Sora’s debut week on iOS in the United States was almost as successful as ChatGPT’s launch

Following the rapid rise of OpenAI’s video creation app Sora to the top spot on the U.S. App Store, new figures from app analytics firm Appfigures reveal that Sora actually had a more successful first week than ChatGPT did on iOS. According to their estimates, Sora was downloaded 627,000 times on iOS within its initial week, surpassing ChatGPT’s 606,000 downloads during its own launch week.

However, this comparison isn’t entirely equal, as ChatGPT’s first week was limited to U.S. users, whereas Sora debuted in both the U.S. and Canada. Appfigures notes that Canadian users made up about 45,000 of Sora’s installs, meaning that if only U.S. downloads were counted, Sora’s launch would be roughly 96% of ChatGPT’s U.S.-only launch.

This rate of user adoption is particularly notable since Sora is still only accessible by invitation, whereas ChatGPT was more broadly available at its launch. This makes Sora’s early performance stand out even more.

On its launch day, Sora quickly reached 56,000 installs, propelling it to the No. 3 spot among all apps on the U.S. App Store. By Friday, October 3, it had climbed to No. 1. This rapid ascent put Sora ahead of other major AI app debuts, such as Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and placed it alongside the launch of xAI’s Grok.

A quick look at social media reveals many stories that back up Appfigures’ findings. Videos made with Sora’s new Sora 2 video model, which allows users to create convincing deepfakes, are widespread. Some users are even making deepfakes of deceased individuals, a trend that led Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, to publicly request that people stop sending her AI-generated images of her father.

Appfigures reports that Sora has maintained steady growth since its release on September 30, 2025. Their data shows that iOS downloads peaked at 107,800 on October 1, 2025, with daily installs ranging from a low of 84,400 on October 6 to a high of 98,500 on October 4.

Although these numbers have dipped slightly from the initial surge, they remain strong for an app that is not yet open to all users.