Mobile App Market Data 2026: Revenue, Platforms, Users and Retention
The size of the app economy, how the U.S. and the world split between iOS and Android, how many Americans carry a smartphone, what happens at mobile checkout, and what older studies found about app crashes, abandonment and retention.
Every figure below links to its source and was checked against that source on dates between October 12, 2026 and October 17, 2026. Where a number comes from a study a company paid for, the source says so.
Revenue and Store Scale
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| App Store ecosystem developer billings and sales, worldwide (2024) Link to this finding | $1.3 trillion | Apple Newsroom, June 2025 (study by Analysis Group, funded by Apple) |
| Of which: digital goods and services (2024) Link to this finding | $131 billion | Apple Newsroom, June 2025 (study by Analysis Group, funded by Apple) |
| App Store ecosystem developer billings and sales, U.S. (2024) Link to this finding | $406 billion (up from $142 billion in 2019) | Apple Newsroom, May 2025 (study funded by Apple) |
| Policy-violating apps Google prevented from being published on Google Play (2024) Link to this finding | 2.36 million | Google Security Blog, January 2025 |
| Bad developer accounts Google banned (2024) Link to this finding | More than 158,000 | Google Security Blog, January 2025 |
Platforms
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. mobile OS share (September 2026) Link to this finding | iOS 53.59%, Android 46.39% | StatCounter Global Stats |
| Worldwide mobile OS share (September 2026) Link to this finding | Android 69.17%, iOS 30.81% | StatCounter Global Stats |
Users and Shopping Behavior
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults who own a smartphone (2025) Link to this finding | 91% (98% own a cellphone of some kind) | Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet (survey Feb–June 2025) |
| Average documented online cart abandonment rate Link to this finding | 70.22% (list updated September 22, 2025) | Baymard Institute |
App Quality, Abandonment and Retention (archived studies, 2015 to 2019)
Store Costs for Developers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program membership Link to this finding | $99 per year | Apple Developer Program |
| Google Play developer registration Link to this finding | $25 one-time fee | Google Play Console Help, registration |
| Apple App Store Small Business Program commission Link to this finding | 15% on paid apps and in-app purchases (developers under $1M a year) | Apple Developer, App Store Small Business Program |
| Google Play service fee, 15% tier Link to this finding | 15% on the first $1M of revenue each year; 30% above that | Google Play Console Help, service fees |
Cite this page
To cite one number, link to its row with the “Link to this finding” link above. To cite the page, use:
App369. “Mobile App Market Data 2026: Revenue, Platforms, Users and Retention.” https://app369.com/statistics/mobile-app-market-data-2026/. Figures checked: dates between October 12, 2026 and October 17, 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the App Store economy?
Apple reported that the App Store ecosystem facilitated $1.3 trillion in developer billings and sales worldwide in 2024, and $406 billion in the U.S., based on studies Apple funded. Digital goods and services were $131 billion of the worldwide total.
Link to this answerIs iOS or Android bigger?
Worldwide, Android had 69.17% of mobile OS usage in September 2026 according to StatCounter; in the U.S., iOS led with 53.59%.
Link to this answerWhat percentage of users abandon an app after one use?
In a Localytics retention study published in April 2019, covering about 12,000 apps in its own user base, 25% of users on average abandoned an app after one session and 32% returned more than 10 times. It is an older study, so treat it as a historical benchmark.
Link to this answerHow many times will users retry a buggy app?
In a February 2015 Dimensional Research survey of 3,011 app users, 80% said they will only attempt to use a problematic app three times or less, and 53% had uninstalled an app with severe issues like crashes, freezes or errors.
Link to this answerHow many shoppers abandon their carts?
Baymard Institute puts the average documented online cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, which is why checkout flow gets so much attention in ecommerce apps.
Link to this answerPlanning an App?
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