Most Popular Social Media Platforms & Apps (2024)

Note: *Platforms did not publish updated figures in the last 12 months, so figures need to be updated.

The top social media sites and apps by monthly active users (MAU) are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and WeChat.

In 2024, the world is expected to have 5.17 billion social media sites and app users, a 5.7% or 280 million increase from the previous year. It is also expected to reach 5.85 billion by 2027, representing a massive increase of 114.28% or 3.12 billion in just ten years.

People who use the internet spent 147 minutes or 2 hours and 45 minutes on social media platforms in 2022. Around 47.6% of the people who use the internet spend their time on social media platforms to maintain contact with friends and family

Note: *All values are estimated.

As social media grows in popularity worldwide, the total number of social media users in 2024 will reach 5.17 billion. It is projected to reach 5.85 billion by 2027, a 27.45% or 1.26 billion rise over the last five years.

Facebook is the largest social media site in terms of number of monthly active users, with 2.958 billion monthly active users this year. The most popular social media platform surpassed 1 billion in 2012, eight years after its initial launch in 2004. Around 90% of marketers utilize the social platform to advertise and increase brand awareness.

Among social media sites and apps, Facebook has the most significant global advertising audience, with 2.168 billion people or 73.9% of the total active user base

Facebook continues to reign as the popular social media platform in terms of the number of users, advertisements, and audience reach. In 2021, Adults in the United States spent most of their time on Facebook, with the highest average time of 33 minutes among the most popular social media platforms.

The second most popular social media site based on monthly active users is YouTube, with 2.514 billion MAU. With an estimated 4.89 billion social media users, 51.41% use YouTube to watch video content in a month.

The average time global users spend on YouTube mobile app is 23.7 hours per month, with South Korea having the highest time spent with 39.9 hours in 2021.

YouTube was launched in 2005 and acquired by Google in the next year. The company launched a subscription-based membership for consumers called YouTube Premium that garnered 50 million subscribers in 2021

YouTube is a social media platform that lets users share and watch video content and communicate through the comment section.

Today, there are 2 billion monthly active users on WhatsApp, making it the third most popular social media platform. It is the world’s most popular messaging app, with 44.93 million monthly downloads in 2022.

Furthermore, the United States generated the highest growth of downloads for the app in the Apple App Store with 45%, while Denmark leads the Google Play Store with 260% quarterly download growth in Q2 2022.

Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, with a potential advertising reach of 1.386 billion.

In strengthening their social media presence, Instagram has been significant to beauty and fashion brands. Chanel will be the leading luxury brand with 89.1 million combined followers across social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, with Instagram being the most significant contributor.

WeChat, known in China as Weixin, reached 1.299 billion monthly active users, taking the 5th spot among the most popular social media platforms worldwide. However, it is China’s most popular instant messaging app.

TikTok takes the 6th spot among social media sites and apps, with 1.051 billion monthly active users. These users primarily access the short-form video-sharing platform to look for funny or entertaining content.

TikTok is the most popular app in the Google Play Store with 23.96 million downloads, while it came in second in the Apple App Store with 7.51 million downloads in September 2022.

TikTok is a video-sharing platform similar to Musical.ly, which ByteDance acquired in 2018. The popular platform allows users to share short-form video content with a broader audience.

With 931 million monthly active users worldwide, Facebook Messenger is the seventh most popular social media platform and the third most popular mobile messaging app. At the same time, it is the fourth leading social media app in the Apple App Store, with 1.029 million downloads in the United States.

With 125.5 million active users, India has the most users in this instant messaging app, followed by Brazil, with 63.9 million active users in the same year.

Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, has 715 million monthly active users. According to reports, users spend at least 89 minutes each day watching videos on Douyin.

Telegram, an instant messaging app, has 700 million monthly active users. It is the fourth most popular messaging platform worldwide based on monthly users, with 31.84 million monthly downloads in 2022.

India has the most significant Telegram users, with 70.42 million app downloads. Russia came in second with 24.15 million downloads, followed by the United States with 20.03 million downloads.

Snapchat will have 635 million monthly active users. It had a potential advertising reach of 576 million people in 2022. With 144.35 million users, India has the most extensive user base, followed by the United States, with 107.95 million users. Globally, females tend to use this social media app more than men.

Kuaishou, the social media platform for live streams based in China, has 626 million monthly active users. It is expected to generate $6.6 billion in global advertising revenue. Its daily active users surpassed 300 million in 2021.

Sina Weibo, the social media platform where you can write blogs, has 584 million monthly active users. These users are mostly the younger generation, particularly those born after 2000.

QQ, the Chinese-based instant messaging software, has 574 million monthly active users. These users are mostly men and young people, particularly 24 years and below. QQ users also access the platform daily and spend less than 30 minutes daily.

X (Formerly Twitter) will have 556 million monthly active users and takes the 14th spot in social media popularity based on MAU. It is a microblogging platform launched way back in 2006 and is now owned by Elon Musk. With an approximate 544 million potential advertising reach in 2022, X accounted for 237.8 million monetizable daily active users worldwide.

The United States is the leading country that has the most X users, with 76.9 million in 2022. In the previous year, most of the said country’s users used this social networking app for entertainment (82%), followed by staying informed about current events (78%).

Globally, men rule this social networking app with a total distribution of 56.4% in 2022. Users aged 25 to 34 made up the largest audience share, accounting for 38.5% of X’s global audience in the previous year’s report.

Pinterest, an online pinboard, had 445 million monthly active users. Pinterest users access this social media primarily to follow or research brands and products.

The United States has the largest Pinterest audience, with 86.35 million users, followed by Brazil, with 27 million users. Moreover, this image-oriented platform is popular among women between the ages of 25 and 34.

Reddit has 430 million monthly active users (MAUs). The platform gained a significant increase of 30% MAUs, putting them ahead of market leaders such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Like other social media platforms, men are more likely to use Reddit, with 63.8% in early 2022. According to a survey conducted in 2021, most users in the United States are between the ages of 18 and 29. Furthermore, the United States has the highest share of traffic to the platform, followed by the United Kingdom in 2022.

Quora reached 300 million monthly active users. This online community consists of well-educated people, with 65% holding a bachelor’s degree and 28% having a master’s degree. 37% of the users have significant purchasing power and are probably in management than the general population.