Claude reaches No. 1 on Apple app store following Pentagon dispute

Feb 28, 2026

Anthropic's Claude AI assistant reached No. 1 on Apple's US App Store on March 2, 2026, overtaking ChatGPT amid a user backlash against OpenAI's Pentagon partnership. Claude's free active users increased over 60% since early 2026, with daily signups quadrupling and paid subscribers more than doubling, while every day last week set all-time signup records. The surge followed OpenAI's Friday announcement of a Department of Defense agreement to deploy AI models with human oversight requirements, prompting users including pop star Katy Perry to publicly cancel ChatGPT subscriptions and switch to Claude. Meanwhile, Anthropic faces Trump administration pressure including a federal technology phase-out order and threatened national security designation after refusing Pentagon AI deployment demands, though the company plans to challenge any restrictions in court.

Claude's surge in App Store rankings and user growth

▪OpenAI reported that ChatGPT has over 900 million weekly active users as of February 27, 2026.
▪Anthropic's Claude daily signups have quadrupled since the start of 2026.
▪Anthropic's Claude free active users have increased by over 60% since the start of 2026.
▪Anthropic's Claude paid subscribers have more than doubled in 2026 across Pro and Max plans.
▪Anthropic's Claude ranked No. 1 among the most downloaded free apps on Apple's US App Store as of 12:50 pm ET on Monday, March 2, 2026.
▪Anthropic's Claude overtook ChatGPT to hit No. 1 on the App Store.

OpenAI's Pentagon agreement and user backlash

▪Pop musician Katy Perry posted on X that she was done with ChatGPT, alongside a screenshot of Claude's pricing page with a red heart around the $20-per-month Pro plan.

Anthropic's Pentagon dispute and supply chain risk designation

▪In November 2024, Anthropic, Palantir, and Amazon Web Services struck an agreement to provide US intelligence and defense agencies access to Claude models.