To put it simply, ChatGPT is an overwhelming success. This is something we already intuited: one does not need to be an industry expert to recognize that the application developed by Sam Altman is on everyone’s lips, especially since the release of its controversial new model, GPT-5. Yet when we examine the hard data, it becomes clear that this popular AI app has become a veritable gold mine for OpenAI.
A new analysis by Appfigures reveals that OpenAI’s mobile application not only leads the AI assistant market, but it has also established itself as one of the world’s most downloaded and highest-earning apps, competing directly with giants such as TikTok and Instagram.
Since its launch in May 2023, the ChatGPT app for iOS and Android has generated the astonishing total of $2 billion (approximately 1.725 billion euros) in global consumer spending. This figure is not only impressive in its own right; it is nearly 30 times greater than the combined revenues of direct competitors such as Claude, Grok, and Copilot.
OpenAI’s financial success in the mobile space is evident in a key metric: spending per download. According to data from Appfigures, while ChatGPT generates $2.91 per download globally, its competitors lag far behind. Claude is the closest competitor, with $2.55, whereas Grok and Copilot barely reach $0.75 and $0.28, respectively.
In the United States, this dominance is even more pronounced, with the ChatGPT app achieving a remarkable spending per download of $10, highlighting the willingness of U.S. users to pay for the service.
The growth of OpenAI’s application is spectacular. Thus far this year (from January to July 2025), the app has generated $1.35 billion, which represents an increase of 673% compared to the $174 million generated during the same period in 2024. This equates to an average monthly revenue of nearly $193 million.
To put this growth in perspective, ChatGPT’s accumulated revenues this year are approximately 53 times higher than those of its closest competitor in terms of revenue, Grok, which has generated about $25.6 million so far this year.
If we examine the Appfigures data for just the last month, we see that only the omnipresent TikTok is able to surpass ChatGPT in millions of dollars generated:
Its presence on this list, surpassing streaming services, social networks, and well-established subscription platforms such as YouTube, Disney+, or LinkedIn, underscores the viability and success of its subscription-based business model in the consumer applications market.
The dominance of ChatGPT is not limited to monetization. Appfigures data for July shows that OpenAI’s application was the most downloaded worldwide, both on iOS and Google Play, with a combined total of 52 million installations. Here is the top 10, with data in millions of installations:
This figure places ChatGPT above the omnipresent TikTok application (39 million downloads) and Instagram (38 million), demonstrating that OpenAI’s AI has achieved massive adoption and now sits on par in popularity with the world’s leading social networks. To date, the app has been installed 690 million times, a figure that dwarfs Grok’s 39.5 million installations.
How has ChatGPT achieved this dominant position? Clearly, the fact that OpenAI was the first company to deliver a powerful and accessible AI language model to the masses was instrumental. And indeed, this allowed it to build a user base and a brand ahead of its competitors. One could certainly say that now ChatGPT has become the “generic” term for generative AIs. This carries significant weight in the minds of millions of people.
And while it is true that the structure of ChatGPT’s plans and pricing was somewhat chaotic (which has improved considerably following the release of GPT-5), the ChatGPT Plus subscription model (23 euros per month) has proven to be a highly effective revenue driver. Unlike competitors that delayed launching their mobile apps, OpenAI was swift to capitalize on user demand. OpenAI’s competitors, such as Grok and Copilot, entered the mobile app market later or focused their strategies on other services, such as integration with their own ecosystems (in the case of Copilot with Microsoft 365).
When you add to all this the fact that the application offers a seamless user experience, and its usefulness is undeniable for a multitude of tasks—from drafting emails to idea generation—you have identified several key factors explaining the revenue gap compared to its competitors.
In any event, the Appfigures data is only a snapshot of the present, but Google, Microsoft, and xAI will not remain idle. The future battle will revolve around innovation, the integration of new services, and how each player manages to convince consumers that its AI model is the most valuable and worth downloading and monetizing.
For now, one thing is certain: OpenAI has demonstrated that consumer artificial intelligence is not just a technology; it is an extremely lucrative business, and its ChatGPT app is its mobile gold mine.
Image: ChatGPT
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