023.

Statistic 88

38% of mobile apps have high-severity vulnerabilities.

Statistic 89

Phishing attacks via apps rose 61% in 2023.

Statistic 90

83% of apps request unnecessary permissions.

Statistic 91

Android malware samples reached 5.5 million in 2023.

Statistic 92

iOS jailbreak detection evaded in 12% of apps.

Statistic 93

47% of users concerned about app data privacy.

Statistic 94

GDPR fines for app violations totaled €2.7 billion since 2018.

Statistic 95

65% of apps leak sensitive data via network traffic.

Statistic 96

Rooted devices represent 4.2% of Android installs.

Statistic 97

App sandbox escapes occurred in 1.3% of analyzed apps.

Statistic 98

92% of top 1,000 apps use HTTPS properly.

Statistic 99

Biometric spoofing vulnerabilities in 22% of apps.

Statistic 100

Third-party SDKs introduce risks in 76% of apps.

Statistic 101

Zero-day exploits in mobile apps up 50% in 2023.

Statistic 102

55% of users disable app tracking features.

Statistic 103

Cryptojacking via apps affected 1.8 million devices.

Statistic 104

28% of apps fail OWASP Mobile Top 10 checks.

Statistic 105

Statistic 106

Man-in-the-middle attacks on apps rose 33%.

Statistic 107

67% of enterprise apps lack encryption at rest.

Statistic 108

Fake apps downloaded 5.3 billion times in 2023.

Statistic 109

iOS ATT framework reduced tracking by 70%.

Statistic 110

Android 14 security patches fixed 400+ vulnerabilities.

Statistic 111

19% of apps store credentials insecurely.

Statistic 112

Ransomware targeting mobile apps up 93%.

Statistic 113

74% of users read app privacy policies before install.

Statistic 114

Supply chain attacks via app stores hit 15 incidents.

Statistic 115

Certificate pinning missing in 58% of apps.

Statistic 116

Location data sold by 25% of free apps.

Statistic 117

There are over 5.5 billion mobile app users worldwide as of 2024.

Statistic 118

90% of mobile time is spent in apps, not mobile web in 2023.

Statistic 119

Average American checks phone 144 times per day, mostly apps.

Statistic 120

4.28 hours daily spent on mobile apps per user globally in 2023.

Statistic 121

88% of smartphone users have at least one social media app installed.

Statistic 122

Millennials spend 3.7 hours daily on mobile apps on average.

Statistic 123

Gen Z users open apps 150 times per day on average.

Statistic 124

70% of users churn within 3 days of app install.

Statistic 125

Daily active users (DAU) for mobile apps averaged 2.5 billion in 2023.

Statistic 126

Women spend 10% more time in shopping apps than men.

Statistic 127

55% of users prefer dark mode in mobile apps.

Statistic 128

Average session length in mobile apps is 10 minutes 23 seconds.

Statistic 129

21% of users uninstall apps due to too many ads.

Statistic 130

India has 1.2 billion mobile app users, highest globally.

Statistic 131

62% of users aged 18-24 use apps for mental health support.

Statistic 132

Personalized notifications boost app engagement by 88%.

Statistic 133

75% of users judge app credibility by its design.

Statistic 134

Voice search usage in apps grew 30% YoY to 40% of queries.

Statistic 135

47% of users expect apps to load in under 2 seconds.

Statistic 136

Gamified apps see 30% higher retention rates.

Statistic 137

65% of users share app experiences on social media.

Statistic 138

Offline functionality increases app usage by 25%.

Statistic 139

Subscription apps have 5x higher lifetime value.

Statistic 140

58% of users prefer apps over websites for purchases.

Statistic 141

Average user has 80 apps installed, but uses only 9 daily.

Statistic 142

AR app usage doubled to 200 million monthly users in 2023.

1/142

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Forget the open web – your smartphone screen is now the epicenter of a staggering $171 billion digital economy that's growing faster than ever.

Key Takeaways

Global mobile app revenue reached $171 billion in 2023, marking a 10% year-over-year growth driven by in-app purchases and subscriptions.
iOS apps generated 65% of global app store revenue in 2023, totaling approximately $111 billion compared to $60 billion on Google Play.
Gaming apps accounted for 48% of total mobile app revenue in 2023, generating over $82 billion worldwide.
There are over 5.5 billion mobile app users worldwide as of 2024.
90% of mobile time is spent in apps, not mobile web in 2023.
Average American checks phone 144 times per day, mostly apps.
Global mobile app downloads hit 257 billion in 2023.
Google Play saw 146 billion downloads in 2023, 57% of total.
Apple App Store had 111 billion downloads in 2023.
There are 3.55 million apps on Google Play as of 2024.
Apple App Store hosts 1.84 million apps in 2024.
94% of mobile developers use Agile methodology.
Mobile app data breaches affected 2.6 billion users in 2023.
38% of mobile apps have high-severity vulnerabilities.
Phishing attacks via apps rose 61% in 2023.

Mobile app revenue keeps surging thanks to subscriptions and in-app purchases.

Development & Trends

There are 3.55 million apps on Google Play as of 2024.
Apple App Store hosts 1.84 million apps in 2024.
94% of mobile developers use Agile methodology.
Average time to develop a mobile app is 4-6 months.
Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter used by 42% of devs.
Native development still dominates at 68% of projects.
Average mobile app development cost is $50,000-$150,000.
87% of devs prioritize performance optimization.
AI/ML integration in apps rose 35% in 2023.
62% of apps now support 5G features.
PWA adoption grew 25% among developers in 2023.
75% of devs use CI/CD pipelines for app releases.
Average app update frequency is every 30 days.
40% of apps incorporate biometric authentication.
Low-code/no-code platforms used by 28% of devs.
React Native market share is 38% among frameworks.
55% of devs focus on privacy-by-design.
App crash rate averages 1.6% per session.
70% of apps are tested on real devices before release.
Edge computing integration in apps up 20%.
45% of new apps are super apps in Asia.
Web3 integration in mobile apps grew 50%.
Average app size is 75MB on iOS, 20MB on Android.
60% of devs use cloud services like AWS for backend.
Sustainability features in 15% of new apps.
Voice UI development up 28% YoY.
52% of apps now support foldable devices.
Microservices architecture in 35% of app backends.
80% of mobile traffic is video in apps by 2024.

Development & Trends Interpretation

With over five million apps collectively fighting for attention across Google and Apple's crowded digital shelves, the data reveals a paradoxically cautious yet frenzied gold rush where developers race to build faster, cheaper, and smarter—often while still clinging to familiar native tools—all in a desperate bid to not become part of the overwhelming 99% that users will never even find.

Downloads & Installs

Global mobile app downloads hit 257 billion in 2023.
Google Play saw 146 billion downloads in 2023, 57% of total.
Apple App Store had 111 billion downloads in 2023.
India led with 30 billion app downloads in 2023.
Gaming apps were downloaded 25 billion times in 2023.
Social networking apps downloads reached 15.2 billion in 2023.
TikTok was downloaded 1.7 billion times globally in 2023.
Average downloads per app on Google Play is 1,300.
90% of downloads occur on Android devices worldwide.
China app downloads totaled 52 billion in 2023.
US app downloads were 25.1 billion in 2023.
First-time installs grew 3% YoY to 90 billion in 2023.
WhatsApp downloads hit 1.2 billion in 2023.
Photo & video apps downloaded 12.8 billion times in 2023.
Productivity apps saw 8.5 billion downloads in 2023.
Travel apps downloads surged 35% to 4.1 billion in 2023.
Finance apps downloaded 5.2 billion times in 2023.
Health apps downloads reached 7.3 billion in 2023.
Education apps downloads grew 22% to 6.8 billion.
Shopping apps had 9.4 billion downloads in 2023.
Re-downloads account for 65% of total app downloads.
Brazil app downloads totaled 11.2 billion in 2023.
Average app launch after download is within 24 hours for 70%.
Third-party stores like Huawei AppGallery had 12 billion downloads.
Google Play top 1,000 apps averaged 10 million downloads each.
App Store top apps saw average 5.2 million downloads.
Projected downloads for 2024: 275 billion globally.

Downloads & Installs Interpretation

With 257 billion app downloads in 2023, humanity seems to have collectively agreed that the solution to every conceivable problem, from boredom to finance, is just one more tap away.

Market Size & Revenue

Global mobile app revenue reached $171 billion in 2023, marking a 10% year-over-year growth driven by in-app purchases and subscriptions.
iOS apps generated 65% of global app store revenue in 2023, totaling approximately $111 billion compared to $60 billion on Google Play.
Gaming apps accounted for 48% of total mobile app revenue in 2023, generating over $82 billion worldwide.
Non-gaming apps saw revenue grow by 16% in 2023 to $89 billion, led by entertainment and social categories.
Subscription revenue from mobile apps hit $50 billion in 2023, up 15% from the previous year.
In-app purchase revenue worldwide was $126 billion in 2023, representing 74% of total app monetization.
US mobile app spending reached $46.2 billion in 2023, the highest of any country.
China followed the US with $38.5 billion in app revenue in 2023.
Advertising revenue from mobile apps totaled $362 billion globally in 2023.
Projected mobile app revenue for 2024 is $194 billion, with a CAGR of 8.5% through 2027.
TikTok generated $2.3 billion in app store revenue in Q4 2023 alone.
Spotify earned $1.1 billion from iOS App Store in 2023.
Mobile game revenue in APAC region was $93 billion in 2023, 55% of global total.
Freemium model apps generated 92% of app revenue in 2023.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile apps was $1.35 globally in 2023.
Dating apps revenue grew 12% to $4.2 billion in 2023.
Health & fitness apps saw revenue increase of 25% to $3.8 billion in 2023.
Photo & video apps generated $12.5 billion in revenue in 2023.
Music streaming apps revenue hit $9.1 billion in 2023, led by Spotify and Apple Music.
E-commerce apps within apps contributed $15 billion to revenue in 2023.
Global mobile app ad spend projected to reach $400 billion by 2024.
In 2023, 80% of app revenue came from the top 200 apps.
Latin America app revenue grew 22% to $7.8 billion in 2023.
MENA region app revenue reached $5.2 billion, up 18% YoY in 2023.
Enterprise app revenue was $4.9 billion in 2023 globally.
Cross-platform apps revenue share increased to 35% in 2023.
AR/VR mobile apps revenue grew 40% to $1.2 billion in 2023.
Fintech mobile apps generated $8.7 billion in 2023.
Travel apps revenue recovered to $6.3 billion post-pandemic in 2023.
Education apps revenue doubled to $5.4 billion in 2023.

Market Size & Revenue Interpretation

The app economy has become a digital gold rush where gaming still wears the crown, subscriptions are the new currency, and the freemium model is the clever shopkeeper giving away the door to sell everything inside.

Security & Privacy

Mobile app data breaches affected 2.6 billion users in 2023.
38% of mobile apps have high-severity vulnerabilities.
Phishing attacks via apps rose 61% in 2023.
83% of apps request unnecessary permissions.
Android malware samples reached 5.5 million in 2023.
iOS jailbreak detection evaded in 12% of apps.
47% of users concerned about app data privacy.
GDPR fines for app violations totaled €2.7 billion since 2018.
65% of apps leak sensitive data via network traffic.
Rooted devices represent 4.2% of Android installs.
App sandbox escapes occurred in 1.3% of analyzed apps.
92% of top 1,000 apps use HTTPS properly.
Biometric spoofing vulnerabilities in 22% of apps.
Third-party SDKs introduce risks in 76% of apps.
Zero-day exploits in mobile apps up 50% in 2023.
55% of users disable app tracking features.
Cryptojacking via apps affected 1.8 million devices.
28% of apps fail OWASP Mobile Top 10 checks.
Privacy policy violations in 41% of free apps.
Man-in-the-middle attacks on apps rose 33%.
67% of enterprise apps lack encryption at rest.
Fake apps downloaded 5.3 billion times in 2023.
iOS ATT framework reduced tracking by 70%.
Android 14 security patches fixed 400+ vulnerabilities.
19% of apps store credentials insecurely.
Ransomware targeting mobile apps up 93%.
74% of users read app privacy policies before install.
Supply chain attacks via app stores hit 15 incidents.
Certificate pinning missing in 58% of apps.
Location data sold by 25% of free apps.

Security & Privacy Interpretation

In light of these harrowing statistics, your phone is less a personal device and more of a porous, data-leaking sieve that halfheartedly asks your permission before being pillaged by criminals, exploited by advertisers, and penalized by regulators, all while you anxiously read the privacy policy you don't understand.

User Adoption & Usage

There are over 5.5 billion mobile app users worldwide as of 2024.
90% of mobile time is spent in apps, not mobile web in 2023.
Average American checks phone 144 times per day, mostly apps.
4.28 hours daily spent on mobile apps per user globally in 2023.
88% of smartphone users have at least one social media app installed.
Millennials spend 3.7 hours daily on mobile apps on average.
Gen Z users open apps 150 times per day on average.
70% of users churn within 3 days of app install.
Daily active users (DAU) for mobile apps averaged 2.5 billion in 2023.
Women spend 10% more time in shopping apps than men.
55% of users prefer dark mode in mobile apps.
Average session length in mobile apps is 10 minutes 23 seconds.
21% of users uninstall apps due to too many ads.
India has 1.2 billion mobile app users, highest globally.
62% of users aged 18-24 use apps for mental health support.
Personalized notifications boost app engagement by 88%.
75% of users judge app credibility by its design.
Voice search usage in apps grew 30% YoY to 40% of queries.
47% of users expect apps to load in under 2 seconds.
Gamified apps see 30% higher retention rates.
65% of users share app experiences on social media.
Offline functionality increases app usage by 25%.
Subscription apps have 5x higher lifetime value.
58% of users prefer apps over websites for purchases.
Average user has 80 apps installed, but uses only 9 daily.
AR app usage doubled to 200 million monthly users in 2023.

User Adoption & Usage Interpretation

The human race, while statistically glued to their phones for over four hours a day across billions of users, revealing a profound paradox of global connection and fleeting attention, exhibits a fickle digital heartbeat that craves personalized, instant, and beautifully designed app experiences—hinting that our pockets hold not just technology, but the curated keys to our modern identities, mental well-being, and wallets.

Sources & References

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