Mobile app revenues rose sharply in 2025 despite a continued decline in downloads, as subscriptions and in-app purchases generated higher consumer spending across the App Store and Google Play, according to a new report from app intelligence firm Appfigures.
Global Downloads And Spending Trends
Appfigures said global downloads of mobile apps and games across App Store and Google Play reached an estimated 106.9 billion in 2025. That figure represents a 2.7% decline compared with the previous year and marks the fifth consecutive annual drop in downloads.
Consumer spending moved in the opposite direction. Appfigures estimated global consumer spending climbed 21.6% year over year to $155.8 billion in 2025.
Monetization Shifts Across The App Economy
The report indicates that developers, marketers, and publishers have become more effective at driving in-app purchases and subscriptions, even as fewer new users install apps. Subscription-based pricing and ongoing payments accounted for a growing share of revenue, supporting higher spending per user.
Changing Role Of Mobile Games
Mobile games continued to generate a large share of app revenue, but their dominance declined further. In 2025, consumers spent $72.2 billion on mobile games, accounting for about 46% of total app spending. That figure was up 10% year over year.
Non-game mobile apps generated more revenue overall. Appfigures said spending on non-game apps rose 33.9% year over year to $82.6 billion, surpassing game spending for the year.
Ecosystem Built Around Subscriptions
The expansion of subscriptions has supported a growing group of companies that provide tools and services to app developers. Subscription management platform RevenueCat raised a $50 million Series C round during the year.
Game monetization startup Appcharge announced a $58 million Series B in August. This week, Liftoff Mobile, which provides app marketing and monetization services, filed for an IPO.
Continued Decline In App Downloads
Downloads continued their downward trend after peaking at 135 billion in 2020 during the pandemic. The 2025 total of 106.9 billion installs fell from 109.8 billion in 2024 and followed a 3.3% decline between 2023 and 2024.
Mobile game downloads experienced the sharpest drop. Games were downloaded 39.4 billion times in 2025, down 8.6% year over year, following a 6.6% decline the previous year.
Non-game app downloads remained relatively stable. Installs rose 1.1% year over year to 67.4 billion.
US Market Breakdown
Appfigures’ report also examined the US market. Consumer spending across all mobile apps in the US reached an estimated $55.5 billion in 2025, up 18.1% from $47 billion in 2024.
Total US downloads reached 10 billion, down 4.2% year over year. Non-game apps accounted for 7.1 billion downloads, while mobile games were downloaded 2.9 billion times.
US consumers spent $33.6 billion on non-game apps, an increase of 26.8% year over year, and $21.9 billion on games, up 6.8%.
Featured image credits: Pexels
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