SOCIAL
Data & Research March 17, 2026 • Last updated: March 2026

SOCIAL MEDIA
STATISTICS
2026

60+ up-to-date social media statistics and benchmarks for marketers worldwide. From global user numbers per platform and engagement rates to advertising costs and social commerce data. Compiled from research by DataReportal, Hootsuite, GWI, Statista, Pew Research and more.

5.24B

social media users worldwide

Source: DataReportal / We Are Social 2026

2:24

hours per day spent on social media

Source: GWI Global Report 2026

$276B

global social media ad spending

Source: Statista / eMarketer 2026

STATISTICS OVERVIEW

Social media is indispensable for virtually every business in 2026. But how large is the actual reach of each platform? Which one delivers the highest engagement? And how much are businesses investing in social media marketing?

On this page you will find 60+ up-to-date social media statistics and benchmarks for marketers worldwide, compiled from research reports by DataReportal, Hootsuite, GWI, Statista, Pew Research and other authoritative sources. Whether you are building a social media strategy, evaluating your marketing channels, or creating a business case for social media investment: this page provides the data you need.

USERS
Section 1

GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

64%

global social media penetration

DataReportal 2026

5.24B

active social media users

We Are Social 2026

6.7

platforms per user (avg.)

GWI 2026

2:24

hrs/day on social media (avg.)

GWI Global 2026

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE BY AGE GROUP (GLOBAL)

16-24 years 95%
25-34 years 92%
35-49 years 84%
50-64 years 68%
65+ years 45%

Source: GWI Global Social Media Report 2026, Pew Research Center

  • The average user checks social media 7.4 times per day, with peaks between 12:00-14:00 and 20:00-22:00 local time (GWI Global 2026)
  • 83% of social media usage takes place on mobile devices, with only 17% on desktop (DataReportal 2026)
  • Women spend an average of 14 minutes more per day on social media than men: 2 hrs 31 min vs. 2 hrs 17 min (GWI 2026)
  • North America leads in social media penetration at 74%, followed by Northern Europe (87%), Western Europe (82%), and East Asia (71%) (DataReportal)
  • 52% of internet users globally use social media as a news source, up 7% from 2025 (Reuters Digital News Report)
PLATFORMS
Section 2

PLATFORM BREAKDOWN

MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS PER PLATFORM (BILLIONS)

Facebook
3.07B
3.07B
YouTube
2.53B
2.53B
Instagram
2.04B
2.04B
TikTok
1.69B
1.69B
LinkedIn
1.03B
1.03B
Snapchat
800M
800M
X (Twitter)
586M
586M
Pinterest
498M
498M

Source: DataReportal Digital 2026, platform earnings reports

Fastest Growth
+14%

TikTok year-over-year growth globally

2025: 1.48B 2026: 1.69B

Source: DataReportal 2026

Biggest Decline
-8%

X (Twitter) daily active users declining

DAU: 245M Down from 266M

Source: DataReportal / Sensor Tower 2026

B2B Champion
1.03B

LinkedIn members: #1 B2B platform worldwide

200+ countries Growth: +9% YoY

Source: LinkedIn Economic Graph 2026

  • Instagram is the most popular platform among 18-34 year olds: 78% of this age group has an account, compared to 62% for TikTok (GWI 2026)
  • YouTube Shorts reaches over 2 billion logged-in users monthly, a growth of 30% compared to 2025 (YouTube Internal Data / DataReportal)
  • X (formerly Twitter) lost 12% of its daily active users since the rebrand, but remains relevant for news and real-time discourse (Sensor Tower 2026)
  • Pinterest grew 11% among women aged 25-44 and is the #1 platform for product inspiration and purchase intent globally (Pinterest Business 2026)
  • Threads (Meta) has over 200 million monthly users but only 24% are active weekly — retention remains a challenge (DataReportal 2026)
BUDGET
Section 3

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BUDGETS

26%

of marketing budget goes to social media

CMO Survey / Gartner 2026

$3,500

avg. monthly social media spend (SMB)

Sprout Social 2026

+19%

global social ad spend growth YoY

Statista 2026

71%

of businesses advertise on social media

Hootsuite / CMO Survey 2026

BUDGET ALLOCATION BY PLATFORM (MARKETERS GLOBALLY)

Meta (Facebook + Instagram) 44%
LinkedIn 18%
TikTok 17%
YouTube 13%
Other (Pinterest, Snapchat, X) 8%

Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2026, CMO Survey, Gartner Marketing Spend Report

  • 76% of marketers globally are increasing their budget for short-form video content (Reels, Shorts, TikTok) at the expense of static posts (Hootsuite Social Trends 2026)
  • The average B2B company spends $5,200/month on social media (including tools and content creation), 48% more than B2C ($3,500/month) due to higher LinkedIn costs (Gartner)
  • Influencer marketing budgets are growing by 26%: companies spend an average of $21,000 per year on influencer partnerships (Influencer Marketing Hub 2026)
  • 44% of SMBs use AI tools for creating social media content, a doubling compared to 2025 (Sprout Social / HubSpot State of Marketing)
Section 4

ENGAGEMENT RATES BY PLATFORM

4.25%

TikTok avg. engagement rate

Social Insider 2026

1.16%

Instagram avg. engagement rate

Social Insider 2026

0.98%

LinkedIn avg. engagement rate

Hootsuite 2026

0.06%

Facebook avg. engagement rate

Social Insider 2026

ENGAGEMENT BY CONTENT TYPE (CROSS-PLATFORM)

Content Type Avg. Engagement Reach vs. Feed
Short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) 3.8% +210%
Carousel posts 1.92% +65%
Single image posts 0.84% Baseline
Text-only posts 0.71% -15%
Link posts (URL sharing) 0.32% -62%

Source: Social Insider Content Benchmarks 2026, Hootsuite Social Trends Report

  • Instagram Reels generate 2.3x more engagement than standard feed posts and reach 37% more non-followers (Instagram Internal Data / Later 2026)
  • LinkedIn document posts (PDF carousels) receive 3.2x more clicks than text posts and are the best-performing organic format on the platform (Hootsuite 2026)
  • The optimal posting frequency is 4-7x per week for Instagram, 2-5x for LinkedIn, and 1-3x per day for TikTok (Sprout Social 2026)
  • User Generated Content (UGC) scores 28% higher engagement and 4.5% higher conversion than branded content (TINT / Stackla 2026)
  • Posts with emojis get 17% more engagement on Instagram and 33% more shares on Facebook (Hootsuite Analytics 2026)
COMMERCE
Section 5

SOCIAL COMMERCE & CONVERSION

Global Market Size
$1.2T

global social commerce revenue

2025: $958B Growth: +28%

Source: Statista / eMarketer 2026

Shopping Behavior
42%

of consumers have purchased via social media

18-34 years: 58% 35+ years: 31%

Source: GWI Commerce Report 2026

Conversion
1.8%

avg. conversion rate from social media traffic

SEO: 2.4% Social: 1.8%

Source: FirstPageSage / Shopify 2026

67%

discover new products via social media

Source: GWI / Meta Business 2026

4.2x

higher purchase intent after influencer recommendation

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub 2026

  • Instagram Shopping is the most used social commerce channel globally: 64% of social shoppers bought via Instagram, followed by Facebook (38%) and TikTok Shop (22%) (GWI 2026)
  • TikTok Shop has expanded to 12 markets in 2026 and is projected by analysts as a game-changer with an estimated global GMV of $33 billion (eMarketer)
  • The average order value via social commerce is $52 globally, 30% lower than traditional e-commerce ($74), but purchase frequency is higher (Statista 2026)
  • 76% of Gen Z consumers say social media reviews influence their purchasing decisions more than product pages (GWI Gen Z Report)
  • Retargeting via social media ads delivers a 3.8x higher ROAS compared to cold targeting (Meta Business Suite Analytics 2026)
ADS
Section 6

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING BENCHMARKS

ADVERTISING BENCHMARKS BY PLATFORM (GLOBAL AVERAGES)

Platform Avg. CPC Avg. CPM Avg. CTR
Facebook $0.42 $6.80 1.12%
Instagram $0.79 $8.50 0.94%
LinkedIn $4.20 $31.00 0.58%
TikTok $0.31 $5.00 1.48%
YouTube $0.20 $9.20 0.65%
Pinterest $0.57 $6.40 0.78%
X (Twitter) $0.48 $5.90 0.86%

Source: WordStream, Hootsuite, Statista 2026 (global averages, varies by industry and targeting)

AVERAGE ROAS BY PLATFORM (E-COMMERCE)

Meta (Facebook + Instagram) 4.2x
Pinterest 3.8x
TikTok 3.2x
YouTube 2.8x
LinkedIn (B2B lead gen) 2.4x

Source: Databox, Revealbot, Hootsuite 2026 (median e-commerce accounts)

  • Video ads on Meta cost 22% less per conversion than static image ads, with a 38% higher CTR (Meta Business Suite Analytics 2026)
  • LinkedIn ads are 5-10x more expensive per click than Meta, but generate 3x more qualified leads per dollar for B2B (LinkedIn Marketing Solutions 2026)
  • Average ROAS has declined 15% post iOS 14.5+ privacy updates, but savvy advertisers are compensating with first-party data and server-side tracking (Meta / Appsflyer)
  • TikTok Spark Ads (boosted organic posts) perform 42% better on engagement and 18% better on conversion than traditional in-feed ads (TikTok Business 2026)
Summary

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1

5.24 billion people are on social media

64% of the global population uses social media, spending an average of 2 hours 24 minutes per day across 6.7 platforms.

2

TikTok is growing the fastest (+14%)

TikTok is the fastest-growing platform globally with 1.69 billion users and the highest engagement rate (4.25%).

3

Video is king

Short-form video (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) generates 3.8% engagement and +210% more reach than static feed posts.

4

$276 billion in social ad spend

The global social media advertising market is growing at 19% per year. 71% of businesses advertise on social media.

5

Social commerce is exploding

$1.2 trillion in global social commerce revenue. 42% of consumers have purchased via social media, with TikTok Shop as the growth engine.

6

LinkedIn = B2B goldmine

1.03 billion members, the #1 B2B platform worldwide. 78% of B2B marketers name LinkedIn the most effective social platform.

METHODOLOGY & SOURCES

The statistics on this page are compiled from publicly available research reports by reputable organizations. We update this page regularly with the latest data. Key sources include:

Disclaimer: Figures are sourced from the most recent available editions of the listed reports. Some statistics represent preliminary results or estimates. This page is compiled for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or strategic advice. For tailored guidance, contact a data-driven AI marketing agency.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many people use social media worldwide in 2026?

In 2026, there are approximately 5.24 billion social media users worldwide, representing a global penetration rate of 64%. The average user spends 2 hours and 24 minutes per day on social media and is active on an average of 6.7 platforms. Among 16-24 year olds, penetration reaches 95%. Want to leverage this data? Discover what an AI marketing agency can do for your business.

What is the most popular social media platform in 2026?

Facebook remains the largest platform globally with 3.07 billion monthly active users, followed by YouTube (2.53 billion), Instagram (2.04 billion), TikTok (1.69 billion), and LinkedIn (1.03 billion). TikTok is the fastest-growing platform with +14% year-over-year growth. The most popular platform varies significantly by age group: for 16-24 year olds Instagram is #1, while for 50+ Facebook dominates.

Which social media platform has the highest engagement rate?

TikTok leads with an average engagement rate of 4.25%, followed by Instagram (1.16%), LinkedIn (0.98%), and Facebook (0.06%). Video content, especially short-form videos (Reels, Shorts), significantly outperforms static posts across all platforms. Carousel posts on Instagram and document posts on LinkedIn are the best-performing non-video formats.

How much do businesses spend on social media marketing?

Businesses allocate an average of 26% of their total marketing budget to social media, which translates to approximately $3,500 per month for SMBs. The global social media advertising market is estimated at $276 billion in 2026. 71% of businesses worldwide actively advertise on at least one social media platform.

How much does social media advertising cost?

Average CPC varies by platform: Facebook $0.42, Instagram $0.79, LinkedIn $4.20, and TikTok $0.31. LinkedIn is the most expensive but delivers the highest lead quality for B2B. The average CPM for Meta ads is around $6.80. Video ads perform 22% better in terms of cost per conversion than static ads.

Is social media effective for B2B marketing?

Yes, 78% of B2B marketers name LinkedIn as the most effective social media platform. 62% of B2B buyers say LinkedIn content influences their purchasing decisions. B2B companies that consistently publish on LinkedIn generate 67% more leads than those that don't.

How big is social commerce globally?

The global social commerce market is projected to reach $1.2 trillion in 2026, a 28% increase over 2025. 42% of consumers worldwide have purchased a product through social media. Instagram Shopping and TikTok Shop are the fastest-growing channels. The average order value via social commerce is $52.

What are the top social media trends for 2027?

The key trends are: AI-generated content (42% of brands already use this), short-form video as the dominant content format, the explosive growth of social commerce, increased focus on communities and private groups, and LinkedIn's evolution into a full content platform. Organic reach continues to decline (Facebook: 2.6%), making paid distribution increasingly important. Learn how AI-driven marketing can help you stay ahead of these trends.

SOCIAL
Ready to get started?

SOCIAL MEDIA WITH MEASURABLE RESULTS

At Searchlab, we combine 10+ years of marketing experience with data-driven AI tooling. Discover how we use social media to deliver real, measurable growth.

Schedule a demo About our AI marketing agency
Ruud ten Have

Compiled by

Ruud ten Have

Ruud is a digital marketer with 10+ years of experience in online advertising and AI implementation. At Searchlab, he combines strategic thinking with hands-on AI tooling to deliver measurable results for businesses.