India’s mobile app market generated a record $345 million in consumer spending during the second quarter of this year, up 35% from a year earlier, according to a new report by Sensor Tower. The growth was driven largely by generative AI, streaming, and productivity apps, signaling a shift in Indian consumer behavior toward paying for digital services.
The record quarter builds on a broader trend of rising app monetization. India’s revenue per download has more than doubled over the past three-and-a-half years, while quarterly app downloads have remained at around 6.3 billion since 2023.
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What’s Driving the Shift?
Sensor Tower attributes the change to wider adoption of digital payments, including India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and digital wallets, which have reduced friction for in-app purchases. Growing acceptance of app-based subscriptions and premium digital services also plays a role.
“We would describe India today as a rapidly evolving mobile market with a large user base and growing willingness to pay for digital services,” Eve Chen, an insights analyst at Sensor Tower, told TechCrunch.
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The trend stands out globally. India’s app revenue saw its fastest growth in Q2 among major app markets, generating more than $200 million in quarterly consumer spending. In contrast, Mexico grew 30% and Turkey 25%, while U.S. app revenue declined 3% over the same period.
AI and Non-Gaming Apps Lead the Charge
Generative AI has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude together accounting for nearly 83% of India’s AI app revenue in Q2. Non-gaming categories accounted for 68% of India’s mobile app revenue in the first half of 2026, up from 58% three years earlier.
Global subscription apps are among the biggest beneficiaries. Google One became India’s highest-grossing mobile app during the quarter, while streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Sony LIV, and JioHotstar also saw growing consumer spending.
Gaming also bucked the global trend, with revenue rising 3.7% from the previous quarter despite a worldwide decline, per Sensor Tower.
What It Means for the Market
India still trails more mature app markets by a wide margin. Revenue per download stands at about $4.60 in the U.S., $3.90 in South Korea, and $6.10 in Japan, compared with a small fraction of that in India. Nonetheless, Chen said the trajectory matters more than the absolute level, with India’s steadily improving monetization suggesting significant room for long-term growth.
Appfigures, another app intelligence firm, also sees India’s app subscription market continuing to grow, though the pace has slowed after an AI-fueled surge over the past two years. “The numbers are still staggering,” Ariel Michaeli, the company’s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. Appfigures estimates that ChatGPT generates about $60,000 a day in India and attracted around 1.8 million downloads over the past month, down from roughly $80,000 a day last October.
As India’s digital economy matures, the growth in app spending reflects a broader shift in consumer behavior. With UPI and digital wallets now deeply integrated into daily life, the friction that once hindered in-app purchases has largely disappeared. For global app developers, India is no longer just a download market — it is becoming a revenue opportunity.
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