Social media statistics for 2026: 15 numbers marketers need

The social media statistics that matter most in 2026: there are 5.81 billion social media user identities (69.9% of the world's population), people spend about 19 hours a week on social and video platforms, and 41.8% of online adults use social networks to research brands. Below are 15 numbers like these, each from the original source, with what we take from it when planning feeds for small businesses.

This post replaces our older list, which used 2023 data. Every number here comes from a report or company release published in 2025 or 2026; most are from October 2026.

Key takeaways

• Social media user identities equal 7 in 10 people on earth, and 84% of US adults use YouTube.
• TikTok and Instagram users spend well over an hour and a half a day in each app.
• Instagram is now the world's favourite social platform.
• Social networks are nearly as popular as search engines for researching brands.
• Ads are getting pricier: Meta's average price per ad rose 14% in a year.

How many people use social media?

1. 5.81 billion social media user identities

That is 69.9% of the world's population, up 151 million (2.7%) in the year to October 2026 (DataReportal, Digital 2027 Global Overview Report). Note the word "identities": one person can have several accounts, so this is not the same as unique people.

What it means: your customers are on social media. The question is which platform, which we cover below.

2. 19 hours and 18 minutes a week

That's how long the average online adult spends on social and video platforms each week, 42 minutes more than a year earlier. People aged 16 to 24 spend more than 24 hours a week (DataReportal, GWI data for Q2 2026).

What it means: attention is there, but so is competition. Posts have to earn the stop.

3. TikTok users spend 1 hour 55 minutes a day in the app

Among each app's active users, average daily time is 1 hour 55 minutes on TikTok, 1 hour 40 minutes on Instagram, 1 hour 28 minutes on YouTube and 59 minutes on Facebook (DataReportal, Similarweb data for mobile apps, August 2026).

Source: Similarweb data for August 2026 (mobile apps, excluding China), in DataReportal's Digital 2027 Global Overview Report. Average daily time per monthly active user.

What it means: short vertical video is where the hours go. Static images still do useful work, such as explaining an offer, but they compete for a smaller slice of that time, so add some video if you can.

4. 3.64 billion people use a Meta app every day

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger together reached 3.64 billion daily active people on average in September 2026, up 3% year on year (Meta Q3 2026 results).

What it means: for most local businesses, Meta's apps are still the first place to be.

Which platforms do people use?

5. Instagram has 3 billion monthly active users

Meta announced the milestone in September 2025, joining Facebook and WhatsApp above 3 billion (CNBC).

What it means: Instagram is a mainstream channel, not only a young one: about half of all US adults use it (see number 7), not just the 79% of 18 to 29 year olds (number 8).

6. 17.8% of social media users say Instagram is their favourite platform

Instagram overtook WhatsApp (17.1%) as the world's favourite social platform; Facebook is third at 13.3% and TikTok rose to 10.0% (DataReportal, GWI data for Q2 2026).

What it means: people choose to spend time there, which is why Instagram is our default starting platform for most small businesses.

7. 84% of US adults use YouTube

YouTube is the most widely used platform in the US, ahead of Facebook (70%) and Instagram (51%) (Pew Research Center, Americans' Use of Social Media in 2026, survey of 5,511 adults, January to June 2026).

What it means: if your customers research before they buy, YouTube (including Shorts) deserves a place in your plan.

8. 79% of US adults aged 18 to 29 use Instagram, and 65% use TikTok

In the same age group, 95% use YouTube, 56% use Snapchat and 41% use LinkedIn (Pew Research Center, 2026).

What it means: for under-30 customers, Instagram and TikTok are where you build awareness. LinkedIn matters for young professionals too.

9. LinkedIn has more than 1.4 billion members

LinkedIn also lists 71 million companies on the platform and about 9,000 job applications submitted every minute (LinkedIn).

What it means: for B2B services, LinkedIn is the largest professional audience you can reach organically. See our LinkedIn marketing guide.

10. Pinterest reached 661 million monthly active users

That's an all-time high, up 10% year on year in Q3 2026 (Pinterest Q3 2026 results).

What it means: for home, fashion, food and wedding businesses, Pinterest is a growing source of buyers who are planning ahead. Our Pinterest best practices explain how to start.

11. YouTube Shorts gets more than 200 billion views a day

YouTube's CEO Neal Mohan shared the figure in June 2025 (Search Engine Journal).

What it means: the vertical videos you make for Reels and TikTok can earn a second audience on Shorts, with light editing.

How do people use social media to choose brands?

12. 41.8% use social networks to research brands

Social networks are the second most used channel for brand research, behind search engines (45.3%) and ahead of AI tools (26.0%) (DataReportal, GWI data for Q2 2026).

What it means: your profile is a research page. Bio, highlights, pinned posts and reviews need to answer "is this business right for me?"

13. 30.4% discover new brands through social media ads

Social ads rank third as a source of brand discovery worldwide (DataReportal, GWI data for Q2 2026).

What it means: paid social still introduces people to new brands, especially when the ad looks like a good organic post.

What does it mean for business?

14. US social commerce is forecast to pass $100 billion in 2026

Sales were around $87 billion in 2025, and TikTok Shop made up nearly 20% of them, according to eMarketer forecasts reported by Retail Dive.

What it means: for product brands, social is a sales channel, not only a marketing one. Our e-commerce social media strategy shows how to set it up.

15. Meta's average price per ad rose 14% in a year

In Q3 2026, ad impressions across Meta's apps rose 10% and the average price per ad rose 14% year on year (Meta Q3 2026 results).

What it means: every ad test costs more. Let organic posts show you what works, then put budget behind the winners.

How should you use these statistics?

• To choose platforms. Match numbers 5 to 10 with who your customers are. One main platform and one support platform is enough for most small businesses.
• To choose formats. Numbers 3 and 11 point to short vertical video as the main format, with carousels and photos for saves.
• To fix your profile. Numbers 12 and 13 mean people check you out on social before they buy.
• To plan budget. Number 15 says paid social costs more each year, so organic content has to do more of the testing.

To compare these figures with your own accounts, work through our social media audit checklist.

Where the numbers come from

We used primary sources wherever we could: DataReportal's Digital 2027 Global Overview Report (published October 2026, with data from GWI, Similarweb and the platforms' own ad tools), Pew Research Center's 2026 survey of US adults, and company results from Meta and Pinterest. Survey figures (GWI, Pew) are self-reported. Platform user counts are the companies' own numbers and can include duplicate or business accounts. We'll update this list when new reports come out.

When we plan a client's month, these numbers shape which platforms we pick and which formats we design first. If you'd like that done for you, see our monthly packages. We report on these numbers monthly: reporting and insights. For the basics behind the numbers, read what social media marketing is and how it works, and for what to do with them, our 2026 trends and small business guide.