International app installs shrank once more in 2025 at the same time as cellular customers opened their wallets wider than ever, underscoring a market that’s monetizing current customers somewhat than including new ones. In line with Appfigures’ annual evaluation, downloads throughout the App Retailer and Google Play dropped 2.7% to an estimated 106.9 billion, whereas shopper spending surged 21.6% to roughly $155.8 billion.
The Paradox Of Fewer Installs And Greater Income
It’s the fifth straight yr of declining downloads because the 2020 peak of 135 billion, but the money register retains ringing. The reason is structural: a maturing put in base, pricier person acquisition, tighter privateness guidelines, and higher monetization. Builders are changing the customers they have already got with subscriptions, premium tiers, and smarter in‑app buy design. Extra annual plans, introductory promotions, and paywall testing are pushing common income per person greater at the same time as acquisition slows.
Non‑recreation apps now drive nearly all of spending. Appfigures estimates non‑recreation outlays hit $82.6 billion in 2025, up 33.9% yr over yr, outpacing cellular video games at $72.2 billion, which nonetheless accounts for 46% of complete spend however grew a extra modest 10%. From streaming and productiveness to well being, finance, studying, and AI‑enhanced instruments, utility and leisure providers with recurring worth are capturing a sturdy share of wallets.
International Downloads Maintain Slipping as Installs Decline Once more
The amount aspect tells a distinct story. General installs fell to 106.9 billion from 109.8 billion in 2024. Cell recreation downloads slid sharply to 39.4 billion, down 8.6% after a 6.6% drop the prior yr. Non‑recreation app downloads had been successfully flat at 67.4 billion, edging up 1.1%.
Customers are sticking with what they know. Time spent concentrates in a handful of tremendous‑scale apps, cellphone improve cycles have lengthened, and discovery is diffuse throughout social, search, and creator ecosystems. For builders, this implies a more durable climb to the highest charts and a premium on retention mechanics over uncooked set up progress. Companies like information.ai and Sensor Tower have tracked comparable shifts over the previous few years, pointing to market saturation and rising acquisition prices as persistent headwinds.
The Subscription Stack Matures as Monetization Deepens
Behind the income outperformance is a maturing subscription stack. Tooling that helps run paywalls, handle entitlements, and optimize renewal funnels has moved from good‑to‑must vital infrastructure. Subscription platform RevenueCat raised a $50 million Sequence C to scale its suite, whereas Appcharge secured $58 million to assist cellular video games refine monetization. Liftoff Cell, a longtime efficiency advertising and monetization participant, has filed for an IPO, an indication that the broader app progress ecosystem is changing into an investable class in its personal proper.
Greatest‑in‑class builders are leaning into value testing, characteristic gating, and bundles to defend internet income amid rising charges and advert prices. Anticipate extra household plans, annual‑solely choices with significant reductions, and hybrid fashions that mix advert‑supported tiers with unlockable premium options. The objective is predictable lifetime worth and decrease churn, not a one‑time spike in installs.
United States Snapshot: Spending Up as Installs Dip
Within the U.S., the sample held. Customers spent an estimated $55.5 billion throughout cellular apps in 2025, up 18.1% from 2024, whereas downloads slipped 4.2% to round 10 billion. Non‑recreation spending led the good points at $33.6 billion, up 26.8% yr over yr, versus $21.9 billion on video games, up 6.8%. On the quantity aspect, non‑recreation apps noticed about 7.1 billion installs and video games 2.9 billion.
The U.S. profile displays a excessive‑earnings, subscription‑pleasant viewers that views telephones as important productiveness and leisure hubs. That favors providers with clear recurring worth—suppose bundled streaming, cloud storage, studying platforms, health, and monetary toolkits—and raises the bar for newcomers in search of natural breakout progress.
What to Watch Subsequent for Apps, Income, and Installs
With installs underneath strain, 2026 will hinge on retention, pricing, and product velocity. Generative AI options are turning into premium differentiators throughout classes, doubtlessly boosting willingness to pay as fashions enhance. On the platform aspect, evolving retailer insurance policies, various billing in choose markets, and new distribution guidelines might nudge how and the place customers convert, even when they don’t materially reverse the obtain hunch.
The headline stays clear: the cellular economic system is decoupling unit progress from income progress. For builders and entrepreneurs, meaning constructing for sturdy relationships, not simply downloads—as a result of the cash will not be within the first faucet, it’s within the months that comply with.
