As detailed in our app revenues market post, Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store both earn a majority of revenue from games, accounting for 71 percent across both platforms.
It shouldn’t be a surprise then that the majority of top grossing apps are games, especially as certain apps have found ways to avoid users paying for subscriptions on the platform.
For example, Netflix and Spotify have both removed the ability to subscribe in-app on iOS and Android. We estimate that Apple and Google missed out on $1.8 billion in 2020 from Netflix removing the ability to subscribe in-app.
In-app purchases are more of a difficult workaround, as users often make impulsive purchases. That means almost all games use Apple and Google’s payment solutions for in-app purchases.
In terms of countries, China, Japan and the US are the three largest spenders worldwide, in that order. Japan has the highest spending per capita, while China, due to the amount of mobile users, can often elevate a game to top grossing completely on its own.
An example of this would be Honor of Kings, which has consistently held a top three position in grossing for five years. The game is only available in China, and is a semi-port of the popular PC game League of Legends.
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Top Grossing Apps Key Statistics
- PUBG Mobile was the top grossing game of 2021, generating $2 billion revenue
- TikTok was the top grossing app of 2021, generating $1.7 billion revenue
- Genshin Impact saw the most growth in 2021, with a 220% increase in revenue to $1.3 billion
Top Grossing Apps by Country
China, Japan and the US are the three key markets for top grossing apps, accounting for approximately 80% of all revenue generated on the app store. These three countries have a much higher spend per user than the rest of the world.
Top Grossing Apps 2021 (Global)
PUBG Mobile was the top grossing app of 2021, for the third time running. The vast majority of PUBG revenue comes from China. TikTok is far ahead of other social platforms for in-app purchases, possibly accounting for over 50% of its total revenue.
| App | Revenue |
| PUBG Mobile | $2.01 billion |
| TikTok | $1.71 billion |
| Honor of Kings | $1.64 billion |
| Genshin Impact | $1.33 billion |
| Roblox | $1.00 billion |
| Coin Master | $936 million |
| Pokemon Go | $904 million |
| YouTube | $891 million |
| Candy Crush | $856 million |
| Garena Free Fire | $836 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Apps 2021 (United States)
In the US, Roblox is the top grossing app with $588 million revenue. Apps make up more of the top 10 mix, in comparison to global, with Disney+, YouTube, HBO Max, Google One and Tinder all making the top ten.
| App | Revenue |
| Roblox | $588 million |
| Candy Crush Saga | $556 million |
| Coin Master | $433 million |
| Disney+ | $428 million |
| YouTube | $412 million |
| HBO Max | $398 million |
| Garena Free Fire | $388 million |
| Google One | $383 million |
| Pokemon Go | $320 million |
| Tinder | $306 million |
Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower
Top Grossing Apps 2021 (United Kingdom)
Roblox is the top grossing app in the U.K. as well, with £42 million revenue in 2021. Games like Homescapes and Clash of Clans remain popular in the country, while they have dropped off in North America.
| App | Revenue |
| Roblox | £42 million |
| Disney+ | £34 million |
| Coin Master | £33 million |
| Tinder | £30 million |
| Candy Crush Saga | £26 million |
| YouTube | £19 million |
| Homescapes | £16 million |
| State of Survival | £16 million |
| Pokemon Go | £16 million |
| Clash of Clans | £15 million |
Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower
Top Grossing Apps 2021 (India)
Even though India has some of the highest downloads, it has yet to see similar growth in revenue. PUBG Mobile’s ban in the country (due to Tencent publication) has led to Garena Free Fire taking over the top grossing spot.
| App | Revenue |
| Garena Free Fire | $17.7 million |
| Chamet | $8.5 million |
| Hotstar | $6.9 million |
| Google One | $6.8 million |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | $6.5 million |
| Tango Livestream | $5.9 million |
| Battlegrounds Mobile | $5.9 million |
| Coin Master | $5.2 million |
| Tinder | $5.1 million |
| Lords Mobile: Tower Defense | $4 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Apps by Category
In this section, we look at the top ten most grossing apps in specific categories.
Top Grossing Apps (Games excluded) 2021
TikTok is far ahead of all other apps in total revenue generation, primarily from its Chinese app Douyin. Video streaming platforms take up the majority of the list.
| App | Revenue |
| TikTok | $1.71 billion |
| YouTube | $891 million |
| Tinder | $769 million |
| Disney+ | $767 million |
| Tencent Video | $666 million |
| Google One | $626 million |
| Kakao Piccoma | $613 million |
| iQiyi | $518 million |
| HBO Max | $410 million |
| Line | $395 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Games 2021
Almost all revenue generation comes from two countries: China and Japan. A lot of these games are marketed specifically to Eastern audiences, like Honor of Kings, Garena Free Fire and Uma Musume Pretty Derby, although some have crossover appeal like Genshin Impact.
| App | Revenue |
| PUBG Mobile | $2.01 billion |
| Honor of Kings | $1.64 billion |
| Genshin Impact | $1.33 billion |
| Roblox | $1.00 billion |
| Coin Master | $939 million |
| Pokemon Go | $904 million |
| Candy Crush Saga | $856 million |
| Garena Free Fire | $836 million |
| Uma Musume Pretty Derby | $813 million |
| Rise of Kingdom: Lost Crusade | $687 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Entertainment Apps 2021
Netflix would be much higher on this list, but tries with all of its might to get users to sign-up on the web, avoiding Apple and Google’s fees. Disney+ and HBO Max do not do this, which is why in-app revenue is higher.
| App | Revenue |
| TikTok | $1.71 billion |
| YouTube | $891 million |
| Disney+ | $767 million |
| Tencent Video | $666 million |
| iQiyi | $518 million |
| HBO Max | $410 million |
| Twitch | $366 million |
| Bigo Live | $313 million |
| Youku TV | $276 million |
| Netflix | $259 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Music Apps 2021
Spotify and Apple Music are missing from this list, because Apple doesn’t reveal its revenue and Spotify pushes users to pay on the web. QQ Music being top grossing is perhaps surprising, but shows how Chinese users are more willing to pay for music than five years ago.
| App | Revenue |
| QQ Music | $286 million |
| Pandora Music | $270 million |
| YouTube Music | $208 million |
| Line Music | $154 million |
| Netease Music | $145 million |
| Amazon Music | $127 million |
| Kugou Music | $96 million |
| SoundCloud | $57 million |
| Smule Karaoke | $52 million |
| Simply Piano | $51 million |
Source: AppMagic
Top Grossing Social Apps 2021
Outside of TikTok, dating apps appear to be the best social platforms for revenue generation, as many offer premium features to their customers. Kwai, a TikTok competitor that is branching out from China, is anticipated to be the next big social platform, at least in South-east Asia.
| App | Revenue |
| Tiktok | $1.71 billion |
| Tinder | $769 million |
| Line | $310 million |
| Bumble | $224 million |
| Kwai | $172 million |
| $144 million | |
| $135 million | |
| Azar Video Chat | $115 million |
| Hinge | $111 million |
| Pairs | $101 million |
Source: AppMagic
