UK App Market Statistics (2023)

Despite having a far smaller user base than countries such as the United States, China or India, the United Kingdom represents a very significant market for apps. With high smartphone penetration and consumer spend, the UK is an attractive target for app developers.

There has been a slight drop off from the inflated download and revenue statistics seen during the coronavirus pandemic, but gains have been made in the last few years. Overall revenue was $1 billion higher in 2022 than 2019 and there were over two billion app downloads last year. This puts the UK fifth in overall consumer spend internationally.

British users spent around 4.2 hours a day on mobile in 2022, according to data.ai. And despite stagnant disposable income since 2019, consumer spend on apps has almost doubled since 2017.

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As pandemic-related restrictions have been removed, fewer users are downloading the NHS vaccination record app and more people have turned to travel provider apps. Strong revenue generators include dating apps and short video entertainment, such as TikTok.

Some analysts suggest that the freemium model of apps will continue to be popular among consumers, particularly during the cost of living crisis. Money saving apps such as supermarket reward apps experienced a growth in downloads in 2022, reflecting the wider economic downturn.

Since 2019, network operators have been rolling out 5G coverage throughout the UK with an aim for complete coverage by 2028. Currently more than half of the country has access to 5G, and this may broaden the possibilities for apps. With much larger capacity, there is the potential for 5G devices to go further in virtual reality experiences or run far more complex games.

We have collected data and statistics on the UK mobile app market. Read on below to find out more.

Key UK App Market Statistics

• The UK app market earned $3.8 billion in revenue in 2022
• Apps were downloaded 2.2 billion times by users in the UK in 2022
• Disney+ was the most lucrative app in the UK last year, generating $46 million
• TikTok was the most downloaded app in the UK in 2022 with 17 million downloads
• There were 54.8 million UK smartphone users in 2020, 81.2 percent of the total population

UK App Market Revenue

App revenue in the UK fell from $4.2 billion in 2021 to $3.8 billion the following year, but remained above pre-pandemic levels.

UK app market annual revenue 2016 to 2022 ($bn)

UK consumer spend per user 2017 to 2022 ($)

UK App Market Revenue by App

Streaming service Disney+ earned $46 million in 2022. The games sector also earned significant revenue, with Roblox and Coin Master generating $39 and $37 billion respectively.

UK revenue by app 2022 ($mm)

Sources: AppMagic, Sensor Tower

UK Smartphone Users

The number of smartphone users in the UK has remained relatively stable in the past 5 years, rising slightly from 54.7 million in 2018 to 54.8 million last year.

Annual UK smartphone users 2017 to 2022 (mm)

UK Smartphone Population

Around four-fifths of the UK population uses smartphones – 82.9% in 2019 falling to 81.2% in 2022.

UK population smartphone usage 2016 to 2022 (%)

UK App Market Downloads

Apps were downloaded 2.2 billion times in 2022. This represents a decrease of 200 million from 2020.

UK app downloads 2020 to 2022 (bn)

UK Downloads by App

TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2022 in the UK, at 17 million downloads. After two years at the top, the NHS App fell to fourth place as travel rules relaxed.

UK downloads by app 2022 (mm)

Source: AppMagic