- App Analytics firm App Annie released its list of apps where consumers spent the most money over the decade.
- Video and music streaming services dominated, with seven of the top ten spots.
- Consumers spent the most overall on Netflix, with Tinder in second place as the only dating app to make the list.
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What we spend money on reveals a lot about us, and apps are no exception. What we choose to download gives a picture of how we spend our time. Apps that are worth spending money on, then, are even more telling.
App Analytics firm App Annie put together a list of the ten apps with the most consumer spending over the decade. Video and music streaming made up more than half of the list, with Netflix as the top video platform, and Pandora as the top music platform. Chinese company Tencent also had a strong showing, with two different apps making an appearance.
Although many dating apps have come since, Tinder is still on top, at least in terms of spending. It was the only dating app to make the list.
Here are the top apps in consumer spending from the past ten years.
10. Chinese app Kwai is a platform where creators share videos about small-town life in China, and it has expanded to over a dozen countries including South Korea and Vietnam. Kwai is backed by Tencent, the world's largest gaming company, which also backs League of Legends, Fortnite, and other games. Consumers spent $700 million on the app over the decade.
Source: Markets Insider, Business Insider
9. HBO Now's inclusion on this list is unsurprising, with $800 million in consumer spending. HBO reportedly has around 8 million paying subscribers for popular shows like "Succession" and "Game of Thrones," which ended this year.
Source: Statista
8. YouTube came in at number 8, with $900 million spent this decade. The company now offers subscriptions to YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, which produces original content like "Cobra Kai."
Source: Business Insider
7. Consumers spent $900 million on Spotify, with its $10 per month premium subscription for streaming music. The company passed 100 million paid subscribers this year.
Source: Spotify
6. iQiyi is a TV and movie service operating in China, and it signed a licensing deal with Netflix in 2017. It passed $1.3 billion in consumer spending.
Source: Crunchbase, Mashable
6. LINE is a Japanese messaging app that started after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed much of the country's phone system. The app has only grown since, making it the number six entry at $1.5 billion.
Source: Business Insider
4. Tencent Video, another Tencent entry, is a Chinese video platform with paid subscriptions. It produces original content like "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace," and consumers spent $1.5 billion on the app this decade.
Source: Asia One
3. Pandora had the highest ranking for a music service. Even though Spotify passed it in revenue and downloads in 2015. Pandora came out of the decade with $1.5 billion in consumer spending.
Source: Business Insider
2. Users spent $2 billion on Tinder, which launched in 2012, more than on any other dating app this decade.
Source: Business Insider
1. Netflix, with hits like "Stranger Things" and "Orange is the New Black," has been popular throughout the decade, so it's no surprise it nabbed the top spot with $2.2 billion in consumer spending.
Source: Business Insider