WeChat Statistics By Revenue, Users Demographics and Facts

Introduction

WeChat Statistics: WeChat, developed by Tencent in China and launched in 2011, is a multi-functional app that seamlessly combines messaging, social media, and mobile payment services. Originally designed as a messaging platform similar to WhatsApp, WeChat quickly evolved into a comprehensive “super app” that enables users to communicate, make payments, and access a wide array of services, such as shopping, ride-hailing, and booking appointments. With over 1.37 billion monthly active users as of June 2024, WeChat has achieved remarkable penetration in China, capturing about 80% of the population and integrating into daily life as an essential tool.

A key feature that sets WeChat apart is its Mini Programs, which allow third-party developers to create applications within WeChat’s ecosystem, enabling users to perform various tasks without leaving the app. This functionality has transformed mobile usage in China, making WeChat a central hub for commerce, social interactions, and more, with an 88% daily usage rate recorded in 2020 and an 89% penetration rate for Mini Programs by 2022.

Its features, such as WeChat Pay, QR codes, and in-app marketing tools, have become essential for businesses, driving customer engagement and sales. However, as WeChat faces regulatory challenges and growing competition from other apps like Douyin, Tencent continues to innovate with new features to retain its super app status. WeChat’s development into a multi-dimensional platform underscores its role as a key player in China’s digital economy and its potential to influence global app ecosystems.

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• WeChat Statistics also show that the monthly users grew from 1.34 billion in 2023 to 1.37 billion by the end of June 2024.
• Meanwhile, most WeChat users spend around 82 minutes on the app every day.
• As of 2024, people send about 45 billion messages on WeChat every day.
• In the first quarter of 2024, WeChat’s total revenue was approximately USD 21 billion, marking a 10% increase from Q1 2023.
• In China, 78% of younger internet users aged 16 to 64 are currently using WeChat.
• Moreover, WeChat is mainly popular in China but has about 230 million users in over 200 countries worldwide.
• The number of WeChat users in 2024 is around 53% are men, and 47% are women.
• People send 45 billion messages daily on WeChat, highlighting its important role in communication.
• WeChat Statistics further states that by 2024, about 50.6% of China’s internet users are expected to shop through WeChat.
• WeChat Pay handles more than 1.5 billion transactions each day.
• WeChat’s brand value will fall to USD 42 billion by the end of 2024, dropping from USD 50.2 billion in 2023.
• Similarly, more than 40% of WeChat users are from Tier 2 cities.

General WeChat Statistics

• Around 60% of WeChat users open the app over 10 times daily, while 21% access it more than 50 times.
• As of 2024, WeChat has over 1.5 billion monthly users, up from 1.3 billion in 2021, showing 16% yearly growth.
• More than 800 million people use WeChat mini programs every month for shopping, entertainment, and other online services.
• Users share about 68 million videos every day on WeChat, showing its multimedia features.
• In 2024, using WeChat has cut hospital wait times by 43.6 minutes.

WeChat Revenue Statistics 

• In 2021, WeChat achieved its highest annual revenue, generating USD 17.49 billion.
• In 2023, WeChat reported an annual revenue of USD 16.38 million, a decrease of 0.85% or USD 0.06 million compared to 2022’s revenue of USD 16.44 million.

• The revenue in 2020 saw a significant increase, rising by nearly USD 4 billion from the previous year, reaching USD 16.15 billion.
• In 2019, WeChat generated USD 12.28 billion, continuing its upward trend in revenue growth.
• In 2018, annual revenue was recorded at USD 10.85 billion.
• Revenue in 2017 stood at USD 8.37 billion, marking a substantial increase from earlier years.
• In 2016, WeChat’s annual revenue amounted to USD 5.52 billion.
• In 2015, WeChat generated USD 3.6 billion in revenue, reflecting the platform’s steady early growth trajectory.

WeChat Active Users Statistics

(Reference: statista.com)

• As of June 2024, WeChat had over 1.37 billion monthly active users, marking steady growth for Tencent’s multi-functional social media platform.
• WeChat, originally launched as Weixin in China by Tencent in 2011, was rebranded as WeChat in 2012 for its international audience.
• By 2018, WeChat and Weixin had surpassed one billion users, showing a substantial increase in active accounts from the previous year.
• Globally, WeChat ranks sixth among social networks based on active user numbers, drawing in a diverse age range.
• WeChat offers popular messaging features, including “Moments,” a function widely accessed by users each time they open the app.
• Beyond messaging, WeChat provides a broad range of services, including financial management, mobile shopping, and online payment.
• Short videos, mobile payments, and gaming are among the most popular activities on WeChat.
• A survey revealed that 50% of WeChat users spend between six and 30 minutes per visit on the short video feature, WeChat Channels.

 WeChat User Statistics by Demographics

• Around 78% of younger internet users in China aged 16 to 64 are currently using WeChat in 2024.
• Furthermore, other age WeChat users share by age group are followed as 88% (16-24 years), 92% (25 to 35 years) and 55% ( 55 years and above).

(Reference: statista.com)

• In the third quarter of 2023, the total number of WeChat users was around 52% male and 48% female.
• WeChat Statistics also reports that approximately 90% of WeChat users are from China, indicating a significant concentration of Chinese users.
• The remaining 10% of users are distributed internationally, with notable user bases in countries such as Malaysia, India, and the United States.

Users Comparison Of Alipay And WeChat Pay Statistics In China

(Reference: statista.com)

• In 2023, the total number of users using Alipay and WeChat Pay were 1,250 million and 1,045 million, respectively.
• Whereas by 2024, the estimated number of users of Alipay will be 1,265 million and WeChat Pay (1,055 million).
• By the end of 2025, Alipay and WeChat Pay users will number around 1,275 million and 1,065 million, respectively.

WeChat Statistics by Average Daily Time Spent

• In the third quarter of 2024, in China, users spent an average of 85 minutes per day on the WeChat platform, an increase from Q1’s 84 minutes.

(Reference: statista.com)

• The above Statista graph analyses show that the average daily time spent on WeChat in China in the second quarter of 2022 was around 82 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in Q2 of 2023, almost 82.8 minutes were spent, and in Q3, up to 79.7 million minutes were spent per day.

MAU of WeChat Mini Program Statistics

(Reference: statista.com)

• WeChat Statistics further reports that in May 2024, WeChat’s mini-programs had 949 million monthly users in China, with over 90% of all WeChat users participating.
• In September 2023, the total number of monthly active users of the WeChat Mini Program accounted for 924 million.
• Furthermore, in previous years, active users in September were 2022 (921 million), 2021 (797 million), 2020 (832 million) and 2018 (611 million).

WeChat Mini Programs Statistics

• As of Q1 2024, WeChat Mini Programs had 945 million monthly active users in China, which accounts for over 90% of WeChat’s total user base.
• The number of WeChat Mini Program users grew by 2.38% in Q1 2024, increasing from 923 million users in Q4 2023.
• In 2023, WeChat Mini Programs had 923 million users, up from 921 million in both 2022 and 2021, and 832 million in 2020.

• WeChat users spend an average of 68.1 minutes daily using Mini Programs, with mobile gaming users often spending even more time.
• The introduction of Mini Programs has significantly boosted WeChat’s annual transactions, contributing to an increase of over 600% in foreign business.
• WeChat Mini Programs are cloud-based sub-applications within the WeChat ecosystem, offering a wide range of services that are directly accessible through the WeChat app.

Leading WeChat Mini Programs Statistics By Top Category

(Reference: statista.com)

• WeChat Statistics show that in June 2024, mini-programs focused on daily services were the most popular, making up 32% of top app traffic.
• Furthermore, other leading WeChat mini-programs in China were distributed in the same period: financial management (13%), tools (10%), mobile shopping (9%), and business (6%).

WeChat Brand Profile Statistics In The United States

(Reference: statista.com)

• In the United States, 39% of social media users know about the WeChat brand.
• According to WeChat statistics, about 6% of American social media users say they like WeChat.
• Overall, 5% of social media users actively use WeChat regularly.
• In February 2024, 5% of U.S. social media users heard about WeChat recently.
• Conversely, only 4% of U.S. social media users say they are likely to use WeChat again.

WeChat Statistics By Most Influential Brands

(Reference: statista.com)

• In the week ending September 22, 2024, China Mobile led all WeChat brand accounts with an influence score of 823.
• Similarly, during the same period, other leading WeChat brand accounts by influence index are Luckin Coffee (748), China Construction Bank (736), KFC (716), Bilibili (710), Haier (708), Heytea (706), Dicos (691), Mi (689), and Bank of China (686).

Penetration Rate of Influencers Statistics By Platform

(Reference: statista.com)

• In March 2024, around 69% of China’s active internet users followed influencers on their WeChat Official Account.
• WeChat Statistics also mentioned that the penetration rate of active internet users by other platforms is followed by Douyin (54.4%), Weibo (35.4%), Kuaishou (30.6%), Xiaohongshu (15.4%), and Bilibili (14.8%).

WeChat In-App Purchases

• As of May 2024, WeChat generated USD 30.33 million in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue.
• In 2023, WeChat’s IAP revenue reached USD 71.39 million, reflecting a 6.31% increase from USD 67.15 million in 2022.
• In 2022, the in-app purchase revenue for WeChat was recorded at USD 67.15 million, continuing its upward trend.
• In 2021, WeChat’s IAP revenue was USD 50.32 million, demonstrating substantial growth compared to prior years.
• In 2020, WeChat’s in-app purchases generated USD 3.85 million, marking a notable increase from previous figures.
• In 2019, WeChat’s IAP revenue stood at USD 1.13 million, representing the early stages of its revenue expansion in this area.

WeChat Pay Statistics

• In 2023, WeChat Pay had 935 million monthly active users, marking an increase of 15 million users compared to 2022.
• WeChat Pay is the most widely used digital payment option in China, with a large proportion of WeChat users preferring this service for transactions.
• The user base of WeChat Pay has shown consistent growth over recent years, reflecting its increasing adoption and popularity in China.
• Monthly active users of WeChat Pay in previous years were recorded as follows: 920 million in 2022, 900 million in 2021, 865 million in 2020, and 800 million in 2019.
• WeChat Pay saw significant growth in earlier years as well, with 720 million users in 2018, 600 million in 2017, and 430 million in 2016.
• This steady increase in user numbers highlights WeChat Pay’s role as a dominant player in China’s digital payment market.

WeChat Official Account Statistics

• WeChat hosts over 25 million active Official Accounts, allowing businesses and organizations to engage directly with users.
• Approximately 54% of WeChat users spend up to 30 minutes engaging with content from Official Accounts.
• Nearly 49.3% of users follow between 10 and 20 Official Accounts, while 24% follow fewer than 20 accounts, and 20% follow between 20 and 30 accounts.
• The primary reason for following Official Accounts is to access news, with 74.2% of users citing this as their main motivation.
• Promotions are another popular reason for following Official Accounts, with 41.9% of users following accounts for promotional content.
• Official Accounts enable brands to share content, attract followers, and host mini-sites within the WeChat platform, enhancing user engagement and business visibility.

WeChat Website Traffic Statistics

(Source: similarweb.com)

• WeChat Statistics reports that in September 2024, wechat.com had 2.6 million website visits, a decrease of 4.49% from last month.
• Moreover, the bounce rate of the website is 44%.
• Over the last three months, WeChat.com’s global ranking improved from 28,913 to 29,958.
• The pages per visit accounted for 1 minute and 81 seconds, and the average visit duration of the website was 50 seconds.

By Country

(Reference: similarweb.com)

• In the same period, China had 21.71% of the WeChat website’s total traffic, down by 18.39% from last month.
• As of WeChat Statistics, other countries recorded the following contributions in total traffic on wechat.com: Hong Kong: 15.03% (+2.06%), United States: 9.19% (-12.66%), Taiwan: 3.94% (-13.93%), and Malaysia: 3.45% (-3.12%).
• Other country’s website traffic share collectively made up around 46.68% of the total traffic share.

By Demographics

(Reference: similarweb.com)

• In September 2024, WeChat users were 60.11% male and 39.89% female.
• Depending on age group shares, WeChat Statistics further elaborates that the highest number of website users between 25 and 34 years old secured a share of 29.68%.
• Around 20.09% of WeChat website users are between 35 and 44 years old.
• On the other hand, 18.37% and 18.08% of users are 18 to 24 years old and 45 to 54 years old, respectively.
• Meanwhile, 8.39% of website users are aged from 55 to 64 years.
• 65+ years and above users contributed only 5.39 of shares on wechat.com.

 By Device

(Source: semrush.com)

• At the same time, on wechat.com, around 59% of visitors generated shares via mobile, and 37.41% came from desktop.
• According to Semrush analyses, wechat.com had 6.17 billion visits in September 2024, and the average per-session visit duration was 4 minutes and 46 seconds.

By Traffic Source

(Reference: similarweb.com)

• The Organic Search generated the highest traffic rate to wechat.com, resulting in 54.3%.
• Based on WeChat Statistics, around 40.76% of the share was generated via direct searches, and 4.12% came from referrals.
• Others are followed by social (0.64%), mail (0.04%), and display (0.14%).

By Social Media Referral Statistics

(Reference: similarweb.com)

• WhatsApp and YouTube had the highest social media referral rates, resulting in 55.66% and 31.39% shares on the WeChat website, respectively.
• Moreover, Reddit, Facebook, and Google Groups each contributed 9.24%, 1.52% and 1.44% to Wechat.com.
• Lastly, other social media referral rates of wechat.com collectively accounted for 0.76% in September 2024.

Most Valuable Apps Statistics By Traffic Value

(Reference: statista.com)

• WeChat Statistics also elaborates that in March 2024, WeChat ranked first among Chinese mobile apps with a user traffic value of 76.6 billion yuan.
• Furthermore, at the same time, other leading apps based on user traffic value (in billion yuan) in china are Taobao (68.22), Douyin (59.27), Baidu (49.28), Meituan (40.26), Pinduoduo (39.44), Toutiao (37.79), Weibo (29.27), Kuaishou (28.21), RED/Xiaohongshu (26.82), QQ (25.99), JD.com (21.93), Toutiao Speed (13.23), Gaode Map (10.29), Tencent Video (9.86), Kuaishou Speed (9.63), iQIYI (9.12), Zhihu (9.02), Tencent News (7.63) and DianPing (7.36).

Strongest Global Brand Strength Index Statistics

(Reference: statista.com)

• In 2024, WeChat was the world’s strongest brand, scoring 94.3 out of 100 points for its strength.
• YouTube and Google follow the second and third-highest brand strength scores at 92.7 and 92.5, respectively.
• Furthermore, other leading brands by brand scores in 2024 are followed as Marina Bay Sands (91.8), Wuliangye (90.7), Deloitte (90.6), Cola-Cola (90.4), Netflix (90.2), Rolex (90.2), Ferrari (90), Kweichow Moutai Group (89.9), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (89.9), Etisalat (89.4), Viettel (89.4), Swisscom (89.3), Toyota (89), Jio (88.9), Bank of China (88.9), Chanel (88.9), State Grid Corporation of China (88.6), EY (88.4), China Construction Bank (88.3), Life Insurance Corporation of India (88.3), State Bank of India (88.3) and Instagram (88.2).

Conclusion

WeChat has become a major part of everyday life for many, mostly in China, and it includes many features that go beyond simple messaging, such as mobile payments, mini-programs, and business services. This application is something more than just a social application. It is termed an all-in-one platform, and the app has high engagement, with users spending over an hour daily, reflecting its importance in both personal and professional life.

WeChat’s continuous updates keep users engaged and ensure its growth. While it primarily serves Chinese users, its reach is spreading internationally, making WeChat a key player in the global digital space.