AI app market shift? Anthropic's Claude earns $2.76 per user against ChatGPT's $1.74, finds report

Anthropic's Claude earns an average of $2.76 per user, 1.5 times what ChatGPT generates, and converts a higher share of its iOS base into paying subscribers, according to new Sensor Tower data, as OpenAI's grip on the AI application market weakens significantly.

The findings, drawn from Sensor Tower's State of AI report, suggest that user volume and revenue per user are diverging across the AI application sector. ChatGPT retains a commanding lead in total monthly active users but is ceding ground on the metrics that matter most to platform economics.

ChatGPT's billion-user milestone

ChatGPT's iOS and Android apps passed 1 billion monthly active usersin May 2026, just three years after the application first appeared on smartphone platforms.

Even so, OpenAI's share of the AI app market fell below 50% for the first time in March this year, down sharply from 81% in March 2024.

Claude's monetisation lead

Sensor Tower's data places Claude well ahead of ChatGPT on revenue efficiency. Claude generates $2.76 per user on average against $1.74 for OpenAI's app, and 13% of Claude's iOS users are paying subscribers, compared with 8% for ChatGPT.

Claude's pricing reflects its premium positioning: the application offers no reduced entry-level tier, with base plans starting at $20 per month. ChatGPT's most affordable option, the "Go" plan, is priced at $8 per month.

Pentagon deal: The ChatGPT uninstall wave

An agreement OpenAI signed with the US Pentagon in March, which followed Anthropic's own exclusion from US defence contracts, triggered a measurable backlash among users. ChatGPT uninstalls climbed to 202% above their baseline in the second week of that month.

The Sensor Tower report notes that "users remain willing to try alternative AI assistants," and Claude emerged as the primary beneficiary of the shift. Its global market share rose from 5.1% in February to 10% in April.

Gemini and Western markets

Google's Gemini is expanding faster than its rivals in several significant markets, including the US, Canada, most of the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

Google also reduced the price of its Gemini AI Plus plan from $8 to $5 per month earlier this month. ChatGPT remains the most widely used AI application by monthly active users in most countries outside Russia and China.

Retention rates: ChatGPT vs Claude

On user retention, ChatGPT led the sector last month with a rate of 86%. Claude's retention rate has climbed to 73.7%, closing the gap as its user base expands through 2026.

AI app spending: $4.25bn forecast for H1 2026

Consumer spending on AI applications is accelerating sharply. Sensor Tower projects $4.25 billion in AI app expenditure in the first half of 2026, compared with $1.83 billion in the same period in 2025 and $3.1 billion in the second half of last year.

The pricing environment across the sector is also shifting. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that OpenAI was considering significant reductions in the cost of its enterprise tools, a response to competitive pressure from Anthropic rather than a change to its consumer pricing.

On the consumer side, Apple is expected to expand Siri with features that run locally on devices and do not require a subscription, a development that could introduce fresh competitive pressure to the AI app market later this year.