Meta Platforms, the operator of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, was responsible for 60 percent of all social app revenues in 2024. The company made $160 billion from advertising revenues in 2024, with $91.3 billion from Facebook and an estimated $66.9 billion from Instagram.
That makes them the two largest social apps by far in revenue terms, although YouTube is beginning to grow its business to be competitive with at least Instagram. In 2024, YouTube generated $36.1 billion from advertising and a further $14.5 billion from subscriptions, according to data presented in the Social App Report.
Social Revenues by App 2010 to 2024 ($mm)
TikTok was, for the second year in a row, the fastest growing social platform in the world. Its revenues grew by 42.8% in 2024, which it made primarily from advertising. Commerce, which TikTok has invested heavily in in South-east Asia, has become a larger pillar of the app’s overall revenue.
Smaller apps, such as Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn, all reported revenue increases and accelerated growth. X, formerly Twitter, was the only social platform in the report to see its revenues decline in 2024, as Elon Musk’s microblogging site continues to struggle to win back advertisers.
Outside of revenues, Facebook was the most used social app with three billion monthly active users. WhatsApp had the highest daily engagement, at 84.1 percent, while TikTok had the highest average time spent per user at over one hour per day.
The focus is well and truly on AI by almost all of the social apps mentioned in the report, with the metaverse and artificial reality pushed to the background. Meta and Snapchat are still working on mixed reality, but have redirected resources to AI efforts. Smaller platforms, such as Snapchat and Pinterest, have looked to ChatGPT and other foundational model developers to create their own AI services, rather than pursue it independently like Meta and X.
Want to learn more about the social app market? Check out our report, with hundreds of charts and benchmarks on the industry.
