Claude gains paying users in ChatGPT-dominated market, data shows
▼ Summary
– Claude’s paying consumer base and revenue grew approximately 75% since January, based on credit card transaction data from Indagari.
– “Claude” became the top search term on DataCamp, surpassing “AI,” and demand for Claude courses outpaced ChatGPT by three to one.
– Claude’s consumer growth continued after a March sign-up spike following Anthropic’s refusal to allow its models for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
– ChatGPT remains far ahead in total users, with one billion monthly users in May, but its market share slipped below 50% for the first time in March.
– Anthropic filed confidentially for an IPO in June at a valuation approaching $965 billion, making consumer momentum important for recurring subscription revenue.
Consumers are increasingly opening their wallets for Anthropic’s Claude, signaling a notable shift in the AI chatbot market that has long been dominated by ChatGPT. According to fresh data from credit card transaction analysis firm Indagari, Claude’s paying user base and revenue have surged roughly 75 percent since January. The firm examined billions of anonymized transactions from about 28 million U.S. consumers, and while the sample cannot produce exact revenue totals, it is robust enough to reveal clear directional trends. And for Claude, the arrow points steadily upward.
This growth challenges the prevailing notion that Anthropic’s primary strength lies in enterprise developer tools and Claude Code users. The momentum continued even after a sharp spike in sign-ups last March, which followed Anthropic’s public refusal to allow its models to be used by the Trump administration for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The data, covering weekly transactions from 2025 through mid-May, includes payments for both subscriptions and API tokens.
A second signal comes from DataCamp, an online education platform with roughly 20 million users. The company told TechCrunch that “Claude” is now its top search term, surpassing even “AI.” Among self-directed learners, demand for Claude-focused courses is outpacing ChatGPT by a margin of three to one, and course interest has jumped 18 times in the last 30 days alone.
Still, ChatGPT holds a commanding lead in total users. Sensor Tower data published earlier this month showed Claude growing across all platforms but still trailing ChatGPT by a wide margin. However, ChatGPT’s market share dipped below 50 percent for the first time in March. The app crossed one billion monthly users in May, a milestone no other application has reached as quickly.
The consumer shift matters because both Anthropic and OpenAI are preparing for initial public offerings. Anthropic filed confidentially for an IPO in June at a valuation approaching $965 billion. Investors reviewing the prospectus will want evidence that growth is not confined to API contracts but extends into the consumer market, where recurring subscription revenue offers more predictability.
The picture is complicated by Anthropic’s ongoing friction with Washington. Earlier this month, the U. S. government ordered the company to shut down its most powerful models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, over a disputed jailbreak. The shutdown came just three days after Fable 5 launched, affecting users globally. So far, the clash appears to have boosted rather than hindered consumer adoption, echoing the March pattern in which controversy drove sign-ups.
On DataCamp, ChatGPT courses remain far more popular in corporate training programmes, underscoring that enterprise adoption and consumer preference can diverge sharply. ChatGPT also retains new sign-ups better than Claude, according to Sensor Tower, though that gap is narrowing.
Anthropic declined to comment on the Indagari data. The company has not publicly disclosed subscriber numbers, but every independent data source that has examined the question in 2026 points in the same direction: Claude is gaining paying consumers at a rate that no longer looks like a niche.
(Source: The Next Web)
