The health and fitness app market market spans a large set of apps, from fitness fanatics looking for the best workout routines, hubs for running communities and meditation guidance, there’s something for everyone. The app category is full of metric tracking, whether that’s calories, steps, heart-rate or menstrual cycle, to log activity and receive analysis.
This app category generated over $5 billion in-app revenue, with about three quarters of that coming from subscriptions, according to the Health & Fitness App Report. Connected hardware, in the form of smartwatches, fitness bands and connected gym equipment, still brings in a large amount of revenue to the total market.
MyFitnessPal is still the leading app for calorie counting, with a huge database of food items. It also has the top grossing subscription service in the calorie counter subsector, with food plans and other services locked away.
While it continues to be used by millions, it is one of the few to not take advantage of the surge in interest for AI-powered products, with Yazio and Cal AI both marketing their AI prowess front and centre.
Two different types of activity trackers are on display here: community-based and step count. Strava and Runna have step, length and time counters, but the focus on both apps is about connecting with friends and groups, whether that be for walking, running or cycling.
Sweatcoin and StepsApp, on the other hand, function more as basic trackers, letting users know how far they have walked. Sweatcoin also has an incentive structure through its crypto coin, which lets users get involved in raffles or buy items.
Hardware is still a prominent part of the health and fitness market, with several key apps generating most of their revenue from hardware sales. Some are product-focused, such as Whoop, Oura, Connect by Garmin and Zwift, which cannot operate without the connected device, while others such as Peloton, Apple Fitness+, Fitbit and Google Fit will provide some functionality without hardware. As the hardware market matures, more of Peloton and Fitbit’s revenue comes from subscription and services.
There are plenty of apps that focus on sleep, with users turning to their phones to help them turn off for the night, or to analyse their sleep quality. Most of them offer ways to track sleep, sleep quality and levels of sleep. Some also have sleeping sounds, audiobooks and other noise to help sleep. This is an extension of the wellness and meditation app subsector, and some of the big names in that market such as Calm and Headspace also offer white noise and sleep tracking.
Pokemon Sleep is an altogether different beast, which rewards users for time rested by unpacking Pokemon characters. The more and better the sleep, the more Pokemon show up.
