OpenAI’s Sora Takes the Lead on Apple’s US App Store

OpenAI’s Sora app, designed for AI-generated videos, has rapidly gained popularity, although it remains invite-only and is limited to users in the U.S. and Canada. On its launch day, Sora achieved an impressive 56,000 downloads, now ranking as the No. 3 Top Overall app in Apple’s U.S. App Store, based on the latest data from app intelligence firm Appfigures. Notably, on Friday, October 3, it reached the No. 1 position on the U.S. App Store.

This ranking places it ahead of Google Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The company estimates that Sora’s iOS app received a total of 164,000 installs over its first two days, September 30 and October 1.

These day-one figures suggest that Sora’s launch surpassed notable AI app introductions, such as Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and is on par with xAI’s Grok launch. In contrast, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini iOS apps had stronger initial performances, each achieving at least 80,000 downloads on their launch day.

Given Sora’s current invite-only status, we recognize this may not provide a fully fair comparison. The new video app might have potentially attracted even more installs if it were available to all users.

Despite this limitation, Sora’s early performance is noteworthy, indicating a strong desire for AI video tools in a more social-networking format. (This has raised some concerns within OpenAI, as they prefer the company to tackle more complex challenges that benefit society. However, one could argue that the viral deepfakes of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman asking, “Are my piggies enjoying their slop?” might also serve a purpose.)

To assess Sora’s initial success compared to other AI applications, Appfigures conducted an analysis focusing on U.S. and Canadian downloads of competing AI apps. This was crucial as different AI applications have employed varying launch strategies. For example, ChatGPT’s iOS rollout was initially limited to U.S. users, while Grok restricted its iOS release to the U.S., Australia, and India. Conversely, Anthropic did not outline any geographical restrictions during its Claude app’s iOS launch last year.

For a fairer comparison, Appfigures concentrated solely on the U.S. and Canadian downloads for each app during their launches.

The analysis revealed that ChatGPT and Gemini experienced more robust launches than Sora, with day-one iOS downloads of 81,000 and 80,000, respectively. Sora achieved 56,000 day-one installs, matching Grok, while significantly outpacing the launches of AI apps Claude and Copilot, which recorded 21,000 and 7,000 downloads, respectively, on their first day.

Sora ascended to the top charts of the U.S. App Store, attaining the No. 3 overall app position by the second day. For context, ChatGPT secured the No. 1 position by its second day, while Grok ranked No. 4, Gemini No. 6, Copilot No. 19, and Claude No. 78.

This post was originally published on October 2, 2025, at 11:24 AM PT. It has since been updated to reflect the app’s enhanced ranking on Friday.