The Dip Continues - The Most Downloaded Apps in the World in September

Ariel Ariel
Oct. 4

This is a single insight from This Week in Apps - Subscription Economics. Check out the full article for more insights.


Looking at last month's estimates for new app installs, we see a contrasting trend from app revenue continue. Let's go over the top apps using our App Intelligence and explain what we mean.

The most downloaded mobile apps in the world in August

Instagram ranked #1 globally for first-time downloads, but its 54M total was 10M fewer than in July, which had shown some month-over-month growth.

TikTok, again at #2, also saw a decline, with 45M downloads—down 4M from the previous month. Facebook and WhatsApp maintained their #3 and #4 spots with 39M and 35 downloads, respectively, both down from August's totals of 43M (-9%) and 42M (-17%).

Notably, #5 changed hands, with Meta's Threads moving up to the spot, becoming the #1 free app on iOS and gaining traction on Google Play.

In an encouraging turn, ChatGPT broke into the top 10 at #10 in August and climbed to #8 in September, experiencing month-over-month growth from 19M to 24M downloads — a 5M increase.

Overall, September marked another month of declining new app downloads, with total non-game installs estimated at 334M, down about a 5% from August.

While it's not the growth month we hoped for, the launch of iOS 18, iPhone 16, and Google's compelling hardware may turn the tide soon.

App Intelligence for Everyone!

The insights in this report come right out of our App Intelligence platform, which offers access to download and revenue estimates, installed SDKs, and more! Learn more about the tools or schedule a demo with our team to get started.

Are you a Journalist? You can get access to our app and market intelligence for free through the Appfigures for Journalists program. Contact us for more details.

All figures included in this report are estimated. Unless specified otherwise, estimated revenue is always net, meaning it's the amount the developer earned after Apple and Google took their fee.


Related Resources

Did Netflix Find a New Downloads Growth Hack?
Insights
Did Netflix Find a New Downloads Growth Hack?

Netflix pulled a Peacock move last week by getting into live sports - specifically, boxing, a sport not streamed by many...

TikTokers Screaming At Chickens Sent An Unlikely Game to #1 - The Most Downloaded Games in the World
Insights
TikTokers Screaming At Chickens Sent An Unlikely Game to #1 - The Most Downloaded Games in the World

How are the top mobile games in terms of scooping up new players doing? It's time to check out the latest monthly top 10...