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 ailable data.
What Is The #1 Most Popular Social Media Platform?According to the latest ailable 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 video-sharing platform is blocked in China, Russia, Iran, and Pakistan, to name a few.
With 2.7 billion users, former No.1 YouTube has dropped to the third most popular social network behind WhatsApp.
Social media networks that focus on short-form video content are growing quickly. This includes Instagram and TikTok. Messenger applications like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram he also quickly climbed this list over the past few years.
Crack the Code to Social Growth Top 35 Most Popular Social Media Websites RankingSocial Media NetworkCompanyMonthly Active Users (MAUs)Monthly Organic Traffic1FacebookMeta3.07 billion10.5 billion2WhatsAppMeta3 billion2.69 billion3YouTubeAlphabet2.7 billion48.82 billion4InstagramMeta2 billion5.38 billion5TikTokByteDance1.84 billion1.89 billion6WeChat (Weixin)Sina Corporation1.39 billion91.52 million7TelegramTelegram1 billion435.36 million8MessengerMeta965 million216.1 million9SnapchatSnachat850 million154.16 million10ViberRakuten820 million-11DouyinByteDance770 million113.01 million12RedditReddit712 million4.50 billion13KuaishouKuaishou710 million-14BaiduBaidu679 million781 million15SpotifyTencent678 million737.15 million16WeiboSina590 million57.53 million17PinterestPinterest570 million1.11 billion18X (Twitter)X Corp.563 million3.39 billion19QQTencent524 million258.3 million20QzoneTencent500 million-21QuoraQuora400 million521.34 million22BilibiliBilibili340 million605.49 million23TeamsMicrosoft320 million1.37 billion24LinkedInMicrosoft310 million1.4 billion25VimeoVimeo300 million76.43 million26ThreadsMeta275 million156.06 million27ShareChatMohalla Tech250 million-28TwitchAmazon240 million1.09 billion29DiscordDiscord200 million723.94 million30Xiaohongshu (RedNote)Xiaohongshu200 million137.02 million31LineNer178 million188.94 million32TumblrAutomattic135 million149.24 million33VK (Vkontakte)Gazprombank, Sonaz88 million779.43 billion34MediumA Medium Corporation81 million120.3 million35RumbleRumble Inc.59 million46.63 millionFigures are accurate as of May 2025.
Sources: Exploding Topics, Semrush, Data Reportal, Statista (WhatsApp, Baidu, ShareChat, Teams, VK), GlobalNewswire (Viber), Business of Apps (Line, Threads), Rest of World (Xiaohongshu), AInvest (Bilibili), Vimeo, Spotify, Discord, Rumble
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, here are a few of the top social networks experiencing increased growth right now.
1. Telegram
5-year search growth: 234%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Google Searches: 38.6 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: 159%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Google Searches: 88.4 million (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: 3,100%
Search growth status: Peaked
Monthly Google Searches: 361,900 (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: 22%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Google Searches: 33.5 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: 56%
Search growth status: Regular
Monthly Google Searches: 130.4 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: 119%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Google Searches: 33.4 million (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.
[Free] Steal Your Competitor's Strategy 7. Douyin
5-year search growth: 471%
Search growth status: Exploding
Monthly Google Searches: 1.1 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.
Key TakeawaysThat concludes our list of the world's most popular social media networks.
Big brands like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube he 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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Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. Our mission is to provide accurate data and expert insights on emerging trends. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.