Report: Google Play revenue grew 27% in 2018, besting iOS store growth

Respected mobile industry statistics source Sensor Tower just published its estimations on 2018 revenue from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Although the hub for iOS apps is still making more money overall, the Google Play Store’s growth is surging far faster than its primary rival.

According to Sensor Tower, the Google Play Store earned $24.8 billion in 2018, which represents a growth of 27.3 percent as compared to its 2017 revenue ($19.5 billion). In comparison, the Apple App Store earned almost twice as much money ($46.6 billion) in 2018, but that represents only 20.4 percent in growth year-over-year.

Last year, according to Sensor Tower, both app stores were neck-and-neck for growth, with each platform growing by about 34 percent in 2017 as compared to 2016.

These numbers do signify, of course, that growth at both stores is slowing down overall.

Check out the chart below for more information:

It should be noted that China — one of the largest markets for mobile apps in the world — isn’t included in the Google Play Store numbers above since Google apps are not available there. The Apple App Store, however, is available in China. In other words, if Google apps were available in China, the chart above would likely look very different.

As far as the apps that drove that revenue growth, Tinder continues to be the top-earner on the Google Play Store (also according to Sensor Tower). Netflix, Pandora, and Google’s own Google Drive and Google One are also among the top earners for last year.

For games, Lineage M was the overall top earner on the Google Play Store for 2018, with Pokémon Go, Clash Royale, Clash of Clans, and Candy Crush Saga also earning top-ten slots.

For the full report on 2018 app store revenue, click here. For the full report on which apps and games did the best in 2018, click here.

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