Global mobile IAP revenue reached $43.6bn, up 5.3% year-on-year

• Mobile gaming downloads fell 12% year-on-year, while non-gaming downloads grew 6%.
• Africa recorded 18% year-on-year download growth.
• China added $519 million in year-on-year IAP revenue.
• Mexico's mobile IAP revenue grew 30% year-on-year.

Global mobile app in-app purchase revenue rose 5.3% year-on-year to $43.6 billion in Q2 2026 as worldwide app downloads remained broadly stable at 36.8bn.

That's according to Sensor Tower's latest Digital Market Index, which showed that growth in non-gaming apps helped offset a 12% year-on-year decline in mobile gaming downloads. 

Non-gaming downloads increased 6%, with Generative AI, Movies & TV Shows and other categories contributing to overall growth.

Beyond mobile, US digital advertising spend reached $49.4bn in Q2, up 15% year-on-year, while US retail media impressions fell 19% to 108bn.

Emerging markets grow

India remained the world's largest app market by downloads, reaching around 6.5bn installs in Q2, up 4% year-on-year. Indonesia ranked second among the highlighted markets with around 2.7bn downloads, down 0.2%.

India also added 251 million incremental installs year-on-year, followed by Indonesia with 47m. South Africa and Algeria added 39m and 36m respectively, with Africa recording 18% year-on-year download growth.

Mobile monetisation continued to shift toward international markets. The US remained the largest market despite a 3% year-on-year decline in IAP revenue, while China added $519m in yoy revenue. 

Meanwhile, the UK, Germany, Mexico and France added $216m, $145m, $140m and $139m respectively.

China reached $5.7bn in IAP revenue, up 10%, while the UK, Germany and France grew 14%, 9% and 15% respectively. Mexico recorded the fastest growth among the highlighted markets at 30%.

You can access the full report here.