sora hit 1m downloads faster than chatgpt

Sora Surpasses ChatGPT in Initial iOS Downloads

OpenAI’s recently released video generation application, Sora, has quickly gained traction, achieving the top position on the U.S. App Store. According to data from Appfigures, an app intelligence firm, Sora experienced a more significant first week than ChatGPT on iOS.

Download Numbers and Availability

Estimates indicate that Sora accumulated 627,000 iOS downloads within its initial seven days. This figure contrasts with ChatGPT’s 606,000 iOS downloads during its comparable first week of availability.

Shortly after the initial report, Bill Peebles, OpenAI’s head of Sora, announced the app had reached one million downloads in under five days. He noted this adoption rate exceeded that of ChatGPT, despite Sora currently operating in an invite-only capacity.

Geographical Considerations

While ChatGPT was initially accessible solely in the U.S., Sora launched in both the U.S. and Canada. Appfigures’ data reveals that Canada accounted for approximately 45,000 installs.

Adjusting for this, Sora’s launch performance was roughly 96% of ChatGPT’s iOS-only launch, when considering U.S. numbers exclusively.

Impact of Invite-Only Access

The rapid adoption of Sora is particularly noteworthy given its invite-only access requirement. ChatGPT, in contrast, was publicly available upon its initial release.

This makes Sora’s initial performance even more impressive, demonstrating strong consumer interest despite the limited access.

App Store Ranking and Comparison

On its first day, Sora recorded 56,000 iOS app installs, quickly ascending to the No. 3 position among all apps on the U.S. App Store. By October 3rd, it had climbed to No. 1.

This rapid ascent positioned Sora’s debut ahead of other prominent AI app launches, including Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and on par with xAI’s Grok.

Social Media Response and Deepfake Concerns

A review of social media platforms confirms the data provided by Appfigures, with numerous examples of Sora-generated videos circulating online. These videos utilize the Sora 2 video model, enabling the creation of realistic deepfakes.

The ability to generate deepfakes has raised ethical concerns, including instances of users creating depictions of deceased individuals. This prompted Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin Williams, to request that people cease sending her AI-generated images of her father.

Sustained Adoption and Future Outlook

Appfigures’ data indicates consistent adoption since Sora’s market entry on September 30, 2025. Daily iOS downloads peaked at 107,800 on October 1, 2025.

Subsequent daily install numbers have ranged from a low of 84,400 (October 6) to a high of 98,500 (October 4). These figures remain substantial for an application with restricted access.

This article was updated on October 8 to incorporate new information from OpenAI’s Bill Peebles, and to clarify that Sora remains exclusively available on iOS.