The Lebedevs' cut-price 20p title is biggest winner among national daily papers.
i sold nearly 10,000 more copies than the Independent in August as sales of the cut-price daily begin to pull away from Alexander Lebedev's flagship sister title.
The 20p spinoff, which launched last October, was the biggest winner in the national daily market, recording a 4% month-on-month sales increase to 191,077 copies.
The Independent saw a 1.32% month-on-month drop in August to 180,470, a 1% year-on-year fall, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released on Friday.
Sales of i overtook the Independent last month.
The Daily Star failed to see a boost from the launch of Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5 on 18 August, with the self-styled "official Big Brother newspaper" reporting a slight 0.5% month-on-month sales fall in August to 703,218. This was an 18.42% year-on-year fall.
August's circulation figures show little sign of national newspapers benefiting from people seeking updates on riots and looting across England.
Most quality titles – including the Independent, Telegraph and Guardian – all lost sales compared with July.
The Telegraph recorded a 0.32% month-on-month circulation drop, to 632,070, a 6.08% year-on-year fall.
The Guardian, owned by Guardian News & Media which also publishes MediaGuardian.co.uk, fell 3% month on month to 241,287. Its year-on-year sales decline was 11.33%, in part exacerbated by a decision to scrap overseas sales of the title.
However, the Times saw a 1.98% month-on-month circulation boost compared with July, to 449,938. Despite the monthly rise the newspaper posted an 8.96% year-on-year fall.
Each of the national tabloids saw a minor fall in sales in August. The Sun dropped 0.92% month on month to 2,795, 601, which was also a 7.12% fall compared to the same month last year.
The Daily Mirror fell 0.91% month on month to 1,174,924, a 4.71% year-on-year fall.
The mid-market titles, Daily Express and Daily Mail, recorded a small jump in sales compared with July.
The Daily Express rose by 0.61% month on month to 629,764 sales, which was a 6.2% year-on-year fall.
The Daily Mail's sales increased by 0.66% year on year to 2,063,738, a 4.88% year-on-year fall.
Daily Telegraph
Headline circulation: 632,070
Month-on-month change: -0.32%
Year-on-year change: -6.08%
Overseas: 24,936
The Times
Headline circulation: 449,938
Month-on-month change: 1.98%
Year-on-year change: -8.96%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 416,673 (92.6% of total)
Overseas: 33,265
Financial Times
Headline circulation: 331,883
Month-on-month change: 1.4%
Year-on-year change: -11.87%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 69,420 (20.9% of total)
Overseas: 232,355
The Guardian
Headline circulation: 241,287
Month-on-month change: -3.01%
Year-on-year change: -11.33%
The Independent
Headline circulation: 180,470
Month-on-month change: -1.32%
Year-on-year change: -1.07%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 81,624 (45.2% of total)
Overseas: 23,558
i
Headline circulation: 191,077
Month-on-month change: +4.03%
Daily Mail
Headline circulation: 2,063,738
Month-on-month change: 0.66%
Year-on-year change: -4.88%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 1,813,773 (87.8%% of total)
Overseas: 130,263
Daily Express
Headline circulation: 629,764
Month-on-month change: 0.61%
Year-on-year change: -6.20%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 595,329 (94.5% of total)
Overseas: 34,435
The Sun
Headline circulation: 2,795,601
Month-on-month change: 0.92%
Year-on-year change: -7.12%
Overseas: 86,989
Daily Mirror
Headline circulation: 1,174,924
Month-on-month change: -0.91%
Year-on-year change: -4.71%
Overseas: 59,779
Daily Star
Headline circulation: 703,218
Month-on-month change: -0.50%
Year-on-year change: -18.42%
Overseas: 24,886
Daily Record
Headline circulation: 307,794
Month-on-month change: 0.84%
Year-on-year change: -7.14%
UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 290,466 (94.3% of total)
Overseas: 15,462
Headline circulation includes lesser rate sales, subscriptions, bulks – copies sold to airlines, rail companies, hotels and gyms for a nominal fee and given free to the public – and distribution in Ireland and overseas. UK and Ireland paid-for circulation excludes bulks and overseas distribution; where this figure is not given, bulks and overseas distribution account for less than 5% of total circulation