Which Types of Apps Get the Most Downloads and Make the Most Money?

Which types of apps get the most downloads? And which make the most money?

I analyzed the top 100 apps and games in the world to answer these two simple questions and the results were... interesting.

Let's start with downloads:

Games were the single most downloaded category among the top 100 most downloaded apps at 41%. Many expect the share to be flipped and for games to dominate, but they don't.

The only other category with a double-digit share is Photo & Video with 10%, which really surprised me.

Shopping came in third with 8%, Entertainment with 7%, and Utilities, also with 7% make up the top 5 categories when it comes to downloads.

Revenue is similar but not the same:

When it comes to revenue, games are strong, with a 55% share, according to our App Intelligence. Historically, game publishers were better at optimizing for revenue, but that's changing.

Entertainment, the category where you'll find most streaming apps, is the second largest with 14%. It's the only category other than games to have a double-digit share.

Notice that it wasn't even a top 5 in terms of downloads, which means those apps are doing a great job converting downloads to paying users.

Photo & Video with 8%, Music with 7%, and Social Networking with 4% make up the top 5, and you'll notice two of the three aren't in the top five in terms of downloads. And it's not that they're close to the top at all, which means developers in those categories are working extra hard to convert their downloads.

You should be, too.