Despite the intense competition from Facebook and TikTok, which are still at the top in the number of users, Instagram remains the king of the social media landscape in terms of user growth.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, the photo and video-sharing social networking app will remain the fastest-growing social media platform by the end of a decade, with its user count jumping by 17.8% to 1.65 billion by 2029.
Instagram Beats Facebook in a Tight Race with a 0.7% User Growth Difference
It’s been four years since Instagram hit a massive milestone seemingly only reserved for social media giants like Facebook, with its user base reaching one billion for the first time. However, thanks to its engaging visual content and a wide range of features like Stories, Reels, and Shoppable posts, the number of Instagram users continued surging, helping the photo and video-sharing app to dethrone TikTok and become the fastest-growing social media platform out there.
Although TikTok has seen the biggest user growth in the past four years, with its global user base skyrocketing by 202% between 2019 and 2023, four times more than Instagram, that will change. According to a Statista Market Insights survey, TikTok is about to see a significant slowdown in user growth, helping Instagram to overtake the leading place.
Statistics show that Instagram’s global user base will grow by roughly 250 million or 17.8% in the next five years, showing the biggest increase among the top social media platforms. Facebook closely follows with a 17.1% growth rate in this period and around 480 million new users. Surprisingly, Snapchat ranked third on this list, with a projected 15% growth and 95 million new users.
Statista data show TikTok’s user base will grow by 12% between 2024 and 2029, with the platform adding roughly 250 million new users. LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, and Reddit follow with 12%, 10%, 9%, and 8% growth rates, respectively.
Instagram Users Spend Almost 17 Hours Per Month on the App, Four Hours more than Last Year
Besides leading in user growth, Instagram’s average usage time has also skyrocketed. According to the Digital 2024 Global Statshot Report, nearly 17% of all social media users aged between 16 and 64 named Instagram their favorite social media platform, 1% more than Facebook and twice more than TikTok.
The same report showed Android users spent an average of almost 17 hours using Instagram per month, four hours more than last year, and the fourth largest amount of time in the social media space. TikTok remained an absolute king in this category, with an average of 31 hours and 43 minutes spent using the app in one month, or eight hours more than a year before.
