Men are more lucrative for freemium app developers than women as they spend more in total – as well as per transaction.

Freemium games are free to download but offer users additional paid-for features. These additional paid transactions contribute around 65 percent of all revenue from iOS and Android apps, according to analytics firm Flurry.

The mobile industry, brands and advertising agencies are becoming increasingly interested in the freemium app market as the audience for these apps is one of the largest and most attractive concentrations of educated and affluent technology consumers.

But Flurry has found that men and women interact with freemium games differently in terms of time and money spent, as well as transaction volume and average price per transaction.

Men spend more money on freemium games in total (58 percent) and this holds true across all age ranges, the biggest difference being seen in the 25-34 year old age group. In the 25-54 age range – which represents the bulk of spending – men account for 45 percent of total spending and women, 32 percent.

The difference is less marked when looking at the number of transactions related to freemium games, with men accounting for 40 percent of transactions in the 25-54 year old age group and women, 35 percent.

This difference in spending is accounted for by the fact that men spend an average of 31 percent more per transaction (US$15.60) than women (US$11.90). This difference is fairly consistent across all age groups, although the biggest difference in spending is 37 percent for the 25-34 year old age group.

In terms of time spent using freemium apps, males and females are pretty even with men spending 53 percent of the time on these games compared to 47 percent for women.

Despite the large proportion of total app revenue generated by freemium games, only 3 percent of freemium game users actually spend money. Developers therefore need to work out how to make the remaining 97 percent part with their money.