We’ve compiled a list of the top social media platforms.
Specifically, we ranked the most popular social media networks based on the number of users and monthly traffic data.
(Traffic data was obtained using Semrush unless otherwise stated.)
All traffic data is estimated based on the most recent available data.
What Is The #1 Most Popular Social Media Platform?
According to the latest available data, Facebook is now the world’s most popular and widely used social media platform. With over 3 billion monthly active users, approximately 37% of the world’s population uses Facebook at least once per month.
However, Facebook is not used worldwide. Social media bans are commonplace, and the platform is blocked in China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uganda.
With 2.58 billion users, YouTube has dropped to the third most popular social network, just behind WhatsApp and Instagram, which both have 3 billion monthly users.
Social media networks that focus on short-form video content are growing quickly. This includes Instagram and TikTok, which sees just under 2 billion monthly active users.
Messenger applications like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram have also quickly climbed this list over the past few years after adding (or improving) their short-form video features.
Meanwhile, new social startups are always launching. Check out our social startup directory to see the companies with the fastest growth in this space (and explore other industries, too).
Top 35 Most Popular Social Media Websites
Figures are accurate as of January 2026.
Sources: Exploding Topics, Semrush, Data Reportal, Statista (WhatsApp, Baidu, ShareChat, Teams, VK, Messenger), GlobalNewswire (Viber), Snapchat, Business of Apps (Line, Threads), Rest of World (Xiaohongshu), AInvest (Bilibili), Vimeo, Spotify, Discord, Rumble, CNBC, Proxidize
Not surprisingly, this list includes many of the big names in the social media space, like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
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Next, let’s look at how some of the top social sites are trending.
1. Telegram
5-year search growth: 121%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 61.7 million (See the latest traffic data for telegram.org)
Description: Telegram is a freemium instant messaging application that prioritizes security and encryption. The cloud-based platform allows users to share large media files and create groups of up to 200,000 members. Telegram Premium, an ad-free experience, grew to 1 million users within six months after its launch.
2. TikTok
5-year search growth: 85%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 1.2 billion (See the latest traffic data for tiktok.com)
Description: TikTok is a short-form video social media network focused on a highly personalized “For You” feed. Unlike many popular social media sites, TikTok’s algorithm shows videos based on users’ interactions, making it possible for users to go viral without a huge following.
3. Xiaohongshu (RedNote)
5-year search growth: 2,900%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 1.6 million (See the latest traffic data for xiaohongshu.com)
Description: Xiaohongshu (known in English-speaking countries as RedNote or Little Red Book), is a Chinese social media and e-commerce platform that combines the features of Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Amazon into one platform. The company reported a $500 million profit in 2023, compared to a $200 million loss in 2022. After a recent funding round, the social media giant is now valued at $17 billion.
In late 2024 and early 2025, RedNote experienced a surge in new users. American content creators set up RedNote accounts in response to the possible ban on TikTok in the US.
4. Discord
5-year search growth: 18%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 43.5 million (See the latest traffic data for discord.com)
Description: Discord is a communication platform for creating communities and groups for gaming, education, or any other topic. Notably, the company turned down a $10 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft in 2021.
5. WhatsApp
5-year search growth: 8%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 719.5 million (See the latest traffic data for whatsapp.com)
Description: Now part of Meta, WhatsApp is a messaging app that allows users to send text messages, voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share media with other users. End-to-end encryption and user privacy controls keep conversations secure and private.
6. Reddit
5-year search growth: 100%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 2.2 billion (See the latest traffic data for reddit.com)
Description: Reddit is a social news and discussion platform where users can share content, vote on it, and comment on posts. It is organized into communities or subreddits about specific niche topics. This social media network aims to create authentic human connections online.
Reddit is a hugely valuable SEO resource for keyword research and monitoring brand mentions, given the organic conversations that happen there. It’s also a Google powerhouse in its own right, drawing in more than a 1.5 billion views per month from the search engine.
7. Douyin
5-year search growth: 361%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 4.3 million (See the latest traffic data for douyin.com)
Description: Douyin is a social media app for creating and sharing short videos. It’s popular in China and other Asian countries and is owned and operated by ByteDance, the same company that created TikTok. The platforms are nearly identical but operate as completely separate entities.
Innovations will sometimes start on Douyin before making their way to TikTok. For instance, the rising importance of social commerce on TikTok is directly inspired by its Chinese counterpart, which processed more than $200 billion in transactions every year.
8. Pinterest
5-year search growth: 67%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Organic Search Traffic: 1.1 billion (See the latest traffic data for pinterest.com)
Description: Pinterest is a visual discovery platform. Users create and share virtual moodboards for inspiration in areas like fashion, design and home decor.
Launched in January 2010, Pinterest is one of the older social media platforms, launching months before Instagram. It has shown that it knows how to adapt with the times, optimizing its social commerce offering and introducing AI into its ad platform.
Key Takeaways
That concludes our list of the world’s most popular social media networks.
Big brands like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have all pivoted to short-form video content to keep users engaged, like TikTok. This content and messaging apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord are growing and popular and worth keeping an eye on throughout 2025.
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