Sensor Tower predicts TikTok will be the most downloaded and highest-grossing app in 2021.
According to the latest Sensor Tower report, global consumer spending on apps is expected to reach $133 billion in 2021. This implies a 19.7 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase from $111.1 billion in 2020, nearly matching the 21 percent YoY increase in consumer spending in 2019.
TikTok will be the most profitable app in the world in 2021, followed by YouTube, Piccoma, Tinder, and Disney+. According to the report, TikTok will take fourth place on Google Play but will remain first in App Store revenue.
According to Sensor Tower’s most recent report on consumer spending in 2021, App Store revenue will continue to outpace Google Play. The spending on the two platforms will remain the same in 2020, with the App Store generating roughly 1.8 times the revenue as Google’s marketplace. According to the report, the App Store is expected to reach $85.1 billion in 2020, representing a 17.7 percent increase from $72.3 billion in 2020. Google Play, on the other hand, will grow 23.5 percent year on year to $47.9 billion from $38.8 billion.
TikTok’s revenue in the first 11 months of 2021 was $2 billion, up 67 percent year on year from $1.2 billion. Sensor Tower predicts that the app will generate $2.3 billion in revenue by the end of the year, bringing its total revenue to $2.3 billion.
Gaming app revenue is expected to reach $52.3 billion globally by the end of the year, up 9.9 percent year on year from $47.6 billion in 2020. Tencent’s Honor of Kings is said to be the highest-grossing iOS game, generating $2.9 billion on that platform, up 16 percent from $2.5 billion the previous year. This year, PUBG Mobile is expected to make the most money in the overall gaming category worldwide.
Moon Active’s Coin Master is said to be the highest-grossing title on Google’s platform, with revenue increasing 13 percent year on year to nearly $912 million from $809.8 million in 2020.
In terms of downloads, TikTok is said to be the most downloaded app on the App Store in 2021, with 745.9 million installs across both app stores. This is despite a year-over-year drop of 24% from 980.7 million installs in 2020. Facebook tops the charts on Google Play, with approximately 500.9 million installs on that marketplace alone. The app will receive approximately 624.9 million installs across both marketplaces, a decrease of 12 percent year on year from 707.8 million.
