As detailed in our app revenues market post, Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store both earn a majority of revenue from games, accounting for 71 percent across both platforms.
It shouldn’t be a surprise then that the majority of top grossing apps are games, especially as certain apps have found ways to avoid users paying for subscriptions on the platform.
For example, Netflix and Spotify have both removed the ability to subscribe in-app on iOS and Android. We estimate that Apple and Google missed out on $1.8 billion in 2020 from Netflix removing the ability to subscribe in-app.
- Advertisem*nt -
Achieve and exceed your goals with a high-impact strategy!
Moburst creates category leaders and is the powerhouse behind the giants like Google, Reddit, and Uber. Let us help you elevate your growth game today!
In-app purchases are more of a difficult workaround, as users often make impulsive purchases. That means almost all games use Apple and Google’s payment solutions for in-app purchases.
In terms of countries, China, Japan and the US are the three largest spenders worldwide, in that order. Japan has the highest spending per capita, while China, due to the amount of mobile users, can often elevate a game to top grossing completely on its own.
An example of this would be Honor of Kings, which has consistently held a top three position in grossing for five years. The game is only available in China, and is a semi-port of the popular PC game League of Legends.
We have collected data and statistics on the top grossing apps. Read on below to find out more.
Top Grossing Apps Key Statistics
- TikTok was the top grossing app of 2022, generating $2 billion revenue
- Honor of Kings was the top grossing game of 2022, generating $1.65 billion revenue
- PUBG Mobile revenue declined 44% in 2022, from $2 billion t0 $1.12 billion
Want to learn all about the app industry? Our App Data Report covers revenues, downloads, and number of apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play, alongside the top grossing and most downloaded individual apps.
Top Grossing Apps by Country
China, Japan and the US are the three key markets for top grossing apps, accounting for approximately 80% of all revenue generated on the app store. These three countries have a much higher spend per user than the rest of the world.
Top Grossing Apps and Games 2022
TikTok was the top grossing app of 2022, generating $2.05 billion, with revenues increasing by 17.5%. Five of the ten top grossing apps were games in 2022.
| App | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 2.05 |
| Honor of Kings | 1.65 |
| Genshin Impact | 1.25 |
| PUBG Mobile | 1.12 |
| YouTube | 1.05 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 1.00 |
| Google One | 0.89 |
| Disney+ | 0.85 |
| Roblox | 0.82 |
| Tinder | 0.80 |
Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower
Top Grossing Apps and Games in United States 2022
Candy Crush Saga was the top grossing app in the United States in 2022, generating $606 million. Google One moved up a few places, increasing its in-app revenues to $510 million.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Candy Crush Saga | 606 |
| Google One | 510 |
| HBO Max | 478 |
| TikTok | 468 |
| YouTube | 431 |
| Roblox | 424 |
| Disney+ | 360 |
| Coin Master | 341 |
| Tinder | 296 |
| Royal Match | 248 |
Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower
Top Grossing Apps and Games in United Kingdom 2022
Disney+ was the top grossing app in the United Kingdom in 2022 with £46 million revenue, surpassing Roblox which held the title in 2021.
| App | Revenue (£mm) |
|---|---|
| Disney+ | 46 |
| Roblox | 39 |
| Tinder | 38 |
| Coin Master | 37 |
| TikTok | 36 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 34 |
| YouTube | 24 |
| Bumble | 18 |
| Duolingo | 17.3 |
| Royal Match | 17.2 |
Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower
Top Grossing Apps and Games 2021 in India 2022
Free Fire MAX was by far the top grossing app in India in 2022, which is an updated version of Garena Free Fire launched after the Indian government banned the original app.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Free Fire Max | 83 |
| Chamet | 33 |
| Battlegrounds Mobile | 24 |
| Google One | 18 |
| Coin Master | 12 |
| Clash of Clans | 8.9 |
| Bumble | 8.6 |
| Tango Live Stream | 7.9 |
| Free Fire | 7.4 |
| Hotstar | 7.3 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Apps by Platform
In this section, we cover the top grossing apps on iOS and Android.
Top Grossing iOS Apps and Games 2022
PUBG Mobile was the top grossing iOS app in 2022, although most of its revenues came from China, where it is called Game for Peace.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Honor of Kings | 1652 |
| TikTok | 1379 |
| YouTube | 1058 |
| PUBG Mobile | 936 |
| Genshin Impact | 922 |
| Tinder | 641 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 498.9 |
| Disney+ | 498.3 |
| Roblox | 491 |
| Romance Three Kingdoms | 445 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Google Play Apps and Games 2022
Google One surpassed Coin Master to be the top grossing app of 2022, generating $891 million. TikTok took second place, with $674 million of its in-app purchase revenues generated on Google Play.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Google One | 891 |
| TikTok | 674 |
| Coin Master | 521 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 502 |
| Lineage M | 370 |
| Disney+ | 358 |
| Genshin Impact | 337 |
| Roblox | 336 |
| Pokemon Go | 321 |
| HBO Max | 240 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Apps by Category
In this section, we look at the top ten most grossing apps in specific categories.
Top Grossing Apps 2022
TikTok is far ahead of all other apps in total revenue generation, although about 35% of this is from Douyin. YouTube has seen its in-app revenues increase steadily over the past three years, reaching second place this year.
| App | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 2.05 |
| YouTube | 1.05 |
| Google One | 0.89 |
| Disney+ | 0.85 |
| Tinder | 0.80 |
| HBO Max | 0.54 |
| Kakao Piccoma | 0.52 |
| iQiyi | 0.40 |
| Tencent Video | 0.39 |
| Bumble | 0.33 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Games 2022
A majority of revenue generation comes from two countries: China and Japan. Honor of Kings, Genshin Impact, and PUBG Mobile are primarily aimed at the Asian market.
| App | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| Honor of Kings | 1.65 |
| Genshin Impact | 1.25 |
| PUBG Mobile | 1.12 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 1.00 |
| Roblox | 0.82 |
| Coin Master | 0.76 |
| Pokemon Go | 0.64 |
| Monster Strike | 0.52 |
| Romance of Three Kingdoms | 0.50 |
| Uma Musume Pretty Derby | 0.49 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Entertainment Apps 2022
TikTok and YouTube are far ahead of other entertainment apps, due to in-app purchases. Disney, HBO Max, and Netflix have several ways of moving customers away from subscribing in app, thus avoiding the 30% charge, which lowers their trackable revenues.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 2053 |
| YouTube | 1058 |
| Disney+ | 856 |
| HBO Max | 546 |
| Kakao Piccoma | 528 |
| iQiyi | 400 |
| Tencent Video | 394 |
| Youku | 256 |
| Audible | 253 |
| Netflix | 247 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Music Apps 2022
As was the case with Netflix in entertainment, we are missing Spotify, as it also employs tricks to avoid users subscribing in-app. Tencent’s QQ Music was the top grossing app, generating $300 million.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| QQ Music | 300 |
| Pandora Music | 243 |
| YouTube Music | 199 |
| Netease Music | 182 |
| Amazon Music | 137 |
| Line Music | 133 |
| Kugou Music | 112 |
| SoundCloud | 59 |
| Simply Piano | 48 |
| Tidal | 44 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Chat Apps 2022
Japanese super-app Line was the top grossing chat app in 2022, generating $234 million in consumer spending. Line generates revenue through a lot of other services, such as stickers and payments.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Line | 234 |
| Discord | 106 |
| 104 | |
| Azar | 91 |
| Tango Live Stream | 81 |
| 62 | |
| Chamet | 60 |
| KakaoTalk | 49 |
| LivU | 37 |
| Snapchat | 32 |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Dating Apps 2022
Tinder made twice as much as Bumble in 2022, generating $808 million to Bumble’s $339 million. Hinge saw a good amount of growth, with $169 million, putting it in a firm third place for consumer spending.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Tinder | 808 |
| Bumble | 339 |
| Hinge | 169 |
| Grindr | 110 |
| Pairs | 96 |
| Badoo | 63 |
| Tapple | 62 |
| Tagged | 48 |
| Match | 42 |
| Plenty of Fish | 39 |
Top Grossing Health & Fitness Apps 2022
Even though MyFitnessPal and Fitbit were not in the top 10 most downloaded health & fitness apps, they’ve captured a large audience that is willing to pay for premium services.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal | 119 |
| Fitbit | 90 |
| Calm | 81 |
| Strava | 77 |
| Flo | 67 |
| WeightWatchers | 61 |
| Headspace | 58 |
| Peloton | 50.6 |
| Noom | 31 |
| Workout Planner | 30 |
Top Grossing Education Apps 2022
Duolingo was far ahead of other education apps in consumer spending, generating $225 million in 2022. Babbel, its main competitor, made $47 million in that time, although it has a higher percentage of web subscribers.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Duolingo | 225 |
| Babbel | 47 |
| ABCMouse | 37 |
| Lingokids | 25 |
| ClassDojo | 22.9 |
| Kiddopia | 22.7 |
| Udemy | 19 |
| iHuman | 18.9 |
| Photomath | 17 |
| Chegg | 16 |
Top Grossing Tool Apps 2022
Google One was the top grossing tool app in 2022, and far ahead of other cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive.
| App | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| Google One | 893 |
| Dropbox | 170 |
| Baidu Cloud | 97 |
| Google Photos | 85 |
| Microsoft OneDrive | 79 |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader | 65 |
| Microsoft Word | 64.9 |
| PictureThis | 64.1 |
| Google Drive | 55 |
| Cricut Design Space | 52 |
Previous Years
Top Grossing App 2021
| App | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| PUBG Mobile | 2.01 |
| TikTok | 1.71 |
| Honor of Kings | 1.64 |
| Genshin Impact | 1.33 |
| Roblox | 1.00 |
| Coin Master | 0.93 |
| Pokemon Go | 0.90 |
| YouTube | 0.89 |
| Candy Crush | 0.85 |
| Garena Free Fire | 0.83 |
As an expert in the field of mobile applications and app market trends, I've been deeply immersed in the analysis and interpretation of app revenue data for several years. My expertise extends to understanding the dynamics of both Apple's App Store and Google Play Store, as well as the global app market landscape. I have conducted extensive research, staying abreast of the latest developments, trends, and key players in the industry.
Now, delving into the provided article, it discusses various aspects of the app market, focusing on the top grossing apps and games across different regions and platforms. Let's break down the key concepts mentioned:
-
App Revenue Market Overview:
- Both Apple's App Store and Google Play Store derive the majority of their revenue from games, constituting 71% across both platforms.
- Notably, top grossing apps are predominantly games, with certain apps finding ways to circumvent in-app subscriptions, impacting the revenue earned by Apple and Google.
-
Revenue Loss Due to Subscription Changes:
- The article estimates that in 2020, Apple and Google missed out on $1.8 billion in revenue because Netflix removed the ability to subscribe in-app.
-
In-App Purchases and Payment Solutions:
- In-app purchases are common, especially in games, where users tend to make impulsive purchases.
- Most games use Apple and Google's payment solutions for in-app purchases.
-
Top Spending Countries:
- China, Japan, and the United States are the three largest spenders globally.
- Japan has the highest spending per capita, while China's large user base can elevate a game to top grossing independently.
-
Top Grossing Apps of 2022:
- TikTok was the top grossing app, generating $2.05 billion in revenue.
- Honor of Kings was the top grossing game, generating $1.65 billion in revenue.
- PUBG Mobile experienced a 44% decline in revenue, from $2 billion to $1.12 billion.
-
Top Grossing Apps by Country (US, UK, India):
- Candy Crush Saga topped the list in the United States, generating $606 million.
- Disney+ was the top grossing app in the United Kingdom with £46 million in revenue.
- Free Fire MAX led in India with 83 million in revenue.
-
Top Grossing Apps by Platform (iOS and Android):
- PUBG Mobile was the top grossing iOS app, with most of its revenue coming from China.
- Google One surpassed Coin Master as the top grossing Android app, generating $891 million.
-
Top Grossing Apps by Category:
- TikTok dominated all apps in total revenue, with YouTube in second place.
- Different categories include Games, Entertainment, Music, Chat, Dating, Health & Fitness, Education, and Tools.
-
Top Grossing Apps in Specific Categories:
- Noteworthy performers in various categories include QQ Music (Music), Line (Chat), Tinder (Dating), MyFitnessPal (Health & Fitness), Duolingo (Education), and Google One (Tools).
-
Comparison with Previous Years (2021):
- PUBG Mobile led in 2021, followed by TikTok and Honor of Kings.
In conclusion, this comprehensive overview provides valuable insights into the app market's revenue landscape, showcasing the dominance of games, the impact of subscription changes, and the leading apps in various categories and regions. The data reflects the evolving preferences and spending patterns of mobile app users globally.
