How the Internet's Popularity Rankings Shifted in 2024
Cloudflare's annual analysis of Internet trends, based on anonymized DNS query data from its 1.1.1.1 resolver, provides a unique view into how people use online services. The 2024 report ranks the most popular Internet properties across nine categories using relative popularity within each category, not absolute traffic numbers. This means a service’s rank can change due to increased competition, even if its own traffic is steady. The data shows some consistent leaders, the continued rise of generative AI, and significant movement among social platforms.
Overall Rankings: A Familiar Top of the List
Google remained the undisputed #1 Internet service globally, a position it has held since the ranking methodology was introduced. The rest of the overall Top 10 saw some shifts, with Facebook solidifying its #2 spot after competing with Apple in 2023. TikTok occasionally challenged Apple for #3 starting in late August. Amazon Web Services (AWS) secured the #5 spot, while Instagram improved to #7, moving ahead of YouTube. Amazon held firm at #9, and WhatsApp entered the Top 10 for the first time. Apple's iCloud, Netflix, and Microsoft's Outlook were just outside the top spots. X (formerly Twitter) continued a downward trend, falling to #14 or #15 after ranking as high as #10 in 2022.
Generative AI: ChatGPT Leads a Growing Field
Generative AI remained a major story, with ChatGPT (OpenAI) being by far the most dominant service in the category. The rankings below the leader saw significant movement, with several new platforms gaining traction among users.
- ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- Character.AI
- Codeium
- QuillBot
- Claude (Anthropic)
- Perplexity
- GitHub Copilot
- Wordtune
- Poe
- Tabnine
Anthropic's Claude climbed the ranks following the March 4 release of the Claude 3 model and its subsequent availability in Europe in May, reaching #5 by June. Perplexity, an AI-powered search platform, started the year outside the Top 10 but steadily improved, moving past Claude on November 6 to reach #6.
New Entrants and Rising Stars in AI
Several services made their debut in the Generative AI Top 10 in 2024, demonstrating rapid growth. GitHub Copilot, the AI coding assistant, had the fastest rise, entering the Top 20 in June and the Top 10 in September. By November, it was often ranking between #3 and #5. Suno AI, which generates audio and music, also broke into the Top 10 in April and, after a brief drop, stabilized between #6 and #10 after October.
Other platforms saw their positions change over the course of the year. Wordtune peaked at #4 mid-year before declining, while Tabnine lost ground after July. Poe, which ranked #5 in 2023, ended the year around #10. Google Gemini started 2024 between #7 and #10 on weekdays but fell out of the Top 10 after July. Hugging Face fluctuated between #7 and #9 for much of the year but left the Top 10 by September. The OpenAI API itself appeared at #18 in the category on May 14-15, following the announcement of GPT-4o's availability.
ChatGPT's Ascent to the Global Top 50
Looking at generative AI services within the broader Overall ranking reveals a clear growth story for some platforms. ChatGPT's popularity continued its climb from 2023, when it started around #200 and finished near the top 100. In 2024, it entered the top 60 in May, following the release of GPT-4o, and has hovered near the top 50 since September. Its popularity is highest on weekdays, averaging #56, with a noticeable drop on weekends. By late November, ChatGPT ranked ahead of sites such as Weather.com, Temu, eBay, Telegram, and Prime Video.
Other AI platforms also improved their overall standing. Character.AI moved from outside the top 200 to above #180 after July, reaching as high as #161 in August. Interestingly, unlike ChatGPT, Character.AI performs better on weekends. Codeium entered the overall top 300 in July, with higher rankings during the week.
Social Media: Snapchat Rises, X Slips
With an estimated 5.22 billion social media users worldwide, the category continues to be dominated by a few major players. The top seven services in this category were the same as last year.
- TikTok
- X
- Snapchat
- Discord
- Kwai
While the top seven remained stable, the fight for #4 is notable. Snapchat, which has held the #5 spot, reached #4 for the first time on several days in September and October, closing in on X's long-held position. Kwai, a Chinese video app with a large user base in Brazil, rose from #10 to #8. Reddit slipped from #8 in 2023 to #10, though it peaked at #7 on November 26, just before Black Friday.
The global Top 20 includes several non-Western platforms, such as Douyin (#11), the Chinese version of TikTok; VK (#12); and SnackVideo (#13), which is popular in Southeast Asia. OnlyFans began consistently appearing in the Top 20 in September, ranking around #18. The #18 spot was briefly taken by other platforms, including Threads in late September and Bluesky starting November 18. Mastodon-related servers also reached as high as #19 on several days since late August.
Beyond X: The Rise of Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon
The social media landscape continues to shift, but the most telling movements happen outside the Social Media category itself. In the Overall ranking, Mastodon servers — aggregated together — consistently landed between #208 and #248, performing better on weekends. Bluesky entered the Top 250 in September 2024, gaining significant attention after the US elections. It rose sharply after November 14, peaking at #193 on November 20, before stabilizing around #220.
Threads entered the Top 250 in August 2024, reaching a peak of #183 on September 24 before dropping out in October. In 2023, Threads peaked at #227 in early July but fell out of the Top 250 by late August. Threads relies on Instagram’s cdninstagram.com for images and videos, which may influence its position in our DNS rankings.
Other notable trends observed across social apps in the Overall ranking:
- Instagram’s best day was August 5, 2024 (#6), coinciding with the week the app was banned in Turkey.
- X reached #12 on April 14, when Arsenal lost the top position in the English Premier League to Manchester City, which went on to win its fourth straight title. X also hit #13 on August 9 and 10, during the final weekend of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- X performed better on weekdays; Snapchat and Discord were stronger on weekends. LinkedIn ranked higher between Mondays and Wednesdays.
- Reddit stayed in the Top 50 in 2024, growing from roughly #45 to #40 by November, with a peak at #38 on November 26. It performed better between Mondays and Wednesdays.
- Quora trended downward, dropping from around #140 to #160, with better performance between Mondays and Wednesdays.
- Tinder started the year around #150 but fell below #160; it performs better on Sundays.
- Tumblr dropped out of the Top 200 in early 2024 and fell outside the ranking entirely by September, performing better on weekends.
- OnlyFans grew, hovering around #220 with a peak at #213 on December 1, performing better on weekends.
E-commerce: Temu’s Rise Up the Ranks
The e-commerce category continues to grow in importance. Amazon leads, followed by Taobao at a steady #2, as it was in 2023. AliExpress climbed to #3, displacing eBay, which lost its #3 spot globally and fell to #7 despite starting 2024 at #3 for several days.
Top 10 E-commerce services in 2024
- Amazon
- Taobao
- AliExpress
- Shopify
- Temu
- Alibaba
- eBay
- Shein
- Mercado Libre
- Wildberries (RU)
Shopify holds #4, followed by Temu at #5. Temu — the low-cost, fast-fashion marketplace launched in the US in September 2022 — ended 2023 at #7 and occasionally reached #4 starting in August. Alibaba dropped to #6 in September. Shein overtook Mercado Libre (#8) in November. A surprise entrant was Wildberries, Russia’s “Amazon,” which has been expanding to neighboring countries and parts of Europe, climbing to #10 in September. It surpassed OLX (which held #10 for months), Rakuten, and Lazada.
In the Overall ranking, the following e-commerce trends emerge:
- Amazon fluctuated between #9 and #10 after October, returning to #9 on November 30 and December 1 during Black Friday weekend, often performing better on weekends.
- Shopify’s best day was Black Friday, November 29, at #55, performing better on weekdays.
- Temu started 2024 outside the Top 100 but climbed to the Top 70 by year-end. It peaked at #63 in late October and early November, with a Black Friday spike to #65.
- Shein neared the Top 100 in early 2024 before dropping to the Top 140 between June and October. It rebounded in November, peaking at #83 on Black Friday. The trend was similar to 2023, when it ended around #120. The comparison between Temu and Shein:
- eBay ranged between #72 and #80, peaking at #62 on October 5-6 and again in late November, performing better on weekends.
- Mercado Libre reached #100 on Black Friday, November 29.
- Adidas entered the Top 250 at #232 on Black Friday.
- Target performed well in November, peaking at #133 on November 27 and #127 on December 1, with better performance on Sundays.
- Walmart improved from September onward, with best days on November 25-26, reaching #150.
- Ikea peaked at #247 on June 29.
Video Streaming: The Unchanged Dominance of YouTube and Netflix
The top of the video streaming category remained unchanged from 2023. YouTube holds the #1 spot, followed by Netflix, with Twitch keeping #3 as it did in 2022 and 2023. Roku holds #4, Disney Plus #5 and Amazon Prime Video #6, all maintaining their previous positions. Hulu dropped out of the Top 10.
Top 10 — Video streaming services 2024
- YouTube
- Netflix
- Twitch
- Roku
- Disney Plus
- Amazon Prime Video
- Vimeo
- Plex.TV
- Pluto TV
- Bigo Live
Vimeo showed clear popularity growth since May. Newer entrants include Plex TV, which performed better starting in October, and Pluto TV, which grew throughout the year. Bigo Live entered the Top 10 in May.
The year also revealed several patterns for video streaming services in the Overall ranking:
- Netflix consistently ranked #12 on weekends, particularly Sundays, through late May and resumed that trend after August. Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and HBO/Max were more popular on weekends.
- Disney Plus ranged between #50 and #60, with a spike to #51 on September 22, coinciding with the premiere of the Marvel show Agatha All Along. It occasionally challenged Roku on weekends.
- Prime Video hit #56 on May 25, when the movie Bombshell with Nicole Kidman premiered.
- HBO/Max stayed around the Top 100 until August, dropping out after October.
- Peacock resurfaced in late July during the Paris 2024 Olympics, reaching #176 on July 28, one of the busiest days for Olympic events.
- Paramount Plus was mostly outside the Top 250 but peaked at #216 on February 11, the day of the Super Bowl, which the platform streamed.
The News Landscape: Global Perspectives
News organizations remain a critical measurement of internet traffic, especially during crises. The rankings in 2024 mirrored 2023 at the top, with notable shifts in the middle.
Top 10 News services in 2024
- Globo
- BBC
- NY Times
- CNN
- Fox News
- Google News
- Yahoo Finance
- Daily Mail
- RT
- NewsBreak
Globo, the Brazilian media giant, held #1, followed by BBC at #2. The New York Times rose to #3 from #5 in 2023, overtaking CNN (#4) and Fox News (#5), which dropped from its 2023 position at #3.
Prominent outlets such as the Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal fell out of the Top 10 this year, having ranked higher in late 2023 following the October 7 Hamas-Israel conflict. News aggregators gained prominence — Google News (#6), Yahoo Finance (#7), and NewsBreak (#10), a US-based local news app — entered the Top 10. The British Daily Mail, which has expanded focus to the US and Australia, ranked #8, followed by RT.
Elections, Protests, and News Cycles
The US presidential election on November 5, 2024, was the dominant traffic event of the year for news organizations. The day after the vote delivered the best rankings of 2024 for several major outlets, including CNN (which moved from #105 on November 5 to #72 on November 6) and Fox News (from #153 to #92). The BBC, NY Times, and others saw similar post-election surges.
Other geopolitical events drove spikes for regional news services:
- Globo jumped to #60 on February 24-25, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters in Brazil protested against investigations involving the former president.
- Poland’s WP aggregator peaked on three occasions: July 26 (#188) after Polish lawmakers voted to allow security forces to use lethal weapons with impunity at the Belarus border, November 6 (#180) following the US election result, and again on Black Friday, November 29 (#180).
- Russian aggregator Rambler hit #218 on February 23, the day Vladimir Putin addressed the nation following the Moscow concert hall attack.
Messaging: WhatsApp Dominates, Telegram Climbs
Apple’s iMessage is excluded from this analysis because it lacks a unique domain for traffic measurement. Among the services that qualify, WhatsApp held the top position for the third consecutive year.
Top Messaging Services in 2024
- Telegram
- Viber
- Signal
- LINE
- KakaoTalk
- eitaa.com
- Facebook Messenger
Tencent’s QQ, which bundles gaming and mobile payments, held the #2 spot for a second year. Telegram overtook Viber for #3 in June, driven by its popularity in Eastern Europe and Asia. WeChat climbed to #5 in October, pushing Signal to #6 where it ended the year. The Top 10 welcomed South Korea’s KakaoTalk (#8) and Iran’s eitaa.com (#9), the latter popular among Farsi-speaking users. Facebook Messenger rounded out the list at #10.
Notable movements in the Overall ranking:
- WhatsApp strengthened its position from late July, stabilizing at #9 by mid-October and performing better on weekdays.
- Telegram had its best days on July 16-18, coinciding with developments in the Ukraine war, including the Russian Black Sea Fleet leaving Crimea.
- Eitaa peaked at #185 on April 14, the day of Iranian strikes against Israel.
- WeChat hit #116 on July 30, when Chinese leaders pledged to redirect stimulus efforts toward consumers.
Gaming and Metaverse: Roblox on Top, Steam Surges
Gaming and metaverse services are grouped together in this analysis. Roblox repeated as the category leader, with Xbox/Xbox Live at #2 and Epic Games/Fortnite at #3.
Top 10 Metaverse & Gaming Services in 2024
- Roblox
- Xbox/Xbox Live
- Epic Games/Fortnite
- Steam
- PlayStation
- Electronic Arts
- Blizzard
- Riot Games/League of Legends
- Minecraft
- Garena
Steam was the standout performer, jumping to #4 ahead of PlayStation and briefly reaching #2 in late March and early April. Electronic Arts, Blizzard, and Riot Games also gained ground. Minecraft entered the Top 10 at #9, peaking at #7 on July 5, 6, and 10. Singapore’s Garena made its Top 10 debut, while Meta’s Oculus fell out to #11 after ending 2023 at #5.
Other observations from the Overall ranking:
- Roblox reached #20 on January 21; gaming platforms, as a group, performed best on weekends.
- Epic Games/Fortnite peaked on January 1.
- Xbox/Xbox Live (#37) and PlayStation (#43) both had their best day on November 2, the day before the launch of Aero the Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge.
- Steam hit its peak on August 24 during Gamescom week in Germany.
- Minecraft, which marked its 15th anniversary in May, had its best days on June 15 and August 17, following the Tricky Trials update and the release of snapshot 24w33a respectively.
Financial Services: Stripe Holds, Black Friday Matters
Stripe retained the #1 spot in financial services for a second year, having overtaken PayPal in 2023.
Top 10 Financial Services in 2024
- Stripe
- TradingView
- Alipay
- PayPal
- Nubank (BR)
- Binance
- Coinbase
- Banco do Brasil
- Bradesco Bank
- Itau
TradingView climbed to #2, with AliPay at #3 and PayPal dropping to #4. Brazilian neobank Nubank entered the Top 10 at #5, while Binance rose to #6, peaking at #3 on November 12-13 as Bitcoin hit new highs after the US elections. Coinbase made its first appearance in the Top 10. Traditional Brazilian banks—Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, and Itaú—all rose into the list as they expanded their digital offerings.
Additional financial services trends from the Overall ranking:
- Stripe peaked at #81 on November 18-19 and November 25, just before Black Friday, and performed consistently better on weekends.
- PayPal reached #89 on November 21 and again on Black Friday, November 29.
- Nubank hit #87 on February 1 and 3 in the run-up to Carnival in Brazil, and peaked at #90 on Black Friday.
Crypto rankings: Binance and Coinbase hold, OKX climbs
Cryptocurrency services were evaluated separately from financial services this year. Despite market volatility in recent years, the sector saw a late-2024 resurgence. Binance and Coinbase kept the top two positions, while OKX moved up to third place.
- Binance
- Coinbase
- OKX
- 2miners.com
- CoinMarketCap
- Coingecko
- Bybit
- Exodus
- Tonkeeper
- NiceHash
OKX passed CoinGecko in late August, pushing the data platform to #6. New entrant 2miners.com landed at #4. Bybit (#7) offers spot and derivatives trading; Exodus (#8) is a multi-asset wallet; Tonkeeper (#9) manages Toncoin and related assets. NiceHash, connecting miners with buyers, fell from #5 to #10.
The US elections shook up the Overall ranking as Bitcoin rallied:
- Binance first entered the Top 100 on September 26, when Bitcoin surpassed $65,000 on US jobs data and Chinese stimulus news. It hit #97 on November 13, after the election and Bitcoin's first move above $90,000.
- Coinbase reached #131 on November 21 as Bitcoin neared $100,000 — a level crossed December 4, after the ranking period ended.
- OKX peaked at #149 on November 22; CoinMarketCap hit #176 the next day.
- CoinGecko saw its best day on November 11 at #137.
Notable swings in the Overall ranking
Several non-category trends stood out in the Top 250:
- Paris 2024 Olympics sites debuted July 27 (#195), peaked July 30 (#177) amid Léon Marchand's swims and US gymnastics medals, and exited August 11 (#217).
- Spotify held #17–18, spending most of October at #17. Spotify Wrapped launched after the ranking cutoff.
- Tesla entered the Top 250 in October; best day was October 12 (#245) after the Cybercab reveal, then #246 on November 17 during a post-election stock rally.
- GitHub peaked at #31 on November 8, when it announced mandatory 2FA for organizations.
- NBA stayed in the Top 250 until early March; best day February 4.
- Nike appeared once — March 26 (#236) during Air Max Day.
- Brazil's Judiciary site hit #105 on October 6 during the first municipal election round.
- Ticketmaster peaked at #169 on October 8 during a service outage, then #170 the next day when Australian F1 tickets went on sale.
- Intuit peaked April 15 (#121) on US Tax Day.
- Weather.com hit #61 August 4–6 as Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida.
- IMDb peaked January 1 (#220).
- Example.com, the documentation domain, ranked between #24 and #56.
Regional patterns
Google ranked #1 nearly everywhere in the country-specific lists. Beyond that, clear regional preferences emerged.
Social media
- TikTok was #1 in Iraq, Kosovo, and Libya, and #2 in more than 30 countries across continents — from Azerbaijan and Belarus to Indonesia, Ukraine, and South Africa.
- Facebook was #1 in Myanmar and #2 in 69 countries. Myanmar, where the government blocks many sites, fell to the bottom of Freedom House's Internet freedom index.
- Instagram made the top five in 18 countries.
- X ranked #3 in Japan and within the top 10 in 23 countries.
- Reddit missed every country's Top 10, but performed best in Iceland (#26) and the US (#28).
- Kwai ranked #7 in Brazil.
- Snapchat hit #4 in Iraq and Kosovo, and #5 in Libya, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia.
ChatGPT
- ChatGPT reached the Top 50 in 47 countries but no Top 10s. Best showings: Singapore (#35), Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka (#36), Switzerland and Taiwan (#37), Ethiopia (#38), and Japan, Iceland, and Haiti (#40).
Video streaming and messaging
- YouTube made the Top 10 in 113 countries, reaching #4 in Bangladesh and #5 in Armenia, Georgia, Guyana, Kenya, Peru, Qatar, Ukraine, and Uganda.
- Netflix placed in the Top 10 of 17 countries, peaking at #8 in Colombia and Ecuador.
- WhatsApp hit the Top 10 in 90 countries, reaching #4 across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
- LINE ranked #8 in Thailand; Viber made the Top 10 in Myanmar (#5), Ukraine (#9), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (#10); Zalo.me ranked #6 in Vietnam.
- Yandex ranked #3 in Belarus and Russia, and #5 in Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Uzbekistan.
Platform quirks
- Yahoo appeared only in Japan's Top 10.
- Temu missed every Top 10 despite strong growth, placing highest in Oman (#18), Bahrain (#25), and Kuwait (#26).
- Roblox reached the Top 10 in only the Philippines (#7), Kosovo (#8), and Trinidad and Tobago (#10).
- Wikipedia hit #10 in Bangladesh and Ukraine.
- Microsoft Office 365 performed best in Europe: #4 in Slovenia, #5 in Portugal, #6 in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Microsoft Outlook ranked well in Australia (#7), Denmark, New Zealand, and Slovenia (#8).
- Naver ranked #4 in South Korea.
2024 at a glance
The year's rankings show Google, Facebook, and TikTok still dominate, while generative AI services like ChatGPT rose quickly with new entrants GitHub Copilot and Claude gaining ground. X's influence slipped as Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon carved out smaller niches.
In e-commerce, Temu kept climbing while Shein and AliExpress strengthened their global position. Binance regained momentum with Bitcoin's surge, and new crypto players emerged. Gaming stayed anchored by Roblox, with Steam growing notably. Global events — the Olympics, US elections, conflict-related disruptions — continued to shape online behavior throughout the year.
