Sunil GillChatGPT was the most downloaded free iPhone app in the United States in 2025, according to Apple's own year-end list, ahead of Threads, Google, TikTok and WhatsApp. Worldwide, across both stores, Sensor Tower names TikTok the number one app of 2025 by downloads, consumer spending and time spent, with ChatGPT second on downloads after growing 148% in a year.
"Most popular" can mean most downloaded, most used or most paid for, and the answer changes with the definition. This report gives the three lists that come from a measured or official source, states which is which, and says where the lists disagree.
Most popular apps: the key figures
- ChatGPT, Threads, Google, TikTok and WhatsApp were the five most downloaded free iPhone apps in the US in 2025 (Apple).
- TikTok led worldwide downloads, in-app purchase revenue and time spent in 2025; ChatGPT was second on downloads (Sensor Tower).
- Block Blast!, Fortnite and Roblox were the most downloaded free iPhone games in the US; Minecraft, Balatro and Heads Up! the top paid games (Apple).
- Nearly 150 billion apps were downloaded worldwide in 2025 and $167 billion was spent in them, up 10.6% (Sensor Tower).
- By monthly users, WhatsApp and Instagram are the largest apps at more than 3 billion each, and 3.60 billion people use at least one Meta app every day (Meta).
The most downloaded iPhone apps of 2025 (Apple's list)
Each December Apple publishes the most downloaded apps and games of the year for the US App Store. It is the only download ranking that comes from the store itself rather than from an outside estimate.
| Rank | Top free iPhone apps | Top paid iPhone apps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ChatGPT | HotSchedules |
| 2 | Threads | Shadowrocket |
| 3 | Procreate Pocket | |
| 4 | TikTok | AnkiMobile Flashcards |
| 5 | WhatsApp Messenger | Paprika Recipe Manager 3 |
| 6 | SkyView | |
| 7 | YouTube | TonalEnergy Tuner & Metronome |
| 8 | Google Maps | AutoSleep Track Sleep on Watch |
| 9 | Gmail | Forest: Focus for Productivity |
| 10 | Google Gemini | RadarScope |
Three things stand out. Two AI assistants are in the top ten, and ChatGPT is first. Google has five of the ten free slots, which is what happens when a company's apps are not preinstalled on the phone. And the paid list is small, specialist software, because almost nothing mainstream charges for the download any more.
On iPad the order changes: YouTube first, then ChatGPT, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. The tablet is a screen for watching.
The most downloaded games of 2025 (Apple's list)
| Rank | Top free iPhone games | Top paid iPhone games |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Block Blast! | Minecraft |
| 2 | Fortnite | Balatro |
| 3 | Roblox | Heads Up! |
| 4 | Township | Plague Inc. |
| 5 | Pokémon TCG Pocket | Geometry Dash |
| 6 | Royal Kingdom | Bloons TD 6 |
| 7 | Clash Royale | Stardew Valley |
| 8 | Vita Mahjong | Papa's Freezeria To Go! |
| 9 | Whiteout Survival | Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete |
| 10 | Last War: Survival | Red's First Flight |
Fortnite's second place is the notable one: it returned to the US App Store in May 2025 after nearly five years away, and still made the top three for the year.
The most popular apps worldwide (Sensor Tower's estimates)
Neither store publishes worldwide rankings, so global figures come from analytics firms that model store data. Sensor Tower's State of Mobile 2026 report names TikTok the top app of 2025 on all three measures it tracks: downloads, in-app purchase revenue and time spent. ChatGPT came second on downloads after growing 148% in a year, with in-app revenue up 254% and time spent up 426%.
Sensor Tower's most downloaded app in each category for 2025:
| Category | Most downloaded app, 2025 |
|---|---|
| AI | ChatGPT |
| Gaming | Block Blast! |
| Social | TikTok |
| Retail | Temu |
| Finance | PhonePe |
| Video streaming | DramaBox |
| Food and drink | McDonald's |
| Travel | Uber |
| Health and fitness | Flo |
| Sports | Dream11 |
The top AI apps by downloads were ChatGPT, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Doubao, Perplexity, Grok, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Seekee, Meta AI and Microsoft Copilot. Across the whole market, 2025 was the first year consumers spent more in non-game apps than in games, and game downloads fell 7%.
A caution on all global download figures: Sensor Tower and other firms model the same stores but count re-downloads and third-party Android stores differently, so their totals can differ by tens of billions. Treat the rankings as reliable and the absolute counts as estimates.
The most used apps, by their own numbers
Downloads measure new interest. Monthly users measure habit, and the two lists are different. By the figures companies report themselves:
View as table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 3,000M+ | |
| 3,000M | |
| Telegram | 1,000M+ |
| Snapchat | 971M |
| Spotify | 777M |
| 640M | |
| Threads | 500M |
Source: Meta, Telegram, Snap, Spotify and Pinterest statements and filings, 2025 to 2026
| App | Figure | Metric | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta family (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads) | 3.60 billion | Daily active people | June 2026 |
| 3 billion+ | Monthly active users | April 2025 | |
| 3 billion | Monthly active users | September 2025 | |
| YouTube | Not reported; 84% of US adults use it | Pew survey | 2025 |
| Telegram | 1 billion+ | Monthly active users | March 2025 |
| Snapchat | 971 million monthly, 493 million daily | MAU, DAU | Q2 2026 |
| Spotify | 777 million | Monthly active users | Q2 2026 |
| 640 million | Monthly active users | Q2 2026 | |
| Threads | 500 million | Monthly users | June 2026 |
| TikTok | 189 million (EU only); 170 million+ (US) | Monthly active recipients; company statement | H1 2026; January 2026 |
The gap between the lists is the point. ChatGPT tops the download charts and does not appear here, because OpenAI does not report monthly app users. Facebook is nowhere on Apple's download list and is used daily by billions. An app that everyone already has stops being downloaded. Company-reported figures for each platform are in the social media statistics report.
What the numbers mean for app developers
- The top of the free chart is AI and Google. If your app competes for a generic need, it competes with a company that can afford to pay for every install.
- Paid apps are a niche. Every top paid app is a specialist tool with a clear buyer, and none of them tries to be popular.
- Games are losing share of spending to apps for the first time. The money moved to subscriptions, and the game chart is now dominated by puzzle and strategy titles with in-app economies.
- Download rank and usage rank reward different things. A launch or a viral moment wins downloads; retention wins the usage list, and only the usage list pays the bills.
The total market numbers, downloads and spending by year, are in the Google Play revenue statistics report, and the device side in the smartphone statistics report.
How these lists are compiled
Apple's lists are the official most-downloaded rankings for the US App Store in 2025, published on December 10, 2025; Apple does not give download counts. Sensor Tower's rankings and totals are modelled estimates covering iOS and Google Play for calendar 2025, published in its State of Mobile 2026 report in January 2026. Company user figures are from SEC filings and public statements by the companies, with the date of each; metrics differ by company and are not converted into one measure.
FAQs
What is the number one app in the world?
It depends on the measure. By downloads, revenue and time spent in 2025, Sensor Tower names TikTok. By monthly users, WhatsApp and Instagram each report more than 3 billion. On the US iPhone, the most downloaded free app of 2025 was ChatGPT, according to Apple.
What was the most downloaded app of 2025?
On the US App Store, ChatGPT, followed by Threads, Google, TikTok and WhatsApp (Apple). Worldwide across both stores, Sensor Tower puts TikTok first and ChatGPT second.
What is the most popular game?
Block Blast! was the most downloaded free iPhone game in the US in 2025 and Sensor Tower's most downloaded game worldwide. Fortnite and Roblox followed on the iPhone list. Minecraft was the top paid game.
How many apps are downloaded each year?
Nearly 150 billion in 2025 across iOS and Google Play, almost unchanged from 2024, according to Sensor Tower. Spending in apps grew 10.6% to $167 billion.
Which company has the most popular apps?
Meta, by usage: 3.60 billion people use at least one of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger or Threads every day. Google, by downloads: five of the ten most downloaded free iPhone apps in the US in 2025 were Google's.
Sources
- Apple's 2025 most downloaded apps and games for the US App Store, December 10, 2025, as reported by 9to5Mac and MacRumors
- Sensor Tower: State of Mobile 2026, January 2026, and its rankings as reported by 9to5Mac
- Meta: Q2 2026 results and Threads at 500 million; Snap, Pinterest and Spotify quarterly filings; Telegram and TikTok statements as cited in the social media statistics report
- Pew Research Center: Americans' Social Media Use 2025
All figures were checked against the sources above on October 6, 2026.