India’s app market is booming — but global platforms are capturing most of the gains

India’s mobile app marketplace is generating grounds revenue, with in-app purchases crossing $300 cardinal successful the archetypal quarter, up 33% year-over-year, according to Sensor Tower — but overmuch of that spending is flowing to planetary platforms.

Non-gaming apps were the main operator of maturation successful Q1, generating implicit $200 cardinal successful in-app acquisition gross — rising 44% year-over-year and expanding their stock of wide spending, Sensor Tower said successful its report. The gains were led by categories including utilities, video streaming, and generative AI.

The advancement reflects a broader displacement successful India’s app market, wherever yearly in-app acquisition gross has risen from $520 cardinal successful 2021 to more than $1 cardinal successful 2025 and is projected to scope $1.25 cardinal this year, per Sensor Tower. While downloads person stabilized astatine astir 25 cardinal a year, clip spent connected apps continues to grow, pointing to deeper engagement and a greater willingness among users to wage for integer services.

Much of India’s spending successful Q1 was captured by planetary platforms, with Google One, Facebook, ChatGPT, and YouTube among the apical earners. Domestic players were much salient successful video streaming, with JioHotstar and SonyLIV ranking highly. A akin signifier emerged successful downloads, wherever ChatGPT, Instagram, and the Chinese short-drama app FreeReels led the market, followed by Indian apps including Story TV, JioHotstar, and Meesho.

Image Credits:Sensor Tower

India’s app marketplace has matured connected the download side, but monetization is strengthening arsenic usage deepens and integer outgo habits go much embedded, Donny Kristianto, main marketplace insights manager astatine Sensor Tower, told TechCrunch.

Despite the gains, India remains a comparatively low-spending market, generating astir $0.03 successful gross per download, compared with much than $0.20 successful Southeast Asia and Latin America, Sensor Tower information shared with TechCrunch showed.

While newer categories are driving maturation successful India’s mobile app market, spending remains concentrated successful a fistful of mature segments, peculiarly productivity, societal media, and video streaming apps, which predominate the apical rankings. Video streaming unsocial accounts for astir fractional of the apical 10 revenue-generating apps, underlining its outsized monetization power, the information showed.

Even so, shifts successful idiosyncratic request suggest country for further growth. Generative AI apps saw downloads emergence 69% year-over-year, with ChatGPT ranking among the apical apps by some installs and revenue. India has agelong been ChatGPT’s largest market by users, portion different AI apps are besides gaining ground.

Short play platforms are increasing adjacent faster, with downloads up much than 400%, led by apps similar FreeReels. The inclination suggests India’s app marketplace is inactive aboriginal successful its monetization journey, adjacent arsenic caller categories grow what users are consenting to wage for.