U.S. iPhone users spent an average of about $53.80 on mobile games in 2019, according to a new report from Sensor Tower. That is up 22% from 2018.
The average for all app spending reached $100 in 2019. Games makes up the largest segment of that, representing 54%. The growth for game spending was about the same as it was from 2017 to 2018, which also saw a 22% increase. Growth has been steady for awhile, with average spending in 2015 sitting at $23 in 2015.
Free-to-play games earn the vast majority of that spending at 99%. Candy Crush Saga is tops among free games, while Minecraft makes the most among the premium titles.
While gaming is healthy, the Photo & Video category (which includes things like YouTube and the photo editor PicsArt) actually eclipsed it in terms of growth. The average iPhone user in the U.S. spends less on these apps than games, about $6.30 each, in 2019. But this represents a massive 75% increase from 2018.
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Above: App spending by category.
This data does not include money spent on rideshare apps like Uber or commerce apps like Amazon. It only represents purchases handled through the the App Store.
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