Apple's App Store Powered ₹44,447 Crore in Sales for India-Based Developers in 2024, Study Finds

App Store Downloads Exceed 75.5 Crore for Indian Developers

India-based app developers experienced a major growth surge in 2024, as apps developed within the country were downloaded over 75.5 crore times across Apple’s 175 global App Store storefronts, according to a recent study published by Apple. This surge helped facilitate ₹44,447 crore in developer billings and sales, highlighting the App Store’s significant role in supporting the Indian app economy.

A remarkable 94 percent of this revenue went directly to developers and businesses, bypassing any commission deductions by Apple. The findings underscore the growing influence and global competitiveness of India’s developer community within the iOS ecosystem.

Global Earnings for Indian Developers Triple in Five Years

The study, conducted by Professor Viswanath Pingali of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, revealed that the global earnings of India-based developers have tripled over the past five years. In 2024 alone, India’s developers leveraged Apple’s ecosystem to facilitate transactions worth approximately ₹44,447 crore across sectors such as retail, travel, food delivery, grocery services, and ride-hailing.

Breaking down the revenue, developers generated ₹38,906 crore from the sale of physical goods and services, ₹3,014 crore from in-app advertising, and ₹2,527 crore through digital goods and services. Apps like Urban Company and Porter have been pivotal in supporting India’s burgeoning quick commerce and gig economy industries, the study noted.

Indian Developers Find Global Success on App Store

Indian developers demonstrated strong international reach in 2024, with 79 percent of their revenue coming from users outside India. Additionally, 87 percent of India-based developers maintained a presence on multiple App Store storefronts globally.

Indian-developed apps ranked among the top 100 most-downloaded apps across 70 international storefronts. Notable examples include Kiddopia, IDZ, Box Box Club, and LightX, showcasing India’s growing reputation for high-quality app development on a global scale.

Weekly traffic to the App Store’s India storefront reached over 2.2 crore users, with iOS apps downloaded nearly 110 crore times. Significantly, 38 percent of these downloads were for apps developed by India-based developers.

Apple also highlighted its initiatives to support small developers through programmes like the App Store Small Business Programme. Eligible developers benefit from a reduced commission rate of 15 percent, resulting in a 74 percent earnings increase between 2021 and 2024. Moreover, the study revealed that over half of the developers who earned more than ₹1 crore in the past year had either reported earnings under ₹8 lakh in 2019 or had not yet joined the App Store ecosystem.