AI companion apps are on track to pull in $120 million this year

Appfigures, the app-intelligence firm, gave TechCrunch a first look at the numbers in August, and they tell a clearer growth story than most of the market-research reports floating around this space. There are 337 active, revenue-generating AI companion apps worldwide, and 128 of them launched in 2025 alone. That subsection of the mobile market pulled in $82 million in the first half of the year and was on pace to clear $120 million by December, up 64 percent from the same period in 2024.

• 337 active, revenue-generating AI companion apps worldwide
• 128 launched in 2025 alone
• $82M revenue in H1 2025, on pace for $120M by December (+64% YoY)

Downloads back up the revenue trend. AI companion apps had hit 220 million cumulative downloads as of July 2025, with the first half of the year alone adding 60 million, an 88 percent jump year over year. Revenue per download nearly doubled too, climbing from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 in 2025, which points to users converting to paid tiers faster than before rather than just more people trying the apps for free.

• 220M cumulative downloads as of July 2025
• 60M added in H1 2025, +88% year over year
• Revenue per download: $0.52 → $1.18 (+127%)

One detail stands out for anyone naming or positioning a new app in this space: 17 percent of active AI companion apps use the word "girlfriend" somewhere in their name, more than four times the share that use "boyfriend" or "fantasy." The category also runs on a steep power curve.

• 17% of apps use "girlfriend" in their name
• Top 10% of apps capture 89% of all revenue
• Only ~33 apps have crossed $1M in lifetime spend

Most companion apps that launch never make real money, which the Appfigures analysis excluded entirely by only counting apps still generating revenue today.