COVID-19 Pushed Apple’s App Store Sales to $64 Billion in 2020

According to an analysis by CNBC News, Apple’s App Store grossed more than $64 billion in 2020, up from $50 billion in 2019 and $48.5 billion in 2018, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as people stayed at home spending more time and money on apps and games.

The iPhone maker saw its App Store revenue grow 28% in 2020, up from 3.1% in 2019. The company reports App Store’s growth as part of its services division, which reported $53.7 billion in sales in Apple’s fiscal 2020.

Apple charges 30% on average for digital sales through its platform, a common argument for Apple critics who believe the company has too much power. Apple has, however, recently started taking a 15% cut from companies that generate less than $1 million in the App Store.

It’s possible to back out roughly how much revenue the App Store generated based on how much Apple paid to developers in any given year. According to a press release on Wednesday, Apple has paid developers $200 billion since 2008, up $45 billion from the figure that was announced in January 2020. If that’s equal to 70% of App Store sales, then the App Store grossed around $64 billion last year.

A recent estimate by Sensor Tower found that top 1% of app publishers generate nearly 93% of the revenue across the App Store.