Top Global Mobile Apps by Downloads and Revenue in August 2026

Apps achieving the highest download volumes in August shared several common characteristics:

• JoyReels saw ad volume surge across both platforms, with Android creatives quadrupling month over month; FARSUN PTE. LTD's FlickReels entered the Top 20 on both platforms.
• ChatGPT's Google Play revenue jumped 31.2% month over month, closing to within less than a million dollars of TikTok.
• Grok posted revenue gains on both platforms, and DramaWave broke into the download Top 10 on both stores for the first time, with its Google Play downloads surging 44.4% month over month.

App Store Revenue Highlights

• ChatGPT held the No. 1 spot comfortably with revenue of about USD 286 million, up 6.1% month over month.
• Snapchat posted revenue of about USD 81.08 million, up 7.3% month over month, climbing to No. 3.
• Grok brought in about USD 24.83 million, up 8.9% month over month, making it one of the fastest-growing AI products in the Top 20.

Google Play Revenue Highlights

• ChatGPT's revenue was about USD 116 million, surging 31.2% month over month, and its gap with No. 2 TikTok is now less than a million dollars.
• The No. 1 spot, Google One, earned about USD 326 million, up 9.7% month over month.
• Spotify's revenue was about USD 39.7 million, up 15.1% month over month.
• Duolingo brought in about USD 16.28 million, up a sharp 27.4% month over month, recovering on both platforms.

Within specific verticals, short dramas and audiobook content kept climbing. DramaBox's Google Play revenue was about USD 15.28 million, up 16.8% month over month, while its App Store side also took in around USD 23.31 million (+3.6%). Outside the chart, the audiobook platform Pocket FM earned about USD 11.08 million on Google Play, up 25.9% month over month—a line in audio content worth tracking continuously.

Download Chart Leaders

• WhatsApp retained the No. 1 spot on Google Play with about 85.3 million downloads, up 27.7% month over month.
• ChatGPT rebounded on both platforms, with about 53.6 million downloads on Google Play (+15%) and about 22.82 million on the App Store (+10.7%).

The biggest highlight in August was DramaWave: about 21.4 million Google Play downloads, up a sharp 44.4% to No. 9; and about 8.0 million App Store downloads, up 35.5% to No. 8. For the first time, a short-drama app secured a spot in the download Top 10 of both stores—the No. 1 in advertising is becoming a first-tier player on the download side.

Among other short-drama apps, DramaBox's Google Play downloads were about 13.29 million, up 35.3% month over month, while ReelShort's App Store downloads were about 6.1 million, up 22%. In addition, Uber's App Store downloads were about 5.97 million, up 20.6%.

• AI apps drive revenue growth. ChatGPT's combined revenue reached about USD 402 million (iOS USD 286M +6.1%, Google Play USD 116M +31.2%); Grok rose on both platforms, and Duolingo recovered +27.4%—AI subscriptions became the revenue backbone.
• Short-drama apps break into the download Top 10 for the first time. DramaWave hit about 21.4 million Google Play downloads (+44.4%) at No. 9 and about 8.0 million App Store downloads (+35.5%) at No. 8—the No. 1 advertiser is becoming a download-Top-10 regular.
• Social and messaging hold the download lead. WhatsApp retained No. 1 on Google Play with about 85.3 million downloads (+27.7%), while ChatGPT rebounded on both platforms (Google Play +15%, App Store +10.7%).
• Free + matrix strategies define advertising. JoyReels quadrupled its volume in a month on the free route, and publishers flooded the chart with multi-product matrices—short dramas and web novels keep dominating advertising.

The global mobile apps in August 2026 reflect a clear pattern of short dramas and web novels continuing to dominate advertising, AI apps driving revenue, and short-video-style content leveraging downloads: short-drama publishers scaled up through matrix-style multi-product lineups, AI tools (ChatGPT, Grok, Duolingo) posted collective revenue gains across both platforms, and short-drama apps led by DramaWave broke into the download Top 10 of both stores for the first time—signaling that the “advertising-as-growth” loop is closing.

To understand how advertising execution supports this scale, we also examined the top app ad creatives and campaign trends behind August's leading titles.

By tracking both maximum download performance and revenue outcomes, publishers can better align UA strategies with monetization goals across the App Store and Google Play.