Tinder beats YouTube, Netflix to become highest earning non-game app
What's the story
Tinder has beaten popular services like Netflix and YouTube to become the highest grossing non-game app in the first half of 2019, according to the latest figures from Sensor Tower. The dating app has beaten the streaming giants by generating an estimated $497 million revenue across Google Play Store and App Store. Here's more on the report.
Growing popularity
From last year, Tinder made 32% more revenue
In comparison to the first half of last year, Tinder subscribers have spent around 32% more this year to reach an estimated user spending of $497 million. On the other hand, Netflix came second by amassing a user spend of around $399 million globally. In the same index, Tencent Video managed to take the third spot while YouTube took the fifth spot.
Reasons
Fall of Netflix, rise of Tinder
Notably, Netflix was the highest earning non-game app last year. However, the in-app revenue of the streaming platform has declined after its decision to remove subscriptions from the App Store. By contrast, Tinder's popularity has grown manifolds in the US, Brazil, and India. It currently has about 3 million subscribers on its paid platform called Tinder Gold.
Top category
Here's a look at worldwide mobile game revenue and downloads
Evidently, mobile game spending was up by 11.3% from last year, reaching an estimated $29.6 billion across Android and iOS stores. Tencent's 'Honor of Kings' continued to remain the highest grossing mobile game globally with more than $728 million in-app spendings. 'Fate/Grand Order' from Sony Aniplex moved from the third spot to second while 'Candy Crush Saga' and 'PUBG Mobile' ranked fourth and fifth.
Revenue
Apple App Store spends outnumber the purchases made on Android
Separately, as per the Sensor Tower data, iOS users spent $25.5 billion on in-app purchases while Google Play Store accounted for $14.2 billion in app spends. The combined revenue generated by both app stores during the first half of 2019 was 15.4% more than the $34.4 billion consumers spent in the same period last year.