App Downloads Decline in 2025, Yet Consumer Spending Surges to Nearly $156 Billion
In 2025, the mobile app industry experienced a paradoxical trend: a decline in app downloads coupled with a significant increase in consumer spending. According to Appfigures’ annual report, global downloads of mobile apps and games via the App Store and Google Play reached approximately 106.9 billion, marking a 2.7% decrease from the previous year. Despite this downturn, consumer spending soared by 21.6%, reaching an estimated $155.8 billion during the same period.
This data suggests that app developers and marketers have effectively encouraged users to engage in in-app purchases and subscriptions, even as the influx of new app downloads has diminished.
The report also highlights a shift in revenue dynamics within the app economy. In 2025, consumer spending on mobile games amounted to $72.2 billion, representing about 46% of total app expenditures. While this figure reflects a 10% year-over-year increase, spending on non-game apps saw a more substantial rise. Non-game app spending increased by 33.9% year-over-year, reaching $82.6 billion in 2025.
The proliferation of in-app purchases and subscription models has provided a more sustainable revenue stream for app developers. This shift has also spurred growth in ancillary businesses supporting the mobile app ecosystem. For instance, subscription management platform RevenueCat secured a $50 million Series C funding round, and Appcharge, a startup aiding mobile games in enhancing monetization, announced a $58 million Series B funding in August. Additionally, Liftoff Mobile, specializing in app marketing and monetization, filed for an IPO this week.
Despite the rise in revenue, the decline in downloads continued in 2025. After peaking at 135 billion downloads in 2020 during the pandemic, the numbers have been on a downward trajectory. The 2025 figure of 106.9 billion installs is down from 109.8 billion in 2024, following a 3.3% decline between 2023 and 2024.
Mobile game downloads experienced a more pronounced decline. In 2025, mobile games were downloaded 39.4 billion times, an 8.6% decrease year-over-year, following a 6.6% decline from 2023 to 2024. Non-game app downloads remained relatively stable, with a slight increase of 1.1% year-over-year, totaling 67.4 billion.
In the United States, the trends mirrored the global patterns. Consumers spent an estimated $55.5 billion across all mobile apps, an 18.1% increase from $47 billion in 2024. Downloads reached 10 billion, down 4.2% from 10.4 billion in 2024. U.S. consumers spent $33.6 billion on non-game apps, up 26.8% year-over-year, and $21.9 billion on games, up 6.8%.
These trends underscore a maturing app market where user engagement and monetization strategies are becoming more critical than sheer download numbers. The emphasis on in-app purchases and subscriptions reflects a shift towards sustainable revenue models, even as the growth in new app users slows.
