Google Play Hit 108.5B Downloads and $38.6B in Revenue in 2020, a 30% Jump in a Year

The year 2020 has witnessed an impressive growth of the global app market, with millions of people spending more time indoors and online amid the coronavirus lockdown. As one of the two largest distribution channels for mobile apps, Google Play has witnessed new records in revenue and the number of downloads.

According to data presented by Buy Shares, Android users downloaded 108.5 billion apps, 28% more than in 2019, while Google Play revenue surged by 30% year-over-year and hit $38.6bn in 2020.

Google Play Revenue Almost Doubled in Three Years

Even before the pandemic, the number of Android app downloads was continually increasing. In 2016, Android users downloaded 55 billion apps, revealed Tech Crunch and App Annie data. In the next three years, this figure jumped by 37% to 75.7 billion and continued rising. Statistics show the number of downloads hit 84.8 billion in 2019, a 55% increase in three years.

However, the year 2020 set a new record, as mobile app usage surged amid the COVID-19 lockdown. Android users downloaded 108.5 billion apps last year, 23.7 billion more than before the pandemic, and almost half of the total app downloads last year.

The Tech crunch data show Google Play revenues also significantly increased in the last few years, rising from $15bn in 2016 to $29.3bn in 2019. This figure jumped by another 30% or $9.3bn amid the coronavirus pandemic. Statistics show the revenues of the digital content platform practically doubled in the last three years.

More than Three Million Available Apps

Today, Google’s official app store offers a wide range of apps and digital media, including music, magazines, books, film and TV. Statistics show the number of available apps in the Google Play Store hit over three million in February, 100,000 more than a year ago.

The 42matters data revealed that 96.7% of available Android apps as of January were free to use or utilize a freemium payment model, which allows the user to download the app without upfront costs but generates revenues through in-app payments. Only 3.3% of available Google Play apps last month were paid apps.

Analyzed by the price, most paid apps, or almost 39,000 apps, were priced less than a dollar. Statistics show that around 28,000 apps cost between $1 and $2, and another 14,500 between $2 and $3. Only 2,400 iOS apps were priced between $9 and $10.