The number of ChatGPT’s paid subscribers worldwide skyrocketed from 500,000 in late 2023 to 20 million by early 2025. 

This growth helped the chatbot service alone raise its revenue from $100 million in 2022 to $2.3 billion in 2024. 

This growth is fueled by its substantial presence in enterprise APIs and mobile apps. AI is now leading the way in global innovation and significant changes.

TL;DR

• ChatGPT subscribers increased from 0.5 million in H2 2023 to 20 million in H1 2025. 
• In H1 2024, subscribers soared 1,860% to 9.8 million. By H2, it slowed to 16.5 million, but H1 2025 broke records with 20 million paid users. 
• During the period, ChatGPT’s global downloads have increased 27-fold from 13 million in H1 2023. 

The data used in this explainer is from Business of Apps, a provider of app industry news, analysis, and insights.

ChatGPT Subscribers Growth from 2023 to 2025

Free users get about 10 messages every 5 hours on standard models, then downgrade to a mini version. Paid Plus users ($20 per month) get 160 messages every 3 hours, ad-free, and access premium reasoning models, Agent Mode, and Deep Research.

Here’s how the number of premium subscribers has grown over time:

This explosive growth demonstrates the increasing demand for AI across individual creators and large companies, as it streamlines workflows. 

Another core aspect of ChatGPT Plus is the GPT Store. Here, users can access customized versions of OpenAI’s bot, which the community has enhanced with additional data and parameters for more specific uses, such as coding or writing assistance.

However, this rapid growth also presents challenges, such as keeping up with demand and ensuring that AI is used in accordance with ethical standards. 

ChatGPT Downloads 2023 to 2025

ChatGPT’s mobile downloads skyrocketed from 13 million in early 2023 to 350 million by mid-2025. That’s an incredible 27-fold increase over the first figure. 

This significant growth can also be attributed, among other things, to a smooth launch on iOS and Android, as well as fun features like voice interactions and an increase in mobile users. 

OpenAI Valuation 2022 to 2025

 The growth of ChatGPT is also reflected in the valuation trajectory of its parent company, OpenAI.

Some of the key moments were the jump to $29 billion in February 2023, driven by hype, and the subsequent tripling to $80 billion by February 2024, when they reached 10 million paying users. 

Then rose to $157 billion in October 2024 from a funding round, a massive 91% leap to $300 billion in May 2025 after a $40 billion funding boost from SoftBank. 

Finally reaching $500 billion in October 2025, driven by strong revenue predictions. 

This makes OpenAI the most valuable private company in the world. However, according to Crunchbase data, there are at least five more private, venture-backed U.S. companies with valuations exceeding $100 billion.

ELI5

ChatGPT Plus subscribers are individuals who pay for the tool’s premium services. The number has increased 40-fold, from 500,000 in late 2023 to 20 million by mid-2025.

Most of this growth occurred in 2024, with over 16 million new users signing up for the $20 monthly plan, which offers faster responses and improved features. 

This shift has generated billions in revenue for OpenAI.

Sources:

Business of Apps | Reuters | The Information | CNBC | AppFigures