Sora’s Initial Week Downloads Almost Equal ChatGPT’s Debut Numbers

After OpenAI’s video-creation application Sora ascended to the pinnacle of the U.S. App Store, it has outperformed ChatGPT in its initial week on iOS, as revealed by new data from app analytics company Appfigures. The estimates indicate that Sora achieved 627,000 downloads on iOS within its first seven days, surpassing ChatGPT’s 606,000 downloads during its debut week.

Nonetheless, this comparison might not be entirely fair, as ChatGPT was initially restricted to the U.S. market, whereas Sora launched in both the U.S. and Canada. Appfigures highlights that about 45,000 installs were from Canada, indicating that Sora’s U.S. launch figures are roughly 96% of ChatGPT’s U.S.-only figures.

The swift acceptance of Sora is remarkable, particularly since it operates on an invite-only basis, while ChatGPT was readily available upon its launch. This element amplifies the importance of Sora’s performance.

Sora garnered 56,000 installations on its inaugural day, propelling it to the No. 3 spot in the Top Overall apps on the U.S. App Store. By Friday, October 3, it climbed to the No. 1 position. This impressive surge places Sora ahead of other notable AI app introductions, including Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and places it on par with xAI’s Grok launch.

A quick look at social media shows many testimonials supporting Appfigures’ findings. Sora videos, using the new Sora 2 video model that lets users create realistic deepfakes, seem to be widespread. Some users have even produced deepfakes of deceased individuals, a controversial application that led Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late actor Robin Williams, to urge for the cessation of AI-generated images of her father.

As noted by Appfigures, Sora has shown consistent growth since its launch on September 30, 2025. Their data reveals that daily downloads peaked at 107,800 on October 1, 2025. Since then, downloads have varied, recording lows of 84,400 (on October 6) and highs of 98,500 (on October 4).

While these numbers may not match the earlier high of the week, they still demonstrate robust performance for an application that is still invite-only for many users.