Telegram Growth and Usage Statistics
As someone who has closely followed the progress of messaging apps, I find Telegram to be a particularly intriguing case.
Founded in 2013 by Nikolai and Pavel Durov, the creators of the popular Russian social media platform VK, Telegram was designed to provide a robust alternative to the dominant messaging apps of the time.
From the beginning, Telegram positioned itself as a challenger to WhatsApp, offering unique features such as the ability to access accounts from multiple devices and a focus on innovation. These elements not only differentiated Telegram in a crowded market but also earned it a loyal user base that continues to grow exponentially.
Today, Telegram has over 900 million monthly active users, making it one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world.
Key Telegram Statistics for 2024
- Monthly Active Users: Over 900 million.
- Daily Active Users: Approximately 196 million on Android.
- Projected Users by End of 2024: Expected to reach 1 billion.
- Daily Messages Sent: Over 15 billion.
- Downloads: More than 1 billion downloads to date.
- Average Monthly Time Spent per User: Around 2.9 hours.
- Annual Revenue: Generated $68.8 million in 2023, from the Premium service and Telegram Ad platform.
- Valuation: Approximately $30 billion.
- Gender Demographics: 58% male, 42% female.
Telegram Overview
| Launch Date | August 2013 |
|---|---|
| Legal Headquarters | London, UK |
| Operational Headquarters | Dubai, UAE |
| Founders: | Pavel Durov (CEO), Nikolai Durov |
| Business Type | Private |
| Industry | Social Networking |
Telegram operates with a relatively small but highly efficient team. The team size is around 30 engineers! Imagine that?
“Just about 30 Engineers so it's it's really compact the team super. efficient it's like a a Navy Seals team and uh uh this is how we operate”
The team is known for its agility and ability to rapidly implement new features and improvements. Despite the compact size, the team has managed to drive significant innovation and maintain the app's robust performance.
The operational headquarters is based in Dubai, UAE, while the legal entity is registered in London, UK. This strategic distribution allows Telegram to navigate various regulatory environments and maintain its commitment to user privacy and security.
Monthly Active Users on Telegram
According to company data, Telegram has 900 million monthly active users as of 2024. An increase of 12.5% since 2023.
As of July 2023, Telegram has reached an impressive 800 million monthly active users, which represents a remarkable growth since November 2022.
That's nothing to sneeze at, especially considering how fast the app has continued to expand. That is 100 million from November 2022 to July 2023.
Since April 2020, Telegram has added a staggering 400 million users to its base, demonstrating its growing popularity.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that 2.5 million new users sign up for the app every day. This daily growth shows that the app is gaining traction and becoming trusted.
Since its launch in 2013, Telegram's user base has grown at an annual rate of over 40%, a rate that I find truly impressive. Such consistent growth underscores Telegram's successful strategy and its ability to meet users' needs in a competitive market.
For context, that means roughly 1 in 10 people on the planet now uses Telegram each month.
Source: Statista, Telegram, DataReportal, TechCrunch
Telegram Premium Subscribers
Telegram offers an optional Premium subscription that unlocks exclusive features for paying users, such as 4 GB file uploads (compared to the standard 2 GB), faster download speeds, and premium stickers.
In a YouTube interview, Pavel Durov, Telegram's founder, revealed that Telegram Premium reached 4 million paying users by December 2023. This is a significant increase from July 2023, when there were 2 million premium subscribers.
Source: https://t.me/s/durov
Telegram Revenue Statistics
Telegram has developed a sustainable monetization model that covers its development costs while ensuring user privacy.
Regular users can enjoy all features for free indefinitely, while business and power users who need additional features can opt for Telegram Premium.
Additionally, Telegram has its own ad platform for large public one-to-many channels, which helps to offset the costs of servers and traffic.
In 2023, Telegram generated $68.8 million in revenue, marking a 52.9% increase from $45 million in 2022 and a staggering 632% increase from $9.4 million in 2021. This significant revenue growth is largely due to Telegram's monetization strategies, including Telegram Premium and the Telegram Ad platform.
Source: getlatka.com
Telegram Marketing Budget
To understand where telegram is going, I think it’s very important to look into the marketing budget strategy.
Telegram's growth is even more impressive when you consider that they spend absolutely nothing on marketing.
In a YouTube interview, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, mentioned that the company has zero budget for marketing efforts. Instead, Telegram has relied entirely on word of mouth and the organic appeal of its features and privacy-focused approach to attract users.
This strategy has clearly paid off, as evidenced by the app's rapid growth and widespread popularity.
This approach makes Telegram a well-oiled machine that can maneuver quickly and efficiently. With a relatively small team behind it, Telegram can adapt and implement changes much faster than its larger competitors, giving it a significant advantage in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Source: YouTube
Daily Active Users on Telegram
I was able to find usage statistics specifically for the Android platform from SimilarWeb.
According to their estimates, Telegram had 196 million daily active users on Android in 2022, with 47.5% of its monthly active users checking the app daily.
It's important to understand that the actual number of daily users could be significantly higher when considering other platforms like iOS and the web, which I personally use all the time.
So, the total daily active user base for Telegram is likely much larger than the Android figures alone suggest.
Source: Similarweb
Telegram App Downloads
According to statista stats, Telegram mobile app downloads reached 113.52 million in the third quarter of 2023, marking a 24.05% increase compared to the previous year.
In the first nine months of 2023 alone, Telegram saw 310.94 million downloads.
The table below shows number of downloads by each quarter.
Telegram Web Statistics
It's also crucial to consider web usage statistics. Personally, I use web.telegram.org all the time. It's incredibly simple to use and always stays in sync with the phone app.
According to SimilarWeb, the web version of Telegram received 325.3 million visitors in December 2023.
Here's a monthly breakdown of the web statistics:
Source: Similarweb
Telegram App Popularity Ranks
Here is a popularity breakdown based on the IOS AppStore stats from SimilarWeb
| Date | Monthly active users |
|---|---|
| Australia | 5 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| Germany | 3 |
| India | 4 |
| Malaysia | 4 |
| Netherlands | 3 |
| Russia | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 3 |
| United States | 4 |
Source: Similarweb
Telegram App Downloads by Country 2023
It appears that a significant portion of Telegram's user base comes from a few key countries.
- India leads the market, with users downloading the app approximately 84 million times between January and December 2023.
- Russia follows, with over 35 million downloads during the same period.
- In the United States, the app was installed nearly 30 million times.
- Among Latin American countries, Brazil recorded the highest number of downloads.
- In Western Europe, France and Italy emerged as the leading markets for Telegram.
Here is a more detailed breakdown of Telegram downloads by country:
Source: Statista
Time Spent on Telegram
This statistic is very hard to average out. The data is very limited and every country varies in it’s usage. Based on findings and globally it seems that an average users spend about 2.9 hours on Telegram app every month.
Source: DataReportal
Telegram User Demographics
Gender Demographics are 42% female users and 58% male users.
Here is breakdown based on age groups:
| Age Group | Share of Telegram Users |
|---|---|
| Up to 17 | 7.7% |
| 18 to 24 | 21.9% |
| 25 to 34 | 30.6% |
| 35 to 44 | 21.3% |
| 45 to 64 | 18.5% |
Source: DemandSage
Global Availability of Telegram
According to Appfigures, Telegram is available in 175 countries on the iOS App Store. For Android users, it's accessible in 133 countries.
In simple terms, Telegram is widely available across the globe. You can download and use it on various platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and the web.
Source: AppFigures
Final Thoughts
There you have it!
Telegram's impressive statistics truly reflect its significant impact on the global messaging landscape. With over 900 million monthly active users and approximately 196 million daily active users on Android alone, Telegram's reach continues to expand rapidly.
The app is projected to hit 1 billion users by the end of 2024, showcasing its growing popularity and user trust. In 2023, Telegram generated $68.8 million in revenue, thanks to its Premium service and ad platform. This financial success supports its sustainable monetization model, balancing development costs with a strong emphasis on user privacy.
I hope you enjoyed exploring these Telegram stats as much as I did. If you have any questions or feel like I’ve missed something, please drop me a line on the contact us page.