Apple's App Store More Lucrative for App Makers

Despite the fact that the installed base of Android devices is significantly larger than it is for iOS devices, app publishers still seem to find larger earnings potential on Apple’s App Store compared to Google Play. That’s according to a new Sensor Tower Intelligence report, which estimates that the 100 highest-earning app publishers on the App Store made 65 percent more on average than the top 100 publishers on Google Play.

According to Sensor Tower’s estimates, the top 100 iOS app publishers made $84 million on average in Q1 2019, compared to $51 million for the most successful Android app makers. The difference between the two platforms is even more pronounced when excluding games publishers. The highest-grossing non-gaming app publishers for iOS outperformed the top 100 on Google’s Play Store by 232 percent.

As the following chart illustrates, the earnings potential for app publishers has grown massively over the past six years, regardless of the platform. As of January 2019, Apple had paid out more than $120 billion to developers cumulatively, of which $60 billion have been paid out in the past two years alone.