India spent $345 million on mobile apps in the second quarter of 2026, a 35% jump from the previous year. This revenue comes from subscriptions and paid services rather than just free downloads. Sensor Tower reports that generative AI, streaming, and productivity tools are now driving this growth more than gaming.
Spending habits are shifting
Revenue per download has more than doubled in three-and-a-half years. Total app downloads have stayed flat at roughly 6.3 billion since 2023. Eve Chen, an insights analyst at Sensor Tower, told TechCrunch that India is a large market with a growing willingness to pay for digital services.
Chen pointed to the wider use of digital payments as a key factor. The Unified Payments Interface allows users to pay directly from bank accounts. Digital wallets have also reduced friction for in-app purchases. Acceptance of app-based subscriptions has grown alongside these tools.
India is outpacing other markets
India saw the fastest growth in app revenue among major markets in the second quarter. It generated more than $200 million in quarterly consumer spending. Mexico grew by 30% and Turkey by 25%. U.S. app revenue fell by 3% in the same period.
Chen said India is no longer just the largest market by downloads. It is also emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for app monetization.
India still lags behind mature markets. Revenue per download is about $4.60 in the U.S., $3.90 in South Korea, and $6.10 in Japan. India’s figure is a small fraction of those values. Chen noted that the trajectory matters more than the absolute level. Steady improvement suggests significant room for long-term growth.
AI and non-gaming apps dominate
Generative AI is one of the fastest-growing segments. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic‘s Claude together accounted for nearly 83% of India’s AI app revenue in Q2. Non-gaming categories made up 68% of India’s mobile app revenue in the first half of 2026. This is up from 58% three years earlier.
Global subscription apps continue to benefit from rising spending. Google One became India’s highest-grossing mobile app during the quarter. Streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Sony LIV, and JioHotstar saw growing consumer spending. Gaming also bucked the global trend. Revenue rose 3.7% from the previous quarter despite a worldwide decline.
What it means
Appfigures says the pace of growth has slowed after an AI-fueled surge over the past two years. Subscription revenue is still rising, but much of the initial excitement around AI has abated. Ariel Michaeli, the company’s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch that the numbers remain staggering. Appfigures estimates that ChatGPT generates about $60,000 a day in India. It attracted around 1.8 million downloads over the past month. That is down from roughly $80,000 a day last October.
