A new report from apps analytics group Distimo has found the Google Android market contains the highest amount of free apps at 57%, while Windows Marketplace carries the lowest percentage at 22%.
Just over a quarter of the apps in the Apple’s App Store are free.
The Netherlands-based company provides analytics and research for the apps industry, including apps for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Google Android devices.
The new report shows developers from only nine countries can provide paid apps to the Android Market, and users from 3 countries can download the priced apps.
Additionally, the app found that half of all apps are below $2 in all of the major marketplaces, except for the BlackBerry App World and Windows Marketplace. For the iPad, users pay an average of $US4.65, compared to an average of just $US4.01 for iPhone apps.
However, the average price of the 100 top-grossing apps is higher for iPhones than it is for iPads.
Unsurprisingly, games comprise 9/10 of the most popular free apps on the App Store for iPhone, and 8/10 for paid apps.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
