App Store, Google Play See $22B In Q3 Mobile App Spend

Two recent studies on app activity show that global app revenue grew significantly year-over-year in the third quarter of 2019.

A Sensor Tower study said that customers spent about $21.9 billion on apps in both the App Store and Google Play in Q3 of this year, up 23 percent from Q3 2018. An App Annie study showed a slightly different number: more than $23 billion, up 20 percent from Q3 2018.

Sensor Tower and App Annie both calculated downloads in the quarter differently as well, with the former at 29.6 billion and the latter at more than 31 billion.

According to App Annie’s study, Google Play downloads grew 10 percent year-over-year, while iOS stayed relatively stable. Google Play downloads led App Store downloads by 175 percent. Non-gaming apps made up about 60 percent of downloads through both stores, but the percentage at iOS was a little higher.

While consumer spending across both apps grew by 20 percent, iOS’s lead over Google in terms of consumer spending sits at a healthy 95 percent in Q3, App Annie said.

Sensor Tower reported that the total number of downloads in the third quarter is 29.6 billion, which is an increase of 9.7 percent from last year. China saw a decrease in downloads, while revenue from China grew to $4.1 billion from $3.2 billion last year.

Tinder is still the app that brings in the most revenue, and it brought in $233 million from user spending, an increase of 7 percent year-over-year, Sensor Tower said. YouTube is also still a huge earner and also rising, with in-app spending increasing to $164 million, which is an increase of 16 percent year-over-year.

TikTok is a big story in terms of climbing the Sensor Tower download charts, and it sits at the No. 2 spot behind WhatsApp, noticeably above the three benchmark Facebook apps, which sit at No. 3 (Messenger), No. 4 (Facebook) and No. 5 (Instagram).

App Annie’s chart shows TikTok at No. 3 in terms of downloads, which is behind Messenger at No. 1 and Facebook at No. 2. It puts  and WhatsApp at No. 4 and Instagram at No. 5.

In terms of revenue, both studies agree that Tinder is the king.

TechCrunch recently reported the discrepancy between the two studies.

In terms of game revenue, Sensor Tower reported that it grew to $16.3 billion in Q3, which is an increase of 20 percent year-over-year. Tencent’s PUBG Mobile is the top game in terms of revenue, and Fun Race 3D was the top download.