Author: John Koetsier

John Koetsier is a journalist and analyst. He's a senior contributor at Forbes and hosts our Growth Masterminds podcast as well as the TechFirst podcast. At Singular, he serves as VP, Insights.

Top PC games right now from 5 different perspectives

What are the top PC games right now?

Globally, almost a billion gamers boot up an actual PC to play a game on a machine with a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. They are the hard core of the perhaps 3.6 billion players across mobile, console, and PC, but they also play on their phones, and they probably have consoles too.

PC gaming remains huge, and it’s actually growing faster right now than mobile gaming, which is already about as universal as gaming gets. Top categories include Shooter, Action, RPGs, and Battle Royale, but there are also Strategy, Simulation, and Adventure games. 

And yeah, just like mobile, PC gaming has its own Casual games genre too.

But what are the top PC games? We’re going to answer that question today from 5 different angles:

  1. Top PC games by concurrent players
  2. Top PC games by monthly active users
  3. Top PC games by revenue
  4. Top PC games by store rankings
  5. Top PC games by user ratings

Ultimately, the best PC game for you is the game you love to play. But these different perspectives will give you a different view of the overall PC gaming ecosystem, and maybe suggest some alternatives. And, if you’re a games publisher that’s looking for new niches and games to make, perhaps the contrasts will suggest some options or ideas.

And by the way:

If you make games, we help you measure your success. Singular offers PC and Console attribution and analytics … plus cross-device attribution, which is getting more and more important, and web attribution. And if you’re expanding into CTV ads, we’ve got you covered there too. Add it all up, and Singular gives your growth engineers a big red Easy button. Which is kinda fun … think of it as our game for you.

Top PC games by peak concurrent players

Looking at top PC games by peak concurrent players is a pretty unique lens on the games industry.

This isn’t just about how many people own or occasionally play a game, but how many are actively engaged at the same time. And, let’s be honest, it’s usually about games that have managed to capture a massive chunk of gamer interest, usually right at launch time.

It’s a cool if not totally enduring signal highlighting where players are spending their time, and it illuminates both enduring blockbusters and surprising breakout hits.

We’re gonna use Steam for our concurrent players rankings. If we go by any random point in time, the rankings are seemingly random. But since they’re based on who might be online on a given day or time period, they actually reveal which are the top PC games for people in different time zones as people get out of school or off work and start playing.

For instance, right now, that list is:

  1. Counter-Strike 2
  2. Dota2
  3. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
  4. Hollow Knight: Silksong
  5. Borderlands 4
  6. Path of Exile 2
  7. Rust
  8. Bongo Cat
  9. Grand Theft Auto V Legacy
  10. Delta Force

But that will change quickly based on when you check.

A better option: top concurrent players. This is usually achieved by big games with big release budgets, or viral hits. 

For 2025, here’s what we have for top PC games by concurrent player count:

  1. Black Myth: Wukong
    1.4 million concurrent players
  2. Monster Hunter Wilds
    1,307,967 concurrent players
  3. Marvel Rivals
    644,269 concurrent players
  4. Hollow Knight: Silksong
    535,000 concurrent players
  5. Borderlands 4
    207,479 concurrent players

Marvel continues to be able to drive success, thanks to its super-strong IP, while Black Myth: Wukong shows China’s size and weight in the PC gaming space. And long-awaited indie games like Hollow Knight: Silksong can still hit the top charts.

Top PC games by monthly active users

In a lot of ways MAU is a better metric to find the top PC games than peak concurrent users. 

Ranking games by monthly active users shifts the lens from momentary spikes to sustained engagement. These are games that keep players coming back week after week, building loyal communities and reliable revenue streams. 

This view often highlights live-service titles, competitive ecosystems, and social experiences that focus on player retention rather than just hype. It’s valuable for understanding long-term staying power and gauging which titles are cultural fixtures rather than fleeting trends.

There’s good data on this thanks to Newzoo, and it’s as recent as August 2025:

  1. Counterstrike (2 and GO)
  2. Minecraft
  3. ROBLOX
  4. Battlefield 6
  5. Fortnite
  6. PEAK (Aggro Crab)
  7. League of Legends
  8. The Sims 4
  9. Dota 2
  10. Valorant
  11. Battlefield 2042
  12. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
  13. Call of Duty (all the versions: MW2, MW3, WZ, BO6)
  14. Overwatch (1 & 2)
  15. HELLDIVERS 2

Evergreen games dominate long-term play: we see Counter-Strike, Minecraft, and Roblox still at the top. They have massive gamer communities that have been playing for years if not decades. 

We also see Fortnite, PUBG, Valorant, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, showing that competitive multiplayer games with regular content updates create super-sticky long-term engagement.

Top PC games by revenue

Playing is 1 thing. 

Paying is another.

So even though it can be biased to games that attract the kinds of gamers who just buy their way to the top, it’s relevant to a top PC games conversation.

Here we see gaming’s financial heavyweights. Revenue rankings not only show where the money is flowing but which business models are thriving. And, they show which franchises dominate financially even if they don’t always top the charts for players online.

Newzoo’s a good source for this data too:

  1. Fortnite
  2. EA Sports Madden NFL 26
  3. Counter-Strike (2 and GO)
  4. HELLDIVERS 2
  5. Call of Duty (all the versions: MW2, MW3, WZ, BO6)
  6. Mafia: The Old Country
  7. Ready or Not
  8. World of Warcraft
  9. ROBLOX
  10. Minecraft
  11. EA Sports FC 25
  12. League of Legends
  13. Valorant
  14. Marvel Rivals
  15. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

As we can see, free-to-play monetization is king, even in PC gaming. Fortnite leading revenue despite being free shows the power of cosmetics, battle passes, and microtransactions. And the fact that F2P games like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Valorant rank shows it’s not just Fortnite.

Sports games continue to be cash cows, and the new NFL season won’t hurt here.

And guess what: premium single-player games are still a thing. Games like Mafia: The Old Country and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater making the revenue list showcases that narrative-driven games can still make bank.

Top PC games by store rankings

Every filter we’re using to look at top PC games offers a slightly different perspective. Store rankings offer a window into what’s trending at the point of purchase. 

Platforms like Steam or Epic list global top sellers and most-played titles, so we can get a quick snapshot of which games are climbing in popularity, either through major launches, discounts, or viral buzz. 

This is particularly valuable for spotting momentum shifts and identifying breakout hits early, because they often surge on the charts before showing up in longer-term engagement metrics or revenue data.

Steam and Epic are good ways to get at this kind of data, so we’ll check both.

Rank Steam Epic
1 Borderlands 4 Borderlands 4
2 Counter-Strike 2 Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced
3 Dune: Awakening Cyberpunk 2077
4 Hollow Knight: Silksong Red Dead Redemption 2
5 HELLDIVERS 2 EA Sports FC 26
6 No, I’m not a Human Alan Wake 2
7 Path of Exile 2 Spider-Man 2
8 Shape of Dreams Ready or Not
9 Dying Light: The Beast Hogwarts Legacy
10 Marvel Rivals Dead by Daylight

This is a super-cool if limited window on what’s hot in PC gaming because we can see that while Steam prioritizes new and niche content, Epic focuses a bit more on established premium games.

On Steam we see new games like Borderlands 4, Dune: Awakening, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and we also see experimental indies like No, I’m not a Human and  Shape of Dreams. On epic we see AAA blockbusters like GTA V Enhanced, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Spider-Man 2.

Steam users might be more willing to try something new, but Epic’s history of free weekly games may have trained its audience to expect high-quality established titles … and that might have made them more likely to focus on buying premium games later on.

Top PC games by user ratings

Finally, I wanted to look at top PC games by user ratings because, in a way, that’s the ultimate yardstick, right?

This is how we can bring in the voice of players themselves, highlighting quality and satisfaction rather than just raw numbers. That means we can also surface old well-loved classics and sweet indie favorites. They might never dominate revenue or player counts … but they can still earn some love, some time, and fairly deep loyalty.

Because … aren’t games about fun?

Steam has some pretty good data for this (as does SteamDB) so let’s go by those sources …

  1. Stardew Valley
  2. Portal 2
  3. Terraria
  4. People Playground
  5. Left 4 Dead 2
  6. Portal
  7. Half-Life: Alyx
  8. RimWorld
  9. Euro Truck Simulator 2
  10. Slay the Spire

So … what are really the best PC games based on all of those listings?

OK, this is a tough one. 

What if we combine all those rankings and lenses and pick top PC games from all those different perspectives? 7 games really stand out.

Here’s what we get:

  1. Counter-Strike 2 (and GO)
    1. High in concurrent players (millions at peak)
    2. Top 1–2 in MAU (Newzoo)
    3. Strong revenue (skins + passes)
    4. Always near the top of Steam store rankings
  2. Minecraft
    1. Top 2 in MAU globally
    2. Huge revenue across platforms (premium + marketplace)
    3. Not a concurrency monster on Steam (lots of play outside Steam), but consistently evergreen
  3. Roblox
    1. Top 5 in MAU
    2. Strong revenue (UGC monetization, in-game currency)
    3. A massive cross-platform community, still a PC powerhouse
  4. Fortnite
    1. Top 5 in MAU
    2. Top revenue leader (despite free-to-play)
    3. Always high in Epic store rankings
    4. Huge cultural impact (concerts, collabs)
  5. Dota 2
    1. Always high in concurrent players (hundreds of thousands live)
    2. Top 10 in MAU
    3. Strong esports ecosystem, sticky community
  6. League of Legends
    1. High MAU (top 10)
    2. Consistently top grossing globally
    3. Strong competitive scene
  7. Valorant
    1. Top 10 in MAU
    2. Strong revenue performance
    3. Competitive shooter, growing esports footprint

So … are these truly the top PC games right now? 

Well, sure.

Except if you have a different favorite.

Charts and rankings can show us the industry’s biggest titles. Absolutely. But the more important truth is that your favorite games matter far more — to YOU — than any global leaderboard. Any number of top games like Counter-Strike or Minecraft can dominate on the charts, but the games you keep coming back to are the ones that matter.

At least to you.

So whether it’s a cozy farming sim, a story-driven RPG, or a super-niche ultra-odd indie experiment … go play. Have fun.

Your game might not crack the global top 10, but it defines your memories, your communities, and your sense of fun. Ultimately, any “top PC games” list is just another lens on the industry. Your personal favorites are the ones that actually matter the most.

Need measurement from Singular?

We help you measure your success, wherever you advertise and market your games. That means PC and Console attribution and cross-device attribution and web attribution and much, much more.

Talk to us today.

Inside SciPlay’s ELT strategy: more, more, and more data

What can you learn from SciPlay’s ELT strategy?

Every major app publisher that is serious about growing has a Pokémon Go approach to data: catch them all. Every source. Every kilobyte of information. But most are limiting themselves to ad network data and their own first-party in-app data. 

The reality is that there’s more. Much more.

Accessing it is the key to significantly better insight into your growth levers, competitive positioning, campaign incrementality, and CAC.

And a smart ELT strategy can unlock all of that for you.

Check out my recent conversation with SciPlay’s director of ad product, Gal Karniel:

SciPlay’s ELT strategy

When you market at SciPlay scale, you’re stitching together 20 to 50 data sources across ad networks and app stores … and more.

Karniel says the only way to make that useful is an ELT layer that’s flexible, observable, and built to be customized. That’s why his team adopted Singular’s ELT product, Extract, to ingest hard-to-reach APIs, including Apple’s new App Store APIs, pull parallel datasets to resolve platform limitations (like Meta’s dimension conflicts), and enrich core metrics with contextual metadata. 

The payoff: deeper analysis down to the ad placement level, faster troubleshooting, fewer custom-built data pipelines to maintain, and a clearer line of causality from “what changed” to “what moved performance.”

Much more data…

You desperately need all the data Singular has traditionally supplied from your ad networks: the cost data, the deliverability data, the results data. And you need it all combined. And enriched with your own first-party in-app data.

But there’s more available now with the right ELT strategy.

Think App Store and Google Play performance tracking:

  • Downloads & deletions
    Validate install numbers, monitor churn trends
  • Ratings & reviews
    Surface user sentiment, detect product issues, and feed insights into product/ASO teams
  • Purchases & subscriptions
    Get the most accurate revenue and refund data directly from the stores
  • Crashes & ANRs
    Track app stability issues that impact retention and ratings
  • Engagement data
    Measure user actions in the app store to understand intent
  • Acquisition sources
    Identify where installs come from (search, browse, referrals, territory)

Think social organic data:

  • Page posts engagement
    See which content drives the most organic traction
  • Followers statistics
    Understand organic audience growth and align with paid UA targeting
  • Comments data
    Capture unfiltered feedback and sentiment at scale

There’s app store APIs, ad networks additional data, social data, CDP data, CRM or liveops data, and much more than you can pull in. And think about competitive data: top lists on the App Store and Google Play that you can automatically query and bring down to your BI systems for analysis.

Another key part of SciPlay’s ELT strategy: grabbing multiple datasets from ad networks like Meta because they only expose incompatible dimensions and don’t allow you to pull geo and placement together, for instance. Now you can pull both, and while you can’t join the tables due to the lack of a shared primary key, the additional insight still exposes more opportunities.

The hidden opportunity in app store data

As I mentioned above, most marketers limit their data ingestion to ad networks: Meta, Google, AppLovin, Unity, TikTok, and so on. That gets you spend, clicks, and installs, and you can add revenue for the full monetization picture.

But crucially, it misses the contextual layer of what’s happening in the app stores themselves.

In other words, the entire app ecosystem at large.

That’s 1 of the reasons why SciPlay ingests Apple’s new App Store APIs and Google Play data directly into their warehouse. Now they can correlate campaign performance not just with in-ad metrics, but also with and much bigger picture:

  • App store events
    Featuring, rankings, reviews, updates
  • Metadata shifts
    Creative assets, descriptions, screenshots, categories
  • Market context
    Competitive placement and store algorithm changes

This adds a bigger, broader lens.

Instead of only asking if your advertising campaigns moved the needle on your growth, you can also ask what else happened in the store that might explain this. The result is faster root-cause analysis, fewer false attributions, and a stronger feedback loop between UA, product, and ASO.

Because your app doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Other publishers kick off marketing campaigns. Some apps get featured by Apple or Google. External events like movies, holidays, weather, and sporting events influence consumer behavior.

The right ELT strategy, therefore, helps you see much more.

Why Extract?

A perfectly valid question, of course, is why use Extract for your ELT strategy?

The answer: it’s an optimal solution at an amazing price.

Karniel’s team wasn’t actually hunting for a pure data-funneling tool … they were being pitched bundles and dashboards, and considering whether to build a tool for themselves. Extract’s focus on data movement and easy configurability was the perfect answer.

Extract gets SciPlay the data they want quickly, easily, and at low cost. It doesn’t require huge technical chops to run, so product managers and ops leaders can use it themselves. It offers full end-to-end visibility, and it has industry-best pricing.

(Get more on what Extract can do here.)

Key things to remember as you build your ELT strategy

If you’re serious about growth and looking for all the data sources that will enable your performance marketing team to achieve it quickly and efficiently, great.

Here’s a few key things to keep in mind based on SciPlay’s experience:

  1. Design for parallelism
    When a platform won’t return all the dimensions you want simultaneously, split your data streams and decide per use case which one you need
  2. Don’t stop at ad networks
    App store APIs and contextual signals are underused gold mines … bringing them in-house tightens the loop between UA, ASO, and product
  3. Prioritize context, not just KPIs
    Installs/spend/revenue are necessary but insufficient: add store, market, and creative metadata to interpret install and monetization shifts
  4. Buy flexible, not rigid
    Out-of-the-box is great until it isn’t, so choose tools with configuration and customization options so you can do what you need to do, how you want to do it
  5. Make observability a requirement
    Full logs, timestamps, and run details build organizational trust in your data (and make it easy to debug something when a flow gets interrupted)

Over time, you’ll want even more data sources. The good news is that Extract is continually adding more connectors, so you’ll have more and more simple options to add and further improve your data models.

Much more in the full podcast

As usual, check out the full podcast. There’s much more about SciPlay’s ELT strategy that you’ll find interesting and useful as you boost the signals you’re acquiring.

What you’ll find:

  • How SciPlay manages 20–50 different data sources for marketing
  • How SciPlay balances in-house solutions vs. third-party tools
  • How Extract solved the challenge of Apple’s 50 new App Store APIs
  • How Extract can create parallel datasets for greater depth
  • Why visibility, logs, and transparency matter for trust in data pipelines
  • How Extract simplifies data enrichment pipelines and reduces maintenance
  • How SciPlay built faster access to insights, better targeting, and better data for smarter decisions

And don’t forget to try Extract for free…

 

Mobile App Retargeting Guide: key insights to boosting engagement, retention, & monetization

You know the user acquisition game. You’re pouring more and more water into a bucket with holes that just keep growing, and it’s an expensive proposition. Here’s the deal: you can keep doing the same thing again and again while expecting different results… or you can grab Singular’s brand new Mobile App Retargeting guide and kickstart your growth.

That’s what re-engagement and retargeting do: they bring back users who’ve lapsed, boosting your retention, improving monetization, and making your acquisition dollars work harder.

Get your copy of the guide right now

Mobile app retargeting is insanely critical

It’s no secret: mobile is a hyper-competitive environment.

Every percentage point of lift matters.

That’s precisely why retargeting and re-engagement can deliver dramatic results. We’re talking organic and owned re-engagement methods that don’t cost a dime, and we’re talking paid mobile app retargeting for finding lost users wherever they might go.

The results from the elite marketers we talked to — marketers who lead growth for apps with 100 million users, and marketers who have delivered $200 million in revenue via paid marketing — are nothing short of game-changing.

Think:

  • 2–3X improvements in retention
  • Up to 150% better conversion rates
  • Significant reductions in churn and cart abandonment

You need similar results. And you can get similar results.

That’s precisely why we’ve created the Mobile App Retargeting Guide. It’s a super practical data-driven resource for people like you who want to move all their key metrics, including engagement, retention, and revenue, in the right direction.

Inside the Mobile App Retargeting Guide

We’ve built the report to give you both a strategic overview AND tactical, step-by-step instructions for success. 

And we’ve talked to world-class marketers for insider tips on what’s actually working in the real world.

Here are the key sections you’ll find inside:

  • Why re-engagement is critical for every app
  • How to deploy retargeting and re-engagement together, combining organic and paid approaches
  • How to get started fast with 11 steps for launching retargeting campaigns
  • What pitfalls waste budget and hurt user experience
  • How to retarget effectively on iOS and Android, even with ATT/SKAN challenges
  • When to retarget across verticals, geos, and events: what’s the right timing
  • What leading apps are doing, with case studies from Ixigo, Self, and Gamelight
  • What works best by vertical, with tailored strategies for gaming, retail, travel, fintech, and more
  • What top adtech experts recommend
mobile app retargeting guide

Insight straight from the people who run retargeting campaigns

We’ve got tons of insight from active user acquisition and re-engagement marketers who are running mobile app retargeting campaigns in the wild.

We also wanted insider info from the people who do it for them: the strategists and thinkers at top ad networks that run dozens, if not hundreds, of mobile app retargeting campaigns concurrently every single day.

So this guide also features original contributions from some of the top companies driving innovation in mobile re-engagement. 

You’ll hear directly from experts at:

  • Adikteev
  • Appier
  • RevX
  • Jampp
  • M&C Saatchi
  • Smadex
  • YouAppi

Each of these partners are sharing data, case studies, and hands-on advice to help you know what’s working in retargeting in 2025, and how you can optimize your own campaigns.

Get the guide today

Whether you’re running a mobile game, a fintech app, or an e-commerce platform, you’ll find strategies and tactics you can implement today. 

From boosting iOS ATT opt-in rates to setting up omnichannel re-engagement sequences, the guide gives you a blueprint to scale sustainably, drive higher ROAS, and win back users who might otherwise be gone for good.

Get the full retargeting guide here

Q3 2025 performance marketing state of the union: CTRs, CTV, creative, incrementality

Ad spend is up, performance marketing results are up, and the channels we used to call experimental are now actually pulling their own weight. That’s the state of the union for performance marketing based on our recent Q3 2025 Quarterly Trends report, plus the insights from multiple partners.

In our recent Q3 2025 State of Mobile Marketing webinar, a cross-section of UA, ASO, analytics, and CTV leaders unpacked what actually changed last quarter … and how to win Q4.

Just need the exec summary in plain English? Your wish is my command:

  • iOS gaming CTRs are inflated by design decisions and format evolution
  • CTV went from maybe-let’s-test-it to part of the toolbox
  • CPIs rose but so did installs (so net efficiency didn’t crater)
  • Rewarded ads keep growing, growing, growing
  • Creative is STILL the highest-leverage knob you can control
  • Incrementality is super sizzling hot

For much, much, more, keep reading, but also please do check out these 2 critical resources:

  1. The webinar itself
  2. The Q3 2025 report it’s based on

OK. These were our panelists, while I moderated:

  • Peter Koczak, head of analytics at YouAppi
  • Joseph Iris, director of ML at Personal.ly
  • Benjamin Waters, VP for APAC at Jampp
  • Simon Thillay, head of ASO and market insights at Apptweak
  • Stephanie Pilon, CMO at Singular

Here’s what we learned …

Performance marketing now: spend is up, money moved global, and UA performance is up

Singular clients boosted their ad spend 45% year over year globally.

That includes outsized growth not including the usual suspects in the U.S. and China. APAC, LATAM, and parts of Europe saw the biggest jumps. There’s still investment in the biggest gaming and mobile app markets, but there’s also some performance marketing budget reallocation to geos with higher marginal returns and lower competitive density. 

Expect this to persist through Q4 as marketers chase cheaper reach and play the “global English + device/language” game to find high-value users outside expensive metros.

Why it matters: If you haven’t built creative and onboarding that travel well across languages and price bands — or specific creative and offers for the growing geos —  you’re leaving arbitrage on the table.

Check the full report for all the details on where spend is increasing.

Most marketers’ UA performance is a bit better right now than in previous quarters:

  • 44% say UA performance has slightly improved
  • 9% says UA performance has significantly improved
  • 11% say UA performance has declined

CTR is up too, but clicks have a new meaning in performance marketing

As we shared recently, CTR is way up on iOS gaming, specifically.

iOS gaming CTR exploded, driving a 38.6% global jump. But this isn’t a sudden surge in ad quality or targeting or consumer behavior. It’s playable ad UX and format evolution: overlays, end cards, and very small click-to-X-out buttons.

And it’s an SDK arms race to capture attribution. 

Two important implications:

  1. Optimization signals are shifting
    CTR is less predictive of down-funnel outcomes on iOS interstitial/video inventory. Optimize to IPM and revenue proxies, not clicks.
  2. Definitions — or implications — are changing
    When CTR approaches absurdity (think 100% click-through rates, which we are seeing in some cases) audit what counts as a click for you. Check how engaged views are fired, and how SKOverlay behaves in your inventory, and consider thinking about CTR on iOS gaming ads more like impressions.

We’re not saying clicks are the new impressions … but … if you’re doing performance marketing, you need to reconsider what clicks actually mean for you, at least on iOS in the gaming verticals.

CPIs jumped but so did installs … so efficiency held up

Finance and gaming saw the steepest CPI increases, but installs also rose. 

That suggests better targeting and creative rather than competition or price increases. On iOS, CPMs jumped even more than CPIs, which is actually good news for publishers monetizing via ads.

As long as your LTVs hold up, CPI increases are annoying but not fatal.

What to do:

  1. Check LTV frequently
    Keep your LTV math fresh and cohort-based; don’t pause just because price tags went up if paybacks still pencil.
  2. Try new ad partners
    Rebalance spend to partners and/or placements where IPM is improving, using incrementality testing to validate true lift.

Capital efficiency matters when CPIs jump, because you can get fewer growth cycles (spend, earn, re-spend) from a given war chest. Prioritize ad partners with quicker ROAS.

CTV is graduating from maybe-let’s-test-it to another tool in the performance marketing toolbox

Jampp saw the number of CTV campaigns jump 56%: a big increase in just 1 quarter. 

That shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who’s watching Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, or Apple TV+ … free and ad-supported streaming channels are now ubiquitous.

  • In May of this year, CTV accounted for 44.8% of all TV viewing time in the U.S., exceeding the combined total of broadcast (20.1%) and cable (24.1%) for the first time ever
  • In June 2025, streaming commanded 46% of total TV viewership, while cable was 23.4% and broadcast just 18.5%
  • July, Roku-powered streaming alone accounted for 21.4% of U.S. TV viewing, versus 18.4% for broadcast TV

Importantly, CTV is being run as a performance marketing channel, not brand. It’s integrated with Singular as a measurement partner, optimized for mobile KPIs, and orchestrated alongside ASA and social. 

The good news: CTV is still way less crowded than mobile ads, especially in social apps. It adds incremental reach, and — a unique benefit — can influence multiple users per household.

While about 30% of marketers attending the webinar were using CTV, another 45% were planning to soon.

“CTV isn’t just a branding channel anymore,” says Benjamin Waters. “Budgets have more than doubled … it’s becoming a must-have performance channel.”

How to incorporate CTV in your UA campaigns:

  1. Part of the journey
    Treat CTV as assist + acquisition: use view-through windows thoughtfully and don’t over-credit.
  2. Get the creative right
    Creative fit matters: use short narrative, show an immediate value prop, and “what happens next” explicit to drive installs.
  3. Test targeting
    Test video-level and contextual targeting where available to reduce audience waste.

Rewarded ads: growing, but marketers need to manage quality and abuse

Rewarded networks are scaling because a meaningful slice of users see them as a getting a free rebate on the gaming they’d do anyways.

That’s great.

And some of those users monetize well, which is good for performance marketing using rewarded networks.

But, our panelists noted, it does increase the need for fraud controls, payout calibration, and down-funnel guardrails like quality thresholds before rewards escalate. Perhaps that’s why there’s still some caution when it comes to using rewarded ad networks.

Most marketers aren’t yet using rewarded ad networks, but they’re planning to:

  • 41.7%: Not yet, but planning to
  • 25.0%: No, and no plans to 
  • 16.7%: We’re testing now
  • 13.9%: Yes, they’re a top performer
  • 2.8%: Tested and didn’t work

15% of marketers told us rewarded networks are a top performer for them, while another 16.7% are testing them now. A plurality, however — 41.7% — say they don’t use rewarded ad networks yet, but they are planning to.

So there’s likely more growth for rewarded ad networks in the future.

Most underrated performance marketing levers: incrementality and creative

Most marketers can’t out-toggle the rising tide of platform automation, but they can still out-learn competitors. 

Two levers consistently matter:

Incrementality as a habit, not a project. In other words, always be testing some level of incrementality. Also test whether each of your ad networks is incremental to your overall growth goals.

How? Design always-on PSA/ghost bids, geo-splits, or audience-exclusion tests to measure true lift. Then use creative as the compounding asset: systematically test hooks, formats, and language.

And don’t forget to mirror winning ad narratives on your App Store/Google Play listings to achieve message match and raise tap-through and conversion.

This is a massive miss by most mobile marketers:

“We look at how many times you refreshed your creative gathering on the app store last year,” says AppTweak’s Simon Thillay. “And the numbers are single digits almost every time.”

That will not cut it.

Q4 is coming: here’s how to win

Q4 is almost upon us. 

Most marketers are focusing on scaling UA profitably, while about 15% are focused on each of 3 different priorities: re-engagement, creative strategy, and AI adoption.

We asked all of our panelists how to win in Q4 performance marketing: preparation, execution, and “Q5” … the lull after the insanity.

Now in preparation for the holidays:

  • Creative
    Get your creative right and lock your creative system so you’re not wasting time and money during crazy season
  • Channels
    Stand up your CTV-to-mobile solution with clean view-through settings and clear assist logic (Singular can help: here’s our CTV measurement product, plus our web attribution solution)
  • Partners
    Expand your supply: add networks/partners where IPM is rising and you have measurement coverage.

During the peak:

  • Optimization
    Shorten your feedback cycles and send budget to what’s winning daily
  • Safety
    Safe-guard your ROAS goals by isolating high-LTV geos/segments in their own campaigns with stricter thresholds
  • Flexibility
    Keep a small extra bit of budget for opportunistic spikes (inventory, placements, or contextual wins)

After the holidays … in “Q5:”

  • Attack
    Millions of people have new devices in their hands. It’s a good time to win them over
  • Retarget
    Deploy some win-back and cross-sell campaigns with softer post-holiday CPIs/CPMs

Finally, if you have any spare cycles to add/fix/check anything right now before the holidays, work on these key items:

  1. Re-check your KPIs on iOS playable … de-weight CTR and up-weight IPM and purchase-adjacent events
  2. Start incrementality testing: there’s some super-simple ways to begin
  3. Refresh your CPPs to mirror your top-performing ad narratives
  4. Pilot CTV if you haven’t AND IF YOU HAVE TIME before the holidays
  5. Instrument rewarded campaigns for quality (re-check eligibility gates, see if you’re getting diminishing returns, implement fraud screens)

So much more in the full webinar

As you’d expect, there’s a ton more in the full webinar. 

Here’s just a brief overview:

  • 04:48 Quarterly Trends Report Highlights
  • 08:12 User Acquisition Market
  • 10:22 Ad Spend and Performance
  • 13:15 Click-Through Rates
  • 19:52 Installs Per Thousand Impressions (IPM)
  • 22:15 Cost Per Install (CPI)
  • 26:19 Rewarded Ads
  • 29:11 High CPI Verticals
  • 33:33 Creative Strategies for High CPI Verticals
  • 34:19 The Importance of App Store Page Optimization
  • 35:45 Exploring CTV and Its Impact
  • 40:37 Custom Product Pages: Underutilized Potential
  • 44:41 Display Ads: Old but Gold
  • 46:46 Q4 Marketing Priorities and Strategies
  • 56:33 Q&A Session: Expert Insights

Here’s how to watch it on-demand, for free, right now …

The top on-demand apps right now

What are the top on-demand apps right now?

On-demand apps are hot. Super hot, in fact. When we want something, we apparently want it RIGHT NOW. And we seem to want a lot.

Just 1 small example: what industry grossed $185 billion in 2023 but is ballooning to a staggering $771 billion in 2032? If you guessed the on-demand economy … you’re actually wrong. It’s actually just 1 part of the on-demand economy: transportation. The entire on-demand space is so much bigger: instant food, instant alcohol, grocery delivery, transportation across a city, or transportation across a nation. A date for dinner tonight … a dogwalker for Max, a massage for you, flowers for mom, and someone helpful to mow the lawn or vacuum the carpets.

The on-demand economy is pretty much anything you want, almost instantly available.

But what are the top on-demand apps globally?

Finding the top on-demand apps: 12 key categories

On-demand companies put their apps in dozens of different categories. To combine them, I analyzed 3,300 of the most downloaded apps worldwide across categories like Shopping and Lifestyle and Health & Fitness.

170 of those 3,300 apps fit a reasonably strict definition of on-demand apps: services people can book, order, or activate pretty much instantly. Then I ranked them by recent global downloads and daily active usage, and grouped them into logical categories:

  1. Ride-hailing & taxis
    Summon a driver instantly, often with pooled or premium options
  2. Micromobility (scooters & bikes)
    Shared bikes and scooters for short urban trips
  3. Food delivery
    Meals from restaurants delivered to your door
  4. Grocery delivery
    Fresh groceries and essentials, often in under an hour
  5. Pharmacy & medicine delivery
    OTC and prescription drugs, sometimes linked with telehealth
  6. Courier & errands (same-day)
    P2P delivery of parcels, documents, or errands
  7. Travel ticketing (flights, trains, bus)
    Book transportation instantly, with e-tickets
  8. Accommodation (hotels & rentals)
    Hotels and short-term rentals like Airbnb
  9. Car rental & carsharing
    Temporary vehicle access without long-term commitments
  10. Home & local services
    On-demand cleaners, movers, handypeople
  11. Telemedicine & medical booking
    Book virtual or in-person care
  12. Roadside assistance
    Get towed, jump-started, or refueled on demand

That provides the data for a global ranking of top on-demand apps. Note: this won’t provide details on which are the overall biggest. This methodology prioritizes those apps that are fastest-growing right now. It’ll certainly capture most — probably all — of the biggest. But a few might slip through the cracks here and there.

But you probably want more than just global rankings. After all, on-demand apps are super-local. You need regional rankings to know what’s best for you, where you are.

So I also enriched the data with regional information, revealing which services dominate in India, China, Southeast Asia, North America, and beyond. 

First, let’s look at the key categories …

Global leaders: top on-demand apps

Here are the top on-demand apps globally in each on-demand sector, by recent download velocity:

Ride-hailing & taxis

Ride-hailing is still a massive growth machine. Regional players dominate outside North America: Bolt in Europe, Ola in India, and inDrive in Russia/CIS. 

  • Uber (U.S.)
  • Bolt (Estonia)
  • inDrive (U.S./CIS focus)
  • Maxim (India/Russia)
  • Ola (India)
  • Careem (Middle East, Uber-owned)
  • FREE NOW (Europe)
  • Yandex Go (Russia/CIS)

Micromobility (scooters & bikes)

Micromobility is still largely concentrated in Europe and North America. Lime is the most global, while TIER and Voi dominate in Europe. Growth is steady but constrained by regulation and weather seasonality: not every city is L.A. or Lisbon, with pretty much year-round good weather.

  • Lime (U.S.)
  • Bird (U.S.)
  • TIER (Germany)
  • Voi (Sweden)
  • Spin (U.S.)
  • Dott (Europe)
  • Nextbike (Europe)

Food delivery

This is one of the most fragmented categories globally, which makes sense because food preferences differ, and while all on-demand apps deliver locally, cooking and fast delivery before food cools is especially hyper-local. 

U.S. apps dominate at home, Indian services are thriving, and China is massive with Meituan and Ele.me.

Get way more details about top food delivery apps here …

  • Uber Eats (U.S.)
  • DoorDash (U.S.)
  • Swiggy (India)
  • Zomato (India)
  • Meituan (China)
  • Ele.me (China)
  • Deliveroo (U.K.)
  • Just Eat / SkipTheDishes (Europe/Canada)
  • Glovo (Europe)
  • Wolt (Finland)

Grocery delivery

“Quick commerce” is still hot, but sustainability is a question mark. China’s scale dwarfs most, while India shows fierce local competition.

  • Instacart (U.S.)
  • Getir (Turkey, Europe expansion)
  • Blinkit (India)
  • Dingdong Maicai (China)
  • JioMart (India)
  • BigBasket (India)
  • Zepto (India)
  • Flink (Germany)
  • Gorillas (Germany, now part of Getir)

Pharmacy & medicine delivery

India dominates in medicine delivery, partly due to fragmented offline pharmacy markets and high demand for affordable care.

  • PharmEasy (India)
  • NetMeds (India)
  • Apollo 24|7 (India)
  • 1mg (India)
  • Practo (pharmacy arm) (India)
  • Alodokter / Halodoc (Indonesia, health + pharmacy)

Courier & same-day errands

For obvious reasons, same-day logistics are highly regional. Interestingly, they serve both consumers and SMEs. China’s players are highly scaled, while Middle Eastern and Indian startups are carving out their own niches.

  • Lalamove (China/global)
  • SF Express (China)
  • Mrsool (Middle East)
  • Dunzo (India)
  • Borzo (ex-Delivery Club) (Russia/India/SEA)
  • Postmates (U.S., now Uber-owned)
  • PickMe (Sri Lanka)

Travel ticketing

China’s Trip.com is global, while Skyscanner is strong in Europe and has inroads in North America. India is emerging with ixigo and MakeMyTrip.

  • Trip.com / Ctrip (China)
  • Skyscanner (U.K.)
  • ixigo (India)
  • MakeMyTrip (India)
  • Omio (Europe)
  • Cleartrip (India)
  • Trainline (U.K./Europe)
  • Hopper (U.S./Canada)

Accommodation

Airbnb and Booking.com are still the top global competitors, but Agoda and OYO are significant regional powerhouses.

  • Airbnb (U.S.)
  • Booking.com (Europe)
  • Agoda (Southeast Asia)
  • OYO (India)
  • Expedia (U.S.)
  • Hotels.com (U.S., Expedia-owned)
  • Tripadvisor (U.S.)
  • Trivago (North America, Europe, Expedia-owned)

Carsharing

This is still a niche in on-demand apps compared to ride-hailing, but carsharing is growing as consumers look for flexible car access without ownership.

  • Turo (U.S.)
  • Getaround (U.S./Europe)
  • Zipcar (U.S.)
  • ShareNow (Europe)
  • Sixt (Europe)
  • Hertz (U.S./Global)
  • Avis/Budget (U.S./Global)

Home services

India leads with Urban Company, while the U.S. has multiple well-funded platforms.

  • Urban Company (India)
  • TaskRabbit (U.S.)
  • Thumbtack (U.S.)
  • Angi (HomeAdvisor) (U.S.)
  • Handy (U.S.)
  • Airtasker (Australia)
  • Helpling (Germany)

Telemedicine

Telemedicine reflects local healthcare systems: fragmented, regulated, and highly regional.

  • Doctolib (Europe)
  • Practo (India)
  • Halodoc (Indonesia)
  • Zocdoc (U.S.)
  • Amwell (U.S.)
  • K Health (U.S.)
  • Alodokter (Indonesia)

Roadside assistance

This is a smaller on-demand category but — of course — it’s critical when you need it. Roadside apps tend to be tied to insurance companies or auto clubs and are highly local due to service network requirements.

    • AAA Mobile (U.S.)
    • Allstate Roadside (U.S.)
    • Nationwide Roadside (U.S.)
    • Blink Roadside (India, niche)
    • GEICO Mobile (roadside features) (U.S.)

Regional leaders

Top on-demand apps are always local. Even if they’re global apps, they need local boots on the ground to compete and deliver. That’s why while Uber, Airbnb, and Booking.com are global names, most markets are defined by local champions.

      • China: closed ecosystem but huge scale
        • Dingdong Maicai
        • Didi
        • Ele.me
        • Meituan
        • Trip.com
      • Europe: highly competitive and fragmented
        • Bolt
        • FreeNow
        • Glovo
        • Wolt
      • India: dominant in medicine, food, services
        • Blinkit
        • Ola
        • PharmEasy
        • Swiggy
        • Urban Company
        • Zomato
      • Latin America: regional giants in delivery and groceries
        • Cornershop
        • iFood
        • Rappi
      • Middle East & North Africa: ride-hailing and delivery are tightly integrated
        • Careem
        • HungerStation
        • Mrsool
        • Talabat
      • North America: fewer players, but very high scale
        • DoorDash
        • Instacart
        • Turo
        • Uber
      • Russia/CIS: deeply entrenched local tech firms
        • inDrive
        • Yandex Eats
        • Yandex Go
      • Southeast Asia: budding superapps for ride-hailing, food, and payments
        • Gojek
        • Grab

Top on-demand apps: key themes

A few things are apparent when we see all this data …

No global monopoly

As we can see, there’s no global monopoly. Except for a few giants (Uber, Airbnb, Booking), on-demand is strongly regional. Regulation, culture, and logistics make global scale hard, although we do see the giants buying up local top on-demand apps to compete in new regions.

Superapps are winning

Superapps are winning in a number of regions.. Grab, Gojek, Meituan, Careem, and others combine multiple on-demand services into one ecosystem. While this is less the case in the United States, we also see Uber adding services like shopping, delivery, and transit tickets to its app … so maybe it’s coming.

India is massive in on-demand

India is the growth engine here. India loves on-demand services, and virtually every on-demand category has Indian leaders in the top 15 globally.

China is massive but very China-focused

China is massive but closed. With Meituan, Didi, and Trip.com, China runs parallel ecosystems that rarely expand abroad.

The U.S. has global visibility

Top U.S. on-demand companies still lead in global visibility. Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, and Airbnb are household names almost everywhere.

Health is huge and growing

Health and medicine are the next frontier. Telemedicine and pharmacy delivery are seeing explosive growth, especially in India and Southeast Asia.

Wrapping up: top on-demand apps

The world has fundamentally changed.

On-demand apps aren’t just a convenience … they’re becoming core infrastructure. These apps are now core to how billions live their daily lives, and that’s only going to accelerate as delivery gets faster and cheaper via drones, delivery robots, and self-driving vehicles. 

The next phase?

Expect more consolidation into superapps, which we’re finally starting to see in the U.S. and Europe. Plus, expect more integration of AI and automation (drones and robots!).

It’s a brave new on-demand world.

What 2,000 apps reveal about media mix, ROAS, and app growth

You’re starting a new app. You want to advertise it. You go grab yourself an ad account at Meta and Google, and maybe Apple Ads. But did you just do something that will actually hinder your app growth journey?

Look, I get it.

No-one ever got fired for choosing IBM, they said back in the 1970s.

And today, if you’re looking for massive app growth, you’re going to use Meta, which has incredible data and targeting. You’re going to use Google, which has immense reach. And you’re probably going to use Apple Ads, if iOS matters to you, because it’s so freakishly effective.

There’s a reason these giants are always leaders in the Singular ROI Index.

But … there’s a but. Think about it:

  1. Independent apps now match TikTok + Instagram in user reach with more than 2 billion DAU
    (there’s a whole ecosystem in those indies)
  2. 88% of app growth ad spend remains locked in Google and Meta
    (but so many app growth marketers don’t see it)
  3. Diversifying ad spend beyond the big walled gardens delivers up to 214% ROAS lift
    (those who do … win)

If you’re just spending on the big platforms, the math doesn’t math. It doesn’t make sense.

Something needs to change.

That’s what we looked at in a recent data-driven report with Moloco and SensorTower. We focused mostly on consumer apps as opposed to games, and we saw that the consumer app economy is booming. Last year IAP and subscription revenues surged 25% to hit $70.5 billion, meaning consumer apps are on track to overtake gaming revenue for the first time in history. 

app growth 2024 vs 2023

Entertainment — think streaming media — and productivity and photo/video apps have driven the lion’s share of the increase, with a massive $7.31 billion in combined incremental revenue growth.

But while user engagement has diversified and monetization has exploded, most app growth strategies haven’t updated to match the new reality. Almost 90% of consumer app ad spend is still locked to just 2 platforms: Google and Meta.

The data says that’s a bad budgeting decision.

App growth explosion when you diversify ad spend

To build this report with Moloco and SensorTower, we conducted a meta-analysis of over 2,000 apps. 

The goal: compare apps that concentrate 80%+ of their ad spend on Google and Meta with those that diversify across other channels, including the independent app ecosystem.

The results were pretty clear: an average 48% lift in Day 30 ROAS across all verticals. Some verticals were much higher:

  • 116% lift for consumer apps
  • 214% lift for shopping apps
  • 159% lift for health & fitness
  • 143% lift for education

Interestingly, when games allocate their ad spend, they send 35% to the wider app ecosystem, while still funneling about 30% to each of Google and Meta. Consumer apps, however, send only 34% as much of their overall spend to independent apps. In other words, they over-index on the big platforms.

And according to this data, that’s costing them billions of dollars.

It’s a clear signal that consumer app growth is accelerating in the Independent App Ecosystem. That’s where sustainable, measurable scale is coming from.
– Stephanie Pilon, CMO, Singular

The conclusion is pretty obvious: channel diversification is essential, not just for reach but for relevance and context. And many conversions are now coming from unexpected app categories: shopping users converting in games, travel bookers being found in productivity apps, and finance users clicking on ads in weather or news apps.

There’s easy and there’s effective

There’s a reason the walled gardens do so well. They have mass behavioral data on billions of humans. That’s hard to beat.

But here’s the deal: you pay for that. You pay bigtime.

Winning the app growth battle includes achieving a CPI that’s less than LTV, CAC that’s less than customer lifetime value. When you pay more upfront for new users, subscribers, or customers, you need to make more on the backend.

Plus it slows down your cash recycling time — invest in UA, recoup in monetization, re-invest in UA — thanks to the larger sums on both sides of the equation. 

And that slows your overall growth rate.

App growth via diversification

Most app marketers keep the number of their ad partners low. Maybe 70% use fewer than 6 ad partners.

app growth number of ad partners

It makes sense, from a perspective: 

  • Fewer relationships to manage
  • Fewer dashboards to learn
  • Fewer hassles

Also, if you’ve got to spend money training ad networks on new campaigns and creative, there’s potentially more waste across more ad networks.

But using 6 or more ad networks has some major positive impact:

  • Higher ROI
  • Lower CPI
  • Similar retention for games
  • Better retention for consumer apps … in fact 74% better

In some verticals the difference is startling: almost a 3X jump in ROI for on-demand verticals like ride-hailing, delivery, and food.

So what do you do?

Well, get an MMP if you don’t have 1 yet.

With an MMP, managing more ad partners is vastly simplified: a single trustworthy dashboard, simple onboarding, integrated reporting. There’s value, frankly, even if you just use 1 ad network. But that value expands exponentially as you grow your channel diversity and ad partnerships.

High-value users don’t stay in one kind of app. 

Online shoppers and e-commerce users over-index on news and casino games. Fintech users often engage with travel and sports apps.

So with an MMP you can scale ad partners easier. And, with a diversified user acquisition strategy you can get those high-value users and customers in multiple places. You can get them cheaper, too. And once you get them, they are more valuable. 

Which, really, is what the app growth game is all about. 

Check out the full report right here …

12 tips on scaling ad spend from a $100 million marketer

Scaling ad spend is HARD. When you find something that works — the right creative, offer, and ad network — you’d hope that scaling ad spend would be as simple as inserting more cash into the coin-op user acquisition machine.

But it’s not that simple. 

What’s super-optimized at niche spend levels generally becomes unprofitable at scaled spend levels. First off, you need to find your unicorn creative that will remain ROI-positive even as you add zeros to your budget, as I learned from Lukas Szanto earlier this year. 

But you also sometimes need to add new channels. 

That’s horizontal scaling as opposed to vertical scaling, or increasing spend with existing partners. Recently, I sat down with Vytis Bareika, founder and CEO of Defined Chase, to talk about scaling. He should know: he’s spent over $100 million on ads and helped mobile games hit over a billion downloads.

Hit play to see our convo, and keep scrolling for the top learnings:

Scaling ad spend: horizontal vs vertical

First up, what does Bareika mean by horizontal and vertical scaling?

When you find an ad network that works, you scale ad spend until it doesn’t. That’s vertical scaling, and for a game or app that monetizes well, it’s an infinite money hack: insert UA capital, get users, make more money, re-insert UA capital.

But at any given ad network, ad spend scales until it doesn’t.

Then you need more fishing poles, and you need to fish in different streams. That’s horizontal scaling.

When you’ve hit a point where increasing budget on Meta or Google doesn’t give better returns, it’s time to diversify: new partners, new formats, and sometimes even new platforms like web or CTV.

All the top ad-scaling tips

What do you need to know when you’re going to scale ad spend? Here’s a good starter list, at least:

Scaling ad spend: 12 tips
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1. Know when to start scaling horizontally
Watch for diminishing returns on current channels.

Or, if you prefer to read your tips the old-fashioned way:

  1. Know when to start scaling horizontally
    Watch for diminishing returns on current channels.
  2. Scale horizontally and vertically at the same time
    Keep scaling on your best-performing campaigns on your top channels while also looking for new channels.
  3. Validate new channels for incrementality
    Ensure you’re getting net new users.
  4. Research before testing
    Don’t just test randomly. Check reports like the Singular ROI Index to look for your best options.
  5. Test with meaningful budgets
    Don’t underinvest in tests … for the U.S. you need a minimum of $500/day.
  6. Build a relationship with your ad reps
    They know tips and tricks for their platform, and often those are unpublished. Avoid learning the hard way.
  7. Customize your creative approach for each channel
    TikTok and Google aren’t the same, and everyone knows it. But IG is different too, and Snapchat needs its own approach.
  8. Build a creative testing system
    Don’t just go by your gut. Structure your creative output in multiple dimensions (quantity, angles, offers, etc.) and track each.
  9. Analyze creative performance deeply
    Use AI-powered tools like Creative IQ to deeply understand what’s happening with your ad creative.
  10. Expand your team or tools
    As you scale ad spend, you scale workload. You will need to expand either your toolset or your team, or both.
  11. Consider brand awareness
    Scaling brings advantages, and 1 of them is increased brand awareness. Leverage that for re-engagement, retention, and trust. And note that high-frequency low-CPM ads can help build brand awareness quickly.
  12. Leverage web-to-app funnels
    Even if you’re not taking payments here, take advantage of better tracking and soft closes on the web. And use quiz funnels to warm up users and collect emails before your app is installed.

Smart diversification means testing for incrementality

Choosing the right ad networks and platforms is key, of course. 

But you need to test that they’re incremental before scaling on them. 

That means controlling campaigns, creating differential spend patterns and then looking for matching results, as well as potentially going all-in on hard-core incrementality testing.

The key is finding ad partners that access a new audience. Otherwise you’re just throwing more hooks into the same pond and getting more of the same fish.

Want to go deeper with incrementality testing for scaling ad spend? Check out a detailed step-by-step resource here.

Creative is the key to scaling ad spend

Every marketer knows ad creative is super-critical for positive ROI. That’s especially true when scaling ad spend.

As you test each ad partner for incrementality — try $500 to $1,000 per month to start — also be testing creative. You’re looking for a unicorn creative that is literally 10X better than the alternatives.

Why 10X?

Because as you scale spend on that creative, performance will naturally degrade as your ad partner shows it to more and more people, including some who are just on the fringes of your ideal target audience.

Also, customize each creative element to the platform you’re publishing on.

“Snapchat is different from Google. TikTok is different from Meta. You need dedicated creative per channel,” says Bareika.

Facebook still works great with static ads (check the webinar I just did with a bunch of experts who said that Ye Olde Static Banner Ad is still working, still effective, and still ROI-positive. Unity, AppLovin, and other programmatic networks excel with playables. TikTok and Instagram work well with UGC and AI-enhanced UGC, though each has slightly different preferences due to age range differences as well.

The key learning: don’t reuse one-size-fits-all creatives.

Also, structure your creative efforts.

“Some teams create based on feeling,” says Bareika. “Better teams have systems: how many creatives per week, what angles, what emotions?”

Be a better team. Have a plan. Check in regularly to see that the plan is working … or not. Use a tool like Creative IQ to enlist AI on your side to optimize your creative faster and better than you can alone.

Get nerdy.

Sometimes the most trivial things have big consequences:

“We did AI analysis of thousands of creatives,” says Bareika. “If the character looked left instead of at the user, conversions dropped 20%.”

And don’t forget, if you’re scaling ad spend, your creative production has to scale too. Try different angles based on user psychology: social proof, relaxation, problem-solving, and more. Use generative AI to multiply variations and test faster. Set weekly output goals.

And don’t forget web2app

Web can be cheaper, which is good. It also provides more data, at least than iOS, and that’s also good.

And you can do quiz funnels to really prep potential buyers for your solution.

“With quiz funnels, you make the problem feel bigger,” says Bareika. “By the end, users are ready to solve it.”

Quiz funnels also take advantage of sunk-cost psychology: after 15–20 questions, people feel invested … and they trust you more. A big bonus: you can collect emails or phone numbers even before the install, allowing you to set up for retargeting and lookalike marketing even if they don’t complete the install and sign-up right away.

So much more in the full podcast

Hey, there’s so much more about scaling ad spend profitably in the full podcast. Check it out above, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or get it wherever you get audio podcasts.

What you’ll get:

  • 00:00 Introduction to Growth Masterminds
  • 00:34 The Journey to Managing Massive Ad Budgets
  • 02:10 Understanding Horizontal Scaling
  • 04:40 Strategies for Adding New Partners
  • 07:22 Creative Strategies for Different Channels
  • 09:37 Analyzing User Engagement and Creative Performance
  • 12:09 Hidden Gems in Apple Search
  • 12:38 Singular’s Quarterly Trends Report
  • 13:16 The Importance of Brand Awareness
  • 16:14 Re-engagement Strategies
  • 17:33 Web to App Marketing
  • 23:24 Future Trends in UA Performance Marketing
  • 24:34 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Top apps in China: what’s hot now?

What are the top apps in China?

It’s obvious that China is a massive mobile market: 1 of the most critical on the planet. With a population of 1.4 billion people, China’s second only to India. And those 1.4 billion people pay for perhaps 1.9 billion cellular subscriptions, almost 20% of the global total. The result is a massive, tech-savvy, and increasingly wealthy population unlike any other nation in the world.

This year, those 1.4 billion people will collectively spend about $3.5 trillion online this year, more than any other country and almost half of global e-commerce spend. And most of that will be on mobile devices, which also support a massive and quickly-growing digital advertising market that could surpass $150 billion this year.

All of that fuels a lot of mobile innovation. And a huge number of mobile app installs.

So what are the top apps in China right now?

2 ways to answer …

There are 2 ways to look at what matters in China’s mobile economy right now.

  1. Everyday stack
    The first is what people are using now: the everyday, must-have apps with hundreds of millions of daily active users. These define the present. These are the apps that, if you visit China, you have to load up on just in order to get around, buy food, and basically exist.
  2. New and hot
    The second is what people are downloading most right now: the new wave of apps that are surging in popularity right now. These signal the next big shift in consumer behavior. They hint at the future.

We’ll start with #1: top apps in China that are part of the everyday stack.

Top apps in China part 1: the everyday stack

The apps people cannot live without in China look very different from those you might use in the United States, or Europe, or South America.

There’s essentially 10 to 14 top apps in China that are almost must-haves. And no, unless you’re Chinese or visit often, you probably haven’t heard of all the top apps in China.

  1. WeChat (Weixin, 微信)
    WeChat is China’s default for messaging, social feeds, bill-splitting, mini-apps, and payments. It’s used at national scale with something like 1.4 billion combined monthly average users.
  2. Alipay (支付宝)
    There’s no total monopoly in China: Alipay is the other half of the daily payments ecosystem: paying in shops, utilities, taxis, and more. Plus, it offers finance and service mini-apps.
  3. Amap / Gaode Map (高德地图)
    This is the go-to for driving, public transit, bike-share, ride-hailing aggregation, and nearby services. It’s widely regarded as the most used maps app with something like 800M+ monthly active users.
  4. Meituan (美团) (with Dianping 大众点评 inside)
    If you’re hungry, you’ll want Meituan. This app is for food delivery, groceries, local services, and restaurant reviews/deals.
  5. Taobao / Tmall (淘宝 / 天猫), JD.com (京东), and Pinduoduo (拼多多)
    When you’re buying a TV or makeup or diapers or a new phone, you’re probably using 1 of these big 3 e-commerce apps for everyday shopping. E-commerce is close to universal behavior online in China as online shopping activity is at almost 90% of the online population.
  6. Didi (滴滴出行)
    Yes, you can get rides and cars in a bunch of different apps, but Didi is the primary ride-hailing app in most cities. Didi delivers 10s of millions of rides every single day, which gives you some sense of its scale in urban life.
  7. 12306 (中国铁路12306)
    Travel by train is extremely important in China, and the official national train-ticketing app processes enormous volumes: hundreds of millions of tickets for some holiday events.
  8. Ctrip / Trip.com (携程)
    Ctrip is a full-stack travel app: everything including hotels, flights, trains, and trip packages or holidays.
  9. Douyin (抖音)
    Need entertainment? This is the Chinese version of TikTok. It’s short-video + search + shopping, and a ton of product discovery, local tips, and entertainment happens here every day. Third-party sources put Douyin at close to 800 million users.
  10. Kuaishou (快手)
    Kuaishou is the other giant short-video platform in China. It’s strong outside top-tier cities and for live-commerce with close to 400 million regular users.
  11. Baidu Maps (百度地图)
    Baidu Maps is an alternative to Amap. It’s tightly connected to Baidu search results and features countless local points of interest.
  12. Weibo (微博)
    Often compared to Twitter years ago but significantly different, Weibo is China’s public square for news, trends, and celebrity chatter.

You’ll almost certainly have most of these top apps in China on your phone if you live in the country or visit frequently. That’s especially true of WeChat and Alipay and Douyin and Weibo, but largely of the others as well.

Why are these top apps in China so popular?

Essentially, because they’re must-haves, not nice-to-haves.

These apps dominate daily life. Mobile payment usage is over 90% in China, so Alipay/WeChat Pay are just how you pay for coffee, taxis, street food, and more. Your social graph from personal to work is probably all in WeChat, plus dozens of other things you do in mini-apps on the platforms, and almost 100% of Chinese people watch online video, so Douyin and Kuaishou almost essential. Plus, they’re not just entertainment apps but also search engines for products and experiences.

Unlike the west, where mobile functionality is largely fragmented (messaging, paying, buying, mapping, ride-hailing, entertainment), in China some super-apps cover dozens if not thousands of daily functions, like payments, shopping, entertainment, and social networking.

This makes user loyalty stronger and competition fiercer

It also makes unseating an incumbent incredibly hard.

Top apps in China part 2: what’s getting downloaded right now

When we look at the top apps in China from a perspective of what’s being downloaded the most right now, a very different picture emerges.

While in the United States for instance games, social apps, and utilities are often high on the list of the most-downloaded apps, in China, AI-powered tools and short dramas are leading the way.

Here’s the most-downloaded apps in China over the past 3 months, based on Apptopia data:

Rank App Category
1 Doubao – ByteDance AI Assistant Productivity
2 Red Fruit Short Dramas Entertainment, Books & Reference
3 UnionPay APP Finance
4 Douyin Mall Shopping
5 Qishui Music – Douyin Music Music
6 JD.com Lifestyle, Shopping
7 Hippo Theater – Short Dramas Entertainment
8 China Mobile (Service Hall) Business, Tool & Utilities
9 Quark Browser – AI Search Tool & Utilities, Productivity
10 Croissant – Photography Community Social
11 Railway 12306 – Train Tickets Travel
12 DeepSeek – AI Assistant Productivity
13 Traffic Management 12123 Tool & Utilities, Lifestyle
14 Xianyu – Alibaba Resale Marketplace Lifestyle, Shopping
15 Tencent Yuanbao – DeepSeek+ AI Assistant Productivity, Tool & Utilities
16 Meituan – Lifestyle Services Travel, Lifestyle
17 KFC China (Official) Lifestyle, Food & Drink
18 Electronic Tax Bureau Finance
19 Taobao – Online Shopping App Lifestyle, Shopping
20 Ele.me – Food Delivery Lifestyle, Food & Drink
21 大麦 – 演出、体育购票平台 Lifestyle, Entertainment
22 Dianping: Discover Good Places Lifestyle, Shopping, Food & Drink
23 AMap Global Maps & Navigation, Lifestyle, Travel
24 国家网络身份认证 Tool & Utilities
25 三角洲行动 Games, Action
26 悟空浏览器-看短剧小说影视 Tool & Utilities
27 醒图 – 拍照&修图&修live神器 Photo & Video
28 BOSS直聘-招聘求职找工作神器 Business, Social
29 百度网盘 Productivity, Lifestyle
30 拼多多 – 多多买菜，百亿补贴 Lifestyle, Shopping
31 1688- B2B Market Business, Shopping
32 剪映 — 视频剪辑&Live实况图编辑 Photo & Video
33 rednote Social, Shopping
34 迅雷-随心搜，放心存，畅快看 Tool & Utilities, Productivity
35 即梦AI – 抖音旗下AI图片和视频工具 Photo & Video, Entertainment
36 WeCom-Work Communication&Tools Business, Tool & Utilities
37 番茄小说 – 热门短剧全本小说电子书阅读器 Entertainment, Books & Reference
38 中国农业银行 Finance
39 bilibili – All Your Fav Videos Photo & Video, Entertainment
40 Alipay – Simplify Your Life Lifestyle, Finance
41 得物 – 得到美好事物 Sports, Lifestyle
42 DiDi: Ride Hailing in China Travel, Lifestyle, Maps & Navigation
43 快手 Social, Photo & Video
44 中国电信-全国统一官方服务平台 Tool & Utilities, Lifestyle
45 中国工商银行 Finance
46 携程旅行-订酒店机票火车票 Travel, Lifestyle
47 58同城-求职招聘找工作租房二手车 Tool & Utilities, Lifestyle
48 去哪儿旅行-订酒店机票火车票 Travel, Lifestyle
49 DingDing – Make It Happen Business, Social, Productivity
50 学信网 Tool & Utilities, Education

Looking at this top list and the top 250 most-downloaded apps in China, 3 major patterns emerge.

  1. Daily life & commerce apps are everywhere
    We see shopping and lifestyle apps like Taobao, JD.com, Douyin Mall, Xianyu resale, Meituan, Ele.me, and the KFC app).
  2. AI assistants & productivity tools are surging
    Chinese people are diving hard into AI assistants and AI-driven productivity apps, making Doubao (ByteDance AI assistant), DeepSeek, Tencent Yuanbao, and Quark AI Browser among the top apps in China.
  3. Utilities, finance, and official apps
    People need core utilities and official apps to pay bills, access government services, and more. They include UnionPay, the China Mobile service app, Railway 12306, a traffic management app, and more.

Here’s the distribution of the most-downloaded top apps in China by app category:

distribution of the most-downloaded apps in China by category

 

AI is super-mainstream in China right now: much more so than in western app stores. There are multiple AI apps in the top 20 and many more appear in the top 250 most-downloaded apps list. Short-form dramas are huge.

Interestingly, this is very much like Brazil, where short-form drama is a major app category.

Commerce is super-critical in China, but despite super apps that will do almost anything, there is some significant fragmentation in the market, with players like Taobao, JD.com, Douyin Mall, and other resale apps (think eBay or Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace) all in heavy competition for the Chinese consumer’s time and money.

Another key element of the Chinese mobile market: official apps are critical. Government is highly sophisticated and digital in China, so government apps for tax and other purposes get massive numbers of installs.

Based on what Chinese people are downloading right now, here are the top 5 categories for top apps in China:

  1. Lifestyle and utilities
  2. Shopping
  3. Finance
  4. Productivity (driven by AI)
  5. Entertainment

Notice the key missing category? Games.

Why games aren’t a top category for mobile in China

In the U.S., games dominate top download charts with titles like Roblox, Candy Crush, and Royal Match). Not in China.

Why?

While they are important, games do not rank high in lists of top apps in China: lifestyle, AI, and commerce are bigger. In fact, in the top 250 most-downloaded apps in China recently, games captured only just over 5% of all downloads: vastly different than most other markets.

That’s not because Chinese people don’t like games, though. There are 4 key reasons why games are less downloaded in China:

  1. Different regulations
    China limits new game licenses, so there are fewer new games. China also caps the amount of playtime kids under the age of 18 can engage in..
  2. Different consumer behavior
    Where in the west people might download a game to take a 5-minute break, in China short videos and short dramas are filling the entertainment gap.
  3. Different ecosystem
    Tencent and NetEase dominate gaming and their flagship titles are successful, popular, and entrenched. That means they are less likely to appear as new downloads in a top apps in China list.
  4. Different monetization
    In the U.S. and other western nations, ad monetization works well and ad-driven casual games thrive. In China, commerce and service apps monetize more reliably at scale, so innovation in the mobile space moves there.

All that said, games are still huge in China.

Honor of Kings has probably 100 million daily active users, and was the highest-grossing mobile game globally in 2024, earning approximately $2.6 billion. PUBG Mobile / Peacekeeper Elite is massive as well, and not far behind, while you also see Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Arknights, and Black Myth: Wukong among the top games in China.

In the last 3 months, these are the most-downloaded mobile games in China and where they rank in overall number of installs”

  1. 三角洲行动 (Delta Force: Hawk Ops) — Rank 25
  2. 王者荣耀 (Honor of Kings) — Rank 62
  3. 暴吵萌厨 (Cooking game) — Rank 68
  4. 和平精英 (Peacekeeper Elite / PUBG Mobile China) — Rank 73
  5. 超自然行动组 (Supernatural Action Team) — Rank 81
  6. 蛋仔派对 (Eggy Party) — Rank 93
  7. 我的花园世界 (My Garden World) — Rank 100
  8. 无畏契约：源能行动 (Valorant Mobile: Source Ops) — Rank 105
  9. 我的世界：移动版 (Minecraft Mobile, China) — Rank 115
  10. 开心消消乐 (Happy Elimination) — Rank 128
  11. 掌上无畏契约 (Valorant Companion App) — Rank 129
  12. 燕云十六声 (Where Winds Meet / RPG) — Rank 137
  13. 迷你世界 (Mini World) — Rank 149
  14. 金铲铲之战 (Teamfight Tactics, China) — Rank 151
  15. 地铁跑酷 (Subway Surfers China) — Rank 159
  16. 贪吃蛇大作战 (Snake Battle) — Rank 179
  17. 球球大作战 (Battle of Balls) — Rank 197
  18. 腾讯欢乐斗地主 (Tencent Happy Landlord, card game) — Rank 210
  19. 永远的蔚蓝星球 (Forever Blue Planet) — Rank 212
  20. 斗罗大陆：猎魂世界 (Soul Land RPG) — Rank 233

Top apps in China: good news about measurement

One piece of good news for those bringing their apps into China: your mobile marketing measurement doesn’t need to change, as Singular offers mobile attribution services in China along with virtually everywhere else on the planet.

That means:

  • China-based servers
  • China-based data processing (required by Chinese cybersecurity law)
  • Integrations with local Chinese networks and media partners
  • Integrations with third-party Android app markets
  • Fraud protection
  • Global customers who are looking to add China to the markets they publish in should chat with their Singular representative. We have local people in China who can help you navigate some of the challenges of entering the market.

Perhaps even more importantly, Singular can ensure that all of your marketing efforts get the measurement that they deserve, enabling best-in-class growth optimization in China.

Book some time with us here.

Top travel apps for 2025: more than Uber, Google Maps, and Airbnb

The world is in motion, and there are tens of thousands of mobile apps to help: trip planners, hotel apps, transportation, apps, mobility apps, all the apps you can think. There’s translation apps too, which are super-useful when you’re traveling. But what are the top travel apps for 2025?

Hint: Uber, Google Maps, and Google Translate are at the top.

But there’s hundreds more that are worth checking out for different countries and regions, like Where Is My Train in India and Bolt in Europe, or DiDi in China. The biggest and most popular apps tend to be in transportation apps (especially ride-hailing apps, trip planning apps like mapping and navigation tools, plus accommodation apps like hotel apps and Airbnb, Vrbo-type apps.

We’ll start by listing the 100 best: the top travel apps for the whole world, and then we’ll look at the top 20 in individual regions. We’ll also look at what are the most popular types of travel apps per region, and speculate on what that might mean…

Key takeaways

  • The top travel apps of 2025 aren’t just Uber, Google Maps, and Airbnb; regional leaders like DiDi, Grab, and Where Is My Train show how local champions thrive.

  • Travel app preferences vary by region: ride-hailing dominates LATAM, rail and transit shine in APAC, and hotel bookings lead in North America.

  • Despite global giants, 75% of top travel apps come from smaller, regional players, proving there’s room to win without being global.

  • The future of travel apps will be shaped by multimodal mobility, seamless digital experiences, and smarter integrations across devices and platforms.

 

Top Travel Apps

Top travel apps: top 100 globally

Here are the top travel apps globally for 2025, based on Apptopia download data:

Rank App Name Developer
1 Uber – Request a ride Uber Technologies, Inc.
2 Google Maps Google
3 Google Translate Google
4 Where is my Train Sigmoid Labs and its affiliates
5 Waze Navigation & Live Traffic Waze Inc.
6 Airbnb Airbnb, Inc.
7 Booking.com: Hotels & Travel Booking.com
8 Rapido: Bike-Taxi, Auto & Cabs Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited
9 inDrive. Save on city rides SUOL INNOVATIONS LTD
10 maxim: order a taxi & delivery PT. SITO
11 Bolt: Request a Ride BOLT TECHNOLOGY OU
12 Grab: Taxi Ride, Food Delivery Grab.com
13 Trip.com: Book Flights, Hotels Trip.com Travel Singapore Pte. Ltd.
14 Revolut: Send, spend and save Revolut Ltd
15 Google Earth Google
16 铁路12306 中国铁道科学研究院集团有限公司
17 Instabridge: eSIM + Internet Instabridge Sweden AB
18 Flightradar24 | Flight Tracker Flightradar24 AB
19 Yandex Go: Taxi Food Delivery Mikromobilnost doo
20 美团-美好生活小帮手 美团
21 DiDi Rider: Affordable rides DiDi
22 Moovit: Bus & Transit Tracker Moovit App Global LTD
23 Zangi Private Messenger Secret Phone, Inc
24 Qpon: Daily Deals & Coupons HEYTAP PTE. LTD.
25 AMap Global AutoNavi Information Technology Co. Ltd.
26 Agoda: Cheap Flights & Hotels Agoda.com
27 Weather & Radar – Storm alerts WetterOnline – Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH
28 2GIS: City maps & camera radar LLC “DoubleGIS”
29 Yango: taxi, food, delivery YHub ZAF (Pty) Ltd
30 Expedia: Hotels, Flights, Cars Expedia, Inc.
31 Skyscanner Flights Hotels Cars Skyscanner
32 Speak & Learn English: Learna Codeway Dijital Hizmetler Anonim Sirketi
33 Lyft Lyft, Inc.
34 Radarbot: Speed Cameras | GPS Iteration Mobile S.L
35 DiDi: Ride Hailing in China 滴滴出行(北京)网络平台技术有限公司
36 GetYourGuide: Plan & Book GetYourGuide
37 ConfirmTkt: Train Booking App Le Travenues Technology Ltd
38 Ola: Book Cab, Auto, Bike Taxi ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
39 99 – Private drivers and Taxi 99 Taxis Desenvolvimento de Softwares Ltda. – Epp
40 redBus: Bus, Train Booking App Pilani Soft Labs Pvt. Ltd
41 ixigo Trains: Ticket Booking ixigo – IRCTC Authorised Partner, Flight Tickets
42 BlaBlaCar: Carpooling and Bus Comuto
43 携程旅行-订酒店机票火车票 Shanghai Ctrip Commerce Co.,Ltd
44 Airalo: eSIM Travel & Internet Airalo
45 Yelp: Food, Services & Reviews Yelp
46 RailOne Centre for Railway Information Systems
47 AllTrails: Hike, Bike & Run AllTrails, Inc.
48 Yandex Maps & Navigator Direct Cursus Computer Systems Trading
49 EasyPark – Parking made easy Easy Park AS
50 trivago: Compare hotel prices trivago N.V.
51 去哪儿旅行-订酒店机票火车票 Beijing Qunar Information Technology Company Limit
52 Xanh SM: Book EV rides GSM GREEN AND SMART MOBILITY JOINT STOCK COMPANY
53 Ryanair Ryanair Ltd.
54 Gojek PT. GOTO GOJEK TOKOPEDIA TBK
55 Lime – #RideGreen Neutron Holdings. Inc.
56 IRCTC Rail Connect Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited
57 同程旅行-订酒店机票火车票,低价打车 Tongcheng Network Technology Co., Ltd.
58 Marriott Bonvoy: Book Hotels Marriott International
59 OpenTable OpenTable, Inc.
60 Yandex Navi – navigation, maps Direct Cursus Computer Systems Trading
61 UK ETA Home Office
62 航旅纵横-官方源头机票、值机火车票接送机免税酒店 China Travelsky Technology Limited
63 Trainline: Cheap Train Tickets thetrainline
64 FlixBus & FlixTrain Flix SE
65 Polarsteps Travel Polarsteps B.V.
66 Flowbird parking Flowbird
67 Klook: Travel, Hotels, Leisure Klook Travel Technology Limited
68 Vrbo Vacation Rentals HomeAway.com, Inc.
69 Omio: Book Train, Bus & Flight Omio Corp.
70 MakeMyTrip Flight, Hotel, Bus MakeMyTrip.com
71 Lalamove – Fast & Affordable Lalamove Media Limited
72 Traveloka: Book Hotel & Flight Traveloka
73 UTS Centre for Railway Information Systems
74 Grab Driver: App for Partners Grab.com
75 百度地图-路线规划,出行必备 Beijing Baidu Netcom Science & Technology Co.,Ltd
76 Hotels.com: Book hotels & more Hotels.com
77 WiFi Map・Internet, eSIM Travel WiFi Map LLC
78 哈啰-骑车顺风车打车租车 上海哈啰普惠科技有限公司
79 United Airlines United Airlines
80 Transit • Subway & Bus Times Transit App, Inc.
81 Easy Rout Map: Navigation Path Travel Maps Tech
82 IRCTC eCatering Food on Track Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited
83 Google Maps Go Google LLC
84 Fly Delta Delta Air Lines, Inc.
85 Holafly eSIM: Unlimited Data HOLAFLY LIMITED
86 American Airlines American Airlines
87 Dott (previously TIER) Dott B.V.
88 OYO: Hotel Booking App & Deals Oravel Stays Private Ltd.
89 Nusuk | نسك Ministry of Hajj and Umrah
90 Saily eSIM: Data for travel Nordvpn S.A.
91 OsmAnd Maps Travel & Navigate OsmAND B.V.
92 DiDi Driver: Drive & Earn Cash DiDi
93 Porter – Logistics Service App Resfeber Labs Pvt. Ltd.
94 PayByPhone Parking PayByPhone Technologies Inc.
95 Speak: Language Learning Speakeasy Labs
96 Tripadvisor: Plan & Book Trips Tripadvisor
97 GO / Taxi app for Japan GO Inc.
98 MAPS.ME: Offline Maps, GPS Nav Convexity Holdings AG
99 Grubhub: Food Delivery GrubHub.com
100 飞猪旅行-机票酒店火车票门票轻松预订 Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Service Co., Ltd.

 

Want to deliver the same seamless, data-driven journeys as the world’s top travel apps? Discover how Singular empowers travel businesses to optimize every customer touchpoint.

Top travel apps by region

The top travel apps globally are mobility apps like Uber, trip planning apps like Google Maps and Where is my Train, and communication apps like Google Translate. Hotels and booking apps perform best in North America where they get about 8% of installs, while maps and navigation over-index in EMEA, where they get about 13.5% of travel app installs.

But there’s only 3 apps that are top 20 in every single region we looked at: Uber, Google Maps, and Google Translate.

The good news for those who want local flavor: of all the top travel apps in the world, 48 apps are “regional heroes:” meaning that they are top 20 travel apps in exactly 1 region.

Top travel apps in APAC: trains, bikes, and superapps

India drives the APAC rankings, with Where is my Train and Rapido taking the top two spots. But Grab is the Southeast Asian superapp story: mobility, food delivery, and payments all in one.

Rail and bike-taxi solutions dominate here, making APAC the world’s most multimodal region by downloads.

Rank App Name Publisher Name
1 Where is my Train Sigmoid Labs and its affiliates
2 Rapido: Bike-Taxi, Auto & Cabs Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited
3 Uber – Request a ride Uber Technologies, Inc.
4 Grab: Taxi Ride, Food Delivery Grab.com
5 Google Translate Google
6 Google Maps Google
7 铁路12306 中国铁道科学研究院集团有限公司
8 美团-美好生活小帮手 美团
9 Qpon: Daily Deals & Coupons HEYTAP PTE. LTD.
10 AMap Global AutoNavi Information Technology Co. Ltd.
11 Trip.com: Book Flights, Hotels Trip.com Travel Singapore Pte. Ltd.
12 maxim: order a taxi & delivery PT. SITO
13 Agoda: Cheap Flights & Hotels Agoda.com
14 Ola: Book Cab, Auto, Bike Taxi ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
15 DiDi: Ride Hailing in China 滴滴出行(北京)网络平台技术有限公司
16 inDrive. Save on city rides SUOL INNOVATIONS LTD
17 ConfirmTkt: Train Booking App Le Travenues Technology Ltd
18 redBus: Bus, Train Booking App Pilani Soft Labs Pvt. Ltd
19 ixigo Trains: Ticket Booking ixigo – IRCTC Authorised Partner, Flight Tickets
20 携程旅行-订酒店机票火车票 Shanghai Ctrip Commerce Co.,Ltd

 

And in EMEA: fragmentation

EMEA is a little more fragmented than the average region we looked at, with Uber, Bolt, and Yandex Go all battling for rides.

Revolut also shows up as a finance-travel hybrid, possibly showing a path to a European-focused superapp. Calling it a travel app might be a stretch, but it is used to spend in different currencies, and has chosen the travel category. And its marketing is heavily travel-focused: “spend in 140+ countries.”

Rank App Name Publisher Name
1 Uber – Request a ride Uber Technologies, Inc.
2 Revolut: Send, spend and save Revolut Ltd
3 Google Maps Google
4 Booking.com: Hotels & Travel Booking.com
5 Bolt: Request a Ride BOLT TECHNOLOGY OU
6 Waze Navigation & Live Traffic Waze Inc.
7 Google Translate Google
8 Yandex Go: Taxi Food Delivery Mikromobilnost doo
9 Airbnb Airbnb, Inc.
10 maxim: order a taxi & delivery PT. SITO
11 2GIS: City maps & camera radar LLC “DoubleGIS”
12 inDrive. Save on city rides SUOL INNOVATIONS LTD
13 Flightradar24 | Flight Tracker Flightradar24 AB
14 Trip.com: Book Flights, Hotels Trip.com Travel Singapore Pte. Ltd.
15 Yandex Maps & Navigator Direct Cursus Computer Systems Trading
16 Weather & Radar – Storm alerts WetterOnline – Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH
17 EasyPark – Parking made easy Easy Park AS
18 GetYourGuide: Plan & Book GetYourGuide
19 Ryanair Ryanair Ltd.
20 Google Earth Google

 

Now for LATAM: ride-sharing is king

LATAM is the world’s ride-hailing capital.

Over 32% of installs in the travel category in LATAM go to Uber, DiDi, inDrive, and other mobility app players. Local champions like 99 Taxis and Maxim are also surging.

Rank App Name Publisher Name
1 Uber – Request a ride Uber Technologies, Inc.
2 DiDi Rider: Affordable rides DiDi
3 Waze Navigation & Live Traffic Waze Inc.
4 inDrive. Save on city rides SUOL INNOVATIONS LTD
5 99 – Private drivers and Taxi 99 Taxis Desenvolvimento de Softwares Ltda. – Epp
6 Google Maps Google
7 Airbnb Airbnb, Inc.
8 Yango: taxi, food, delivery YHub ZAF (Pty) Ltd
9 Moovit: Bus & Transit Tracker Moovit App Global LTD
10 maxim: order a taxi & delivery PT. SITO
11 DiDi Driver: Drive & Earn Cash DiDi
12 Zangi Private Messenger Secret Phone, Inc
13 Instabridge: eSIM + Internet Instabridge Sweden AB
14 Speak & Learn English: Learna Codeway Dijital Hizmetler Anonim Sirketi
15 AstroPay – Global Wallet AstroPay
16 Booking.com: Hotels & Travel Booking.com
17 99 Motorista e Entregador 99 Taxis Desenvolvimento de Softwares Ltda. – Epp
18 SUBE Nación Servicios
19 Google Translate Google
20 Google Earth Google

 

And finally: North America’s top travel apps

North America skews toward maps, rides, and bookings.

North America is classic “big three” region: trip planner apps, hotel apps, and transportation apps. Lyft is the only major counterweight to Uber here, and Expedia still has strength as a traditional online travel agent. ParkMobile also cracks the top 20, showing the region’s quirky reliance on car culture and parking apps.

Rank Publisher Name App Name
1 Google Google Maps
2 Uber Technologies, Inc. Uber – Request a ride
3 Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb
4 Lyft, Inc. Lyft
5 Expedia, Inc. Expedia: Hotels, Flights, Cars
6 Waze Inc. Waze Navigation & Live Traffic
7 Booking.com Booking.com: Hotels & Travel
8 Google Google Translate
9 HomeAway.com, Inc. Vrbo Vacation Rentals
10 American Airlines American Airlines
11 Delta Air Lines, Inc. Fly Delta
12 United Airlines United Airlines
13 Upside Services Inc Upside: Get Cash Back on Fuel
14 Google Google Earth
15 AllTrails, Inc. AllTrails: Hike, Bike & Run
16 Yelp Yelp: Food, Services & Reviews
17 Transit App, Inc. Transit • Subway & Bus Times
18 Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest Airlines: Travel App
19 Parkmobile USA, Inc. ParkMobile: Park. Pay. Go.
20 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Hilton Honors: Book Hotels

 

The big picture: what we can see from all these trip planners, hotel apps, and mobility apps

Travel apps are a kind of a mirror of travel itself: global in scope, but local in execution.

Uber and Google provide the backbone, but there’s a lot of depth in local rail apps, regional ride-hail apps, and niche booking apps that works best locally, serving specific cultural and logistical needs. For app publishers that want to make top travel apps, that means there’s room to win without being global. If you can own a region, or even a city, you can still chart in the top 20 for your area. 

There definitely is some consolidation in the space, but it’s not total:

  • The top 5 publishers account for 16.5% of downloads
  • The top 10 account for 25%
  • 75% of top travel apps are from a long tail of hundreds of smaller players

Each region has different preferences of type top travel apps, too:

  • APAC: rail/transit (about 13.7% of downloads)
  • EMEA: maps/navigation (about 13.5% of downloads)
  • LATAM: ride-hailing (about 32% of downloads)
  • North America: hotel apps/booking apps (about 8.2% of downloads)

More to come in 2026

As preferences change and app developers come out with new experiences and new features, we’ll update this list regularly.

Singular helps travel brands go further

As travel apps evolve to deliver smoother, more personalized journeys, travel brands also need the right tools to measure and optimize those experiences. Singular helps travel companies do exactly that, with cross-device attribution and privacy-first insights

Mobile gaming CTR is out of control (and much more from our Q3 Quarterly Trends Report)

Mobile gaming CTR is out of control.

Overall click-through rate in mobile advertising was up 5.6% globally in Q2, as measured by Singular. But that’s not the story. The story is that CTR is only really up on iOS, where CTR jumped from 4.3% in January of 2025 to 13.4% in June. But that’s also not the story. The story is that CTR is only really up in mobile gaming advertising on iOS, where it ballooned from 6.1% in January to an eye-watering 25.9% in June.

Ouch.

That and much, much more is in Singular’s newest Quarterly Trends Report for 2025 Q3, which is available for free right now.

Mobile gaming CTR: up, up, and away!

This is the chart for CTR for both iOS and Android, year to date:

CTR on android and iOS

Clearly, something’s happening here. Android is basically flat for the full 6 months, while iOS is on a steady rise.

As I mentioned above, though, there’s 1 very clear culprit here.

Mobile gaming CTR is the primary reason for the steady increase, as you can see in this iOS-only chart that breaks down CTR by vertical:

mobile gaming CTR iOS

(The spiky blue line is Travel, a much smaller vertical for Singular than Gaming, which is basically half of the App Store. Travel isn’t impacting the overall numbers nearly as much.)

Every single month this year, mobile gaming CTR has increased. There hasn’t been a single month in which it has decreased.

Why?

Rewarded ads in games using SKOverlay to pop up a lightweight App Store app listing view right inside an ad, inside a game. I’ve talked about this before in Making Mobile Ads Suck Less, with Moloco’s Francesco Renzo, and Tragedy of the Commons. There are 3 versions of SKOverlay: a banner version, a full-screen version, and an App Clip version.

Spurious summoning of this and missed-that-X taps when people try to escape the ad result in clicks, clicks, and more clicks.

And the mobile gaming CTR rates rise and rise and rise.

Understanding CTR in the new reality: impression counts on iOS are back, baby

If mobile gaming CTR is just going to keep going this way as the mobile ad network arms race to get credit for conversions continues, it doesn’t necessarily mean that CTR is completely toast as a metric or a form of measurement.

It just means we all need to factor this into our new understanding of CTRs.

And, perhaps, start treating CTR almost as more of an impression count.

Which means, sort of, that impression counts are back on iOS, even though SKAdNetwork doesn’t support ad impression reporting the way we could see that before with the IDFA or can now on Android with GAID.

Not really, of course, and SKAN clicks are not trackable, so it’s not useful for MTA, or for frequency capping.

But hey: CTR is now the discount version of old-school ad impressions on iOS.

It’s not just mobile gaming CTR on iOS

Mobile gaming CTR isn’t the only thing that’s up.

Gaming in general tends to have higher CTRs — about 3X to 5X higher — so Android gaming CTRs are also up, at around 5%. That’s high compared to ads in Android shopping/retail apps, where we see about a 1% CTR, or entertainment apps on Android, where we see about a 2% CTR.

Utilities on Android is also an outlier.

Here’s CTR on Android by vertical:

CTR on android by vertical

Utilities starts the quarter high, at 17.7%, and finishes much higher, at 25.4%. Interestingly, on iOS Utilities has the highest ATT opt-in rates, and utilities are often “interesting” in grey hat sort of ways.

Draw your own conclusions.

This is a jam-packed report with so much more in it. 

Get your copy today for everything you need to know, including:

  • Global ad spend was up 45% quarter over quarter as measured by Singular
  • All key metrics — CPI, CPM, CTR, and IPM — were up as well
  • Android ads drive almost 3X more installs per impression than iOS
  • CTR ballooned by 38.6% globally (and we share why)
  • CPMs went up more than CPIs: good news for ad monetized apps
  • CPIs were up almost 15% in the U.S.
  • Fintech CPIs jumped almost 80%
  • Targeting is improving: IPM was up 11.3% across the board
  • Top 10 ad network share-of-spend gainers
  • Rewarded ad networks continue to grow
  • Hottest game genres (and what changed)
  • Hottest app verticals (and what changed)
  • ATT opt-in rates by vertical
  • And much more …

Plus, there’s some cool new tools to dial in to just the data you want:

Singular’s Quarterly Trends report

And, we have great contributions from partners:

  • AppMagic on top LiveOps trends
  • AppTweak on how CPPs lift conversion rates
  • Jampp on the recent surge in CTV
  • YouAppi on the least sexy but super-effective ad type

Get your copy right here.