According to new data from app intelligence provider Appfigures, OpenAI's video generation app Sora, after topping the US App Store charts, technically surpassed ChatGPT in its first week on iOS. The data shows that Sora received approximately 627,000 iOS downloads in its first seven days, compared to ChatGPT's 606,000 downloads in its first week.
However, this comparison isn't entirely fair, as ChatGPT was only available in the US during its first week, while Sora launched in both the US and Canada. Despite this, Appfigures notes that Canada contributed approximately 45,000 downloads. Comparing only the US market, Sora's launch size is still 96% of ChatGPT's.
Notably, Sora is currently an invite-only app, while ChatGPT was publicly available from launch. This makes Sora's success even more significant.
On its first day, Sora quickly achieved approximately 56,000 installs, rapidly climbing to #3 on the US App Store's "Overall Apps" chart. By Friday, October 3rd, it had risen to #1. This strong momentum helped Sora's initial launch surpass the initial performance of other major AI applications, including Anthropic's Claude and Microsoft's Copilot, and rivaled the launch of Grok, an app from Elon Musk's xAI.
Appfigures' data is also supported by widespread user engagement on social media. Leveraging the new Sora 2 video model, Sora enables users to generate highly realistic deepfake videos, making them nearly ubiquitous. Some users have even used this technology to create fake images of deceased individuals, sparking ethical controversy. Zelda Williams, daughter of the late actor Robin Williams, recently called on the public to stop sending her AI-generated images of her father.
According to Appfigures, Sora's user growth has remained stable since its launch on September 30, 2025. Daily downloads on iOS peaked on October 1, 2025, reaching 107,800. While this number has since declined slightly, it still reached a low of 84,400 daily installs on October 6, and 98,500 on October 4. While recent daily downloads have declined compared to the initial launch, these figures remain impressive for an app that's not yet fully available and remains invitation-only.
