App Store on iPad

What you need to know

  • App revenue increased by 23%.
  • $21.9 billion was spent.
  • App Store makes up the lion's share.

Independent developers might be struggling to make money in various app stores, but there is money going somewhere. App revenue has increased to $21.9 billion for the third quarter of 2019, up from $17.9 billion the previous year. That's growth of a massive 22.9%.

These numbers crom from the latest data published by Sensor Tower and highlights the fact that people continue to spend money despite warnings from developers that people won't pay for apps.

Sensor Tower app revenue statsSource: Sensor Tower

Breaking things down it appears App Store users spent more than those using Google Play on Android – $14.2 billion, up 22.3% and $7.7 billion, up 24%, respectively. But paradoxically Google's Play Store is the one where the most downloads occur.

Google Play generated nearly three-times more first-time app installs in Q3 2019 than the App Store, accumulating 21.6 billion during the quarter, up 11.3 percent Y/Y from 19.4 billion in Q3 2018. The App Store also saw growth for the period, with first time app installs increasing by 5.3 percent Y/Y from 7.6 billion to just under eight billion. The total number of downloads in Q3 2019 was 29.6 billion, up 9.7 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Game downloads remained strong with both Google Play and the App Store seeing increases. PUBG – $496 million – was the game that made the most money, whereas Tinder – $233 million – took the top spot for non-games.

Most downloaded appsSource: Sensor Tower

For the 2019 quarter, the games category represented 74 percent of total in-app spending, a decline from the 76 percent share it took in Q3 2018. As with overall app spending, App Store users forked out the most money on games, spending $9.8 billion in Q3 2019, up 19 percent Y/Y from $8.2 billion the year prior.

Most downloaded gamesSource: Sensor Tower

With Tinder generating $233 million and PUBG managing to rake in $496 million, it's clear where phone users see their priorities these days!