AppsFlyer has released the 2025 edition of its Performance Index, marking the ten-year anniversary of its report that ranks the top media sources in mobile advertising. Based on global data from 16.2 billion installs from over 39,000 apps and 9.6 billion remarketing conversions, the Index reflects a mobile ecosystem shaped by sharpening competition and a more concentrated distribution of ad spend across leading platforms.

The 2025 Index shows a narrowing competitive landscape, with several rising networks gaining strength alongside established leaders. While Google Ads and Apple Ads held their #1 rankings in Android and iOS respectively, a number of players narrowed the gap: AppLovin strengthened its presence across both iOS and Android gaming, Mintegral advanced meaningfully across Android categories, and Meta Ads and TikTok for Business posted gains across multiple areas.

At the same time, budget distribution continued to consolidate at the top: 60 per cent of the global top five media sources and 80 per cent of those ranked 6 through 10 saw year over year spend growth, compared to only 30 per cent among ranks 11 through 20.

The Index also reflects shifts in platform investment patterns, with iOS driving much of the overall ad spend growth in 2025 and Android’s top performers seeing broader gains but at the upper end of the market.

“As we publish our tenth anniversary Index, it is clear how dramatically the mobile advertising landscape has evolved,” commented Shani Rosenfelder, Director of Market Insights at AppsFlyer. “What began as a fragmented and highly competitive set of networks has become a market driven by a handful of large platforms, rising expectations around creative performance, and a greater focus on trust.”

Over the past decade, the Index has captured four defining stages in the evolution of mobile media performance: an early period of expansion and fragmentation; a clean-up phase driven by improving fraud prevention and measurement; a period of consolidation shaped by the industry’s shift toward privacy; and a renewed wave of innovation as AI and programmatic capabilities introduced fresh competition. A decade later, the ecosystem has matured into a more stable, data-driven environment anchored by a smaller set of trusted platforms.

Key findings include:

• Apple Ads remained the number one global media source for iOS gaming, with AppLovin narrowing the gap and leading in tier one North America and Western Europe.

• Google Ads led across Android gaming, while AppLovin, Mintegral, and rewarded platforms such as adjoe posted major gains.

• Apple Ads retained its top position in iOS non-gaming, followed by Meta Ads, TikTok for Business, Google Ads, and Snapchat.

• Google Ads held the number one position in Android non-gaming, with Meta Ads at number two. TikTok for Business ranked number three, with Google Marketing Platform and Snapchat entering the top five at numbers four and five, supported by meaningful jumps in retention quality

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Categories: Advertising, Articles, Markets, Mobile, Research

Tags: advertising, apple, AppsFlyer, google, mobile, tiktok