Top Grossing Apps (2023)

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.

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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.

We have collected data and statistics on the top grossing apps of 2021. Read on below to find out more.

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

App Data Report 2022

Want to learn all about the app industry? Our App Data Report covers revenues, downloads, and number of apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play, alongside the top grossing and most downloaded individual apps.

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.

Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower

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.

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.

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.

Source: AppMagic

Top Grossing Apps by Platform

In this section, we cover the top grossing apps on iOS and Android.

Top Grossing iOS Apps 2021

PUBG Mobile was the top grossing iOS app in 2021, followed by Honor of Kings and TikTok. The majority of all three apps revenue came from China.

Source: AppMagic

Top Grossing Google Play Apps 2021

Coin Master was the top grossing Google Play app in 2021, with $654 million generated. Google One, Google’s cloud storage service, came second with $652 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Source: AppMagic