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)	$1.3 trillion	Apple Newsroom, June 2025 (study by Analysis Group, funded by Apple)
Of which: digital goods and services (2024)	$131 billion	Apple Newsroom, June 2025 (study by Analysis Group, funded by Apple)
App Store ecosystem developer billings and sales, U.S. (2024)	$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)	2.36 million	Google Security Blog, January 2025
Bad developer accounts Google banned (2024)	More than 158,000	Google Security Blog, January 2025

Platforms

Metric	Value	Source
U.S. mobile OS share (September 2026)	iOS 53.59%, Android 46.39%	StatCounter Global Stats
Worldwide mobile OS share (September 2026)	Android 69.17%, iOS 30.81%	StatCounter Global Stats

Users and Shopping Behavior

Metric	Value	Source
U.S. adults who own a smartphone (2025)	91% (98% own a cellphone of some kind)	Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet (survey Feb–June 2025)
Average documented online cart abandonment rate	70.22% (list updated September 22, 2025)	Baymard Institute

App Quality, Abandonment and Retention (archived studies, 2015 to 2019)

Metric	Value	Source
App users who expected an app to start in 4 seconds or less (survey, 2015)	61%	Dimensional Research, "Failing to Meet Mobile App User Expectations" (February 2015, 3,011 app users in the U.S., Canada and Europe; Wayback Machine copy)
App users who expected an app to respond in 2 seconds or less (survey, 2015)	49%	Dimensional Research, "Failing to Meet Mobile App User Expectations" (February 2015, 3,011 app users in the U.S., Canada and Europe; Wayback Machine copy)
App users who will only attempt to use a problematic app three times or less (survey, 2015)	80%	Dimensional Research, "Failing to Meet Mobile App User Expectations" (February 2015, 3,011 app users in the U.S., Canada and Europe; Wayback Machine copy)
App users who uninstalled or removed an app with severe issues like crashes, freezes or errors (survey, 2015)	53%	Dimensional Research, "Failing to Meet Mobile App User Expectations" (February 2015, 3,011 app users in the U.S., Canada and Europe; Wayback Machine copy)
App users who said crashes or errors make them think less of a company's brand (survey, 2015)	37%	Dimensional Research, "Failing to Meet Mobile App User Expectations" (February 2015, 3,011 app users in the U.S., Canada and Europe; Wayback Machine copy)
Users who abandon an app after one session, average across Localytics' user base (2019)	25%	Localytics app user retention study, published by Business2Community in April 2019 (about 12,000 apps in Localytics' user base; Wayback Machine copy)
Users who return to an app more than 10 times, average across Localytics' user base (2019)	32%	Localytics app user retention study, published by Business2Community in April 2019 (about 12,000 apps in Localytics' user base; Wayback Machine copy)
Retention within 28 days of receiving a message, for apps sending dynamic-content messages targeted on profile or profile and behavioral data (Localytics, 2019)	61% to 74% (apps sending mostly broadcast campaigns cap out at 49%)	Localytics app user retention study, published by Business2Community in April 2019 (about 12,000 apps in Localytics' user base; Wayback Machine copy)
Apps that send in-app messages vs. apps that do not, a correlation Localytics observed (2015)	2-3.5x higher user retention and 27% more app launches	Localytics, "In-App Messages Drive 3.5X Higher User Retention" (June 30, 2015; Wayback Machine copy)

Store Costs for Developers

Metric	Value	Source
Apple Developer Program membership	$99 per year	Apple Developer Program
Google Play developer registration	$25 one-time fee	Google Play Console Help, registration
Apple App Store Small Business Program commission	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	15% on the first $1M of revenue each year; 30% above that	Google Play Console Help, service fees

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.

Is 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%.

What 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.

How 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.

How 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.

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