AI app store statistics: the state of the AI app stores, Q4 2026

AI app store statistics for Q4 2026: gaintage counted 734 Claude connectors, and third-party trackers put the ChatGPT Plugin Directory at 900 to 5,027 plugins. These are the main stores where apps get found inside AI assistants.

Productivity is the largest Claude category, with 308 of 734 connectors (42%). In July 2026, OpenAI renamed the ChatGPT App Directory to the Plugin Directory, and on 2026-09-29 ChatGPT began suggesting plugins inside chats.

This is the gaintage State of the AI App Stores, Q4 2026.

How big is each AI app store?#

One number per store.

• ChatGPT Plugin Directory. 900 to 5,027 plugins (third-party estimates, May to Oct 2026).
• Claude connectors. 734 connectors (2026-10-03).
• Claude plugins. 342 plugin pages (2026-10-03).
• Smithery. 18,286 MCP servers (2026-10-03).
• Muse connector directory. Opened 2026-09-18.

For detail, see our Claude connectors statistics, how many MCP servers there are and our ChatGPT plugin directory statistics.

Ship an app? Start with AI app store optimization to rank in all of them.

Which AI app store is growing fastest?#

What categories lead each AI app store?#

Claude connectors by category#

A connector can have up to 5 categories, so shares add up to more than 100%.

How do apps get found inside ChatGPT and Claude?#

Apps get found in three ways. Users search and browse categories in each store's directory. The assistant can suggest an app inside a chat: ChatGPT shows a plugin picker since 2026-09-29, and Claude brings connected apps into chats when they fit the task. Tool metadata, such as tool names and descriptions, decides which tasks an app matches.

In ChatGPT, a suggestion follows three steps:

1. Search. ChatGPT calls search_plugins to find plugins that fit the task. It does not search every plugin.
2. Suggest. It calls suggest_plugins and shows a picker with install buttons.
3. Install. The user installs or connects the plugin and the chat goes on.

Read more on how ChatGPT suggests plugins.

What does a winning listing look like?#

• The median Claude connector tagline is 8 words and 51 characters long.
• The 25 most popular connectors write a median of 49 characters, about the same as the rest.
• The most common first words are "search", "manage", "connect" and "find".

See all the connector description examples, and the most popular Claude connectors ranked by score.

Key findings#

Seven numbers you can quote.

1. The Claude connector directory listed 734 connectors on 2026-10-03, gaintage found.
2. Productivity is the largest Claude category, with 308 of 734 connectors (42%), according to gaintage's Q4 2026 count.
3. 112 of 734 Claude connectors (15%) ship an interactive MCP app, gaintage found in October 2026.
4. Google Drive is the most popular Claude connector, with a score of 24,678, in gaintage's Q4 2026 ranking.
5. The median Claude connector tagline is 51 characters, gaintage found across all 734 listings.

Methodology and what we did not measure#

• Claude: public JSON on claude.com/connectors and the claude.com sitemap, pulled 2026-10-03, no login.
• MCP: official registry API, one row per server name (latest record).
• ChatGPT: third-party estimates with dates. We did not log in or scrape ChatGPT.

We did not measure installs, revenue or private apps. Muse and Meta AI are not counted in this edition.

Cite this study#

Free CSV bundle and embed code.

Cite as: gaintage, "State of the AI App Stores, Q4 2026".