The Most Popular Apps (2023)

Along with the coronavirus pandemic, the changing habits and behaviors of people in 2020 and 2021 have also been also reflected in their digital content consumption. The most consumed content on smartphones was through mobile apps and games. 

When mobile app downloads and in-app purchases are examined, it is possible to see that people around the world show common patterns. In this article, we will cover the most popular apps and app categories around the world in 2022 and 2023, by app store and country.

Most Popular Apps by Download

TikTok was the most popular app in terms of downloads in the full year 2022 with 672 million new installs around the world. The popular short video app was followed by Instagram, WhatsApp, CapCut, and Snapchat on the downloads chart. 

Most Popular Apps by Download

The list of the most popular mobile apps is mainly dominated by social media apps, while mobile games and music streaming apps also took their places in the list.

1. TikTok

TikTok reached nearly 672 million first-time installs in 2022. As of March 2023, the app reached 150 million monthly active users in the United States, making it the No.1 app in the country along with 99 million downloads in 2022.

2. Instagram 

Instagram has around 1 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily active users. The app generated 548 million new downloads in 2022.

3. WhatsApp 

In 2022, 55% of WhatsApp’s monthly user base in the world used the app every single day, up 16% year-over-year. The app was the third most downloaded app worldwide last year, garnering 424 million across the App Store and Google Play.

4. CapCut

The China-based video editor CapCut from Bytedance, which is listed among the most downloaded apps of 2022 with 357 million new downloads, is expected to remain on the list in Q1 2023.

5. Snapchat

Snapchat’s DAUs were 375 million in Q4 2022, an increase of 56 million, or 17%, year-over-year. With 330 million new app downloads across the App Store and Google Play, the app was also one of the most downloaded apps in 2022.

6. Telegram 

As one of the most popular apps, Telegram has 700 million monthly active users as of 2022 and is expected to reach over one billion users soon. Launched in June 2022, Telegram Premium has surpassed 1 million paying users as of December 2022.

7. Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers, one of the 2 mobile games on the list of the most downloaded apps of 2022, reached 4 billion global downloads as of March 2023. The hugely popular endless runner game generated 304 million new game downloads in 2022.

8. Facebook

In 2022, Facebook was among the most downloaded apps with 298 million new downloads across Google Play and the App Store. In Q4 2022, the popular social media app reached 2 billion daily active users and 2.96 billion monthly active users, up 3% and 2% YoY, respectively.

9. Stumble Guys

Stumble Guys, a multiplayer battle royale party game released in February 2021, was among the most popular games by download in 2022 with 254 million new installs.

10. Spotify

Spotify MAUs increased by 20% year over year to 489 million in Q4 2022, exceeding the forecast by 10 million. The company’s largest-ever Q4 growth was reflected by net additions of 33 million. In Q4 2022, its premium subscribers increased 14% year over year to 205 million, exceeding projections by 3 million.

Most Popular Apps by Revenue (Top Grossing Apps and Games)

When we look at the list of the most popular mobile apps in terms of revenue in 2022, we usually see dating apps along with music and video streaming apps.

1. TikTok

In 2022, TikTok remained the highest-earning non-game app across Apple and Google’s marketplaces, bringing in $2.05 billion from user spending, up 17.5% annually.

2. Honor of Kings

Honor of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena published by Tencent in 2015, generated $1.65 billion in revenue in 2022, making it the highest-earning mobile game of the last year.

3. Genshin Impact

Generating 126.4 million global game downloads as of 2022, Genshin Impact continued to be one of the most popular games in 2022 with $1.25 billion in revenues.

4. PUBG Mobile

The popular free-to-play battle royal game PUBG Mobile generated $1.12 billion in revenues in 2022. The game also surpassed 1.1 billion global game downloads across the App Store and Google Play as of December 2022.

5. YouTube

Having more than 2 billion monthly logged-in users, YouTube generated a revenue of $1.05 billion in 2022, making it one of the top-grossing apps of the year.

6. Candy Crush Saga

Being among the most downloaded games of 2022 with 138 million new game installs, the match 3 mobile game Candy Crush Saga generated a revenue of $1 billion last year.

7. Google One

Google One, which was also among the top-grossing apps of 2021, managed to maintain its position in 2022 with a revenue of $890 million.

8. Disney+

Reaching 161.8 million worldwide subscribers by the end of 2022, Disney+ took its place among the most popular apps of last year with an app revenue of $850 million in 2022.

9. Roblox

Roblox generated $820 million in revenues and 208 million new game installs across the App Store and Google Play in 2022. In Q4 2022, the popular game reached 58.8 million daily active users on average who played the game for 12.8 billion hours in total.

10. Tinder

Tinder‘s paying subscribers totaled 10.9 billion for the entire year 2022, an increase of 10% over the previous year. The popular dating app generated $800 million last year.

Most Popular Android Apps by Download

1. TikTok – 460 million new app installs
2. Instagram – 445 million new app installs
3. WhatsApp – 297 million new app installs
4. Snapchat – 255 million new app installs
5. CapCut – 244 million new app installs
6. Telegram – 244 million new app installs
7. Facebook – 223 million new app installs
8. Subway Surfers – 198 million new game installs
9. Facebook Messenger – 167 million new app installs
10. Stumble Guys – 158 million new game installs

Most Popular iOS Apps by Download

1. TikTok – 212 million new app installs
2. YouTube – 133 million new app installs
3. WhatsApp – 127 million new app installs
4. CapCut – 113 million new app installs
5. Instagram – 103 million new app installs 
6. Google Maps – 98 million new app installs
7. Google – 89 million new app installs
8. Kwai – 78 million new app installs
9. Snapchat – 75 million new app installs
10. Facebook – 75 million new app installs

Most Popular App Categories in the App Store

Most Popular App Categories in Google Play