It's only right to be wary of third-party statistics, but when two different research firms come up with largely the same findings, chances are their conclusions have merit.

Analytics firm Mobclix is the latest to suggest Android is swamped by free apps.

The company's statistics from its most recent report compare the multitude of marketplaces available on respective OSs.

What adds weight to Mobclix's conclusions is that they're largely all in line with those delivered in rival Distimo's findings for December and January.

 

The free market

Both parties state that free apps outnumber paid apps on Android to similar degrees – Mobclix suggesting 60 percent of Android apps don't charge, Distimo slightly less on 57 percent.

The two bodies also have a similar view on Android's rivals. Just 20 percent of apps are free on the App Store, according to Mobclix data, which is not far off Distimo's figure of 25 percent. 

The two sets of statistics help highlight the stark differences on that score between the two marketplaces – indeed, Android is the only store across the board surveyed by both parties which has a free app bias.

All others, from Windows Mobile to BlackBerry, have a severe weighting towards paid for apps according to Mobclix and Distimo.

Paying their way

However, perhaps due to the comparative lack of free apps, both parties draw similar conclusions when it comes to the average price of apps that do charge.

Distimo said back in its December report that the App Store average comes in at around $3.50. Mobclix has this figure at $3.37, the firm concluding Android apps are a little dearer at $4.10.

Mobclix's data is gathered from its ad exchange, which handles over 6,500 publishers. The company also recently claimed it has served over 3.5 billion ad impressions.

The firm's slideshow, which summarises its latest findings, can currently be viewed for free at Slideshare.

[source: MobileCrunch]