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Free mobile apps: number of downloads worldwide 2012-2017
Free mobile apps: number of downloads worldwide 2012-2017
Number of free mobile app downloads worldwide from 2012 to 2017 (in billions)
This statistic provides information on the number of free mobile apps downloaded from app stores in 2012 and 2013, in billions. A forecast is also offered for the years 2014 to 2017. In 2012, approximately 57.33 billion free apps were downloaded on mobile devices. By 2017, download figures for free mobile apps are projected to reach 253.91 billion.
Free mobile apps – additional information
Free mobile apps initiate a variety of methods to generate revenue which include in app purchases and advertising. Gaming apps are a popular category in any app store and in 2014, game developers were asked; ‘Which advertising companies are most effective at maximizing revenue?’ During the survey, which took place in April of that year, 15 percent of respondents found Google to be the most effective advertising company. Google topped the list, but Chartboost, which was founded in 2011, came in at second place with 11 percent of game developers saying it was the most effective company for advertising.
Aside from advertising, free apps also come with optional upgrades with appealing additional features in order to generate revenue. In March 2014, mobile app users from the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and United Kingdom were assessed as to whether or not they had upgraded from a free app to a paid version. The results revealed that 34 percent of smartphone users from the five selected countries had upgraded from a free app to a paid app. This suggests that paid app upgrades may not have had enough appeal to make users part with their money.
In the Google Play Store, which is one the world’s leading app stores, the number of paid apps available has declined in the recent past. The distribution of free and paid Android apps was documented between 2009 and 2014. In 2009, 39.2 percent of all Android apps were free, but by 2014, this share had dropped to 31.2 percent of the market. The emerging trend suggests that free apps will continue to dominate the market in the future.
Number of free mobile app downloads worldwide from 2012 to 2017 (in billions)
Loading statistic...
| App downloads in billions | |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 57.33 |
| 2013 | 92.88 |
| 2014* | 127.7 |
| 2015* | 167.05 |
| 2016* | 211.31 |
| 2017* | 253.91 |
| App downloads in billions | |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 57.33 |
| 2013 | 92.88 |
| 2014* | 127.7 |
| 2015* | 167.05 |
| 2016* | 211.31 |
| 2017* | 253.91 |
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This statistic provides information on the number of free mobile apps downloaded from app stores in 2012 and 2013, in billions. A forecast is also offered for the years 2014 to 2017. In 2012, approximately 57.33 billion free apps were downloaded on mobile devices. By 2017, download figures for free mobile apps are projected to reach 253.91 billion.
Free mobile apps – additional information
Free mobile apps initiate a variety of methods to generate revenue which include in app purchases and advertising. Gaming apps are a popular category in any app store and in 2014, game developers were asked; ‘Which advertising companies are most effective at maximizing revenue?’ During the survey, which took place in April of that year, 15 percent of respondents found Google to be the most effective advertising company. Google topped the list, but Chartboost, which was founded in 2011, came in at second place with 11 percent of game developers saying it was the most effective company for advertising.
Aside from advertising, free apps also come with optional upgrades with appealing additional features in order to generate revenue. In March 2014, mobile app users from the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and United Kingdom were assessed as to whether or not they had upgraded from a free app to a paid version. The results revealed that 34 percent of smartphone users from the five selected countries had upgraded from a free app to a paid app. This suggests that paid app upgrades may not have had enough appeal to make users part with their money.
In the Google Play Store, which is one the world’s leading app stores, the number of paid apps available has declined in the recent past. The distribution of free and paid Android apps was documented between 2009 and 2014. In 2009, 39.2 percent of all Android apps were free, but by 2014, this share had dropped to 31.2 percent of the market. The emerging trend suggests that free apps will continue to dominate the market in the future.
Show moreFree mobile apps – additional information
Free mobile apps initiate a variety of methods to generate revenue which include in app purchases and advertising. Gaming apps are a popular category in any app store and in 2014, game developers were asked; ‘Which advertising companies are most effective at maximizing revenue?’ During the survey, which took place in April of that year, 15 percent of respondents found Google to be the most effective advertising company. Google topped the list, but Chartboost, which was founded in 2011, came in at second place with 11 percent of game developers saying it was the most effective company for advertising.
Aside from advertising, free apps also come with optional upgrades with appealing additional features in order to generate revenue. In March 2014, mobile app users from the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and United Kingdom were assessed as to whether or not they had upgraded from a free app to a paid version. The results revealed that 34 percent of smartphone users from the five selected countries had upgraded from a free app to a paid app. This suggests that paid app upgrades may not have had enough appeal to make users part with their money.
In the Google Play Store, which is one the world’s leading app stores, the number of paid apps available has declined in the recent past. The distribution of free and paid Android apps was documented between 2009 and 2014. In 2009, 39.2 percent of all Android apps were free, but by 2014, this share had dropped to 31.2 percent of the market. The emerging trend suggests that free apps will continue to dominate the market in the future.
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- Release date
- September 2013
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2012 and 2013
- Supplementary notes
- * Forecast
Source
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- September 2013
More information
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2012 and 2013
- Supplementary notes
- * Forecast
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Statistics on "Mobile app monetization"
- Overview
The most important statistics
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- Number of mobile app downloads worldwide in 2017, 2018 and 2022, by region (in billions)Annual number of global mobile app downloads 2017-2022, by region
- Countries with the highest number of app downloads in 2017 and 2022 (in billions)Mobile apps: leading markets ranked by number of app downloads 2017-2022
- Countries with the highest amount of app spending from 2017 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)Mobile apps: leading markets ranked by amount of app spending 2017-2022
- Gross mobile app consumer spending worldwide in 2016, 2017 and 2021, by store (in billion U.S. dollars)Annual global mobile app consumer spending 2016-2021, by store
- Worldwide consumer spending on mobile apps in 2017, 2018 and 2022, by region (in billion U.S. dollars)Global gross consumer spend on mobile apps 2017-2022, by region
- App monetization
The most important statistics
- Distribution of worldwide mobile application revenues in 2017, by channelShare of worldwide mobile app revenues 2017, by channel
- Most-used mobile app monetization models according to mobile developers worldwide in 2017Most-used mobile app monetization models of developers 2017
- Strategies that mobile game developers worldwide plan to use to expand their audience base as of November 2017, by level of importanceMobile game developers strategies to expand their audience as of November 2017
- Most effective monetization methods for mobile apps according to mobile publishers worldwide as of March 2017Leading mobile app monetization methods worldwide 2017
- Most popular installed software development kits (SDKs) categories across global mobile apps in 2017Leading mobile app SDK categories worldwide 2017
- Most popular installed mobile monetization software development kits (SDKs) across global mobile apps in 2017Leading mobile app monetization SDKs worldwide 2017
- Most popular installed mobile analytics software development kits (SDKs) across global mobile apps in 2017Leading mobile app analytics SDKs worldwide 2017
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The most important statistics
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- Worldwide gross app revenue of Google Play from 2016 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Google Play: annual gross app revenue 2016-2018
- Worldwide gross app revenue of the Apple App Store from 2017 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Apple App Store: annual gross app revenue 2017-2018
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- App publishers
The most important statistics
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- Leading non-gaming app publishers in the Google Play Store in the United States in November 2018, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading non-gaming Android app publishers in the U.S. 2018, by revenue
- Leading non-gaming app publishers in the Google Play Store worldwide in November 2018, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading non-gaming Android app publishers worldwide 2018, by revenue
- Leading mobile gaming app publishers in the Google Play Store worldwide in January 2019, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading gaming app publishers in Google Play worldwide 2019 by revenue
- Leading non-gaming iPhone app publishers in the United States in November 2018, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading non-gaming iPhone app publishers in the U.S. 2018, by revenue
- Leading non-gaming iPhone app publishers worldwide in November 2018, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading non-gaming iPhone app publishers worldwide 2018, by revenue
- Mobile gaming
The most important statistics
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- Number of available gaming apps at Amazon Appstore from 2nd quarter 2015 to 3rd quarter 2018Amazon Appstore: number of available gaming apps as of Q3 2018
- Top grossing iPhone mobile gaming apps in the United States as of December 2018, ranked by daily revenue (in U.S. dollars)Top grossing iOS mobile gaming apps 2018, ranked by daily revenue
- Leading iPhone gaming app titles worldwide in January 2019, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading iPhone gaming apps worldwide in 2019, by revenue
- Leading iPhone gaming app titles in the United States in January 2019, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading iPhone gaming apps in the U.S. in 2019, by revenue
Popular Related Keywords
- market volume
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- Number of mobile app downloads worldwide in 2017, 2018 and 2022 (in billions)
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