Downloads for the commission-free investment app ‘Robinhood’ are down 97% from their 2021 peak. Nevertheless, ratings and MAUs are stronger than ever. We look at the numbers ahead of their Web3 wallet beta launch.
Remember the ‘Wall Street Bets’ fiasco? We covered the story when it first made headlines back in February of 2021. More specifically, we analyzed the impact the story had on key players, like Robinhood, WeBull, and Reddit.
We found that the ‘meme stock’ short squeeze, which brought commission-free investment apps under scrutiny, essentially acted as a kingmaker. Indeed, Robinhood became an overnight sensation, rocketing up app store top charts and hauling in hundreds of thousands of downloads a day.
Well, as it happens, Robinhood is still going strong. Just the other day, for instance, they announced their Web3 wallet had entered beta. So, with the company preparing for a crypto-inclusive future, we thought we’d take a moment to see where the app stands in the post-’meme stock’ landscape.
Here’s what we found (click the links to jump to the corresponding section):
- Robinhood Downloads Are Down 97% From Their 2021 Peak
- Nevertheless, Their Ratings Are Way Up
- And Their Monthly Active Users (MAU) Remain Strong
Robinhood Downloads Are Down 97% From Their 2021 Peak
The chart above depicts daily global downloads for the iOS (dark green) and Android (light green) versions of Robinhood between January 1st, 2021 and September 29th, 2022.
These apps have tallied a combined 18,450,252 downloads since the beginning of 2021. However, the vast majority came during the ‘meme stock’ short squeeze and prior to Robinhood’s July 2021 IPO. From January 1st, 2021 until June 20th, 2021, Robinhood pulled in 12,979,285 downloads across Google Play and the Apple App Store. In the roughly 15 months since, the app has pulled in a respectable 5,474,967 downloads.
That said, while Robinhood peaked at 258,632 downloads on April 19th, 2021, it now generates between 6,000 and 8,000 downloads per day. Those are solid numbers, but they’re still just 2-3% of the ‘meme stock’ glory days.
Nevertheless, Their Ratings Are Way Up
On the flipside, ratings for Robinhood have managed to find their level. This is in spite of a wave of (probably unfair) negative sentiment instigated by Wall Street Bets.
Indeed, after the ‘meme stock’ story broke, thousands of new reviews tanked Robinhood’s rating when the app had to temporarily halt trading due to surging transaction volumes. The Android version of the app was especially hard hit. It was briefly saddled with a gruesome 1.195 star rating on Google Play.
That said, things have improved drastically for the commission-free investment app. The Android version now sits at roughly 3.9 stars, while the iOS version boasts a healthy 4.2 stars.
And Their Monthly Active Users (MAU) Remain Strong
Finally, let’s look at Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for the Android version of Robinhood.
While users have fluctuated, 440,988 people used the app in August of 2022. This is down from 650,530 in July and 592,228 in June.
Overall, these are great numbers. Especially if the iOS version of the app is in the same ballpark — and there’s no particular reason to assume otherwise.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Robinhood seems to have found a good balance. While it was cranking out downloads in 2021, those numbers were largely inflated by the Wall Street Bets fiasco — and it’s unclear how many of those users actually stuck around for the long haul.
In any event, current download trends remain respectable. Moreover, users appear to be happy with the service. Not only are the ratings much improved, but MAUs are remarkably high.
So, with the Robinhood Web3 wallet entering beta, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on this space.
