YouTube reached 2.53 billion monthly active users as of early 2025 and pulled in $36.1 billion in advertising revenue for the full year 2024, a 14.6% jump from $31.5 billion in 2023. The platform now accounts for 13.66% of Alphabet’s total revenue. With 500+ hours of video uploaded every minute and over 1 billion hours watched daily, YouTube remains the second most-visited website on the internet and the second-largest social media platform behind Facebook. Here’s where the numbers stand heading into 2026.
YouTube Statistics and User Trends 2026: Key Statistics
- YouTube has 2.53 billion monthly active users globally, as of 2025
- Daily active users total 122 million across web and mobile apps
- YouTube ad revenue hit $36.1 billion in 2024, up 14.6% year-over-year
- YouTube Premium and YouTube Music have over 125 million subscribers
- India leads with 491 million YouTube users, followed by the US at 253 million
- YouTube captured 13.4% of all US TV viewing time in July 2025, per Nielsen
- YouTube Shorts average over 70 billion daily views
YouTube Ad Revenue Growth (2021–2024)
YouTube’s advertising business has grown steadily since recovering from a brief dip in 2022. Annual ad revenue climbed from $28.8 billion in 2021 to $36.1 billion in 2024. The platform earned $10.47 billion in Q4 2024 alone, its largest quarter ever, driven partly by heavy US election-related ad spending from both major parties.
Q1 2025 brought in $8.93 billion in ad revenue, and Q3 2025 reached $10.26 billion. If this pace holds, 2025 full-year ad revenue will likely exceed $40 billion. YouTube’s share of Alphabet’s total revenue has climbed each year. In 2024, it reached 13.66%, the highest proportion on record.
YouTube Quarterly Ad Revenue Breakdown
| Quarter | Ad Revenue | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | $9.20B | +15.5% |
| Q1 2024 | $8.10B | +20.5% |
| Q2 2024 | $8.66B | +13.0% |
| Q3 2024 | $8.92B | +12.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.47B | +13.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.93B | +10.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.26B | +15.0% |
YouTube User Trends by Country
India has nearly double the YouTube users of any other country, with an estimated 491 million. The United States follows at 253 million. Brazil and Indonesia each have around 144 million and 143 million users respectively. These four countries alone account for over 1 billion of YouTube’s total user base.
Traffic patterns tell a different story, though. Despite having fewer users, the US generates the most website traffic at 11.7 billion monthly visits. YouTube operates in over 100 countries with 80+ language versions, reaching an estimated 95% of the world’s internet population.
YouTube Statistics: User Demographics by Age and Gender
YouTube’s audience skews slightly male at 54% versus 46% female globally. In the US, the split is closer to even, with women making up 51.2% of the audience and men 48.8%.
The 25–34 age group is the largest segment at 21.7% of the total ad audience. Combined with users aged 18–24, these two groups make up roughly 37% of YouTube’s global ad audience. Users aged 35 and older are the fastest-growing segment, reflecting YouTube’s widening appeal beyond younger demographics.
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | 8.9% | 6.9% | 15.8% |
| 25–34 | 12.0% | 9.7% | 21.7% |
| 35–44 | 10.1% | 8.4% | 18.5% |
| 45–54 | 7.6% | 6.4% | 14.0% |
| 55–64 | 5.5% | 4.8% | 10.3% |
| 65+ | 4.5% | 3.8% | 8.3% |
YouTube’s TV Viewing Share in 2025
YouTube’s growth on television screens is one of the most notable user trends heading into 2026. According to Nielsen’s Gauge reports, YouTube captured 13.4% of all US TV viewing in July 2025, the highest share any single streaming platform has recorded. That’s up from 7.9% in February 2023, a 53% increase in just two years.
For context, Netflix held 8.8% of TV viewing in the same July 2025 period. Disney’s combined properties (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) accounted for 9.4%. YouTube’s lead over every other individual platform is significant, and Nielsen measures only TV-screen viewing. When you factor in mobile and desktop, YouTube’s total viewership is even larger. YouTube TV, the live TV subscription service, has 9.4 million subscribers in the US as of Q1 2025.
YouTube Shorts Statistics and User Trends
YouTube Shorts, the platform’s short-form vertical video format launched to compete with TikTok, has grown into a major content category. Shorts averaged 70 billion daily views throughout 2024. Some sources report daily views exceeding 200 billion by 2025, though YouTube has not confirmed an updated figure.
About 175 million US users watched Shorts in 2025, projected to reach 192 million by 2027. The 25–34 age group makes up 21.5% of Shorts viewers, mirroring the overall YouTube audience. Entertainment content, including pranks and challenges, accounts for 17% of all Shorts views.
Shorts viewership on connected TVs doubled in 2023 and continued growing, reaching 15% of overall YouTube TV viewing time by Q4 2024. Monetization rates for Shorts compared to standard in-stream ads improved by over 30% in the US during 2024.
YouTube Premium Subscriber Growth
YouTube Premium crossed the 100 million subscriber mark in early 2024. By March 2025, that number had reached 125 million across more than 100 countries. The service offers ad-free viewing, background playback, and access to YouTube Music.
YouTube’s subscription revenue, covering Premium, Music, and other paid services, totaled $14.5 billion in 2024. That makes the subscription side of YouTube’s business roughly 40% the size of its advertising business. YouTube TV, a separate live TV service, is not included in the Premium subscriber count but added 9.4 million paying subscribers of its own.
YouTube Statistics: Top Channels and Content Trends
MrBeast holds the title of most-subscribed individual channel with approximately 462 million subscribers as of January 2026. T-Series, an Indian music label, ranks second at 307 million. Cocomelon is third at 199 million.
In terms of monthly views, Wiz Khalifa’s Music channel led with 5.99 billion views per month as of early 2025, followed by Wow Kidz at 5.02 billion and T-Series at 2.72 billion. The most-liked video on YouTube is a MrBeast Short titled “Would You Fly to Paris for a Baguette?” with 54 million likes.
The platform hosted over 5.1 billion videos at the start of 2025, with more than 113.9 million active channels. Sports content watch time grew 30% year-over-year in 2024, and viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on YouTube via TVs. Edison Podcast Metrics found that YouTube has become a bigger podcast platform than both Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
YouTube Statistics: Platform Usage Patterns
US users spend an average of 35 minutes per day on YouTube, projected to reach 37 minutes by the end of 2025. Globally, users spend roughly 27 hours per month on the platform, making YouTube the second-ranked platform for time spent after TikTok.
Mobile devices account for 63% of YouTube watch time. The platform received 29.7 billion total visits in its most recent measured month, combining mobile and desktop traffic. Among those visits, 60.91% came from male users and 39.09% from female users. The 25–34 age group generated the highest traffic share at 28.42%.
YouTube is the most popular streaming app among US adults, with 85% of the adult population using the platform. About 70% of users say they visit YouTube to learn something new, including for professional certifications and tutorials. YouTube ads reach an estimated 2.53 billion people globally, and 87% of viewers have purchased from a brand after seeing it on the platform, according to Google’s own research.
FAQ
How many people use YouTube in 2026?
YouTube has approximately 2.53 to 2.85 billion monthly active users as of 2025–2026, with 122 million daily active users across web and mobile.
How much revenue did YouTube earn in 2024?
YouTube earned $36.1 billion from advertising in 2024. Combined with $14.5 billion in subscription revenue, total income exceeded $50 billion.
Which country has the most YouTube users?
India leads with approximately 491 million YouTube users, followed by the United States at 253 million and Brazil at 144 million.
How many YouTube Premium subscribers are there?
YouTube Premium and YouTube Music have a combined 125 million subscribers globally as of March 2025, up from 100 million in early 2024.
What is YouTube’s share of US TV viewing?
YouTube captured 13.4% of all US TV viewing time in July 2025 per Nielsen, making it the top streaming platform on television screens.
