Free vs Paid Apps — 2026
How apps are priced across 99 categories on Apple App Store & Google Play.
128.5K
Total Apps
92%
Free
8%
Paid
Free vs Paid by Category
| Category | Total | Free | Paid | Paid % | Avg Paid Price | Max Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 18.0K | 17.4K | 620 | 3% | $148.14 | $44000.00 |
| Education | 10.2K | 9.5K | 744 | 7% | $279.00 | $79000.00 |
| Utilities | 8.1K | 7.7K | 432 | 5% | $47.88 | $7900.00 |
| Health & Fitness | 6.9K | 6.7K | 176 | 3% | $24.86 | $699.00 |
| Business | 6.7K | 6.6K | 84 | 1% | $49.53 | $2500.00 |
| Lifestyle | 6.4K | 6.2K | 188 | 3% | $6.86 | $149.99 |
| Productivity | 6.2K | 5.9K | 369 | 6% | $155.68 | $39000.00 |
| Finance | 5.8K | 5.8K | 88 | 2% | $5.85 | $99.99 |
| Entertainment | 5.3K | 5.1K | 170 | 3% | $158.07 | $19000.00 |
| Shopping | 4.2K | 4.2K | 11 | 0% | $11.81 | $99.00 |
| Photo & Video | 3.8K | 3.6K | 234 | 6% | $244.85 | $8800.00 |
| Music | 3.7K | 3.3K | 409 | 11% | $39.58 | $4990.00 |
| Food & Drink | 3.5K | 3.4K | 68 | 2% | $11.60 | $399.00 |
| Travel | 3.2K | 3.1K | 74 | 2% | $274.65 | $9900.00 |
| Sports | 3.1K | 3.0K | 111 | 4% | $6.14 | $89.00 |
| Social Networking | 2.7K | 2.7K | 15 | 1% | $2.99 | $9.99 |
| Medical | 2.4K | 2.3K | 112 | 5% | $16.32 | $169.99 |
| News | 2.3K | 2.3K | 14 | 1% | $3.92 | $6.00 |
| Reference | 2.0K | 1.8K | 186 | 10% | $79.48 | $7200.00 |
| Book | 1.5K | 1.5K | 42 | 3% | $60.67 | $1490.00 |
| Graphics & Design | 1.3K | 1.3K | 26 | 2% | $8.61 | $39.99 |
| Weather | 1.2K | 1.1K | 81 | 7% | $28.45 | $1000.00 |
| Navigation | 1.1K | 1.1K | 48 | 4% | $21.39 | $499.00 |
| Developer Tools | 599 | 519 | 80 | 13% | $7.33 | $99.99 |
| Tools | 557 | 357 | 200 | 36% | $4.37 | $39.99 |
| Simulation | 520 | 334 | 186 | 36% | $4.71 | $19.99 |
| Role Playing | 500 | 321 | 179 | 36% | $7.07 | $29.99 |
| Puzzle | 498 | 335 | 163 | 33% | $3.16 | $9.99 |
| Adventure | 493 | 305 | 188 | 38% | $5.28 | $22.99 |
| Personalization | 488 | 288 | 200 | 41% | $1.77 | $4.49 |
| Action | 447 | 304 | 143 | 32% | $4.78 | $39.99 |
| Strategy | 433 | 291 | 142 | 33% | $4.77 | $39.99 |
| Arcade | 433 | 312 | 121 | 28% | $2.85 | $8.99 |
| Casual | 430 | 348 | 82 | 19% | $3.92 | $29.99 |
| Music & Audio | 389 | 297 | 92 | 24% | $7.05 | $29.99 |
| Travel & Local | 377 | 357 | 20 | 5% | $9.69 | $69.99 |
| Board | 367 | 295 | 72 | 20% | $6.48 | $17.99 |
| News & Magazines | 359 | 359 | 0 | 0% | — | — |
| Card | 358 | 307 | 51 | 14% | $4.70 | $19.99 |
| Books & Reference | 356 | 299 | 57 | 16% | $8.54 | $28.99 |
| Auto & Vehicles | 354 | 313 | 41 | 12% | $12.77 | $99.99 |
| Educational | 353 | 305 | 48 | 14% | $4.10 | $8.99 |
| Video Players & Editors | 348 | 310 | 38 | 11% | $7.41 | $39.99 |
| Communication | 340 | 318 | 22 | 6% | $6.65 | $19.99 |
| Photography | 338 | 290 | 48 | 14% | $6.51 | $26.99 |
| Maps & Navigation | 336 | 317 | 19 | 6% | $17.17 | $99.99 |
| Reference | 335 | 178 | 157 | 47% | $10.90 | $599.00 |
| House & Home | 322 | 306 | 16 | 5% | $4.99 | $23.99 |
| Art & Design | 319 | 289 | 30 | 9% | $4.16 | $29.99 |
| Racing | 305 | 279 | 26 | 9% | $3.96 | $13.49 |
| Trivia | 300 | 278 | 22 | 7% | $9.47 | $29.99 |
| Casino | 300 | 298 | 2 | 1% | $2.99 | $4.99 |
| Parenting | 288 | 286 | 2 | 1% | $4.99 | $5.99 |
| Social | 284 | 281 | 3 | 1% | $4.32 | $4.99 |
| Word | 280 | 267 | 13 | 5% | $4.10 | $9.90 |
| Dating | 258 | 258 | 0 | 0% | — | — |
| Beauty | 240 | 237 | 3 | 1% | $3.49 | $4.99 |
| Comics | 235 | 223 | 12 | 5% | $4.87 | $14.99 |
| Events | 229 | 222 | 7 | 3% | $1.06 | $1.99 |
| Stickers | 216 | 49 | 167 | 77% | $1.75 | $99.00 |
| Libraries & Demo | 211 | 209 | 2 | 1% | $2.99 | $5.49 |
| Medical | 209 | 118 | 91 | 44% | $13.07 | $99.99 |
| Food And Drink | 206 | 109 | 97 | 47% | $4.56 | $15.99 |
| Magazines & Newspapers | 203 | 202 | 1 | 0% | $5.95 | $5.95 |
| Sports | 196 | 100 | 96 | 49% | $5.27 | $24.99 |
| News | 193 | 97 | 96 | 50% | $3.64 | $12.99 |
| Weather | 187 | 100 | 87 | 47% | $3.77 | $14.99 |
| Shopping | 187 | 89 | 98 | 52% | $3.98 | $99.99 |
| Finance | 183 | 85 | 98 | 54% | $3.73 | $14.99 |
| Travel | 172 | 80 | 92 | 53% | $5.45 | $30.00 |
| Navigation | 168 | 77 | 91 | 54% | $5.24 | $24.99 |
| Business | 159 | 68 | 91 | 57% | $10.00 | $99.99 |
| Games Trivia | 156 | 72 | 84 | 54% | $3.09 | $19.99 |
| Productivity | 151 | 33 | 118 | 78% | $7.88 | $99.99 |
| Books | 151 | 58 | 93 | 62% | $7.50 | $49.99 |
| Games Word | 150 | 54 | 96 | 64% | $2.91 | $9.99 |
| Lifestyle | 144 | 49 | 95 | 66% | $5.06 | $39.99 |
| Games Music | 143 | 59 | 84 | 59% | $5.84 | $249.99 |
| Social Networking | 141 | 46 | 95 | 67% | $3.30 | $23.99 |
| Entertainment | 138 | 43 | 95 | 69% | $5.18 | $79.99 |
| Health And Fitness | 137 | 52 | 85 | 62% | $5.30 | $59.99 |
| Education | 135 | 55 | 80 | 59% | $9.70 | $79.99 |
| Games Sports | 132 | 40 | 92 | 70% | $3.59 | $14.99 |
| Games Casino | 129 | 42 | 87 | 67% | $3.78 | $19.99 |
| Utilities | 124 | 47 | 77 | 62% | $4.63 | $24.99 |
| Music | 122 | 43 | 79 | 65% | $7.61 | $29.99 |
| Games Strategy | 111 | 30 | 81 | 73% | $5.02 | $19.99 |
| Games Puzzle | 108 | 25 | 83 | 77% | $4.01 | $9.99 |
| Magazines And Newspapers | 106 | 72 | 34 | 32% | $4.80 | $30.99 |
| Photo And Video | 104 | 22 | 82 | 79% | $5.32 | $29.99 |
| Games Role Playing | 103 | 21 | 82 | 80% | $7.06 | $24.99 |
| Games Racing | 97 | 24 | 73 | 75% | $3.10 | $14.99 |
| Games Family | 94 | 30 | 64 | 68% | $3.44 | $19.99 |
| Games Card | 69 | 14 | 55 | 80% | $4.68 | $15.99 |
| Games Simulation | 65 | 17 | 48 | 74% | $4.97 | $17.99 |
| Games Arcade | 61 | 4 | 57 | 93% | $4.03 | $15.99 |
| Games Board | 60 | 24 | 36 | 60% | $5.10 | $17.99 |
| Games Adventure | 57 | 29 | 28 | 49% | $6.45 | $39.99 |
| Games Action | 15 | 9 | 6 | 40% | $4.99 | $14.99 |
Key Findings
Across 128.5K apps tracked by App Pricing Lab, 92% are free to download. The remaining 8% charge an upfront price. Among paid apps, many also offer in-app purchases, making the actual monetization landscape more nuanced than a simple free/paid split.
The category with the highest paid ratio is Games Arcade (93% paid), while Dating has the lowest (0% paid).
The category with the highest average paid app price is Education at $279.00 on average. For a complete list of the most expensive individual apps, see our most expensive apps ranking.