Top Apps of Q1 2017: Netflix Dominated Worldwide Revenue, Which Grew 63% YoY

Last week, we looked at the state of the mobile gaming space in Q1 2017 on the App Store and Google Play, and today we're expanding our analysis of last quarter to include non-game apps. In the following report, we've ranked the top 10 apps by global and U.S. downloads and revenue, both of which exhibited strong year-over-year growth.

Non-Game App Revenue Growth - Q1 2017

Gross revenue from non-game apps on the App Store and Google Play worldwide last quarter totaled approximately $2.19 billion, up from $1.34 billion in Q1 2016, an increase of about 63 percent YoY.

This figure represents considerable YoY growth by both the App Store and Google Play. Gross revenue on Apple's store grew 55 percent YoY from $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion. By comparison, Google Play's gross revenue grew 101 percent from $251 million to $504 million. While this growth by Google's store, driven in part by Android's success in developing markets, is impressive, Apple's platform continued to be the dominant earner, generating more than 3X its rival's revenue last quarter from non-game apps.

Non-Game App Download Growth - Q1 2017

Worldwide downloads of non-game mobile apps from the App Store and Google Play grew 14 percent YoY in Q1 2017, from approximately 11.9 billion to about 13.5 billion.

Non-game downloads from the App Store grew modestly at 5 percent YoY, from 4.5 to 4.7 billion. On Google Play, growth was more pronounced at 19 percent YoY, from 7.4 to 8.8 billion worldwide, which in part reflects Android's growing presence in developing territories.

Top Non-Game Apps by Downloads and Revenue - Worldwide

Facebook's WhatsApp regained the title of the world's most-downloaded app last quarter, having ranked third in Q4 2016. The No. 1 apps in terms of downloads on the App Store and Google Play were Messenger and Facebook, respectively, giving the social networking giant a commanding presence across the board.

In fact, Facebook owns four of the top five apps by downloads last quarter—WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram—overall and on each individual platform.

The biggest story in terms of worldwide non-game revenue last quarter was Netflix's capturing of the top earning app crown, having ranked at No. 2 in Q4 2016. The streaming giant's app displaced messaging platform LINE, which dropped to second place last quarter. LINE remained the No. 1 grossing non-game app on Google Play worldwide.

The rise of Netflix is not a new phenomena, and the app's revenue growth only seems to be gaining momentum worldwide. Last quarter, it grossed approximately $133 million globally, an increase of 286 percent YoY from about $34.6 million in Q1 2016. In December, Netflix became the top grossing iPhone app in the U.S. for the first time. The app began monetizing through Apple's platform in fall 2015.

Top Non-Game Apps by Downloads and Revenue - United States

Facebook's grip on the top of the download charts carried over into the U.S., where it had three apps in the overall top five: Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. It ceded the remaining two slots to Snap, which had Bitmoji at No. 2 and Snapchat at No. 4—ahead of its chief rival, Instagram. In fact, Snap's app also led Instagram (and by a wider margin) on the individual platform charts.

On the revenue side, it was Netflix claiming the No. 1 position as it did on the worldwide chart. It was the top grossing app overall and on the App Store, ranking at No. 8 on Google Play. While Q1 was the first quarter Netflix topped the worldwide revenue ranking overall, it actually made No. 1 in the U.S. for Q4 2016.

Another app that held its revenue ranking from Q4 of last year was Pandora, which again ranked No. 2 on the overall list. It was also No. 2 on the App Store in Q4 2016, but moved up from No. 2 on Google Play that quarter to No. 1 in Q1. Speaking of streaming music services, Tidal, which ranked at No. 10 for overall U.S. revenue in Q4, dropped to No. 14 last quarter without major new exclusives to drive surges in revenue.

Our Analysis of the App Ecosystem in Q1 2017 Continues

For our previous quarterly analysis of the world's top apps, covering Q4 2016, click here. We'll be launching our full Q1 2017 Store Intelligence Data Digest, covering the quarter's top trends, categories, apps, and publishers in more detail, in the coming days. Sign up to receive updates from our blog on the right-hand navigation to be notified when it's released.