Technology
The 50 Most Visited Websites in the World
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The 50 Most Visited Websites In the World
View the high-resolution of the infographic by clicking here.
If you spend any time online, it’s likely you’re familiar with some of the world’s most visited websites. On today’s internet, a handful of giants have unmatched dominance.
Top Three Websites (Monthly visits):
- Google: 92.5 billion
- YouTube: 34.6 billion
- Facebook: 25.5 billion
Together, the top three websites rake in 152 billion visits monthly, outpacing the next 47 websites combined. What’s more, as the pandemic transformed everything from the way we work, learn, communicate, and shop—a majority of these activities migrated online.
In this new visualization, we look at the most visited websites around the world, drawing data from SimilarWeb (as of November 2020).
The Top Global Websites
Servicing over two trillion search queries annually through its network, Alphabet-owned Google ranks highest with its flagship domain, Google.com. Google derives approximately 80% of its earnings from ad revenues.
Rank | Website | Monthly Visitors | Country of Origin | Category |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Google.com | 92.5B | U.S. | Search Engines |
2 | Youtube.com | 34.6B | U.S. | TV Movies and Streaming |
3 | Facebook.com | 25.5B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
4 | Twitter.com | 6.6B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
5 | Wikipedia.org | 6.1B | U.S. | Dictionaries and Encyclopedias |
6 | Instagram.com | 6.1B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
7 | Baidu.com | 5.6B | China | Search Engines |
8 | Yahoo.com | 3.8B | U.S. | News and Media |
9 | xvideos.com | 3.4B | Czech Republic | Adult |
10 | pornhub.com | 3.3B | Canada | Adult |
11 | Yandex.ru | 3.2B | Russia | Search Engines |
12 | Whatsapp.com | 3.1B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
13 | Amazon.com | 2.9B | U.S. | Marketplace |
14 | xnxx.com | 2.9B | Czech Republic | Adult |
15 | Zoom.us | 2.7B | U.S. | Computers Electronics and Technology |
16 | Live.com | 2.5B | U.S. | |
17 | Netflix.com | 2.4B | U.S. | TV Movies and Streaming |
18 | Yahoo.co.jp | 2.4B | Japan | News and Media |
19 | Vk.com | 1.8B | Russia | Social Networks and Online Communities |
20 | Reddit.com | 1.6B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
21 | Office.com | 1.6B | U.S. | Programming and Developer Software |
22 | Naver.com | 1.5B | South Korea | News and Media |
23 | Pinterest.com | 1.3B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
24 | Discord.com | 1.2B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
25 | Linkedin.com | 1.2B | U.S. | Social Networks and Online Communities |
26 | Cnn.com | 1.2B | U.S. | News and Media |
27 | xhamster.com | 1.2B | Cyprus | Adult |
28 | Microsoft.com | 1.1B | U.S. | Programming and Developer Software |
29 | Mail.ru | 1.1B | Russia | |
30 | Globo.com | 1.0B | Brazil | News and Media |
31 | Bing.com | 1.0B | U.S. | Search Engines |
32 | Twitch.tv | 1.0B | U.S. | Video Games Consoles and Accessories |
33 | Google.com.br | 1.0B | Brazil | Search Engines |
34 | QQ.com | 981.3M | China | News and Media |
35 | Microsoftonline.com | 968.9M | Unknown | Programming and Developer Software |
36 | ebay.com | 957.1M | U.S. | Marketplace |
37 | Msn.com | 885.4M | U.S. | News and Media |
38 | News.yahoo.co.jp | 839.8M | Japan | News and Media |
39 | Duckduckgo.com | 819.4M | U.S. | Search Engines |
40 | Ok.ru | 764.9M | Russia | Social Networks and Online Communities |
41 | Walmart.com | 718.6M | U.S. | Marketplace |
42 | Bilibili.com | 686.0M | China | Animation and Comics |
43 | Tiktok.com | 663.2M | China | Social Networks and Online Communities |
44 | Paypal.com | 657.2M | U.S. | Financial Planning and Management |
45 | Google.de | 624.5M | Germany | Search Engines |
46 | Amazon.co.jp | 619.2M | Japan | Marketplace |
47 | Aliexpress.com | 611.0M | China | Marketplace |
48 | Amazon.de | 608.8M | Germany | Marketplace |
49 | Rakuten.co.jp | 593.4M | Japan | Marketplace |
50 | Amazon.co.uk | 579.7M | United Kingdom | Marketplace |
Coming in second, social networking platform Facebook has a user base of 2.7 billion. On average, users spend 34 minutes on the site daily, while 36% of users say it’s also where they get their news—higher than any other social network.
As the leading search engine in China, Baidu (#7) received 5.6 billion visitors in November. Baidu is also branching out its business— venturing into electric vehicles (EVs) in a partnership with China-based automaker Geely.
As video conferencing vaulted in demand during the pandemic, Zoom (#15), launched into the most visited websites with 2.7 billion visitors monthly. Similarly, TikTok (#43) became a freshly minted addition.
The Most Visited Websites, By Country of Origin
With 27 sites on the list, the U.S. remains a dominant player. While its reach is highly concentrated on a global level, just a handful of companies own a majority of these sites.
See the static version of each regional graphic here.
Microsoft (#28), for instance, owns seven of the top sites in the world including LinkedIn (#25) and Live.com (#16). Amazon (#13), on the other hand owns five including Twitch.tv (#32), along with popular Amazon-focused domains in Japan, U.K., and Germany.
China holds five top websites: Baidu (#7), QQ (#34), Bilibili (#42), TikTok (#43), and AliExpress (#47). The Tencent-owned QQ.com, ranks as the top news site in China, with over 981 million monthly visits. Like WeChat, QQ also provides a popular messaging platform.
Just four of the most visited websites globally are based in both Russia and Japan, while the rest of the world account for 10 top sites altogether.
Reaching New Heights
While global internet patterns are clearly dominated by a few titans, what can we make of their recent traffic growth?
Between June 2019 and November 2020, Google’s monthly visitors increased 52.9%. Among the most visited websites globally, this rate of growth falls only behind Instagram (#6) at 89.1% and Twitter (#4) at 67.1%.
Wikipedia (#5), a non-profit website that originated in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales realized over 30% growth.
While large tech companies have only accelerated their market share—Google makes up roughly 90% of the search ad market—several regulatory bodies are placing greater scrutiny on them. An October 2020 antitrust report suggested that Big Tech is in fact anti-competitive, drawing comparisons with oil tycoons of the 19th and 20th centuries.
With these key forces in mind, it raises a critical question: is there a limit to their growth?
Technology
Charting the Next Generation of Internet
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist has partnered with MSCI to explore the potential of satellite internet as the next generation of internet innovation.
Could Tomorrow’s Internet be Streamed from Space?
In 2023, 2.6 billion people could not access the internet. Today, companies worldwide are looking to innovative technology to ensure more people are online at the speed of today’s technology.
Could satellite internet provide the solution?
In collaboration with MSCI, we embarked on a journey to explore whether tomorrow’s internet could be streamed from space.
Satellite Internet’s Potential Customer Base
Millions of people live in rural communities or mobile homes, and many spend much of their lives at sea or have no fixed abode. So, they cannot access the internet simply because the technology is unavailable.
Satellite internet gives these communities access to the internet without requiring a fixed location. Consequently, the volume of people who could get online using satellite internet is significant:
Area | Potential Subscribers |
---|---|
Households Without Internet Access | 600,000,000 |
RVs | 11,000,000 |
Recreational Boats | 8,500,000 |
Ships | 100,000 |
Commercial Aircraft | 25,000 |
Advances in Satellite Technology
Satellite internet is not a new concept. However, it has only recently been that roadblocks around cost and long turnaround times have been overcome.
NASA’s space shuttle, until it was retired in 2011, was the only reusable means of transporting crew and cargo into orbit. It cost over $1.5 billion and took an average of 252 days to launch and refurbish.
In stark contrast, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can now launch objects into orbit and maintain them at a fraction of the time and cost, less than 1% of the space shuttle’s cost.
Average Rocket Turnaround Time | Average Launch/Refurbishment Cost | |
---|---|---|
Falcon 9* | 21 days | < $1,000,000 |
Space Shuttle | 252 days | $1,500,000,000 (approximately) |
Satellites are now deployed 300 miles in low Earth orbit (LEO) rather than 22,000 miles above Earth in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), previously the typical satellite deployment altitude.
What this means for the consumer is that satellite internet streamed from LEO has a latency of 40 ms, which is an optimal internet connection. Especially when compared to the 700 ms stream latency experienced with satellite internet streamed from GEO.
What Would it Take to Build a Satellite Internet?
SpaceX, the private company that operates Starlink, currently has 4,500 satellites. However, the company believes it will require 10 times this number to provide comprehensive satellite internet coverage.
Charting the number of active satellites reveals that, despite the increasing number of active satellites, many more must be launched to create a comprehensive satellite internet.
Year | Number of Active Satellites |
---|---|
2022 | 6,905 |
2021 | 4,800 |
2020 | 3,256 |
2019 | 2,272 |
2018 | 2,027 |
2017 | 1,778 |
2016 | 1,462 |
2015 | 1,364 |
2014 | 1,262 |
2013 | 1,187 |
Next-Generation Internet Innovation
Innovation is at the heart of the internet’s next generation, and the MSCI Next Generation Innovation Index exposes investors to companies that can take advantage of potentially disruptive technologies like satellite internet.
You can gain exposure to companies advancing access to the internet with four indexes:
- MSCI ACWI IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index
- MSCI World IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation 30 Index
- MSCI China All Shares IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index
- MSCI China A Onshore IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index
MSCI thematic indexes are objective, rules-based, and regularly updated to focus on specific emerging trends that could evolve.
Click here to explore the MSCI thematic indexes
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