Swedes are in overwhelming agreement that government and financial infrastructure apps are indispensable in everyday life. But when the digital product agency Coming soon analyzes gender differences in its new report Mobile App Trends Report 2026, completely different patterns emerge. While women are more likely to use social media, fashion and shopping apps such as H&M, Vinted and Klarna, men dominate in investment and news apps such as Avanza, Blocket and Reddit.
The report Mobile App Trends Report 2026 has mapped the Swedish app landscape and measures, among other things, the installation rate, i.e. which apps each gender actually downloads and uses. The report shows that the genders share a common base of digital infrastructure apps, but that the gender gap is noticeable in fashion and shopping, investment and entertainment.
The common base: Security and economy
There is a strong common thread that unites the genders. The digital tools that hold Swedish society together are valued equally by everyone. Both men and women agree that apps like BankID, Swish, Kivra, Waze, Tibber, Handelsbanken, SOS Alarm 112 and Krisinformation are among the absolute best on the market. They offer the stability, functionality and trust required to become a beloved app.
But beyond this common core, opinions diverge.
Women's most used apps: Fashion, shopping and social media
Among the apps that Swedish women install the most, fashion, shopping and social media stand out. The pattern is clear and consistent throughout the material.
• Fashion and shopping: H&M (42 % of women vs 11 % of men), Vinted (38 % vs 15 %) and SHEIN (17 % vs 4 %) are all clearly female-dominated. The second-hand market is particularly strong. Vinted has more than twice the install rate among women.
• Social media: Instagram (88 % vs 70 %), Pinterest (35 % vs 13 %) and Snapchat (52 % vs 42 %) are all more prevalent among women. Pinterest stands out with an install rate almost three times higher than men.
• Payments and delivery: Klarna (71 % vs 55 %) and the delivery app Budbee (32 % vs 19 %) reflect a purchasing pattern that extends all the way from purchase to home delivery, an ecosystem that is clearly more female-dominated.
Men's most used apps: Investing, news and entertainment
Among men, investment and news apps stand out the most. Investment apps are the gender gap that is most pronounced in the entire report.
• Investment: Avanza is used by 41% of men compared to 26% of women, the clearest gender gap in finance. Investment apps are the single most male-dominated category in the entire report.
• News and marketplaces: X (24 % vs 9 %), Reddit (18 % vs 6 %) and the ad marketplace Blocket (47 % vs 33 %) are all more prevalent among men. Reddit has three times the install rate among men.
• Entertainment and technology: Streaming platform Twitch (16 % vs 4 %), Amazon Prime Video (29 % vs 20 %) and AI tool Google Gemini (25 % vs 16 %) are all more clearly male-dominated. Twitch reaches four times more men than women.
Top 10: The apps men and women use more than each other in Sweden
Install rate in the group where the app is most common. The two lists show different apps and should not be read against each other. Source: Mobile App Trends Report 2026.
| Women | Men |
|---|---|
| 1. Instagram – 88 % | 1. The Block – 47 % |
| 2. Facebook – 84 % | 2. Avanza – 41 % |
| 3. Facebook Messenger – 84 % | 3. Google Home – 38 % |
| 4. Klarna – 71 % | 4. Amazon – 32 % |
| 5. TV4 Play – 57 % | 5. Amazon Prime Video – 29 % |
| 6. Snapchat – 52 % | 6. Google Gemini – 25 % |
| 7. H&M – 42 % | 7. X-24 % |
| 8. Vinted – 38 % | 8. OKQ8 – 20 % |
| 9. Pinterest – 35 % | 9. Reddit – 18 % |
| 10. Budbee – 32 % | 10. Twitch – 16 % |
– It’s fashion versus investment, and it’s one of the most robust differences we see in the data. Women clearly dominate in fashion and shopping, while men lead in investment and news. The fact that both payment and delivery apps are female-dominated may indicate a more developed e-commerce behavior among women, says Erik Ridman, CEO of Framna Sverige.
See the full report
The entire report is available via Framna.
About the report
Mobile App Trends Report 2026 is developed by the digital product agency Coming soon and aims to investigate which factors drive user satisfaction, loyalty and trust in mobile apps.
A total of 460 apps were analyzed and responses from 13,750 users in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Poland were included in the survey. In Sweden, 3,800 respondents participated and a total of 257 apps were analyzed.
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