Germany App Market Statistics (2024)

The German app market is one of the largest in Europe and has seen consistent growth over the years, with more of the population switching to mobile apps for all sorts of tasks.

In 2022, Germany was the second most lucrative app market in Europe behind the UK and had the tenth-largest smartphone user population in the world. German users spent on average over 3.5 hours a day on apps on mobile apps, which has risen steadily since the pandemic.

Taking into account the pandemic impact, the German app market has remained relatively stable for several years, with the number of smartphone users sticking at around the same level, alongside total downloads by the country.

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Video streaming apps and mobile games are extremely popular in Germany; TikTok and YouTube both have broad popularity in the country. Games such as Candy Crush Saga, Gardenscapes and Homescapes also generate significant revenue, while WhatsApp and Telegram are two of the main communication apps.

Germany has particularly strict hate speech laws which impact any apps operating in the country, especially social networks. Social media platforms are required to remove incendiary material, but a 2021 follow-up law intended to strengthen the rules further was found to violate EU law. Platforms remain obliged to monitor content, and X has faced legal action after hate speech and anti-Semitic rhetoric was allegedly not removed from the website within the required period.

There have been reports that Germany has considered banning Telegram over fears of unchecked hate speech and conspiracy theories. In October last year the app was fined €5.1 million for failing to establish a way to report illegal content. 

In 2019, Germany introduced legislation allowing doctors to prescribe courses of app and web-based therapy to anyone using public health insurance. The law was intended as part of the digital transformation of the healthcare system, but the number of referrals so far has been below expectations and digital health apps have suffered as a result.

We have collected data and statistics on the German mobile app market. Read on below to find out more.

Key Germany App Market Statistics

• The German app market earned $4.1 billion last year, above the 2019 pre-pandemic revenue of $2.3 billion
• German users downloaded apps 2.4 billion times in 2023
• In 2023, 68.7 million people in Germany were active smartphone users
• TikTok was the top-earning app in Germany in 2023 at $103 million
• Users in Germany spent 64 billion hours on mobile apps in 2023

Germany App Market Revenue

The German app market earned $4.1 billion in 2023, an increase of 10.8% on the previous year. German users spent $59.6 on average on apps last year.

Germany app market annual revenue 2019 to 2023 ($bn)

Germany consumer spend per user 2019 to 2023 ($)

Germany App Market Revenue by App

TikTok was the top-earning app in Germany in 2023 at $103 million. Coin Master and Gardenscapes rounded the top three.

Germany revenue by app 2023 ($mm)

Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower

Germany Smartphone Users

There were 68.7 million active smartphone users in Germany in 2023, a rise of 2.5 million from the previous year.

Annual Germany smartphone users 2017 to 2023 (mm)

Germany Smartphone Population

More than four-fifths of the German population were smartphone users in 2023 at 82.6%. This has remained relatively stable since 2018.

Germany population smartphone usage 2017 to 2023 (%)

Time Spent on Apps in Germany

Users in Germany spent 64 billion hours on mobile apps in 2023.

Hours spent on mobile apps in Germany 2019 to 2023 (bn)

Germany App Market Downloads

There were 2.4 billion app downloads in Germany in 2023, which is a rise from 1.95 billion downloads in 2019.

Germany app downloads 2019 to 2023 (bn)

Germany downloads per user 2019 to 2023

Germany Downloads by App

Temu was the most downloaded app in Germany in 2023 at 13 million downloads, with TikTok second with 6.2 million downloads.

Germany downloads by app 2023 (mm)

Sources: AppFigures, AppMagic