Apple's App Store Still Number One in Revenue Despite Google Play Growth

According to a new report from App Store analytics firm Distimo, Apple's App Store revenue still tops Google Play revenue despite the latter’s increase in growth over the past six months.

While Apple's App Store revenue increased 15% over the course of the last six months, Google Play revenue increased 67%. In July alone, Google Play saw 11% growth, compared to the App Store's 3%.

revenue
A similar report from App Annie two weeks ago confirmed that App Store revenue remains 2.3 higher than Google Play revenue even though Google Play downloads eclipsed App Store downloads during the second quarter of 2013.

The majority of the App Store's revenue comes from the United States, followed by Japan and the United Kingdom. Though some countries like Russia spent more on iPad apps than iPhone apps, iPhone apps remain the biggest earners. While South Korea was also a top app spender, it was a majority contributor to Google Play revenue.

revenuepercountry
Distimo also looked at the top earning apps for July, finding that Candy Crush Saga continues to generate the most revenue in both the App Store and Google Play. In April, the company behind Candy Crush announced that it had earned more than $195 million in revenue, and it is estimated that the app earns approximately $800k per day.

While freemium-based Candy Crush Saga earned the highest amount of revenue overall, WhatsApp Messenger and Minecraft - Pocket Edition were the highest earning paid apps. Despicable Me: Minion Rush, another free app, saw the highest number of overall downloads, followed by Google Maps.

Distimo's app data comes from its app store analytics tool AppIQ, which tracks more than three billion downloads per quarter for developers worldwide.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

bbeagle Avatar
160 months ago
Wow skip over the fact google has seen HUGE growth !!!

If I open up my own App store, I'll see bigger growth than google. (Starting from 0). Would you fawn over my app store?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
160 months ago
Well of course! Most of the Apps on Google Play are garbage. iOS is where the quality Apps are, and that's why people part with money for them.

Android's ahead in terms of quantity, but it's the quality that really matters. And that's why Apple will ALWAYS win. :apple:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Born Again Avatar
160 months ago
Wow skip over the fact google has seen HUGE growth !!!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
160 months ago
I think the issue is that one by one, Google is passing Apple's landmark accomplishments...
1.) iOS used to outnumber Android in daily sales worldwide
2.) iPhone used to always be the #1 phone sold each quarter
3.) iOS used to be the #1 Tablet OS
4.) AppStore used to have more apps
5.) AppStore used to have more downloads/day
6.) It's only a matter of time before Google Play surpasses AppStore revenue (At This Rate)
It's a given that Google will pass all those. It's NOT a story that matters.

Apple is the underdog - they have a smaller market share, because they choose to operate their business that way. It's very near impossible for ONE company to out-produce, out-ship and out-innovate dozens of other companies.

That Apple did the near improbable for so many years is a testament to Apple.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BurchBoy Avatar
160 months ago
If I open up my own App store, I'll see bigger growth than google. (Starting from 0). Would you fawn over my app store?

I think the issue is that one by one, Google is passing Apple's landmark accomplishments...
1.) iOS used to outnumber Android in daily sales worldwide
2.) iPhone used to always be the #1 phone sold each quarter
3.) iOS used to be the #1 Tablet OS
4.) AppStore used to have more apps
5.) AppStore used to have more downloads/day
6.) It's only a matter of time before Google Play surpasses AppStore revenue (At This Rate)

I'm a fan of Apple's past. Let's hope together for the future.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Konrad9 Avatar
160 months ago
It's not hard to grow exponentially when you are starting at the bottom (relative to a huge Apple head-start). Nothing stunning or surprising about these statistics.

Get your head out of the sand.

While holding at the top is impressive and good for business, it would be naive to ignore the market that is gaining on the leader. Especially when that gaining market has a monumental advantage in the number of devices being sold.

The attitude you display is probably the same as the attitude that Microsoft and Blackberry used to have about Apple.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)