Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Mobile apps in the Philippines - statistics & facts
With over three billion downloads, the Philippines is one of the leading mobile app markets globally. From social media to entertainment and shopping apps, Filipinos have downloaded multiple mobile applications to their devices and spent well over 100 billion hours on such apps. The Philippines also spends the most amount of time using mobile internet daily, the highest in the entire Asia-Pacific region as of February 2025.
Mobile apps downloaded in the Philippines ranges from social media to entertainment, shopping, and mobile gaming. Over the years, mobile app users have maximized the convenience and accessibility that such apps offer. Improved mobile internet connection can be expected to further influence mobile app usage.
Popular mobile apps among Filipinos
The social networking app Facebook dominated the mobile apps market in the Philippines, with around 27 million downloads in 2024 alone. While placing further in the ranking, other Meta apps, Messenger and Instagram, were also among the most downloaded apps in the Philippines in that year. The Philippines is also one of Facebook's biggest markets as of April 2024. Meanwhile, Chinese video-sharing app TikTok was the most downloaded entertainment app among Filipinos in the same year. TikTok also emerged as the app with the highest average time spent each month, which was twice as the average time Filipinos spent on YouTube.Other app categories
Besides social media and entertainment, Filipinos have also installed other app categories, including shopping and finance, on their mobile devices. When it comes to shopping, Temu was by far the most downloaded shopping app in the Philippines, with Shein, Shopee, and Lazada trailing behind. This budget Chinese-owned online marketplace was introduced to the country in 2023 as its first stop for its Southeast Asia expansion. Temu’s arrival has challenged the position of Shopee and Lazada among Filipino online shoppers, although these two remain important e-commerce marketplaces. With e-commerce allowing cashless payments alternatives, an increasing number of Filipinos have also downloaded mobile wallet applications. Among those available in the market, GCash was the most downloaded finance app in the Philippines, with about 16 million downloads in 2024. Other e-wallet apps, such as Maya and GoTyme Bank, were also popular among Filipino e-wallet users.Improvement in mobile internet speed
Increasing mobile phone usage created a demand for better mobile internet speed. Since 2023, the median download speed of mobile internet in the Philippines has improved, reaching around 35.56 Mbps in January 2025. The roll-out of the 5G network has also contributed to a better internet experience, especially for Filipinos working from home, streaming movies and video content, and those engaged in mobile gaming. Nonetheless, the country remains to have one of the slowest mobile internet speeds in the entire Asia-Pacific region.Mobile apps downloaded in the Philippines ranges from social media to entertainment, shopping, and mobile gaming. Over the years, mobile app users have maximized the convenience and accessibility that such apps offer. Improved mobile internet connection can be expected to further influence mobile app usage.
Christy Balita
,
Mar 27, 2025
Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
