ChatGPT Mobile App Achieves Record $4.58M Revenue Last Month, Yet Growth is Slowing

There’s both encouraging and concerning news regarding ChatGPT’s mobile initiatives. On the bright side, the AI chatbot is experiencing significant growth in both app installations and revenue, with September marking record performance: 15.6 million downloads and an impressive nearly $4.6 million in gross revenue across its iOS and Android platforms globally. However, according to fresh insights from market intelligence firm Appfigures, revenue growth is showing signs of slowing. In recent months, revenue growth rates exceeded 30%—31% in July and 39% in August—but this trend dropped to 20% growth in September.

This slowdown in revenue could signal that ChatGPT is approaching market saturation, particularly among mobile users considering the upgraded ChatGPT+ subscription service, priced at $19.99 per month. This subscription enhances the user experience with faster response times, priority access during peak usage, and early access to new features. So far, the subscription has performed well, contributing gross revenues of $2.1 million in June, rising to $2.74 million in July, then $3.81 million in August, and now reaching an impressive $4.58 million in September.

Interestingly, ChatGPT is not the highest-grossing AI app. A competitor named Ask AI has outpaced it, largely due to substantial ad investments, with revenues climbing from $6.48 million in May (around the time ChatGPT mobile launched) to a high of $6.55 million in August, according to Appfigures. Although Ask AI saw a slight decline to $5.51 million in September, it still surpasses ChatGPT. Other competitors, such as Genie and AI Chat Smith, have not achieved similar revenue levels.

When considering net revenue, the story may change due to Ask AI’s advertising costs. ChatGPT achieved around $3.2 million in net revenue in September after accounting for the cuts taken by Apple and Google from in-app purchase revenues.

In addition to its revenue highlights, ChatGPT amassed 15.6 million installs in September, bringing its total to approximately 52.2 million installs, as estimated by Appfigures. Google Play played a significant role in these downloads, generating 9 million in September, while the App Store contributed 6.6 million.

However, the App Store proves more lucrative in terms of revenue, generating $3 million of total in-app purchases last month. The United States remains the largest market for the AI chatbot, accounting for 60% of ChatGPT’s revenues.