Google’s download cap for apps to reach top 10 list highest in India

The number of daily downloads required by an Android app or game to make it to the top ten apps list on Google Play Store in India is the highest in the world, shows app analytics firm Sensor Tower’s latest Store Intelligence data. In India, a non-gaming app requires 292,000 downloads every day while a gaming app needs 125,000 downloads to achieve the milestone. 

The Sensor Tower report found that China, India, and the US have the highest entry barriers for apps. 

In China, a non-gaming app requires 108,000 downloads on Apple App Store to feature in the top ten, whereas in the US an iOS app requires 52,000 downloads. Gaming apps are comparatively better placed. For instance, in China with only 23,000 daily downloads, and in the US with 26,000 daily downloads, an app could rank in the top ten. 

In comparison, in markets such as Brazil, only 69,000 downloads are required for apps and 39,000 for games to be in the top ten on Play Store. Similarly, in Indonesia, 77,000 downloads for apps and 44,000 downloads for games are required. 

Getting to the number one position on App Store is even more difficult. For instance, the number of daily downloads for an app to get to the top of the list on Apple’s App Store in the US has gone up by 37% from 114,000 in 2019 to 156,000 this year. 

On the Google Play Store it is getting comparatively easier. The Sensor Tower data shows that the number of downloads needed to become number one has declined by 33% from 83,000 in 2019 to 56,000 this year. 

Sensor Tower attributes the increase in downloads for iOS apps to “iOS specific user acquisition tactics'' used by developers after Apple introduced the app tracking transparency (ATT) framework. Introduced in 2021, ATT has ensured that app developers cannot access app-related data for tracking the user or the device without the user's explicit permission. This has made it difficult for many app developers to target users.

According to SensorTower, this is a unique challenge for non-gaming app developers. The number of downloads required for a gaming app to reach number one on the App Store has fallen by 46% from 171,000 daily downloads in 2019 to 93,000 daily downloads in 2022. On Google Play, it has declined by 68% from 114,000 downloads to 37,000. Analysts at Sensor Tower believe this is happening because users are downloading games, they are already interested in instead of trying new games.