Without context, the most downloaded apps of 2021 so far may look a bit surprising. 2020 certainly saw its fair share of curve balls. Just about every industry and sector was impacted by the year’s events, including app downloads and this of course has carried over into 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on the most popular apps of the year. But, marketing hasn’t stopped, and if you want to continue your mobile marketing campaigns, it's important to understand which apps are dominating the market. In order to optimize campaigns, it is essential to know what your target audience's online behavior is and what are the best channels to connect with them.
Let’s take a look at the current most downloaded apps of 2021 in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Keep in mind that certain apps that are growing fast (like Clubhouse) are not on this list because they are only for iPhone users and therefore not as widely downloaded:
- TikTok - It’s no surprise that TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps of 2021. By April of last year, the app had amassed over 2 billion downloads overall globally.
- Facebook - Facebook is consistently in the top 10 Apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. According to Statista, it is the most popular app publisher world wide, based on downloads.
- Instagram - Rounding out the Facebook family is Instagram. This photo and video sharing app is one of the most popular apps among Gen Z and Millennials.
- WhatsApp - Speaking of keeping in touch, a fair share of social media apps also experienced continued downloads in 2021. WhatsApp has approximately 2 billion users globally.
- Telegram - Another popular messaging app is Telegram, a free app with about 500 million active monthly users,which can be used to send photos, videos, and different types of documents in addition to regular messages.
- Moj - A number of Chinese apps, such as TikTok are banned in India so others have been created to fill the void. Moj is a great example of this. It has over 80 million active monthly users who spend an average of 34 minutes on the app every day.
- Zoom - This app, along with a few video conferencing apps, was definitely one of the most successful apps of the past year. In April 2020, Zoom reported over 300 million daily participants and the app featured 38 million downloads in January 2021 alone.
- Snapchat - Snapchat has been downloaded well over 200 million times and is especially popular with a young demographic of people 34 and under, particularly in the United States.
- Messenger - Like WhatsApp and Facebook itself, Facebook Messenger is another heavy hitter and consistent favorite in the app store. Unlike WhatsApp, Messenger is very popular in the United States and is expected to reach 2.4 billion users in 2021.
- MX TakaTak - Like Moj, MX TakaTak is another video sharing app from India that lets you can create your own videos, see what's trending at a given time, and search for videos on topics that interest you.
Top 10 Apps By Downloads And Revenue Q2 2021
Tiktok was the most-downloaded app in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2021, while YouTube was the app with the most revenue. But YouTube and HBO Max share a unique distinction: both are the only apps on both the most-downloaded and the highest-earning top lists.
App Annie released its quarterly app trends report today with the top apps in the U.S. and globally.
The top 10 apps by downloads, as usual, were dominated by Facebook, with three apps in the top 10:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- HBO Max
- Facebook Messenger
- Snapchat
- ZOOM Cloud Meetings
- Cash App
- Netflix
Top 10 Most Downloaded Apps In The World 2021
- TikTok - TikTok is the most downloaded app in 2021. According to Sensortower, people downloaded TikTok 68 million times in January 2021. Overall the app has been downloaded more than 2 Billion times. The global lockdown also helped TikTok to be the most popular app of 2021. The app shows rapid growth since its arrival on the market.
- Facebook - When it comes to popularity no app will come close to Facebook. The app is ruling the charts for more than a decade now. Facebook is one of the most popular and downloaded apps of 2021. Facebook helps you to be in touch with your friends and family.
- Instagram - Instagram is another popular app that is ruling over the years. It has advanced features like stories, reels, IGTV, and Direct for chatting. The app enables you to socialize with the established followers by uploading media that can easily be edited with filters, organized by hashtags, and geographical tagging.
- Whatsapp - When it comes to messaging app no app can beat WhatsApp in terms of popularity and number of downloads. It is one of the most downloaded messaging apps of 2021. Other than individuals WhatsApp has also been used by businesses.
- Messenger - Facebook Messenger is another app that consistently making in the top 10 list in terms of downloads. It allows Facebook users to chat with their family and friends. The app is packed with features and is available on all major platforms. There are more than 1.3 billion Messenger users active globally. More than 20 billion messages are transferred between businesses and users on monthly basis.
- Snapchat - Snapchat is one of the most exciting apps of 2021. It remains in the top 10 list of most downloaded apps of 2021. It is a social app basically used for messaging applications.
- Zoom - Zoom is said to be one of its kind. It is trending on all major platforms around the world. The pandemic also boosted the growth of this app in the global market. This app is best for video conferencing and one of the most successful apps of 2021. According to the stats revealed the number of annual meeting minutes on Zoom is more than 3.3 trillion.
- Telegram - Telegram is another top application when it comes to messaging. It is one of the most popular and downloaded apps of 2021. The number of monthly active users recorded are more than 500 million in 2021.
- YouTube - When it comes to video, no app is more robust and explorable than YouTube. Youtube is known as the most popular video platform around the world. You will get all genres of videos available on this platform.
- Amazon - The Amazon e-commerce app does not need any introduction in this list. The app is available on all major platforms. Amazon is the highly-rated app in the e-commerce category. The app is also one of the most downloaded apps in 2021.
Top Apps Worldwide for July 2021 by Downloads
TikTok was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide for July 2021 with more than 63 million installs. The countries with the largest number intalls were from Douyin in China at 15%, followed by the United States at 9 percent. The full top 10 ranking of non-gaming apps worldwide by downloads for July 2021 is above. App download estimates are from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform.
Facebook was the second most installed non-gaming app worldwide last month with more than 53 million installs. The countries with the largest number of Facebook installs were from India at 27 percent, followed by the U.S. at 7 percent. Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp rounded out the top five most installed non-gaming apps worldwide for the month.
Want to see how the rankings compared to the previous month? Check out the Top Apps Worldwide for June 2021 by Downloads here.
