Similarweb’s Annual Digital 100 Report Finds “Serious Utility” Powers the Fastest Growing Websites and Apps

Annual ranking of websites and apps finds ChatGPT a winner among large websites and apps, while AI-augmented productivity and economic utility gives others an advantage.

TEL AVIV, Israel & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Many of the fastest-growing websites and apps in 2025 were those that deliver “serious utility” to the user, according to the Sixth Annual Digital 100 Report from Similarweb (NYSE: SMWB). Every year, Similarweb ranks the businesses that have achieved the greatest momentum based on digital audience growth. The rankings for 2025 include the fastest growing businesses by industry category, as well as an analysis of the largest websites and apps producing substantial growth.

Among the large websites and apps in the US, ChatGPT was #1, with estimated web visitors up 57.5% and mobile app users up 127.9% over the last year. ChatGPT was also the only US winner recognized for both web and app growth. Similarweb has also been reporting recently on the rapid growth of Google Gemini, which accelerated toward the end of 2025, and the Digital 100 report includes supplemental analysis of the major AI platforms.

“The rising popularity of generative AI continues to be a growth engine, not only for ChatGPT but for apps like Canva that have baked AI-augmented productivity into their platforms,” said Laurie Naspe, Director of Market Insights for Similarweb. “The digital businesses gaining the most traction are finding practical uses for the technology. In general, The most common theme we saw among the big winners is that they promise users greater productivity or economic utility – in contrast with the time-wasting apps we have sometimes seen among the winners.”

Winners do not apply for or lobby for these awards. Instead, this premium ranking is powered by an objective, rigorous analysis of billions of digital signals across more than 100 million companies. The Digital 100 ranks web domains and mobile apps based on their performance over 12 months versus the previous 12 months. Websites are ranked by growth in estimated desktop and mobile web unique visitors, while apps are ranked by growth in estimated monthly active users for iOS and Android.

“Any company that can sustain growth by double digits or more over the course of a year deserves immense respect, and the Digital 100 is our way of recognizing those companies,” said Or Offer, founder and CEO of Similarweb. “Measuring websites and apps according to common metrics is a great way of recognizing excellence and providing inspiration to all.”

This year’s report on the US market includes category rankings of the top 10 websites and apps in Fashion & Apparel, Beauty & Health, Consumer Electronics, Food & Hospitality, Games, Home & Lifestyle, Media & Entertainment, Financial Services, and Travel and Tourism, plus a “Big Winners” category for the largest websites and apps. The industry category winners generally achieved larger percentage gains than the Big Winners, but on a smaller scale.

Here are the megatrends the Similarweb Insights Team identified, followed by a summary of the winners.

“Serious utility” has replaced time-killing as a growth engine

Across the Large Sites and Large Apps lists, growth is concentrated in products that reduce friction, save time, or offload cognitive effort. AI powers search, creation, planning, and decision-making. Digital growth is increasingly concentrated in tools that do work for people. AI is no longer experimental — it’s everyday infrastructure.

Last year, the #1 app was NYT Games and #2 was the Brawl Stars game. This year, playful apps are less prominent compared with entries like Indeed Job Search, Substack, and Google Home.

Discovery is shifting from search to feeds, creators, and networks

Growth in media, commerce, and utilities appears to be increasingly driven by algorithmic and social distribution, not intent-based search. Examples include: Substack scaling through creator networks, not homepage traffic; commerce and lifestyle brands benefitting from creator-led recommendation; Threads, Bluesky, and user-generated video apps growing via feed-based discovery. The fastest-growing brands aren’t waiting to be searched — they’re being surfaced through feeds, creators, and communities.

Lifestyle growth is powered by habit engines, not aspiration

Across wellness, fitness, and games, the fastest growers are not premium or aspirational — they are lightweight, repeatable, and habit-forming. Examples include walking, sleep, cycling, and recovery apps, micro-workouts, and wearable companions. The most successful games are casual and simple, built on simple, sticky loops – not big, IP-heavy projects but habit machines.

These products succeed because they fit into daily routines, often using streaks, rewards, and gamification as reinforcement. Growth is strongest where products blur the line between self-improvement and play, using game mechanics to power everyday habits.

The Digital 100 Winners

• Big Winners: ChatGPT (chatgpt.com) +57.5%, app +127.9%
• Fashion & Apparel Website: Comfrt (comfrt.com) cuddly clothes, +330.2%
• Fashion & Apparel App: Whering: Your Digital Closet, closet organizer app, +89.5%
• Beauty & Health Website: Fern (ffern.co) perfume, +378.4%
• Beauty & Health: WeWard - The Walking App +279.5%
• Consumer Electronics Website: Ugreen (ugreen.com) a seller or chargers and power banks +83.4%
• Consumer Electronics App: Brother P-touch Design & Print 2, printing utility, +101.3%
• Food & Hospitality Website: GoodChop (goodchop.com) meat and seafood delivery, +143.7%
• Food & Hospitality App: Blinkit: Grocery in 10 minutes, +156.5%
• Games Website: Naraka (narakathegame.com) fantasy roleplaying, 370.3%
• Games App: Match Junk, tile matching game, +1,528%
• Home & Lifestyle Website: Hanso Home (hansohome.com) pergola maker, 254.9%
• Home & Lifestyle App: TP-Link Tapo, smart home networks, +152.8%
• Media & Entertainment Website: The Independent (the-independent.com) U.S. edition of the British newspaper, +529%
• Media & Entertainment App: Bluesky Social, newsy social media app positioned as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter), +230.5%
• Financial Services Website: Take Profit Trader (takeprofittrader.com) futures trading platform promising streamlined funding, +687.1%
• Financial Services App: Comun: Tu banca moderna en USA, send money, especially to or from Latin America, +247.1%
• Travel & Tourism Website: Islands (islands.com) travel portal, +288.4%
• Travel & Tourism App: SIXT rent, share, ride & plus, car rental, +225.9%

Similarweb published Digital 100 reports for the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, and South Korea.

For much more detail on the fastest growing websites and apps, read the full reports available at https://www.similarweb.com/corp/digital-100/

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