Following a study looking into the success of the App Store ecosystem in the United States, Apple has sponsored a second study that covers the global App Store in 2024.
Apple's global App Store ecosystem supported an estimated $1.3 trillion in billings and sales across 2024, and for 90 percent of those sales, developers did not pay a commission to Apple.
"It's incredible to see so many developers design great apps, build successful businesses, and reach Apple users around the world," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "This report is a testament to the many ways developers are enriching people's lives with app and game experiences, while creating opportunity and driving new innovations. We're proud to support their success."
Developer billings and sales of digital goods and services hit $131 billion, primarily from games and photo and video editing apps like those from Adobe. Sales of physical goods and services facilitated by App Store apps exceeded $1 trillion.
Over the last five years, spending in digital goods and services, physical goods and services, and in-app advertising has more than doubled, with the strongest growth in physical goods as people are increasingly using apps to order food and groceries.
The App Store draws more than 813 million average weekly visitors globally, with Apple's commerce system supporting developers with more than 40 local currencies and tax handling in 200 regions.
As with Apple's U.S. study, the global study highlights the App Store benefits and tools available to developers, including the more than 100 technical sessions that will come out next week during the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The study's release comes as Apple is facing regulatory and legal pressure over its App Store rules in multiple countries. In addition to being forced to allow developers to direct customers to web-based purchase options in the U.S., Apple is also continuing to struggle with the Digital Markets Act in Europe. Apple is currently fighting DMA interoperability requirements that require it to give third-party developers access to iOS features that are normally limited to Apple's own products, and it has faced fines for compliance issues.
The full study is available through Apple's Newsroom article.
