Canada App Market Statistics in 2023
- Last update: 28 May 2023 CET
The Canadian App Market has a lot of similarities to the US one, therefore tech companies all over the globe often turn to Canadian to run a soft launch before expanding their app audience. While companies like BlackBerry Limited, VSCO, Kik, and Tango all call Canada home, many other international brands – such as Pandora, Samsung, and ESPN – have all turned to the “Great White North” to handle their mobile development needs.
In this article, we will provide a number of detailed app statistics and insights into the Canada Android app market with focus on apps only. We will cover a number of topics, including: how many Canadian app publishers exist on the Google Play Store, how many apps they have released, and how Canadian apps have performed compared to the global average. The data is aggregated based on address, such that only major app publishers and ones with valid Canadian addresses on the Android market have been considered. Furthermore, all download statistics are estimates.
42matters tracks everything from app meta data, to rankings, to download estimates, to changes in meta information, to SDK usage, to App-ads.txt and more. If you would like to leverage our data into your own product, research or app industry analysis, it can be obtained via our API or File Dumps or our interactive App Market Explorer.
There are more than 6,362 Canadian publishers on Google Play out of all 1,022,567 app publishers. One of the biggest Canadian publishers are Budge Studios, Max Games Studios, Jam City Inc., Aeria Canada, Noodlecake, Hothead Games, PopReach Incorporated, Clapfoot Inc., Game Hive Corporation, Deemedya INC . Less than 1% of all app publishers on Google Play are from Canada. Find the biggest app publishers with our App Market Explorer.
There are more than 19,977 apps from Canadian publishers on Google Play out of the 3,254,152 apps. Apps with most downloads of Canadian publishers are Manulife Mobile, Canadian Tire: Shop Smarter, Shop: All your favorite brands, Walmart Shopping Made Easy, Public Mobile, Triangle, PC Optimum, MISTPLAY: Play to earn rewards, The Weather Network, TD Canada . 1% of all apps on Google Play are from Canadian publishers. Filter for apps by publisher country with our tool here.
The average rating of 19,977 apps from Canadian publishers on Google Play is 3.28 out of 5 stars. This is less than the overall average rating of all apps of 3.74 stars. Apps from Canadian publishers on Google Play have on average 2,345 ratings. This number is higher than the average number of ratings of all apps, which is 1,666 ratings. Sort by the best rated app or by the app with most ratings directly in our App Market Explorer.
78% of released apps by Canadian publishers are apps and 22% are games. That means the focus is more on apps than on games. Compared to the worldwide market, Canadian publishers focus more on games with 22% of releases compared to all publishers that focus 14% on games. Use our full App Market Explorer to filter for the most successful mobile apps and games.
Apps by Canadian publishers have an average of 421.78k downloads. Overall they get more downloads than the average of all apps which is 230.02k. We offer also more detailed download estimates for any app.
13% of apps by Canadian publishers are paid. That is a higher value of paid apps compared to the overall apps, where 3% are paid. 24% of apps by Canadian publishers include ads. That is a lower value compared to the whole world, where 35% have ads. 13% of apps by Canadian publishers make use of In-App Payments to monetize. That is higher than the average of 4%.
50% of apps of Canadian publishers are available on both Google Play and iTunes. Overall they put more effort in publishing on both stores, compared to the average publisher with 26%. Use our iOS to Android Matching API or Android to iOS Matching API to find the same app across stores.
The following are the top publishers from Canada that accumulated most downloads.
ANT+ is on position 1 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. They own 8 apps that have been downloaded together more than 4.01b+ times.
Bitmoji is on position 2 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. They own a single app that has been downloaded more than 262.14m+ times.
Wattpad.com is on position 3 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. It is Wattpad’s vision to entertain and connect the world through stories. Their flagship app is the world’s leading social storytelling platform. Wattpad.com is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Wattpad.com has developed Wattpad – Books & Stories, Wattpad Beta, and Tap by Wattpad - Interactive Story Community. They own 2 apps that have been downloaded together more than 252.29m+ times.
Psiphon Inc. is on position 4 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. Psiphon Inc. is a Canadian app developer that offers a free and open-source Internet censorship circumvention tool. It is a centrally managed and geographically diverse network of thousands of proxy servers that leverages an architecture geared towards performance. Psiphon Inc. has published Psiphon Pro - The Internet Freedom VPN and Psiphon. They own 2 apps that have been downloaded together more than 206.63m+ times.
MediaLab AI - Kik is on position 5 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. They own a single app that has been downloaded more than 168.58m+ times.
QR Code Scanner. is on position 6 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. They own 13 apps that have been downloaded together more than 162.63m+ times.
TextNow, Inc. is on position 7 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. TextNow, Inc. is a Canadian app publisher that develops technology that saves their users money. Their service leverages a hybrid of Wi-Fi and cellular for texting and calling which means they can offer users low-cost plans with affordable, name-brand smartphones. TextNow, Inc. has developed TextNow: Free Texting & Calling App and 2ndLine - Second Phone Number. They own 2 apps that have been downloaded together more than 109.32m+ times.
Dumpling Sandwich Software Inc. is on position 8 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. Dumpling Sandwich Software Inc. is a Canadian mobile app publisher that specializes in digital photography. It is their passion to develop mobile apps and it is their mission to contribute to mobile technology and innovations by creating easy-to-use apps with great user experiences. Dumpling Sandwich Software Inc. has developed a number of apps, including Pencil Sketch HD, Sketch Master Pro, Pencil Sketch, Water Reflection Mirror Image, and more. They own 8 apps that have been downloaded together more than 91.63m+ times.
Plentyoffish Media ULC is on position 9 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. Plentyoffish Media ULC is a Canadian dating app developer. Their app first hit the scene when online dating was a strange new world for those searching for that special someone. Now that meeting on a dating app is the new normal, Plentyoffish is still finding ways for people to go on dates and make deeper connections. Plentyoffish Media ULC is the publisher behind Plenty of Fish Free Dating App. They own a single app that has been downloaded more than 72.69m+ times.
Digipom is on position 10 of the biggest Canadian app publishers. They own 4 apps that have been downloaded together more than 71.3m+ times.
The following shows which SDKs are most used by Canada app publishers. To find out which apps integrate the following SDK use our App Market Explorer. We have also aggregated the worldwide Top Ad Network SDKs and other categories.
73% of apps from Canadian publishers have Google Firebase integrated. In total 12,756 apps. Firebase is a mobile and web application development platform SDK that gives app builders the ability to develop their apps faster, without worrying about infrastructure. It includes functionalities like analytics, databases, messaging and crash reporting so developers can move quickly and focus on their users.
50% of apps from Canadian publishers have Firebase Cloud Messaging integrated. In total 8,714 apps. Firebase Cloud Messaging is a cross-platform messaging solution developed by Google that lets app developers reliably deliver messages at no cost. With Firebase Cloud Messaging, app developers can notify a client app that new email or other data is available to sync, and drive user re-engagement and retention with notification messages.
49% of apps from Canadian publishers have OkHttp integrated. In total 8,578 apps. OkHttp is an open source project designed to be an efficient HTTP client. It's also easy to use. OkHttp’s request/response API is designed with fluent builders and immutability. It supports both synchronous blocking calls and async calls with callbacks.
37% of apps from Canadian publishers have gson integrated. In total 6,493 apps. Gson is a Google-developed Java library that app developers can leverage to convert Java Objects into their JSON representation, and vice versa. It works with arbitrary Java objects, including pre-existing objects of which developers do not have the source-code.
28% of apps from Canadian publishers have Google Ads AdMob integrated. In total 4,928 apps. Google Ads AdMob is a mobile advertising platform that enables users to monetize their mobile applications via in-app advertising. AdMob is based on the Google Mobile Ads SDK and serves over 200 billion ad requests a month, with over 1 million advertisers and 1 million apps currently running on the AdMob mobile ad network.
27% of apps from Canadian publishers have Google Ads AdMob Mediation Adapters integrated. In total 4,781 apps.
27% of apps from Canadian publishers have Google Maps integrated. In total 4,763 apps.
27% of apps from Canadian publishers have Glide integrated. In total 4,717 apps. Glide is an open source media management and image loading framework for Android that supports fetching, decoding, and displaying video stills, images, and animated GIFs. Glide includes a flexible API that developers can plug in to almost any network stack.
26% of apps from Canadian publishers have ZXing integrated. In total 4,582 apps. ZXing – also known as “zebra crossing” – is an open-source, multi-format barcode image processing library implemented in Java, with ports to other languages. It supports 1D product, 1D industrial, and 2D barcodes.
The following shows which android permissions are most frequently request by Canada app publishers. Use our App Market Explorer to filter the Google Play Store by apps with specific permissions.
android.permission.INTERNET makes it possible for app publishers to create network sockets and use custom network protocols within their apps. This permission is not required for internet connection however, as the mobile browser provides all apps with the ability to send data to the internet. 100% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Internet Access permission. Total 23,183 apps.
The android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permission can be leveraged by app developers to enable their apps to view information about network connections. This information includes such things as which networks exist and which already have connections. 100% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Network Information Access permission. Total 20,728 apps.
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK gives apps the ability to prevent the phone they are running on from going into sleep mode. This is good for apps, like YouTube, that get extended periods of engagement that do not necessarily require the user to touch the screen or otherwise interact physically with the device. 82% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Phone Sleep Mode Preventation permission. Total 16,373 apps.
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE makes it possible for app developers to enable their apps to modify or delete the contents of users’ SD cards. 68% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Write External Storage permission. Total 13,582 apps.
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE can be used within apps to allow them to accept cloud to device messages sent by the app’s service. It should be noted however, that using this service will incur data usage, and malicious apps could cause excess data usage. 58% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Push Notification permission. Total 11,646 apps.
Apps often advertise other apps. By leveraging com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE apps can make sure that installs of other apps launched via their ads are properly attributed. 53% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Install Referrer permission. Total 10,615 apps.
The android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission allows app developers to enable their apps to read the contents of user SD cards. 53% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Read External Storage permission. Total 10,592 apps.
android.permission.VIBRATE makes it possible for app builders to give their apps control over the vibrating function of the devices they are running on. 45% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Vibration permission. Total 9,027 apps.
App publishers can leverage android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE to enable their app to view information about Wi-Fi networking. This includes whether Wi-Fi is enabled and the names of the connected Wi-Fi devices. 41% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Wifi Information Access permission. Total 8,173 apps.
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED gives apps the ability to start themselves as soon as the system it is running on has finished booting. It should be noted, however, that this can often slow down the phone start time. In addition, it can slow down the device generally by enabling the app to run constantly. 41% of the apps from Canadian publishers use the Start At Boot Time permission. Total 8,151 apps.
42matters tracks everything from app meta data, to rankings, to download estimates, to changes in meta information, to SDK usage, to App-ads.txt and more. If you would like to leverage our data into your own product, research or app industry analysis, it can be obtained via our API or File Dumps or our interactive App Market Explorer.
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