The most downloaded Graphic & Design apps in 2025

Canva’s Canva: AI Photo & Video Editor was the most downloaded Graphic & Design app in 2025, accumulating 79.2M app downloads, according to AppTweak’s Market Intelligence data. This performance solidifies its position as the category leader, though its nearly flat year-over-year growth of 0.3% suggests a mature user base. This contrasts with the broader market, where the top 500 Graphic & Design apps collectively saw a download growth of 6.3%.

The data reveals a dynamic category where established players face new challengers leveraging AI and specialized use cases. While legacy apps focus on maintaining volume, significant growth is emerging from segments like furniture & home design planners, where apps like AI Home Design: Interior DecAI achieved explosive growth of 11,639.1%. This highlights a market in transition, rewarding both scale and innovation.

Key takeaways

• Canva leads in volume but shows signs of maturity. With 79.2M app downloads, Canva captured 9.1% of the downloads among the top 500 apps in the category. However, its 0.3% growth was significantly below the market average of 6.3%, indicating that while dominant, its user acquisition has plateaued compared to emerging competitors.
• New AR drawing apps are driving explosive growth. Publisher Braly secured three spots in the top 10 with its portfolio of new apps, including AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch (+140.0% growth) and the recently launched Draw Anime – AR Tracing App. Together, Braly’s top three apps accounted for 49.9M downloads last year, signaling strong demand for AR-assisted creation tools.
• Traditional drawing apps are losing momentum. In contrast to the rise of AI and AR-powered apps, established drawing tools like ibis Paint X and Sketchbook experienced significant download declines of -16.1% and -24.6%, respectively. This suggests a shift in user preference toward faster, more guided creation experiences.
• AI is becoming an embedded utility, not a standalone feature. Across the category, AI-powered tools for object removal, background editing, and smart resizing are integrated directly into core workflows. This trend reflects a user demand for practical, time-saving features over purely generative AI experiments.
• The category is consolidating around all-in-one creation suites. The most downloaded apps are increasingly those that combine templates, photo and video editing, and asset management in a single platform. This “do-everything” approach caters to non-designers who prioritize speed and efficiency for social media content creation.

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 analysis is based on the top 500 apps in the Graphic & Design category, and the ranking is created by combining each app’s estimated downloads from both stores and ordering them from highest to lowest.

• Data source: AppTweak Market Intelligence
• Coverage: App Store and Google Play
• Metrics: App downloads
• Time period: January 2025 – December 2025
• Category: Graphic & Design, defined by AppTweak’s AppDNA taxonomy
• Geography: Global
• Last updated: January 2026

Category definition of Graphic & Design apps (AppTweak AppDNA taxonomy):

AppTweak defines the Graphic & Design category as apps that provide tools for art, design, and graphics creation. For example: vector graphic design, image editing, drawing and illustration.

Segment definitions:

• graphic design creator: Apps that help you create your own graphic designs like labels, flyers, logos, apps, webpages, photos, videos, and social media posts.
• drawing & painting: Apps for coloring, drawing and painting.
• screen customization: Apps to customize your phone by changing the wallpaper, app icons, theme, and add widgets.
• face editor: Apps that allow users to edit faces (hairstyles, makeup, skin tone, cartoon, etc.).
• quotes: Apps that allow users to find quotes.
• AI (Artificial Intelligence): This is a transversal DNA that includes apps with AI-powered features.

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

What are the top 10 most downloaded Graphic & Design apps of 2025?

The following ranking showcases the leading Graphic & Design apps by global downloads. This table lists the top 10 Graphic & Design 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

• Canva: AI Photo & Video Editor – Rank #1, 79.2M downloads, graphic design creator
• ibis Paint X – Rank #2, 31.6M downloads, drawing & painting
• Adobe Express: AI Photo, Video – Rank #3, 24.7M downloads, graphic design creator
• AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch – Rank #4, 21.4M downloads, drawing & painting
• Sketchbook – Rank #6, 17.4M downloads, drawing & painting
• Draw Anime – AR Tracing App – Rank #7, 17.0M downloads, drawing & painting
• iScreen – Widgets & Themes – Rank #8, 15.2M downloads, screen customization

3 key learnings from the top 10 Graphic & Design apps

A closer look at the app download data for the top 10 Graphic & Design apps reveals several important patterns for marketers and product teams. These learnings highlight a category being reshaped by new technologies and publisher strategies.

1. The market leader shows maturity while new challengers surge

The top of the download charts illustrates a market of contrasts. Canva: AI Photo & Video Editor maintained its #1 rank with 79.2M app downloads, but its growth was nearly stagnant at just 0.3%. In sharp contrast, competitors like Adobe Express: AI Photo, Video grew by 70.7% to reach 24.7M app downloads, and AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch surged by 140.0%. This dynamic suggests that while Canva commands a massive user base, the market’s growth is being captured by more agile or specialized apps.

2. A single publisher can dominate with a portfolio of new apps

The publisher Braly demonstrates the power of a successful portfolio strategy, placing three apps in the top 10. AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch (#4), Draw Anime – AR Tracing App (#7), and Draw Cartoon – AR Drawing App (#10) were all recent releases that collectively amassed 49.9M app downloads. The astronomical growth of the newly launched Draw Anime – AR Tracing App and Draw Cartoon – AR Drawing App highlight a successful strategy of targeting the high-demand niche of AR-assisted drawing.

3. Traditional drawing apps face download declines

While AI and AR-powered apps are on the rise, some of the more traditional digital drawing apps are losing ground. Ibis Paint X, ranked #2 with 31.6M app downloads, saw its downloads decline by -16.1%. Similarly, Sketchbook at #6 experienced a -24.6% drop in app downloads. This pattern indicates a potential shift in user preferences away from classic, craft-heavy drawing tools toward apps that offer more guided, AI-assisted, or utility-driven creation experiences.

Key facts about the top 10 Graphic & Design apps

• The top 10 most downloaded apps account for 28.9% of all downloads within the top 500 apps in the category, indicating significant market concentration at the top.
• Publisher portfolio strategy is a key driver of success, with a single publisher, Braly, responsible for three of the top 10 apps, all of which are new and experiencing rapid growth.
• The top of the charts shows a clear performance divide: mature, high-volume apps are experiencing flat or negative growth, while newer apps focused on emerging use cases like AR tracing and AI editing are surging.
• Leadership in the category is increasingly global, with top‑ranking publishers based in Australia, Japan, and the United States. At the same time, a new wave of high‑growth challengers from Vietnam, China, India, and Singapore is rapidly reshaping the competitive landscape.

2025 Market trends for Graphic & Design apps

The data reflects a Graphic & Design app category undergoing significant transformation, driven by shifts in user behavior, technology, and business models. Here are the key trends shaping the market.

1. AI shifts from a novelty to an embedded utility

Across the leading apps, generative AI capabilities are being integrated as practical, time-saving utilities rather than standalone “art generator” features. Core workflows are now enhanced with AI-powered object removal, background replacement, smart expansion to new aspect ratios, and quick subject isolation. This positions AI as a utility layer that accelerates common editing tasks, which is reflected in the feature sets of high-growth apps like Adobe Express: AI Photo, Video.

1. All-in-one creation suites dominate app download charts

The apps attracting the most downloads are increasingly “do-everything” platforms that combine templates, basic photo editing, lightweight video tools, and simple brand asset management. These apps guide users through an assembly-like process—select a template, swap content, apply styles, and export. This approach meets the expectations of non-designer users who prioritize speed and predictability for creating social media content, and it helps explain the sustained download volume of apps like Canva.

2. “Design once, output many” becomes a core workflow

User behavior is increasingly shaped by the need to distribute content across multiple surfaces, from Instagram Stories to YouTube thumbnails. In response, leading apps are organizing their user experience around destination formats. Features like one-tap resizing, automatic layout reflow, and safe-margin guides are becoming standard. This “design once, output many” philosophy treats resizing not as an afterthought but as a primary user job, streamlining the content creation process for multi-platform distribution.

3. Monetization models blend subscriptions with consumption-based AI credits

The business model for many Graphic & Design apps is evolving. While subscriptions remain the primary mechanism for unlocking premium templates and export options, advanced AI-powered actions are often gated behind a consumption-based model. Users are given a certain number of credits to perform high-value tasks like generative fills or AI-driven edits. This creates a tiered system where everyday editing is included in the subscription, but premium creation is metered, nudging users toward a “preview, confirm, and spend” workflow.

Key facts about Graphic & Design app market trends in 2025

• Download-leading apps are increasingly geared toward fast, guided content production rather than deep, craft-focused toolsets.
• AI-powered features like object removal, background erasing, and smart resizing are becoming standard utilities embedded directly within the main editor.
• App workflows are increasingly optimized for multi-platform distribution, with one-tap resizing and automatic layout reflows becoming core features.
• Premium monetization models are shifting to a hybrid approach, combining subscription access with metered credits for advanced AI-driven creation tasks.

Conclusion

The Graphic & Design app market in 2025 is a landscape of disruption and opportunity. While established leader Canva: AI Photo & Video Editor continues to command the highest download volume with 79.2M installs, its flat growth highlights a market ripe for change. The top 500 apps in the category grew by 6.3% overall, with this growth being driven by a new wave of AI and AR-powered challengers.

Publishers like Braly have demonstrated the power of a targeted portfolio strategy, capturing 49.9M app downloads with 3 new apps in the top 10. Meanwhile, the decline of traditional drawing apps like ibis Paint X (-16.1%) and Sketchbook (-24.6%) signals a clear shift in user preferences toward faster, utility-driven creation tools. For marketers and developers, success in this evolving category will depend on leveraging AI as a practical utility, streamlining workflows for social media, and understanding the growing divide between mature volume leaders and fast-moving innovators.

For deeper insights into these trends and to benchmark your own app’s performance, explore AppTweak’s Market Intelligence platform. You can start analyzing the data today with a Free Starter plan.

FAQs

Below we answer the top questions about the most downloaded Graphic & Design apps.

Which Graphic & Design app had the most downloads in 2025?

The Graphic & Design app with the most downloads in 2025 was Canva: AI Photo & Video Editor, which accumulated 79.2M app downloads globally, according to data from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

What was the download growth of the Graphic & Design apps market?

The top 500 apps in the Graphic & Design category reported a collective download growth of 6.3% in 2025, indicating healthy expansion driven by new and emerging apps.

Which publisher has the most Graphic & Design apps in the top 10?

The publisher Braly (Vietnam) has the most Graphic & Design apps in the top 10, with three of its apps—AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch, Draw Anime – AR Tracing App, and Draw Cartoon – AR Drawing App—ranking among the leaders.

Are traditional drawing Graphic & Design apps growing?

No, some leading traditional drawing apps are seeing downloads decline. According to AppTweak data, ibis Paint X and Sketchbook saw their app downloads fall by -16.1% and -24.6% respectively in 2025.

Which Graphic & Design apps showed the highest download growth?

Among the top 10, the Graphic & Design apps with the highest growth were newcomers like Draw Anime – AR Tracing App and Draw Cartoon – AR Drawing App, alongside established apps like AR Easy Draw – Trace Sketch (+140.0%) and Adobe Express: AI Photo, Video (+70.7%).

How much market share do the top 10 Graphic & Design apps have?

The top 10 most downloaded Graphic & Design apps account for 28.9% of all downloads among the top 500 apps in the category, showing a strong concentration of user acquisition at the top of the market.

What trends are driving growth for Graphic & Design apps in 2025?

Key trends driving growth for Graphic & Design apps include the integration of AI as a practical editing utility, the rise of all-in-one creation suites for social media content, and the emergence of AR-assisted drawing tools.