Data Monday: How Many Mobile Apps Do People Download?

by June 17, 2013

The lure of high engagement on mobile devices has many people building and marketing native mobile apps. But how many of these applications actually get downloaded by mobile users each month?

  • In the fall of 2008, there were about 10 apps downloaded for every iPhone/iPod touch. Two years later the rate was more than five times higher. (source)
  • The average iOS device owner downloaded 83 apps in 2011 and 51 in 2010, a 61% increase year over year. (source)
  • At the start of 2011, the average smartphone added 2.5 new apps per month. (source)
  • In contrast, the average iOS user iOS downloaded about 5 apps every month. (source)
  • Estimates show that this number (5 apps per month) seems to still hold up in 2013 on both iOS and Android. (source)
  • Considering over two million apps have been published to mobile app stores to date, being one of those five downloads a month is increasingly hard. (source)