We’ve compiled a list of the top app categories by their growth rate, so you can see which apps are growing fastest in your chosen category. This data is based on App Annie’s global estimates of monthly active users (MAUs) and revenue over time periods between January 2021 and March 2022.
In the current decade, mobile app development has become a necessity for businesses that want to keep up with their competitors and market out their products and services in an effective manner. This can also be said considering that mobile devices have taken over most of the people across the globe, which is why they are gaining prominence at an impressively fast rate. Today, almost everybody has access to smartphones and tablets. These devices have some amazing features; yet they also have certain limitations which need to be addressed before one creates his or her own product or starts working on one.
Top App Categories and their Growth
Games
Gaming is the most popular category in the App Store, and they’re growing at a much faster rate than any other category. The growth rate has been on an upward trajectory since its inception as a standalone app store in 2008. In fact, games have grown by more than 50% each year since 2013—and this trend shows no signs of slowing down!
If you look at the total number of apps available for download on your iPhone or iPad, chances are that most of them are games (or something similar). This means there’s plenty of opportunity for your business to become successful by offering some kind of gaming experience through your own app store or website.
Entertainment
Entertainment is the most popular category on the App Store. It includes games, music and videos, books and magazines.
The Entertainment category has been growing at a rate of 2% per month since its launch in 2010. This means that for every $1 spent on games in 2020 there will be $2 spent on entertainment apps such as Netflix or Spotify (assuming an average price point).
Photo and Video
Photo and video apps are the most popular app category, with over 1.9 billion monthly active users in 2020. The category is expected to grow by 16% over the next year and a half, which is faster than any other app category except for gaming (23%).
The fastest growing photo and video apps will be those that provide a unique experience for each user. For example: if you’re looking for a way to share your photos on Instagram but don’t have an account already set up, you might download an app called “Instagram Stories” from Facebook instead of creating one from scratch yourself!
Lifestyle and Fitness
Lifestyle and fitness apps are the most popular category of apps, according to App Annie. The fastest growing category on the App Store, it has seen a staggering growth rate of over 50% since 2016. In 2019 alone, lifestyle and fitness apps have been downloaded more than 200 million times by users worldwide.
Food and Drink
Food and drink apps are growing. There’s no doubt about it—and they’re also a popular choice for businesses.
Food and drink apps can be used by people of all ages, including children, who can use them to learn about food safety through quizzes and games. They’re also great for parents who want their kids to understand the importance of eating healthy foods without having to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals every night!
Music and Audio
Music and audio are a great example of how the app category landscape is changing. In 2018, music streaming apps were the most popular app category in terms of downloads and usage across all age groups, with over 50% of users having downloaded one or more music streaming apps within the past 6 months.
The popularity of these apps stems from their accessibility and ease-of-use for users who want to listen to music on their phones without needing any additional software installed on their devices (like Spotify). Users can also access millions of songs through these services easily from anywhere in the world via wifi or data connections. And because many people use these services often enough that they don’t need to go out searching for new content every time they want something new—it’s easy for them keep up with what’s trending at any given time!
Music apps also tend not only have higher usage rates among younger demographics but also higher rates among those aged 65+ compared with other categories such as games/apps which tend towards older audiences
Books, News, and Magazines
Books, news and magazines are a broad category. If you want to get into the industry, this is one of the best places to start. There are many options for you in terms of what type of books or magazines you want to read, so there is definitely some competition here!
The growth rate for this category isn’t as high as some other categories (like games), but it still has an average annual growth rate of 5%. This means that although it’s not growing as quickly overall—it’s growing faster than average—there are still plenty of opportunities if your business model lines up with those trends.
Business Tools & Productivity Apps
Business Tools and Productivity Apps are the fastest-growing app category, with growth of over 200% since 2017. As a result, it’s no surprise that business is king in this space. The most profitable app categories are also among the most popular: Business Tools & Productivity (the number one overall category), Education & Reference (number two), Games & Entertainment (three).
Conclusion
We hope that you’ve gotten a better understanding of how everyone uses apps, and how they can be used for specific goals. It’s our goal to make sure that you have all the tools to succeed in any business situation, whether it’s a small startup or large corporation. We believe that all businesses should have access to the same kind of technology tools and resources so they can grow more efficiently than ever before – let us know if there’s anything else we can help with!
