The pendulum swung in 2022 with app downloads stagnating, after two years of solid growth under the pandemic. In 2023, some categories saw growth while others continued to stagnate, as users shifted their interests and preferences to a “post-Covid” world.
The five most downloaded apps mirrored the previous year, although Instagram surpassed TikTok in total downloads for 2023. Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp came in third and fourth, with TikTok’s video editing app CapCut rounding out the top five.
Temu broke into the top 10 off the back of huge interest in North America and Europe, with it being the most downloaded app in over 20 countries in 2023. WhatsApp Business, a popular app in India and South America, also broke into the top 10 this year.
Games saw less downloads overall in 2023, with the industry struggling to reach the heights of the pandemic. No game made it into the top 10 most downloaded this year, with Subway Surfers and Stumble Guys falling out the chart.
Apps had a better time, especially some sectors such as artificial intelligence, shopping, and subscription services.
We have collected data and statistics on the most popular apps by country and by category. Read on below to find out more.
Most Popular Apps Key Statistics
- Instagram was the most downloaded app globally in 2023, with 696 million downloads
- Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game in 2023, with 218 million downloads
- Temu was the most downloaded app in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Italy in 2023
- Four of the ten most downloaded apps of 2023 were published by Meta
App Data Report 2024
Want to learn all about the app industry? Our App Data Report covers revenues, downloads, and number of apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play, alongside the top grossing and most downloaded individual apps.
Most Popular Apps by Country
In this section, we take a look at the most popular apps in each country. We cover global, Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Most Popular Apps 2023
Instagram was the most downloaded app of 2023 with 696 million downloads. TikTok, which was the most downloaded the three previous years, had 654 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 696 | |
| TikTok | 654 |
| 553 | |
| 475 | |
| CapCut | 389 |
| Telegram | 355 |
| Snapchat | 343 |
| Temu | 274 |
| WhatsApp Business | 267 |
| Spotify | 248 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in United States 2023
Ecommerce app Temu was the most downloaded app in the United States, with over 100 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 103 |
| TikTok | 52 |
| CapCut | 42 |
| 37 | |
| Shein | 35 |
| Monopoly Go | 33 |
| 32 | |
| HBO Max | 29 |
| 27 | |
| Telegram | 26 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in United Kingdom 2023
Temu was the most downloaded app in the United Kingdom as well, with 15 million downloads. Tesco shot up the rankings as well, after tying Clubcard to all in-store offers.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 15 |
| Tesco | 11 |
| Vinted | 8 |
| TikTok | 7 |
| Shein | 6.7 |
| 6.6 | |
| CapCut | 6.6 |
| Microsoft Authenticator | 5.5 |
| 5.1 | |
| Monopoly Go | 5.1 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in China 2023
Superapp WeChat is the only app in China with over one billion users. Alibaba’s payment solution AliPay is second with 903 million users and its ecommerce platform Taobao is third with 795 million users.
| Apps | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 1012.4 | |
| Alipay | 901 |
| Taobao | 795.2 |
| Pinduoduo | 728.2 |
| Douyin | 694.9 |
| 583.2 | |
| Baidu Map | 538.8 |
| Baidu | 490.6 |
| Kuaishou | 480.3 |
| iQIYI | 470.5 |
Note: Only covers Android MAUs. Source: AppInChina
Most Popular Apps in India 2023
Instagram was far ahead of all other apps in India in total downloads, at 245 million. Snapchat and Facebook vied for second with 137 million downloads each.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 245 | |
| Snapchat | 137.3 |
| 137 | |
| Meesho | 122 |
| 112 | |
| JioCinema | 111 |
| Flipkart | 109 |
| PhonePe | 106 |
| Ludo King | 101 |
| WhatsApp Business | 97 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in Brazil 2023
Shein has been embraced fully by Brazilian mobile users as the fashion retailer of choice. TikTok and Instagram are competing heavily for the short-video market.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Shein | 49 |
| TikTok | 48.9 |
| 48.6 | |
| gov.br | 45 |
| NuBank | 37 |
| CapCut | 33.8 |
| Shopee | 33.7 |
| Mercado Libre | 32 |
| 31 | |
| Roblox | 23 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in Germany 2023
Temu was the most downloaded app in Germany with 13 million downloads. TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram were closely tied for second.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 13 |
| TikTok | 7.7 |
| 7.4 | |
| 7.3 | |
| Shein | 6 |
| Telegram | 5.8 |
| CapCut | 5.2 |
| PayPal | 5 |
| ChatGPT | 5 |
| Kleinanzeigen | 4 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in France 2023
Like most other European countries, Temu was the most downloaded app in France in 2023.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 12 |
| TikTok | 8 |
| 7 | |
| Shein | 6.5 |
| Monopoly Go | 6.4 |
| CapCut | 6.3 |
| Telegram | 6.3 |
| 6 | |
| Snapchat | 5 |
| Waze | 4 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in Italy 2023
Italy follows the same trend of other European countries with Temu as the most downloaded app of 2023 in the country.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 9 |
| Shein | 6 |
| TikTok | 5 |
| CapCut | 4.3 |
| Monopoly Go | 4.2 |
| Vinted | 4 |
| Telegram | 3.6 |
| 3.6 | |
| 3.5 | |
| CieID | 3.5 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in Spain 2023
Spain had a few of its homebrewed apps reach the top 10, including Cl@ve, Miravia, and Wallapop.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 9 |
| Shein | 6.7 |
| TikTok | 6 |
| Cl@ve | 4.5 |
| CapCut | 4.4 |
| 3.9 | |
| Telegram | 3.8 |
| Miravia | 3.7 |
| Spotify | 3.2 |
| Wallapop | 3.1 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps in Canada 2023
Outside of the usual top four, Canada is unique in its business tool usage, with Microsoft Authenticator, Teams, and ChatGPT all hitting the top 10.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Temu | 7 |
| TikTok | 5 |
| 3 | |
| Shein | 2.9 |
| Microsoft Authenticator | 2.8 |
| ChatGPT | 2.6 |
| 2.6 | |
| Microsoft Teams | 2.5 |
| Uber | 2.4 |
| Amazon Prime Video | 2.4 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular App by Platform
In this section, we will cover the most popular apps on the two most popular mobile app stores: iOS and Google Play.
Most Popular iOS Apps 2023
TikTok’s video editing app, CapCut, was the most downloaded iOS app in 2023, with 140 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| CapCut | 140 |
| Temu | 132 |
| TikTok | 128 |
| YouTube | 121 |
| 119 | |
| 118 | |
| Google Maps | 117 |
| WhatApp | 113 |
| Gmail | 95 |
| Telegram | 88 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Google Play Apps 2023
Instagram’s dominance in the Indian market propelled it ahead of TikTok in total downloads. Facebook also edged out TikTok for second place.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 521 | |
| 469 | |
| TikTok | 460 |
| 363 | |
| Snapchat | 282 |
| Telegram | 269 |
| CapCut | 249 |
| WhatsApp Business | 238 |
| Spotify | 193 |
| Subway Surfers | 181 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular App by Category
In this section, we take a look at the ten most popular apps of the year by app category. All values are global unless stated otherwise.
Most Popular Games 2023
Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game for another year running, with 218 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 218 |
| Roblox | 198 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 149 |
| Ludo King | 143 |
| Royal Match | 140 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 129 |
| Block Blast 3D | 127.8 |
| Free Fire | 127.6 |
| My Talking Tom 2 | 111 |
| EA Sports FC | 108 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Social Apps 2023
Instagram was the most popular social app in 2023 with 696 million downloads, followed by TikTok with 654 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 696 | |
| TikTok | 654 |
| 553 | |
| 475 | |
| Telegram | 335 |
| Facebook Messenger | 234 |
| 173 | |
| Threads | 151 |
| X | 142 |
| Discord | 96 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Business Apps 2023
WhatsApp Business was the most downloaded business app in 2023, beating out Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The majority of its downloads are from India.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business | 267 |
| Zoom | 149 |
| Microsoft Teams | 105 |
| Microsoft Authenticator | 73 |
| Google Meet | 69 |
| 66 | |
| Indeed Job Search | 39 |
| Uber - Driver | 33.8 |
| Adobe Scan PDF | 33.6 |
| GlowRoad | 31 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Entertainment Apps 2023
Netflix was the most downloaded entertainment app of 2023, with 169 million downloads. YouTube Kids came second, with 131 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Netflix | 169 |
| YouTube Kids | 131 |
| Amazon Prime Video | 128 |
| JioCinema | 111 |
| Disney+ | 103 |
| Disney+ Hotstar | 73 |
| MX Player | 70 |
| Pluto TV | 56 |
| Twitch | 48 |
| HBO Max | 42 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Music & Audio Apps 2023
Spotify continues to hold the top spot by some margin, although it should be noted that Apple Music is preinstalled on all iOS devices and YouTube on almost all Android devices.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Spotify | 248 |
| StarMaker | 71 |
| YouTube Music | 65 |
| Wynk Music | 60 |
| Shazam | 58 |
| Lark Player | 53 |
| JioSaavn | 52 |
| DDMusic | 42 |
| PocketFM | 41 |
| Amazon Music | 36 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Shopping Apps 2023
Shein accelerated ahead of Shopee and Meesho in 2023 with 277 million downloads, but a new challenger, Temu, climbed to second with 235 million downloads.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Shein | 277 |
| Temu | 235 |
| Shopee | 129.9 |
| Amazon | 129.5 |
| Meesho | 122 |
| Flipkart | 111 |
| Shopsy | 94 |
| AliExpress | 90 |
| Alibaba | 88 |
| Mercado Libre | 72 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Food & Drink Apps 2023
McDonalds remained the most downloaded food & drink app of 2023, with 92 million downloads across all its regional apps. Indian food delivery app Zomato came in second.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| McDonalds | 92 |
| Zomato | 43 |
| Uber Eats | 41 |
| Meituan | 37 |
| Swiggy | 31 |
| DoorDash | 25 |
| Dominos | 23 |
| Too Good To Go | 22 |
| Ele.me | 19 |
| foodpanda | 18 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Travel Apps 2023
Google Maps and Uber retained their positions at 1st and 2nd, with 125 million and 115 million downloads, respectively.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Google Maps | 125 |
| Uber | 115 |
| Booking | 73 |
| Where is my Train | 69 |
| Waze | 62 |
| inDrive | 59 |
| Airbnb | 56 |
| Google Earth | 44 |
| Railway 12306 | 43 |
| Moovit | 38 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Education Apps 2023
Duolingo continues to tower above all other education apps, with triple the downloads of the second place app Brainly.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Duolingo | 148 |
| Brainly | 46 |
| Photomath | 39 |
| Baby Panda's School Bus | 34 |
| Google Classroom | 28.9 |
| Baby Panda World - BabyBus | 28.7 |
| Coloring Games | 28.3 |
| PictureThis | 20 |
| Kahoot! | 17.8 |
| Aha World | 17.5 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Dating Apps 2023
Tinder remains the most popular dating app worldwide with 55 million downloads. LitMatch has seen its downloads rise significantly in Southeast Asia in 2023.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Tinder | 55 |
| LitMatch | 34 |
| Bumble | 30 |
| Badoo | 23 |
| SweetMeet | 22 |
| Omi | 18 |
| FRND | 16 |
| TanTan | 14 |
| Hinge | 14 |
| happn | 10 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Health & Fitness Apps 2023
India has become a brightspot for smartwatch and fitness tracker sales, so it’s no surprise that influence is starting to be seen with app downloads. Both fitpro and Da Fit saw a majority of their downloads come from India.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| fitpro | 45 |
| Flo | 37 |
| Da Fit | 36 |
| Home Workout - No Equipment | 27 |
| Blood Pressure App | 23.8 |
| Sweatcoin | 23.7 |
| Impulse - Brain Training | 22 |
| Mi Fitness | 21 |
| Period Calendar Tracker App | 19 |
| Strava | 18 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Finance Apps 2023
The three most popular finance apps saw most of their downloads come from India, where UPI has created huge interest and competition in the mobile payments market.
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| PhonePe | 108 |
| Google Pay | 76.9 |
| Paytm | 76.3 |
| PayPal | 67 |
| Airtel Thanks | 57 |
| AliPay | 42 |
| NuBank | 36 |
| Google Wallet | 34 |
| Binance | 32 |
| Mercado Pago | 28 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Most Popular Apps of Previous Years
We have collected statistics of the most downloaded apps and games of previous years as well.
Most Popular Apps (2022)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 672 |
| 548 | |
| 449 | |
| 424 | |
| CapCut | 357 |
| Snapchat | 330 |
| Telegram | 310 |
| Subway Surfers | 304 |
| Stumble Guys | 254 |
| Spotify | 238 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games (2022)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 304 |
| Stumble Guys | 254 |
| Roblox | 208 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 138 |
| Race Master 3D | 128 |
| 8 Ball Pool | 120 |
| FIFA Mobile | 111 |
| Merge & Fight | 110 |
| Garena Free Fire | 109 |
| Bridge Race | 107 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Apps (2021)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 656 |
| 545 | |
| 416 | |
| 395 | |
| Telegram | 329 |
| Snapchat | 327 |
| Zoom | 300 |
| Messenger | 268 |
| CapCut | 255 |
| Spotify | 203 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games (2021)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Subway Surfers | 191 |
| Roblox | 182 |
| Bridge Race | 169 |
| Garena Free Fire | 154 |
| Among Us | 152 |
| Hair Challenge | 138 |
| Join Clash | 136 |
| 8Ball Pool | 130 |
| Ludo King | 125 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 119 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Apps (2020)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 850 |
| 600 | |
| 540 | |
| 503 | |
| Zoom | 477 |
| Messenger | 404 |
| Snapchat | 281 |
| Telegram | 256 |
| Google Meet | 254 |
| Netflix | 223 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Games (2020)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Among Us | 264 |
| Subway Surfers | 227 |
| Garena Free Fire | 218 |
| PUBG Mobile | 175 |
| Roblox | 171 |
| Hair Challenge | 158 |
| Join Clash | 155 |
| 8Ball Pool | 151 |
| Ludo King | 149 |
| Candy Crush Saga | 138 |
Source: Apptopia
Most Popular Apps (2019)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 769 | |
| TikTok | 727 |
| Messenger | 723 |
| 682 | |
| 438 | |
| Likee | 327 |
| SHAREit | 321 |
| Snapchat | 275 |
| Spotify | 226 |
| Netflix | 225 |
Source: AppMagic
Most Popular Games (2019)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| Garena Free Fire | 327 |
| PUBG Mobile | 268 |
| Subway Surfers | 227 |
| Fun Race 3D | 210 |
| Color Bump 3D | 205 |
| My Talking Tom 2 | 162 |
| Run Race 3D | 158 |
| Sand Balls | 154 |
| Homescapes | 153 |
| Stack Ball | 152 |
Source: AppMagic
