Mobile apps have become a part of our everyday lives. There are apps for everything from exercise to learning languages to apps that help you keep up to date with your friends and family and apps that help you navigate the world. New apps are being developed constantly and over 1,000 apps are released on Google Play every day.
In this article, we have collated interesting statistics on mobile apps in Canada. You will find information such as how much time Canadians are spending on apps and what are the most popular apps in the country among other fascinating statistics about mobile apps in Canada.
Mobile App Usage Statistics for Canadians
- The mobile app market in Canada was valued at approximately $3 billion in 2024.
- On average, Canadians spend 4.6 hours each day using mobile apps.
- Over the year, the collective use of mobile apps is almost 20 billion hours.
- 96% of Canadian millennials use mobile apps every day.
- Nearly 50% of users open apps more than ten times per day.
- The average spent on mobile apps is around $100 per person.
- The Disney+ app generated the most money in 2024 in Canada.
- Since 2021, Canadians have downloaded over one billion apps per year.
- Temu was the most downloaded app of 2024.
- Social networking apps are the most popular type of apps in Canada, reaching around 90% of the population.
The Mobile App Market in Canada
In 2024, the mobile app market in Canada generated approximately $3.0 billion in revenue, which was around a $200 million increase compared to the previous year. Compared to pre-pandemic times, the market size has almost doubled since it was $1.6 billion in 2019.
As the pandemic forced people to stay at home in 2020, the mobile app market size jumped to $2.2 billion. It had a further sharp increase to $2.7 billion in 2021. When restrictions were eased in 2022, the market fell slightly to $2.6 billion, but recovered again in 2023 and continued to grow into 2024.
Canadians Spend Over 4 Hours Per Day on Mobile Apps
Canada has one of the highest smartphone ownerships in the world and in 2024, around 32 million Canadians were using smartphones compared to just over 20 million in 2015. In 2024, approximately 82% of Canadians were active smartphone users. One of the benefits of smartphones is that they come with a wide choice of apps on the App Store or Google Play, with the number of apps increasing daily. For example, on an average day, around 1,100 new apps are released on Google Play.
Most people use mobile apps every day without sparing much thought for how long they are spending on the apps. On average Canadians spend around 4.6 hours per day on mobile apps. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians were spending approximately 3.1 hours per day on mobile apps, showing that the pandemic was instrumental in the increased usage of mobile apps.
Canadians Spend Over 20 Billion Hours Per Year on Mobile Apps
Considering that the average Canadian spends around 4.6 hours on mobile apps per day, it is not surprising that the total hours add up to billions. In 2024, Canadians spent just over 20 billion hours using mobile apps.
This represents continued growth from previous years: in 2023, Canadians spent approximately 19 billion hours using mobile apps, while in 2022 the total was around 15.8 billion hours. Compared to 2019, the time has almost doubled from approximately 12.4 billion hours.
Mobile App User Age Demographics
While there are mobile app users in all age groups in Canada, younger age groups use apps more and spend more time on them. Canadians aged between 18 and 34 have the highest usage rates. Approximately 96% of Canadians in this age group use mobile apps daily, with the most popular app categories being social media and entertainment.
Around 90% of adults aged 35 to 54 use mobile apps every day. The most popular app types for this age group are e-commerce and productivity apps. Around 70% of Canadians aged 55 and older use mobile apps every day and they are most likely to use communication and news apps.
Almost Half of App Users Open Apps More Than Ten Times Per Day
The average smartphone user uses around 10 apps per day and approximately 30–35 apps per month. Just under 50% of users open at least one app 11 times or more per day. Millennials use apps more than other age groups, with around 22% of the generation opening an app over 50 times per day.
The Average Canadian Spends Nearly $100 on Apps
There are different ways apps can generate money, including in-app advertising and subscriptions. For example, free versions of apps will often feature adverts and you can pay to use the app ad free. Another example is apps that may offer standard features for free, while subscribers will have access to enhanced features.
Since 2019, the amount Canadians spend on mobile apps has increased every year except between 2021 and 2022, when the return to normal after the COVID-19 restrictions impacted the market. However, in 2024, Canadians spent the highest amount yet on mobile apps, with the average person spending approximately $95 on apps compared to approximately $55 in 2019.
The Disney+ App Generated the Most Money in 2024
While Disney+ might not be the most downloaded app in Canada, it was the top-grossing app in 2024. During that year, the app generated approximately $40 million in revenue. It was followed by Candy Crush Saga with around $35 million and Roblox with approximately $30 million.
After experiencing revenue volatility in previous years, TikTok remained among the top revenue-generating apps, with revenues of around $30 million in 2024. However, it still had one of the highest revenues in Canada in 2024. The fifth biggest app based on revenue was Tinder, which generated approximately $26 million.
Over One Billion App Downloads in 2024
In Canada, smartphone users downloaded approximately 1.3 billion apps in 2024. This was an increase of around 0.07 billion compared to 2023, when about 1.23 billion apps were downloaded. The number of yearly app downloads has increased rapidly in five years. In 2019, Canadians downloaded approximately 771 million apps. The first time the number of downloaded apps reached the one billion mark was in 2021.
If we break the total number down to per-user statistics, the average Canadian downloaded around 42 apps in 2024. Again there has been a sharp increase in the number of per-person downloads. In 2019, the average number of mobile app downloads was 24 per person.
Temu Is the Most Downloaded App in Canada
In 2024, the shopping app Temu was the most downloaded mobile app in Canada with approximately 7.5 million downloads. Despite ongoing scrutiny, TikTok was the second most downloaded app with around 5.2 million downloads. The top five were completed with WhatsApp, Shein, and Microsoft Authenticator, which had approximately 3.2 million, 3.0 million, and 2.9 million downloads respectively.
Other mobile apps with over 2 million downloads included ChatGPT and Instagram, both with around 2.7 million downloads, Microsoft Teams with approximately 2.6 million, and Uber and Amazon Prime Video with around 2.5 million downloads each.
Social Networking Apps Are the Most Popular App Category
Considering the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok just to name a few, it can be expected that social networking apps are the most popular app category in Canada. In 2024, according to Statista, social networking apps had a reach of around 90% in Canada.
The next most popular app category was chat and messenger apps with approximately 86% reach. Entertainment and video apps came next with a reach of around 74%. It was followed by maps and shopping apps with approximately 71% and around 63% reach, respectively.
Global Mobile App Statistics
Each year, approximately 255 billion mobile apps are downloaded worldwide. Globally, mobile games are the most popular app type with about 110 billion annual downloads. On average, around 270 million apps are downloaded each day, with the number increasing rapidly.
By 2028, the global mobile app market is predicted to reach approximately $800 billion in revenue, and the growth rate is predicted to be around 8–9% between 2023 and 2028. Around 90% of internet time is spent on mobile apps.
Approximately 96% of apps on the App Store offer a free tier, while around 4% have no free versions and need to be purchased to use. On Google Play, about 3% of apps are paid apps, while around 97% of apps have a free version available.
App Development Statistics
New apps are developed at an astonishing speed. For example, in early 2024, around 50,000 new apps were added to the Google Play Store and approximately 38,000 to Apple’s App Store in a single month. In total, there are around 1.9 million apps available on the App Store and approximately 3.3 million apps on the Play Store.
App Retention Rates
In addition to revenue, retention rates are a key way to measure how successful an app is. Media and entertainment apps have the highest retention rates with around 45% retention after 30 days and approximately 26% after 90 days. E-commerce apps have the second highest retention rates with around 38% and 19%, and travel and lifestyle apps the third highest with approximately 36% and 18%.
Even though gaming is the most popular category globally, it has one of the lowest retention rates with around 26% and 10%. However, social media apps have the worst retention rate at around 1.5% after 30 days. In general, around 25% of users delete an app within the first day of downloading it and over 70% delete it within the first 30 days.
Predictions for the Mobile App Market
It is likely that mobile app developers will develop even more apps that feature augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) features. Apps with AR and VR features are expected to see higher adoption rates, especially in the education, gaming, retail, and property sectors.
There has also been increasing interest in apps promoting ethical consumerism and sustainability. This is expected to continue with more user looking for apps that align with their environmental and ethical values.
Finally, the 5G technology is predicted to increase the usage of mobile apps further. As 5G provides users with faster speeds and better connectivity, it can provide better user experiences. Faster speeds also enable more sophisticated app functions.
Conclusion
In a very short time, mobile apps have become an integral part of our lives with the majority of Canadians opening apps at least once every day. Canadians spend nearly 20 billion hours per year using mobile apps with the most popular categories including social networking, chat, entertainment, map, and shopping apps.
The popularity of apps has been growing in most years in 2019 and with over 1,000 new apps released each day, it is likely that mobile app usage will continue to increase. Further developments are likely to include the use of 5G technology to improve user experience and increased adoption of virtual and augmented reality apps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do apps make money?
There are many different ways apps can make money. Some of the common ways apps make money include in-app advertising, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and sponsored content. Some apps may also sell data and conduct market research to generate income.
How much money can you make with an app?
It is not really possible to answer this with a singe number as the amount of money apps make vary so much. For example, the top apps are making tens of thousands of dollars per day. On the other hand, new and less popular apps make far less. Some may only make a few dollars per day, while others fail to attract any paying users.
What are the most popular apps in Canada?
The most popular app category in Canada is social networking, which includes apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. In terms of downloads, Temu was the most popular app in 2023 with around seven million downloads.