App Store Sales Saw Unprecedented Growth in 2020, Grossing Over $64 Billion

Apple's App Store saw unprecedented growth in 2020, grossing more than $64 billion in sales, according to a report by CNBC.

app store blue banner

The figure is up from an estimated $50 billion in 2019 and $48.5 billion in 2018. This is a significant growth of 28 percent in 2020, compared to growth of just 3.1 percent in 2019.

Apple does not disclose how much revenue its ‌App Store‌ makes every year, but it has released data points every January since 2013 that include the total Apple has paid to developers since the start of the ‌App Store‌ in 2008. ‌App Store‌ revenue is reported as part of Apple's Services division, which reported sales of $53.7 billion at the end of Apple's 2020 fiscal year, which ended in September.

According to an Apple press release from earlier this week, the company has paid developers $200 billion since 2008. This is up $45 billion from the figure that was announced in January 2020. Equal to 70 percent of ‌App Store‌ sales, allowing for Apple's 30 percent cut of digital sales, the ‌App Store‌ grossed around $64 billion last year.

Prior to this information being available, the analytics firm Sensor Tower calculated that ‌App Store‌ spending reached around $72 billion in 2020 and the majority of spending across all app stores occurs on Apple's ‌App Store‌, with about 70 percent of sales.

The ‌App Store‌ is a core area of growth for the company, and Apple recently announced that New Year's Day saw a new single-day spending record of over $540 million.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1

Monday September 22, 2025 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The new betas are the first updates to the iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS releases that came out last week. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going...

Top Rated Comments

-DMN- Avatar
62 months ago
That’ll happen when you’re forced to sit at home all day.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
62 months ago
this is what happens when Apple goes the extra mile in App Review, strict guidelines, and free developer resources.

these things cost extra money to do. Apple deserves their cut.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
62 months ago
The App Store app has given me anxiety for years now. Just the new layouts alone drive me nuts. Thankfully now apps update on their own. No need to even open the app unless I must download something new, which again has not happened for a long long time.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bawstun Avatar
62 months ago

Normally, I’m a pretty calm individual. Something about the App Store drives me crazy. Hate it.
It’s their horribly confusing user-interface. They couldn’t make a more unintuitive app if they tried. Actually, Apple Music may actually be worse, so I take that back. But their developers really suck as of late. Horrible design choices internally...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
62 months ago

Have you tried Yoga? It really helps reduce stress and anxiety
Normally, I’m a pretty calm individual. Something about the App Store drives me crazy. Hate it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Red Oak Avatar
62 months ago
CNBC is wrong. They assume Apple’s take is 30% for all App revenue. A meaningful and growing % is at 15%

So, the total gross generated by the App Stire is well over $70 billion
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)