State of App Marketing in Vietnam – 2025 Edition

Vietnam’s app ecosystem has reached scale. Installs remain high but have plateaued, with quality replacing quantity as the main market signal. The drivers of this shift are category-specific: Finance apps show fewer installs but far deeper engagement, while Gaming has stabilized and increasingly targets global audiences.

Mobile continues to anchor Vietnam’s digital behavior. By early 2025, 79.8 million people were online, and with 127 million mobile connections, mobile is the dominant access point. Users now spend just over seven hours daily online, with apps like TikTok, Shopee, and Zalo leading user engagement.

The ad market is evolving in parallel. Vietnam’s digital ad spend is projected to grow 9.1% in 2025, powered by mobile-first formats. Budgets are shifting toward retention and monetization strategies such as hybrid models, subscriptions, and deeper re-engagement, particularly in verticals where user value is rising.

This report unpacks Vietnam’s progression into maturity, highlighting how Finance, Utilities, and Gaming apps are reshaping strategies for growth. Global benchmarks are included where Vietnam data alone cannot fully capture category dynamics, offering context on where the market aligns and diverges.

Vietnam’s app economy expanded rapidly over the past seven years, with installs up 136% since 2018. Growth was consistent through 2023, peaking in 2021 with a 29% YoY increase, fueled by smartphone penetration, wider internet access, and broad app adoption.

This growth cycle has now plateaued. Vietnam’s regional share of installs fell from 23% in 2018 to 17% in 2025, as faster-growing markets like the Philippines and Indonesia captured more activity. Category dynamics reinforce the shift: gaming installs grew strongly through 2022 but are projected to decline 12% in 2025, while non-gaming surged 42% in 2023 before contracting in 2024 and 2025. This marks the first sustained slowdown across both major groups.

Platform trends have moved in parallel. Android’s share of installs dropped from 78% in 2017 to 66% in 2025, while iOS rose from 22% to 33%. The result is a growing weight of higher-value iOS users in Vietnam’s app market, even as overall volumes flatten.

Vietnam is no longer in a land-grab phase. Growth is slowing overall, category momentum has cooled after years of expansion, and iOS continues to gain ground at Android’s expense. The market’s next stage will be defined less by raw install numbers and more by retention, engagement, and monetization efficiency.

Finance is the only major non-gaming category showing a clear rebound in installs. After declines in 2024, when Android dropped 11% and iOS fell 7%, the first half of 2025 showed a sharp divergence: iOS Finance installs surged 27% year over year, while Android fell 39%.

This rebound reshapes the platform mix. In 2019, 78% of Finance installs came from Android and just 22% from iOS. By 2025, iOS is projected to hold the majority with 54% of installs, compared to 45% for Android.

Sessions confirm this momentum. iOS’ share of Finance sessions grew from 61% in Q3 2023 to 68% in Q2 2025, while Android’s fell from 39% to 32%. This indicates not only higher acquisition volumes on iOS but also stronger engagement among acquired users.

Monetization trends mirror these shifts. On iOS, paid installs increased 22% YoY in H1 2025, rebounding after sharp early-2024 drops. By contrast, paid installs fell 47% YoY on Android, highlighting weaker acquisition efficiency and continued performance headwinds.

Finance is consolidating around a more valuable iOS user base. For marketers, this means placing iOS at the center of UA and retention strategies while strengthening Android efficiency to avoid further erosion.

Utilities remains one of the largest global non-gaming categories, covering Utilities, Photo & Video, Health & Fitness, and Generative AI. Globally, iOS installs have grown 305% since 2017, rising from a 3% share of market installs to 14% in 2025, while Android grew 133% to reach 12%. Both platforms peaked in 2022–2023, and 2025 is forecast to decline year over year (–8% on iOS, –17% on Android), signaling the category’s entry into a mature phase.

Growth is still anchored in India and the US, but both contracted in 2025. Momentum is shifting to smaller markets, with South Korea posting the fastest increase at +59% YoY. This uneven performance highlights how Utilities apps are maturing at different speeds globally.

Engagement trends reinforce platform divergence. iOS’ share of global Utilities sessions grew from 25% in Q3 2023 to 34% in Q2 2025, while Android dropped from 75% to 66%.

Vietnam mirrors this trajectory but with sharper swings. Since 2017, Android Utilities installs have grown just 16%, while iOS surged 651%. After peaking in 2022, both platforms declined, with 2025 forecast to contract –32% on Android and –26% on iOS. Platform shares have flipped: 2017 Android held 77% of installs versus 23% for iOS; by 2025, iOS is projected at 64% versus 36% for Android. Sessions confirm the shift: iOS climbed from 43% in Q3 2023 to 80% in Q2 2025.

Utilities categories have matured globally, with iOS emerging as the growth driver. In Vietnam, the pivot is sharper, with iOS now dominating both installs and sessions. The opportunity lies in sustaining iOS momentum while working to stabilize Android performance.

Utilities UA budgets remain concentrated in the United States, which captured 46% of global spend in 2025, though its share edged down slightly from last year. Vietnam has climbed to second place with nearly 12% of global Utilities UA spend, while Germany ranks third at 11.5%, both showing notable year-over-year gains.

Growth momentum is shifting toward these markets. Vietnam, Germany, and India recorded the largest increases in share, while Mexico and Turkey entered the global top 10, signaling fresh scaling activity outside traditional strongholds. In contrast, the United Kingdom and Japan lost share, suggesting weaker efficiency or shifting advertiser priorities.

UA ad spend trends in Vietnam tell a different story. Normalized data shows that from Q3 2023 to Q2 2025, Utilities ad spend dropped 69% overall, with Android down 61% and iOS down 78%. On a year-over-year view, H1 2025 spend was 37% lower than H1 2024, with iOS more resilient (–25%) than Android (–44%).

Paid installs, however, show global efficiency improving. Across Utilities worldwide, iOS paid installs rose 17% between Q3 2023 and Q2 2025, while Android fell 24% as UA costs rose. In Vietnam, the iOS–Android gap is even sharper, with iOS proving the clear growth driver despite overall contraction.

The United States remains the anchor market for Utilities UA, but Vietnam’s rise to the #2 global position highlights its growing role internationally. For Vietnam-based Utilities developers, the challenge is twofold: competition at home is intensifying as budgets contract, and success abroad increasingly depends on leveraging iOS efficiency while addressing Android headwinds.

After years of double-digit growth, global gaming installs have slowed. Android gaming installs declined 5% year over year in 2025, while iOS fell 7%, marking the first clear contraction since the pandemic-driven surge. The category peaked in 2024, and competition depends more on capturing share than market expansion.

By market, India leads with 16% of global gaming installs, followed by the United States, Brazil, and Indonesia . Only Indonesia (+5% YoY) and Pakistan (+4% YoY) posted growth, while most mature markets contracted.

Vietnam mirrors this maturity story. Gaming’s share of total installs climbed from 3% in 2017 to 15% in 2022, before easing to 13% in 2025. Platform dynamics show the same plateau: Android peaked at 15% in 2024 before slipping to 13% in 2025, while iOS fell from a 2023 high of 15% to 11% in 2025. By then, Android accounted for 84% of Vietnam’s gaming installs versus 16% for iOS, up from 77% in 2017.

Regionally, Vietnam’s weight has diminished. In 2017, it held 35% of gaming installs across these tracked markets; by 2025, that share is projected at 17.7%, as Indonesia rose to 37% and the Philippines nearly doubled to 19%.

Gaming globally, and in Vietnam, is entering a mature phase. Android dominates, while iOS has lost ground. For Vietnamese developers, opportunity now lies in outbound growth, especially in fast-scaling Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

Vietnam’s overall gaming engagement mirrors global patterns, with Android accounting for about 70–73% of sessions since late 2023 and iOS holding 27–30%. This balance has remained stable into the first half of 2025.

Subgenre splits, however, reveal sharp differences. Hypercasual, casual, and midcore games remain dominated by Android, with Vietnam tracking close to global benchmarks where Android captures 69–90% of playtime.

The divergence is clearest in sports and racing, and casino. Globally, iOS represents only 30–32% of sessions in these genres. In Vietnam, the picture is reversed: sports and racing sessions have exceeded 50% on iOS since late 2023, peaking at 55% in Q1 2025, while casino sessions reached 40% on iOS in early 2025. This indicates a much stronger iOS player base in these segments than the global average.

While Android dominates Vietnam’s gaming sessions overall, platform dynamics vary by subgenre. Sports, racing, and casino titles stand out for their stronger iOS engagement, suggesting developers should not treat Vietnam’s iOS audience as secondary — especially in genres where Apple devices already hold a disproportionate share of playtime.

Gaming paid installs have been relatively stable globally, but platform dynamics are diverging. Android posted an 11% surge in Q4 2024 vs. Q4 2023, lifting its performance 3% year over year in H1 2025. iOS, by contrast, fell 5% YoY in H1 2025 and is down 18% from Q3 2023 to Q2 2025, underscoring sustained headwinds in acquisition efficiency.

Sub-category investment shows where budgets are shifting. Midcore gained 34% since Q3 2023, rising from 7% to 10% of paid installs by Q2 2025. Casual grew 19%, while hypercasual dropped 15% and casino fell 46% under regulatory and CPI pressure. Sports & Racing rose 71%, though from a small base.

Vietnam diverges from this global pattern. Casual surged 46%, reaching 41% of paid installs by Q2 2025, well above global levels. Hypercasual shrank 22% but still leads with 39%, underscoring its entrenched dominance. Midcore slipped 13%, casino fell 24%, and sports & racing gained 33%, though it remains niche.

Globally, investment is tilting toward midcore and casual as developers chase higher-LTV users. In Vietnam, casual is the standout growth story, while hypercasual still commands the largest share. Developers should note that Vietnam is not following the global pivot to midcore; success locally requires scaling casual while gradually building midcore traction.

In H2 2025, Vietnam-based gaming apps directed most of their user acquisition budgets to mature markets. The United States remained the top destination at 52%, down from 56.2% in H2 2024. Japan ranked second at 11%, also declining from 13.3%, while France rose to 7% from 5%, reflecting stronger investment.

Growth markets are emerging as a clear focus. France, South Korea, and Germany all gained share, and Turkey entered the top 10 with more than 3%, signaling new testing and scaling activity. In contrast, the US, Japan, and the UK all lost share, pointing to budget reallocation toward other geographies.

While the US and Japan remain the largest destinations for Vietnam’s gaming UA spend, studios are gradually diversifying. The rise of France, South Korea, Germany, and Turkey highlights a strategy to broaden reach, reduce dependence on mature markets, and capture opportunities in faster-growing regions.

Globally, in-app advertising (IAA) remains dominant and is strengthening. By Q2 2025, IAA accounted for 57.7% of apps, up 18% since Q3 2023. Hybrid models grew 27%, reaching 27.1% of apps, while in-app purchases (IAP) fell nearly 50% to 15.1%, reflecting the difficulty of scaling high-value spenders.

Vietnam-based studios are shifting faster. By Q1 2025, 30.4% of Vietnam gaming apps used hybrid monetization, up 42% year over year and 52% since Q2 2023. IAA remains the largest model at 58%, but its share has dropped 14% YoY as studios diversify. IAP slipped to 10%, underscoring ongoing difficulty in sustaining purchase-driven revenues.

Vietnam is pivoting to hybrid faster than global averages. Developers are adapting to balance revenue stability with player experience, capturing value from both spenders and non-spenders. While IAA continues to dominate, its erosion signals that the next growth wave will depend on how effectively studios combine ads and purchases within cohesive hybrid models.

Vietnam’s install fraud rate has improved significantly. Since Q3 2023, fraud has declined by –39% on Android and –45% on iOS, reflecting stronger defenses and better detection across most categories.

Finance remains the outlier. Fraud rates in Finance apps reached 43% on Android and 27% on iOS in Q2 2025, more than double the market average. While both platforms are down from 2023 peaks, iOS fraud surged +91% YoY in H1 2025, closely tracking the category’s recovery in installs and sessions. Fraud is clearly following the money, leaving Finance highly exposed.

Vietnam’s overall fraud profile is improving, but Finance continues to distort the picture. Fraud remains concentrated in high-value categories, with iOS showing renewed exposure in particular. For developers, this underscores the need for vertical-specific defenses, with Finance requiring the highest vigilance.