As companies are increasingly recognizing the significant possibilities of mobile apps, Android remains a dominant platform in the mobile application industry thanks to its extensive reach and use base. If you’re considering investing in Android app development, keep yourself up to date with the latest and trendy Google Play Store statistics for 2025 to align your app strategy effectively.
In this blog, we will explore the most important Play Store trends & data as well as Google Play insights you need to know in 2025.
Top Google Play Store Stats 2025
The Google Play Store is the primary platform for diverse digital content, particularly for Android. With over 2 million apps and games available and serving billions globally, it is critical for developers and businesses to stay aware of key facts and trends.
This data helps them adapt to market demands and leverage opportunities within this rapidly changing digital ecosystem. No need to mention that, mobile app development market stats & trends continue to evolve.
Let’s see key Google Play Store trends for 2025 & beyond.
Number of Applications in Play Store
With approx. 2.3 millions of applications, the Play Store has become a popular platform for downloading and distributing Android apps.
Number of Apps Released on Google Play Daily, Weekly and Monthly
Typically, 10,000 fresh applications are launched on the Play Store weekly, resulting in around 1,000 apps daily and 40,000 apps monthly. This fast addition reflects the thriving innovation in the mobile app development for business.
According to Statista data, approximately 29 thousand mobile apps were released through the Google Play Store in September 2024.
$25 is the one-time fee to submit an app on the Google Play Store.
Total Number of App Downloads Annually
71.65% of mobile devices worldwide run on Android, making it the leading mobile operating system. Consequently, most users are likely to use Android devices and apps.
Thanks to Android's wider market reach, the total number of app downloads from the Google Play Store is rising every day. By 2026, Android app downloads from the Google Play Store are expected to reach 143 billion, up almost 30% from 111 billion apps downloaded in 2021. These Play Store app download statistics indicate sustained growth in the app market.
In comparing Google Play to App Store downloads, it is estimated that users will download around 38 billion apps from the Apple App Store by 2026, indicating a 15% rise in downloads from 2021.
Below is a chart showing the total Number of apps downloaded by store every year.
Estimated User Spending on Google Play Store
Global consumer spending across the Google Play and App Store reached an estimated $36.2 billion in Q2 2024. This marks a 12% increase compared to the $32.4 billion spent during the same quarter in 2023. This figure is predicted to rise to $60 billion by 2025, driven by continued growth in in-app purchases and subscriptions.
Total Generated App Revenue on Google Play Store
In the second quarter of 2024, Google Play reached an average worldwide gross app revenue of $11.2 billion. In the same period, the App Store brought in $24.6 billion from consumer spending on in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps, reflecting an 11.3% increase compared to the same Q1 in 2024. These revenue statistics for Android apps emphasize the continuous expansion and possibilities within the mobile app industry.
During Q2 2024, Google Play achieved an average global gross app revenue of $11.2 billion. Meanwhile, the App Store generated $24.6 billion in consumer spending through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps, marking an 11.3% growth compared to the corresponding Q1 2024. These Android app revenue statistics highlight the ongoing growth and potential of the mobile app market.
Price Distribution
As of March 2024, the Google Play Store featured more than 34,000 apps available for under $1 and over 25,000 apps priced between $1 and $2. Furthermore, there were 1,949 applications offered in the $9 to $10 price category.
There are both free and paid apps available on the Play Store. Research studies indicate that the App Store has more paid apps than free apps. The simple reason behind this is that Apple users tend to make more in-app purchases. So, startups prefer to choose iOS app development over Android app development.
iOS users generally have higher spending patterns, making it a more profitable platform for monetization through in-app purchases.
Free Apps
As of October 2024, on average 97% of mobile applications on the Play Store are free, while the remaining 3% require payments. This Number proves that Google Play has more free apps than paid ones.
The graph below shows the market share percentage of free and paid Android apps available on the Play Store.
So, you might wonder how other businesses make money through free apps. A large part of the revenue produced by mobile applications arises from free apps that employ monetization techniques such as in-app purchases to generate income.
98% of global app revenue is generated by free applications that provide paid functionalities, indicating a freemium approach. These app monetization statistics highlight why many startup businesses are more likely to invest in Android app development.
Paid Apps
If we are talking about paid apps on the Google Play Store, around 3% of premium apps with prices ranging between $0.99 and $399.99 are available.
Global Users of Play Store Apps
In the first half of 2024, India led the global market for the Google Play Store, with users in the region generating over 14 billion downloads. Brazil followed, with Android users generating around nine billion app downloads.
Despite being a strong market for iOS devices, the United States saw the Google Play Store generate over four billion app downloads during the same period.
These figures reflect key insights from Play Store usage analytics, highlighting regional trends and the growing adoption of Android apps worldwide.
App Usage by Age:
Millennial app usage is on the rise, with users aged 18-34 opening apps an average of 10.5 times daily. Meanwhile, teenagers currently spend an average of 9.4 hours daily on screens, a trend projected to increase in the future.
According to Google Play statistics, the average daily app openings among all U.S. app users aged 13-64 are 8.3.
Here is a table summarizing app usage across different age groups, iPhone & Android like this:
Age | iPhone | Android |
Millennials | 58% | 41% |
GenX | 47% | 53% |
Older | 49% | 51% |
Usage by Country:
Countries such as China, India, and the United States are considered mobile-first markets due to the growing number of mobile app users. iPhone dominates in several regions, including Japan (68.86%), Canada (60.31%), Australia (59.63%), and the United Kingdom (52.29%).
Meanwhile, Android boasts a significantly larger market share in many other countries. In India, Android dominates with an impressive 95.16% market share. It also maintains a significant lead in Brazil (81.45%), Mexico (77.46%), and China (74.76%).
As of August 2024, casual games were the most downloaded and top app categories in Google Play among users, with an average of two billion installations.
Core gaming apps secured the second spot with approximately 980 million downloads. Social apps came next, achieving over 880 million downloads in the same timeframe, as shown in the graph below.
The Gaming Apps Popularity in the Play Store
When it comes to popularity, numerous mobile games have surpassed 500 million cumulative downloads, with more than a dozen exceeding the one billion marks. Titles like Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, and Subway Surfers are among the games to achieve this milestone.
In 2023, Subway Surfers stood out as the most downloaded game on the Google Play Store, amassing 181 million downloads.
By the second quarter of 2024, the Google Play Store offered approximately 264,000 mobile gaming apps. Cloud gaming, AI, social gaming, and cross-platform are top trends in mobile gaming apps.
Most Popular Apps in the Google Play Store
With 182.8 million downloads worldwide across Google Play and the App Store, Instagram was the most popular app in Q2 2024. In the list of the top 10 most popular apps of 2024, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp continue to hold their positions at the top.
Below is a graph illustrating the rankings of the most downloaded apps worldwide in Q2 2024:
Tencent will be recognized as the leading app publisher worldwide in 2023. The tech giant is behind several popular apps tailored for the Chinese market, including WeChat and QQ, as well as globally top-grossing mobile games like PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings.
ByteDance secured the second spot, driven by the global success of TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, which dominated the rankings of the most popular social video apps worldwide. Google claimed third place, followed by gaming publisher Activision Blizzard.
Additional Play Store Trends and Data
Here are other Google Play Store statistics for Android in 2025:
- Google Play Protect performs daily scans on 125 billion apps to safeguard users from malware and unwanted software.
- Out of the 2,135,053 apps available on Google Play, 251,946 are gaming apps, while 1,883,107 are non-gaming apps.
- In March 2024, Mini Games: Calm & Relax was the most downloaded gaming app in the Google Play Store in the US, with 4.7 million downloads. In contrast, Block Blast ranked second position in the most downloaded games, with 1.09 million downloads.
- Google Play is the largest digital distribution platform globally with over 2.26 million mobile apps.
- With 70% market share, Android is leading the position as the most widely used mobile OS worldwide.
Start Your Android App Development Journey with VLink
As a premier software and mobile app development company, we have successfully delivered a number of customs, exceptional mobile applications for both Android and iOS platforms to leading brands such as Marico, Rediker or Aarambh.
For instance, we delivered a feature-rich hyper-local shopping application that facilitates seamless online interactions between shoppers and local stores. The app empowers users to engage in real-time negotiations, ensuring customer-centric perks and additional value while improving the overall shopping experience.
Additionally, we delivered a complete hybrid retail mobile app using Apache Cordova. App offers a range of features, including the ability to store and organize prescriptions, test results, reports, and medical files related to allergies and conditions, all in one place. It supports both online and offline modes.
If you want to create a secure, scalable mobile app or take your existing product to a new height, we are here to help. Consult with our experts today to discover how we can take your application to the next level.
The Final Say!
After checking these Google Play Store Statistics 2025 & beyond, you may get an idea of its success in the present & future.
Although the App Store is a premium platform in the app market, research consistently shows that the Play Store dominates the market in terms of app downloads and user engagement.
So, if you’re planning to launch your app on the Google Play Store? Our Android app development experts can transform your idea into a fully functional app ready to thrive in the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Approx. 3.3 million apps will be available on Google Play Store by 2025.
$25 is the one-time cost to publish an app on the Google Play Store. After this initial fee, you don’t have to pay anything for launching the product. You need to consider a few cost factors when publishing your app, including server and hosting costs, marketing costs, and maintenance costs.
To submit an app to the Play Store, you need to first create a developer account on the Google Play Console and pay a $25 one-time fee. Then, you need to ensure your app meets Google's guidelines. In the third stage, you need to upload app details and set app pricing and distribution. Finally, you need to submit your app for Google's approval. Once approved, your app goes live.
Play Store doesn't directly pay developers per app download. If developers download a free app, they don't receive any money. However, they can earn revenue through in-app purchases, where Google takes a 30% service fee from the transaction.