Top App Revenue Grew 21% in the U.S. in August

This week we published our monthly report of the top apps by downloads and revenue for August.

YouTube was, again, the top app by net revenue in the U.S., earning $65M, according to our estimates. Dating-destination Tinder, which is a standard fixture in our ranks, was right behind it. ESPN came in 3rd after having a solid month in terms of new subscribers.

The rest of the list, which included streamers, more dating, and Pandora, more or less matched July's. The only noticeable difference is the absence of Twitch, which saw a slight bump in U.S. revenue in August but not enough to rank.

But while the list itself is pretty static, the revenue isn't. At all. Total net revenue for the top 10 apps jumped by 21% to $374M of net revenue (that's after the stores take their fee) from the App Store and Google Play in the U.S., according to our estimates. The Mobile Revenue Index also shows the same trend, jumping more than 30 points in August.

I say this almost every week at this point, but the golden age of apps is back. It's nothing like what it used to be in 2008, but that goes both ways. It's harder to ride the wave, but the wave is infinitely bigger.

If you're an app developer, now's your time to shine.