In brief
Download volume does not necessarily translate into the highest app revenue. In this 2016 article, Facebook leads downloads, LINE performs strongly in monetization, and games account for 40% of Google Play downloads and 90% of its revenue.
The most downloaded apps are not necessarily the most profitable: Facebook vs LINE
Across both mobile operating systems, Facebook holds four places in the top 10 most downloaded apps. Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp all make the list. And on Google Play, Facebook takes the top four places. By download volume, Facebook is a dominant player in the mobile world at the time of writing.
But in terms of revenue, including in-app purchases, LINE holds three places in the Android top 10 and two in the iOS top 10. The revenue discussed here excludes advertising, of course; otherwise, Google and Facebook would be virtually unbeatable in this area. But when it comes specifically to generating revenue from apps, LINE is certainly impressive. The most downloaded apps do not necessarily generate the most in-app revenue; nor do profitable apps necessarily need large numbers of downloads, provided they reach the right target users.
Communications + Social = The leading categories
By download volume, communications and social networking apps account for the largest share. Among communications apps, instant messengers are clearly the strongest performers. Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Skype are three instant messaging apps that all rank in the top 10 on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. Google Play's top 10 also includes two more instant messengers: LINE and Viber.
The Apple App Store also has two utilities for iOS devices: Find My Phone and iTunes U.
Games take a large share
On Google Play, games have a remarkably strong position. They account for 40% of downloads and an even more striking 90% of revenue, while apps (excluding games) account for the remainder.
On iOS, Clash of Clans and Candy Crash dominate: they attract large numbers of downloads and also hold the top two places in the revenue rankings. Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans, has three games in the top 10 by revenue. By contrast, established gaming giant EA only just makes the top 10 by revenue, with The Simpsons: Tapped Out in tenth place.
On Google Play, there is a less familiar and intriguing name: Subway Surfers, a title from Danish company Kiloo. Remarkably, it ranks first in the top 10 by downloads! Released three years ago, the game still ranks highly in many countries at the time of writing. In the United States, for example, it remains in the top 10, although in Hong Kong it ranks only somewhere in the tens.
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