Consumers spent a record 4.5 billion dollars on in-app purchases in health and fitness apps in 2025, up 13% year over year, while downloads grew just 0.8% (Sensor Tower, 2026). The audience has plateaued; the monetization has not. Grand View Research values the fitness app market at 12.12 billion dollars in 2025 and projects 33.58 billion dollars by 2033 (Grand View Research, 2026). Strava alone passed 180 million users across more than 185 countries (Strava, Year in Sport 2025). Yet the category’s oldest problem persists: a JMIR meta-analysis puts the pooled dropout rate for app-based health interventions at 43% (JMIR, 2020). This analysis consolidates data from Sensor Tower, Grand View Research, Strava, Peloton’s SEC filings, and 10 other primary sources to map where fitness apps stand in 2026.
TL;DR
- Health and fitness apps drew a record 4.5 billion dollars in in-app purchases in 2025, up 13% (Sensor Tower, 2026).
- Downloads reached 3.96 billion installs in 2025 but grew only 0.8% year over year (Sensor Tower, 2026).
- The fitness app market is worth 12.12 billion dollars in 2025, heading to 33.58 billion dollars by 2033 at a 13.4% CAGR (Grand View Research).
- Statista’s narrower forecast puts fitness app revenue at 9.22 billion dollars in 2026 (Statista Market Forecast).
- The US captured more than half of global consumer spending in the category; the UK is second at 8% (Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025).
- Strava passed 180 million users and logged 14 billion kudos in 2025 (Strava, Year in Sport 2025).
- MyFitnessPal reports more than 200 million registered users (Business of Apps, 2026).
- Peloton ended FY2025 with 2.8 million Connected Fitness subscriptions, down 6% (Peloton, Q4 FY2025).
- Median trial-to-paid conversion for health and fitness apps is 39.9%, the best of any category (RevenueCat, 2025).
- Pooled dropout from app-based health interventions is 43%; up to 80% of users engage only minimally (JMIR, 2020 and 2022).
- Wearable technology is the number one fitness trend for 2026, the third straight year (ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends).
- Garmin’s fitness segment revenue jumped 33% to 2.36 billion dollars in 2025 (Garmin, Q4 2025 results).
1. Market Size and Growth Forecasts
Research firms disagree on the number but not the direction. Grand View Research sizes the fitness app market at 12.12 billion dollars in 2025 with a 13.4% CAGR through 2033, while Statista’s Market Forecast, which counts a narrower slice of tracking-focused apps, projects 9.22 billion dollars for 2026 with much flatter growth. The wide 9.22-to-12.12 billion dollar range and the 1.75%-versus-13.4% CAGR spread show how much scope definitions matter, so treat any single market-size headline with caution. What both agree on: North America leads today and Asia Pacific grows fastest.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness app market size (2025) | 12.12 billion dollars | Grand View Research, 2026 |
| Projected market size (2033) | 33.58 billion dollars (13.4% CAGR) | Grand View Research press release |
| Fitness app revenue forecast (2026) | 9.22 billion dollars | Statista Market Forecast |
| Statista projection for 2030 | 9.89 billion dollars (1.75% CAGR) | Statista Market Forecast |
| Average revenue per user (2026) | 22.55 dollars | Statista Market Forecast |
| US fitness app revenue (2026) | 2.76 billion dollars | Statista Market Forecast |
| North America share of market (2025) | 39.82% | Grand View Research, 2026 |
| Exercise and weight loss segment share (2025) | 53.69% | Grand View Research, 2026 |
| iOS share of fitness app revenue (2025) | 51.99% | Grand View Research, 2026 |
Context: Business of Apps, measuring app-store revenue only, reports fitness apps generated 3.4 billion dollars in 2025, up 24.5% (Business of Apps, 2026), a third distinct figure that captures store-billed spending rather than total market value.
2. Downloads and Consumer Spending
The category’s growth engine has switched from acquisition to monetization. Sensor Tower counted 3.96 billion health and fitness installs in 2025, up just 0.8%, the smallest gain in three years, while in-app purchase revenue jumped 13% to a record 4.5 billion dollars. Revenue is now growing 16 times faster than downloads, which means the money is coming from existing users paying more, not new users arriving. Spending is also strikingly concentrated: the US accounts for more than half of it. For the broader install economy these apps compete in, see our mobile app usage statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global health and fitness installs (2025) | 3.96 billion (+0.8%) | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| Global health and fitness installs (2024) | 3.6 billion (+6%) | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| In-app purchase revenue (2025) | 4.5 billion dollars (+13%) | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| US share of global consumer spending | more than 50% | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| UK share of global consumer spending (second place) | 8% | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| Monthly IAP record, January 2025 | 385 million dollars (+10% YoY) | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| Top subgenre by downloads | Gyms & Fitness (7 of top 10 apps) | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| Fastest-growing subgenre by downloads (2024) | Medical tracking (+43%) | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
Outlier: reward-to-move apps briefly broke the pattern, with WeWard’s monthly active users surging 609% year over year in 2024 (Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025).
3. The Big Platforms: Strava, MyFitnessPal, and Peloton
Three companies illustrate three different fitness app economies: social tracking, freemium nutrition, and hardware-plus-subscription. Strava’s Year in Sport 2025 shows network effects compounding, with total clubs reaching 1 million after new club creation nearly quadrupled in a year. Peloton shows the opposite shape: shrinking but increasingly profitable. Peloton’s subscription business runs a roughly 69% gross margin against 13.6% on hardware, which is why subscriptions now drive over 65% of revenue (Peloton FY2025 Form 10-K). Where fitness platforms chase engagement, the adjacent mindfulness category chases calm; the contrast is documented in our mental health app statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Strava users worldwide (2025) | 180+ million in 185+ countries | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| Kudos given on Strava (2025) | 14 billion | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| Total Strava clubs (2025) | 1 million (new clubs ~4x YoY) | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| New Strava route created | every 19 seconds | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| Strava users tracking multiple sports | 54% | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| MyFitnessPal registered users | 200+ million | Business of Apps, 2026 |
| MyFitnessPal annual revenue (2023, most recent available) | 310 million dollars | Business of Apps, 2026 |
| Peloton Connected Fitness subscriptions (end FY2025) | 2.8 million (-6% YoY) | Peloton, Q4 FY2025 Shareholder Letter |
| Peloton paid app subscriptions (end FY2025) | 552,000 | Peloton, Q4 FY2025 Shareholder Letter |
| Peloton subscription vs hardware gross margin | ~69% vs 13.6% | Peloton FY2025 Form 10-K |
Context: Sensor Tower’s Q3 2025 US revenue ranking puts MyFitnessPal first (peaking at 2.8 million dollars in monthly US IAP), followed by Strava, AllTrails, Flo, and Fitbit.
4. Retention, Churn, and Adherence
Retention is where fitness apps quietly bleed. The academic evidence is more sobering than industry marketing suggests: a JMIR meta-analysis of app-based interventions for chronic disease found a pooled dropout rate of 43%, and real-world observational studies ran worse than controlled trials. Up to 80% of mobile health app users engage only at a minimal level, according to a JMIR literature review of participant engagement studies. The fix is partly known: a systematic review of mHealth adherence found personalization, individualized push reminders, stable app design, and complementary human support all measurably improve adherence.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pooled dropout rate, app-based health interventions | 43% (95% CI 29-57) | JMIR meta-analysis, 2020 |
| Dropout rate in real-world observational studies | 49% | JMIR meta-analysis, 2020 |
| mHealth users engaging only minimally | up to 80% | JMIR literature review, 2022 |
| Participants still using a health app after 15 days (real-world study) | 3.9% | JMIR literature review, 2022 |
| Mean engagement, Stanford MyHeart Counts study | 4.1 days | JMIR literature review, 2022 |
| Average adherence score across reviewed health apps | 56.0% (SD 24.4%) | JMIR mHealth systematic review, 2026 |
Note: these figures come from clinical and research contexts; commercial apps with strong onboarding do better, but the 0.8% download growth against 13% revenue growth (Sensor Tower) tells the same story, growth now depends on keeping payers, not replacing quitters.
5. Subscription Economics and Willingness to Pay
Health and fitness is the strongest subscription category in mobile, full stop. RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps 2025 puts median trial-to-paid conversion at 39.9%, with the top decile converting 68.3% of trials. Adapty’s benchmarks measure the category at 35.0% against a 25.6% all-category average, so two independent platforms agree fitness users convert best. Health and fitness is also the only app category where annual plans dominate, at 60.6% of subscriptions, meaning users commit to a year of fitness the way they once committed to a gym. How this fits the broader store economy is covered in our app store economy statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median trial-to-paid conversion, health and fitness | 39.9% | RevenueCat, State of Subscription Apps 2025 |
| Top 10% trial-to-paid conversion, health and fitness | 68.3% | RevenueCat, 2025 |
| Health and fitness vs all-category trial conversion | 35.0% vs 25.6% | Adapty, 2025 |
| Share of subscriptions on annual plans (category leader) | 60.6% | Adapty, 2025 |
| Most common fitness app pricing | 9.99-14.99 dollars/month; 49.99-79.99 dollars/year | Adapty, 2025 |
| Global median subscription price points (2025) | 12.99 dollars/month; 38.42 dollars/year | Adapty, State of In-App Subscriptions |
| Share of health and fitness app revenue from subscriptions | ~80% | Business of Apps, 2026 |
| Peloton All-Access membership / app tiers | 44 dollars/month / 12.99-24 dollars/month | Peloton FY2025 Form 10-K |
Context: 99% of Peloton’s Connected Fitness subscriptions pay month to month, and 12% of subscriber households own multiple Peloton products (Peloton FY2025 Form 10-K), a reminder that even annual-plan-heavy categories keep their premium tier flexible.
6. Wearable Integration
The wearable is now the front door to the fitness app. The American College of Sports Medicine ranked wearable technology the number one fitness trend for 2026, its third straight year on top, in the 20th edition of a survey of 2,000 clinicians, researchers, and exercise professionals; mobile exercise apps ranked fourth. Hardware sales confirm the pull. Garmin’s fitness segment grew 33% to 2.36 billion dollars in 2025, becoming the company’s largest business at 33% of a record 7.25 billion dollars in revenue (Garmin, Q4 2025 results). Full sensor-side numbers live in our wearables statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number 1 fitness trend for 2026 | Wearable technology (3rd consecutive year) | ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends 2026 |
| Mobile exercise apps trend rank (2026) | 4th | ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends 2026 |
| Global wrist-worn device shipments, Q1-Q3 2025 | 150 million units (+10.0%) | IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker |
| Global smartwatch shipments, Q1-Q3 2025 | 120 million units (+7.3%) | IDC, 2025 |
| Garmin total revenue (2025) | 7.25 billion dollars (record) | Garmin, Q4 2025 results |
| Garmin fitness segment revenue (2025) | 2.36 billion dollars (+33%) | Garmin, Q4 2025 results |
| Garmin units shipped (2025) | 20+ million (first time) | Garmin, Q4 2025 results |
Note: the most recent detailed US ownership survey remains Pew Research Center’s, which found 21% of American adults regularly wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker, 31% in households earning 75,000 dollars or more versus 12% under 30,000 dollars (Pew Research Center, 2020, most recent available).
7. AI Coaching and the Demographics of Demand
AI is the feature driving the 2025 revenue surge, and younger users are the demographic funding it. Sensor Tower found 28% of health and fitness apps bid on AI-themed keywords in the most recent quarter, with the average number of AI keywords per app doubling since Q4 2024; photo-based calorie tracker Cal AI gets 25% of its search downloads from AI-related queries. The demand side is generational. US Gen Z and millennials make up 36% of the adult population but drive more than 41% of wellness spending in a US wellness market worth over 500 billion dollars a year (McKinsey, Future of Wellness 2025). Strava’s survey of more than 30,000 people points the same way: Gen Z treats training as identity, not maintenance.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Health and fitness apps bidding on AI keywords | 28% | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| Average AI keywords per app | 8 (2x vs Q4 2024) | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| Cal AI search downloads from AI-related queries | 25% | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| US consumers calling wellness a top or important priority | 84% (UK 79%, China 94%) | McKinsey, Future of Wellness 2025 |
| US Gen Z rating fitness a very high priority | 56% (vs 40% of all consumers) | McKinsey, 2025 |
| Gen Z + millennial share of US adults vs wellness spend | 36% vs 41%+ | McKinsey, 2025 |
| Gen Z naming weight training their primary sport | 2x more likely than Gen X | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| Gen Z citing a race as main exercise motivation | 75% more likely than Gen X | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| Gen Z planning to spend more on fitness in 2026 | 30% | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
Outlier: 86% of runners who connected the AI-driven training plan app Runna to Strava set a personal best in 2025 (Strava, Year in Sport 2025), an early, first-party signal that algorithmic coaching moves real-world outcomes, not just engagement metrics.
Summary: Fitness Apps by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| In-app purchase revenue, health and fitness (2025) | 4.5 billion dollars (+13%) | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| Global installs (2025) | 3.96 billion (+0.8%) | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| Fitness app market size (2025) | 12.12 billion dollars | Grand View Research, 2026 |
| Projected market size (2033) | 33.58 billion dollars | Grand View Research, 2026 |
| Statista fitness app revenue forecast (2026) | 9.22 billion dollars | Statista Market Forecast |
| US share of global category spending | more than 50% | Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2025 |
| App-store revenue, fitness apps (2025) | 3.4 billion dollars (+24.5%) | Business of Apps, 2026 |
| Strava users | 180+ million | Strava, Year in Sport 2025 |
| MyFitnessPal registered users | 200+ million | Business of Apps, 2026 |
| Peloton Connected Fitness subscriptions (FY2025) | 2.8 million (-6%) | Peloton, Q4 FY2025 |
| Peloton subscription vs hardware gross margin | ~69% vs 13.6% | Peloton FY2025 Form 10-K |
| Pooled dropout, app-based health interventions | 43% | JMIR meta-analysis, 2020 |
| mHealth users engaging only minimally | up to 80% | JMIR literature review, 2022 |
| Median trial-to-paid conversion, health and fitness | 39.9% | RevenueCat, 2025 |
| Annual-plan share of subscriptions (category leader) | 60.6% | Adapty, 2025 |
| Number 1 fitness trend for 2026 | Wearable technology | ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends |
| Garmin fitness segment revenue (2025) | 2.36 billion dollars (+33%) | Garmin, Q4 2025 results |
| Wrist-worn device shipments, Q1-Q3 2025 | 150 million units (+10%) | IDC, 2025 |
| Apps bidding on AI keywords | 28% | Sensor Tower, 2026 |
| US Gen Z + millennial share of wellness spend | 41%+ (on 36% of adults) | McKinsey, 2025 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating figures directly from primary reports, SEC filings, peer-reviewed studies, and named platform disclosures published in 2024-2026, cross-referencing overlapping metrics (market size, trial conversion, downloads) across two or more independent firms and flagging any figure older than 2024 as most recent available.
- Sensor Tower, Health and Fitness Apps See Surging Revenue Fueled by AI (2026)
- Sensor Tower, State of Mobile Health & Fitness Apps 2025 (2025)
- Sensor Tower, Top 5 Health and Fitness Apps in the US, Q3 2025 (2025)
- Grand View Research, Fitness Apps Market Size, Share & Trends Report (2026) and press release
- Statista Market Forecast, Fitness Apps Worldwide (2026)
- Business of Apps, Fitness App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2026) and MyFitnessPal statistics
- Strava, Year in Sport Trend Report 2025 (Nov 2025; survey of 30,000+ people plus platform data)
- Peloton Interactive, Form 10-K FY2025 and Q4 FY2025 Shareholder Letter (Aug 2025)
- Garmin, Q4 and Fiscal Year 2025 Results (Feb 2026)
- IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker press releases (2025)
- ACSM, Worldwide Fitness Trends 2026 (Nov 2025; survey of 2,000 fitness professionals)
- JMIR, Rates of Attrition and Dropout in App-Based Interventions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2020)
- JMIR, Challenges in Participant Engagement and Retention Using Mobile Health Apps: Literature Review (2022)
- JMIR, Factors Influencing Adherence to mHealth Apps: Systematic Review (2022)
- JMIR mHealth, Mobile Apps to Improve Health Parameters in Healthy Adults: Systematic Review (2026)
- RevenueCat, State of Subscription Apps 2025 (2025)
- Adapty, Health & Fitness In-App Subscription Benchmarks and State of In-App Subscriptions (2025)
- McKinsey & Company, The Future of Wellness Trends Survey (2025)
- Pew Research Center, About one-in-five Americans use a smart watch or fitness tracker (2020, most recent available)
Data watch: Sensor Tower publishes its State of Mobile report each January, so 2026 full-year category figures land in early 2027; Strava releases Year in Sport annually in November; Peloton reports FY2026 results in August 2026; Garmin reports fiscal 2026 in February 2027; ACSM’s 2027 trends survey publishes in late 2026; RevenueCat and Adapty refresh their subscription benchmarks annually; and McKinsey updates its wellness survey each year.
Last updated: July 18, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.