Publication date: 17 Jan 2020

Russians are starting to take paid information, content, and subscriptions seriously, as an increasing number of services can now be easily accessed from mobile devices.
In Russia, consumer spending on mobile applications increased by 40% last year and reached a record $1.06 billion. This data comes from App Annie’s annual State of Mobile report.

More data: What is the most popular app?

In 2019, Russia downloaded more than 5 billion apps (35% more than in 2016) and was the sixth most downloading country. The global market grew by 20%—half as much as the Russian market—and reached $120 billion.

In Russia

Among the most downloaded mobile apps were:

• WhatsApp;
• Sberbank Online;
• VKontakte;
• Pochta Rossii (Russian Post);
• Nalogi FL (Individual income taxes).

Time!

In 2019, Russians were spending 2.5 hours daily on mobile apps—a 10% year-on-year increase.
Half of that time was spent in social networks and messengers, which is 25% more compared to 2018. At the same time, users continue to download new communication apps. 2019 alone saw 9.5 billion downloads of this type.
WhatsApp is still the No.1 app. Russians spent the most time in this messenger last year. Viber and VK took the second and third places, respectively, in terms of time spent.
The short-video app TikTok was popular among Russians in 2019, with 55 million hours spent in the app. The figure grew by 860% year-on-year, which is the biggest increase in popularity.

Money!

In 2019, Russians spent $1.06 billion on mobile apps and games (purchases, subscriptions, additional content). Consumer spending increased by 155% in the past three years.
Game of Sultans was the No.1 game in terms of consumer spending. As for non-gaming apps, Russians spent the most on VK, the Boom music app, and the ivi online cinema.