The most downloaded apps globally (Android + iOS) in 2025

The most downloaded apps globally in 2025 were led by ChatGPT (845.3M downloads), followed by Instagram (762.3M) and TikTok (545.8M), according to AppTweak’s Market Intelligence. AI apps showed the strongest growth, while most legacy social platforms recorded year-over-year download declines.

The 2025 global app rankings highlight how the mobile app market size is evolving, with growth increasingly concentrated in AI-powered utilities.

Key takeaways

About the data set

This data was derived from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence. The dataset covers January 2025 to December 2025 and reflects worldwide performance across both the App Store & Google Play. The ranking is created by combining each app’s estimated downloads from both stores and ordering them from highest to lowest. App download estimates are modeled using AppTweak’s proprietary algorithm trained on historical app store performance data across 100+ countries, ensuring consistent cross-store comparison. Note that this analysis is based on the top 500 apps globally.

• Data source: AppTweak Market Intelligence
• Coverage: App Store and Google Play
• Metrics: App downloads
• Time period: January 2025 – December 2025
• Geography: Global
• Last updated: February 2026

Segment definitions:

• AI (artificial intelligence): Apps that provide AI-powered utilities, including chatbots, assistants, and content generation tools.
• Social networks & communities: Apps that allow users to meet and chat with people from different communities and share content.
• Messenger & calling: Apps to send and receive calls and texts, block spam, send encrypted messages, or obtain a second phone number.
• Photo & video editors: Apps that allow you to edit your photos (collage, background, colors, etc.), and create and edit videos.
• Movie & TV streaming: Apps where you can stream TV shows, movies, series, comedy specials, and live television online or offline.
• Retailer (b2c): Apps for official brands or third-party retailer stores on which visitors can shop different items & find product information.

Feel free to dig into your app category’s download and revenue estimates now in AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

What are the most downloaded apps of 2025?

The global app market in 2025 is defined by the rise of AI and the steady maturation of social media giants. The following ranking showcases the leading apps by global downloads on the App Store and Google Play combined.

This table lists the top 10 apps ordered by total downloads, including app name, publisher, HQ, app downloads, and year-over-year growth.

Source: AppTweak Market Intelligence | App Store & Google Play | January 2025 – December 2025 | Global.

Notable apps at a glance

• ChatGPT – Rank #1, 845.3M downloads, AI (artificial intelligence)
• Instagram – Rank #2, 762.3M downloads, social networks & communities
• TikTok – Videos, Shop & LIVE – Rank #3, 545.8M downloads, social networks & communities
• CapCut: Photo & Video Editor – Rank #5, 501.1M downloads, photo & video editors
• TikTok Lite – Vídeo&Free Drama – Rank #6, 433.8M downloads, social networks & communities
• Netflix – Rank #7, 415.6M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire – Rank #9, 390.0M downloads, retailer (b2c)

3 key learnings from the top 10 apps

A closer look at the download data reveals structural shifts in market power, category momentum, and growth dynamics that offer useful context for marketing and product teams navigating the evolving app landscape.

1. AI assistants have officially entered the mainstream

The most defining shift in 2025 is the rise of AI apps to the very top of the global rankings. ChatGPT became the most downloaded app worldwide with 845.3M installs, growing 156.8% year-over-year. Other AI assistants, such as Google Gemini (#16), also posted triple-digit growth.

This marks a clear performance divide between disruptive new categories and established ones. While AI apps are scaling rapidly, legacy social, communication, and entertainment platforms are largely contracting. The data signals a redistribution of user demand toward AI-powered, chat-first utilities.

2. Market concentration is intensifying at the publisher level

The top 10 rankings highlight a strong geographic concentration of market power. All ten of the most downloaded apps are published by companies headquartered in either the United States or Singapore.

Portfolio strategy is also a defining competitive advantage. Bytedance/TikTok Pte. Ltd. and Meta (including Instagram and Facebook) collectively hold five of the top 10 positions through combinations of flagship and “Lite” apps. This multi-app strategy enables publishers to capture demand across user segments, regions, and device constraints while maintaining ecosystem dominance.

The implication for app marketers is clear: scale increasingly favors diversified publisher portfolios rather than single-app growth models.

3. High scale, low growth: the reality of market maturation

Despite massive download volumes, app market maturation is evident across the leaderboard. Seven of the top 10 apps recorded negative year-over-year download growth in 2025, including Instagram (-19.0%), TikTok (-12.0%), WhatsApp Messenger (-18.2%), and Facebook (-23.5%).

This reinforces a broader pattern: while top apps continue to operate at global scale, incremental user acquisition is slowing in saturated categories. Growth is becoming more selective, as illustrated by TikTok Lite’s 77.2% increase, contrasting with declines in its flagship counterpart.

In 2025, leadership in the app economy is defined not just by volume, but by category positioning, portfolio diversification, and the ability to capture emerging demand before markets saturate.

2025 Global app market trends

The 2025 download data reflects a global app market undergoing a significant transformation. User behaviors are shifting, driven by new technologies and evolving content consumption habits. Here are the key trends shaping the market.

AI assistants are moving from utility to a primary mobile starting point

In 2025, AI assistant apps firmly established themselves alongside social and messaging platforms as a “first app open” for many users. This trend is reflected in the explosive growth of ChatGPT, which became the most downloaded app globally. These apps are converging on a chat-first interface with multimodal inputs (voice, image) that allow users to perform a wide range of tasks, from drafting emails to planning trips, within a single environment before sharing the output to other apps. This shift suggests users increasingly expect a centralized, conversational AI to handle tasks previously spread across multiple single-purpose applications.

Creation workflows are becoming “format-first” and template-led

Creator-focused apps are increasingly organizing their user experience around post-ready outputs rather than complex editing tools. This trend is visible in the continued success of apps like CapCut: Photo & Video Editor, which ranks #5 globally. These apps prioritize speed and convenience by offering template-driven entry points and AI-powered, single-tap transformations. The goal is no longer to provide a deep, professional-grade editing suite but to streamline the path from creation to a shareable, format-specific result, such as a vertical video or remixed clip.

Entertainment and commerce apps maintain scale but show slowing growth

Beyond AI and social platforms, entertainment and commerce apps continue to rank among the most downloaded globally, though most recorded negative year-over-year growth. Netflix ranked #7 with 415.6M downloads (-11.5%), while Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire ranked #9 with 390.0M downloads (-8.2%).

This pattern indicates that streaming and retail apps remain structurally significant in terms of app download volume, but are experiencing the same maturation dynamics visible across much of the top 10.

Conclusion

The global app market in 2025 is a story of disruption and maturation. The rapid ascent of ChatGPT to become the world’s most downloaded app with 845.3M installs and 156.8% growth marks a clear inflection point, proving that AI assistants are now a dominant force in the mobile ecosystem.

This disruption comes as the broader market for the top 500 apps shows signs of cooling, with an overall download decline of -5.2%. Many long-standing leaders, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp Messenger, saw their download growth turn negative, signaling a saturated market for legacy social and communication platforms. However, growth opportunities persist, as demonstrated by the 77.2% surge of TikTok Lite, which proves that targeted strategies for emerging markets can still yield significant returns.

For marketers and developers, the path forward requires a dual focus: capitalizing on the demand for new, disruptive technologies like AI while navigating the challenges of a mature market through smart retention strategies and efficient user acquisition.

AppTweak’s app download and revenue estimates are relied upon by 2000+ leading mobile publishers worldwide. Use AppTweak’s Market Intelligence to benchmark your app category’s download growth, analyze market size and share shifts, track new and relevant competitors with AppDNA’s AI‑powered taxonomy, and uncover emerging trends.

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FAQ

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