TikTok breaks record for most profitable app on App Store and Google Play in Q3

TikTok just broke a new record by becoming the world’s most profitable app in Q3 2022. The Chinese short-form video hosting service has continued to make waves with a growing user base around the world.

The social networking platform is wowing users with built-in recording and editing capabilities. These features make it easier for content creators to record, edit and publish content. In fact, the app has enabled many users to become successful content creators without any prior knowledge or experience in video editing.

TikTok breaks records again in the third quarter

A report from Sensor Tower has revealed that TikTok is once again the highest revenue generating app in 2022. The app generated the most quarterly revenue for the fourth consecutive quarter. The report states that TikTok generated about $914.4 million in consumer spending in the third quarter. The latest quarterly figure brings the app’s lifetime total to about $6.3 billion. It has become the number one non-gaming revenue-generating app in Apple’s App Store.

In contrast, it was second on Google Play, after Google One. Notably, the revenue data that TikTok amassed in the third quarter includes its Chinese version Douyin. So, technically, the Q3 2022 revenue is for both TikTok and Douyin. Douyin topped the list of the world’s most valuable unicorns in the first half of 2022.

TikTok achieved this result despite reduced consumer spending on mobile apps in the third quarter. Global consumer spending on mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play fell in the third quarter. They fell nearly 5 percent from a year earlier to $31.6 billion.

App Store vs. Google Play

Apple’s App Store was the largest contributor to consumer spending in Q3. The App Store generated $21.2 billion, more than X2 compared to Google Play, which recorded $10.4 billion. However, the numbers are lower than the same quarter last year. While the App Store brought in $21.7 billion in consumer spending in Q3 2021, Google Play recorded $11.5 billion. These numbers represent a 2.3 percent decline for Apple’s App Store platform and a 9.6 percent decline for the Android app market.

In addition, consumers are starting to spend less on games, down 12.7 percent year over year to $19.3 billion. Spending on games remained weak in both Apple and Google’s app markets. The App Store was down 9.8 percent year over year to $11.9 billion, and Google Play was down 16.9 percent year over year to $16.9 billion. While some apps did not perform well in the third quarter, TikTok was the most downloaded non-gaming app. It was the most downloaded non-app with about 196.5 million installs.