Top 20 Social Media Websites and Their Comparison
Social media has become an essential part of digital communication, marketing, and business growth. Get started with SENDINOR’s top 20 social media websites. With numerous platforms available, each catering to different audiences and offering unique features, it’s important to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Find out the most popular social media sites today. Some will be familiar, others may not. Discover some that might be great for your brand but that you have yet to explore.
Whether you are a seasoned social media marketer, a marketer looking to venture into social media marketing, or a business owner who wants to leverage the enormous power of social media, it’s helpful to know about the most popular social media platforms out there right now. This will allow you to maximize your brand reach, engage with the right people, and nail your social media marketing strategy.
Of course, it isn’t only about the total number of users on the host of social media apps out there. It’s also important to know whether the social networking site is a right fit for your business and you. Does it fit your brand image? Is your target audience using that social media site? How many social media platforms can you manage at once? To make things easier, we researched and compiled information about the top social media sites for you.
More than 200 million businesses (mostly small businesses) use Facebook tools, and more than seven million advertisers actively promote their business on Facebook, which makes it a pretty safe bet if you want to have a presence on social media. Facebook Groups, along with the platform’s powerful advertising tool, Facebook Ads Manager, also make it easier to reach more people and grow your following on Facebook.
It’s easy to get started on Facebook because almost all content formats work great on Facebook: text, images, video content (Facebook Reels), and stories. But the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions between people, especially those from family and friends. Thats why Facebook is at the top of our top 20 social media websites list
Users: 3B+
Best For:
- Business marketing
- Networking
- Community engagement
Features
- Pages
- Groups
- Marketplace
- Stories
- Live streaming.
Pros:
- Extensive reach
- Strong advertising
- Diverse audience.
Cons:
- Declining organic reach
- Younger users shifting to other platforms.
More than 200 million businesses (mostly small businesses) use Facebook tools, and more than seven million advertisers actively promote their business on Facebook, which makes it a pretty safe bet if you want to have a presence on social media. Facebook Groups, along with the platform’s powerful advertising tool, Facebook Ads Manager, also make it easier to reach more people and grow your following on Facebook.
It’s easy to get started on Facebook because almost all content formats work great on Facebook: text, images, video content (Facebook Reels), and stories. But the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions between people, especially those from family and friends.
Users: 2B+
Best For:
- Personal messaging
- customer Support
- Business Management
Features:
- Encrypted messaging
- Voice/video calls
- WhatsApp Business.
Pros:
- High engagement,
- Secure communication.
Cons:
Limited public marketing options.
WhatsApp Business
Initially, people originally used WhatsApp to send text messages to their family and friends, but the launch of WhatsApp Business in 2018 has seen the messaging platform become a popular choice for brands. WhatsApp Business reported having over 200 million monthly active users in June 2023. As the most widely used messaging platform, WhatsApp can be a great customer service channel for your business.
YouTube
Users: 2.7B+
Best For:
- Video marketing
- Tutorials
- Entertainment.
Features:
- Long/short videos
- Live streaming
- Ads
- Monetization.
Pros:
- High engagement
- Strong searchability.
Cons:
Video production requires time and resources
YouTube with third spot in our top 20 social media websites list is a video-sharing platform where users watch a billion hours of videos daily. Besides being the second largest social media app, YouTube is often called the second largest search engine after Google, its parent company. So, if you use video to promote your business, then you definitely need to add YouTube to your marketing strategy.
User: 2B+
Best For:
- Visual branding
- Influencer marketing
- E-Commerce.
Features:
- Stories
- Reels
- Shopping
- Filters.
Pros:
- High engagement
- Influencer partnerships.
Cons:
Algorithm changes reduce organic reach.
As a visual social networking platform, Instagram is the place for showcasing your products or services with photos or videos. On the app, you can share a wide range of content, such as photos, videos, stories, reels, and live videos.
As a brand, you can create an Instagram business profile, which provides rich analytics of your profile and posts and the ability to schedule Instagram posts using third-party tools. It’s also a great place to get user-generated content from your audience because users frequently share content and tag brands.
TikTok
Users: 1.5B+
Best For:
- Short-form video marketing
- Brand awareness.
Features
- Viral challenges
- Duets
- Live streaming.
Pros:
- High organic reach
- Younger audience.
Cons:
- Privacy concerns
- Potential bans in some countries.
TikTok is a short-form video-sharing app. Despite only launching in 2017, it’s one of the fastest-growing apps in the world and recently overtook Google as the most visited internet site. TikTok allows users to create and share videos between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long, and the app has a vast catalog of sound effects, music snippets, and filters to enhance the videos and make them more appealing.
You can find videos relating to almost all interests, ranging from lip syncs, dancing, and challenges to do it yourself tricks and make-up tutorials. About 47.4 percent of TikTok users in the U.S. are aged 10-29. So, if your target demographic is young, then TikTok is a great social media platform for your business to be on.
Users: 1.3B+
Best For
- Messaging
- E-Commerce
- Payments (China).
Features
- Mini programs
- Payments
- Business service
Pros:
- All-in-one platform
- High business potential.
Cons: Limited global usage.
At sixth spot in our top 20 social media websites list we have WeChat. Like WhatsApp and Messenger, WeChat was originally a messaging app, but it’s evolved into an all-in-one platform. Besides messaging and calling, users can shop online, pay bills, buy groceries, transfer money, make reservations, book taxis, and more.
Telegram
Users: 700M+
Best for
- Private messaging
- Large group chats
- Broadcasting.
features
- Encrypted messaging
- Bots
- File sharing
Pros:
- Privacy-focused
- No ad interruptions.
Cons: Not ideal for traditional social media marketing.
Telegram is a free messaging app that works across multiple devices with no limits on media sizes. Telegram’s distinctive feature is its end-to-end encryption for all activities, including chats, groups, and media shared between participants. Its focus on security has drawn more customers over the years, especially when WhatsApp announced changes to its privacy policy that would allow it to share information with parent company Meta. There are several ways brands can make use of Telegram, besides providing one-on-one customer support. For example, brands can create chatbots for the Telegram platform or make use of Telegram’s channel feature to broadcast messages to up to 200,000 people.
Snapchat
Users: 750M+
Best for:
- Short-lived content
- younger audiences.
Features:
- Stories
- Filters
- spotlight.
Pros:
High engagement among Gen Z.
Cons:
- short content lifespan
- Limited business use.
Snapchat focuses on photos and short videos (known as snaps) shared between friends. It made the vertical video format popular, which eventually proliferated on other visual social media apps like Instagram and TikTok. But the rise of Instagram Stories, specifically, seems to have hindered Snapchat’s growth and marketers’ interest in using Snapchat for their brands in general. Nevertheless, 69% of U.S. teens say they use Snapchat. So if your target audience is mostly teenagers, you should consider using the app.
Kuaishou
Users: 650M+
Best for:
- Short videos
- live streaming
- E-Commerce.
Features:
- Shopping integration
- Creator monetization.
Pros: Strong presence in China.
Cons: Limited international reach.
Kuaishou is a Chinese rival to Douyin or TikTok. Like its competitors, Kuaishou allows users to overlay text and stickers to images or videos and add sound bites. Users can also live stream content to their followers on the platform or record longer videos.
X (formerly Twitter)
Users: 550M+
Best For:
- Real-time news
- Brand engagement.
Features:
- Short posts
- Spaces (audio)
- Trending topics.
Pros:
- Fast communication
- Strong audience interaction.
Cons: High competition for attention.
The platform, once known as Twitter, invites an audience that loves to post news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more. What makes it different from most other social networking sites is that it strongly emphasizes real-time information — things happening and trending right now—in just 280 characters (140 for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese). Twitter grabs ninth place in our top 20 social media websites list.
Sina Weibo
Users: 570M+
Best for:
- Microblogging
- Celebrity and brand interactions.
Features:
- Trending topics
- Live streaming
- Media posts.
Pros: Strong influence in China.
Cons: Limited appeal outside China.
“Weibo” (微博) means “micro-blog” in Chinese. Launched by the Chinese technology company Sina Corporation in 2009, Sina Weibo, or simply Weibo, is a microblogging platform that compares to Twitter and Instagram. Through Weibo, users can post images, videos, and stories, see trending topics, use hashtags in posts, and use the platform for instant messaging.
Users: 600M+
Best For:
- Messaging
- Social gaming
- Youth engagement.
Features:
- File sharing
- Chat groups
- Games.
Pros: Popular among young users in China.
Cons: Not widely used outside China.
QQ was released in China in 1999 by Tencent. Prior to the launch of WeChat, QQ was the number one Chinese messaging app. Besides its instant messaging features, QQ also enables users to decorate their avatars, watch movies, play online games, stream music, shop online, blog, and make payments. QQ grabs 12th spot in our top 20 social media websites list.
While WeChat has become the market leader in China, QQ is still popular with younger social media users. It’s also used in 80 countries and is available in many other languages. One of the upsides of QQ is you don’t need a phone number to sign up. This attracts young people who don’t have mobile devices but use the desktop version. However, the largest audience for QQ is in the workforce. QQ’s desktop messenger is popular for its ease of use and ability to transfer files greater than 25 MB, which WeChat doesn’t allow.
Users: 450M+
Best For:
- DIY
- Fashion
- Home decor
- Food.
Features:
- Pins
- Boards
- Shopping integrations.
Pros: Great for driving website traffic.
Cons: Less effective for real-time engagement.
Pinterest is a one-stop shop for inspiration and discovering new products and ideas. On Pinterest, users “pin” photos that link to websites, product pages, blog posts, and other content across the internet. It’s a great platform for driving traffic to your website, and Pinterest’s user base is seven times more likely to purchase products they’ve pinned. Popular topics and themes on the social platform include fashion, beauty, home, garden, and DIY. If you’re a business or creator in one of these niches, it’s a no-brainer to share your content on the platform.
Users: 430M+
Best For:
- Niche discussions
- Content sharing.
Features:
- Subreddits
- AMAs
- Upvotes/downvotes.
Pros: Strong engagement in niche communities.
Cons:
- Requires authentic participation
- Ads need careful targeting.
There are subreddits (i.e., dedicated forums) for pretty much anything under the sun. Subreddits, however, have different levels of engagement, so it’s great to research to see if there are popular subreddits your brand can be part of. For example, if your business is a beauty brand, you could join r/beauty. Be aware, though; most subreddits do not allow self-promotion. The aim is to engage with members in the respective subreddits by asking and answering questions, sharing tips and resources, and participating in discussions.
Users: 1B+
Best for:
- B2B marketing
- Professional networking.
Features:
- Job listings
- Company pages
- Articles.
Pros:
- High credibility
- Valuable for career growth.
Cons: Limited casual social interaction.
At roughly 424 million monthly active users, LinkedIn has evolved from a simple job search engine and resume site into a professional networking platform where industry experts share content, network, and build their personal brand. It has also become a place for businesses to establish thought leadership and attract customers and top talent, as well as a place for creators to build personal brands in their industries.
Quora
Users: 300M+
Best For:
- Thought leadership
- Answering industry-related questions.
Features:
- Q&A format
- Expert insights
- Upvotes.
Pros: Good for authority-building.
Cons: Less interactive than other social networks.
Quora is a community-based Q&A website and app where people can find information on a wide variety of topics. Questions and answers are user-ranked based on views, votes, reviews, and shares. As a brand, you can create a Quora page for your business or use employee advocates to answer questions about your products or services or about topics in your industry. Quora also has an advertising platform you can use to advertise your business. And because 63% of users research major online purchases, it’s a great place to reach customers actively looking for a product or service.
Discord
Users: 350M+
Best for:
- Community building
- Gaming
- Discussions.
Features:
- Servers
- Voice/video chat
- Streaming.
Pros: Highly interactive, customizable communities.
Cons: Not designed for traditional social media marketing.
Discord is a communication platform primarily designed for gamers. It allows users to create servers, join communities, voice chat, and text chat with others in real time. Discord is popular due to its ease of use, customizable features, and compatibility with various devices. It has expanded beyond gaming communities and is now used by businesses, educational institutions, and other groups.
Twitch
Users: 140M+
Best For:
- Gaming
- Live streaming
- E-Sports.
Features:
- live video
- Chat
- Monetization.
Pros: strong niche audience, high engagement.
Cons: focused mainly on gaming.
Twitch is a live streaming platform for gamers. It offers video game content and other forms of entertainment. Users can create a channel, stream their gameplay, and interact with their audience through chat. Twitch has become a central hub for the gaming and esports communities. It’s a place where many professional players, teams, and tournaments use it to broadcast their matches. Twitch’s success is driven by its community-driven approach, allowing creators to build a dedicated following and earn money through subscriptions, donations, and sponsorships.
Tumblr
Users: 135M+
Best For:
- Blogging
- Creative communities.
Features:
- Multimedia posts fandoms
- GIFs.
Pros: Strong niche communities.
Cons: Declining popularity.
Tumblr is a popular microblogging social media site with 135 million monthly active users. Users can share content in different formats: text, photos, videos, GIFs, audio clips, links, and more. The site’s users share content on every topic, niche, and interest imaginable. Tumblr also lets you customize your blog design. For this reason, many users opt to use their Tumblr account as their website.
Threads
Users: 150M+
Best for:
- Real-time discussions,
- Short text posts.
Features:
- Similar to X
- Integrated with Instagram.
Pros: Rapid user growth, Instagram-linked.
Cons: Still developing, lacks advanced features.
Threads grabs out last spot in our list of top 20 social media websites. Instagram’s Twitter alternative, Threads, hit app stores in 2023 with a record-breaking rise to 100 million sign-ups in a matter of days. While interest in the platform initially seemed to flag, Threads has regularly launched new features to keep climbing. CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes the app has a “good chance” of reaching 1 billion users in the next few years.
Be selective with your social media presence
You don’t need to be everywhere all at once. So regardless of the size of the social media site, consider whether your brand’s target audience is active on those platforms. It’s better to pick two to three sites and do them well rather than create so-so content for five or more different platforms. Each social media platform has its own strengths and is best suited for specific types of content and audiences. Businesses should choose platforms based on their goals, target demographics, and content strategy.
- For brand awareness and community building, use Facebook and Instagram.
- For B2B networking and professional branding, LinkedIn.
- For video content and tutorials, YouTube.
- For real-time engagement and customer support, use Twitter (X).
- For viral content and younger audiences, TikTok.
- For visual marketing and website traffic, Pinterest.
By understanding these platforms’ unique features and advantages, businesses can maximize their social media strategy and achieve better engagement, sales, and growth.
Comparison Table-Top 20 Social Media Websites
Platform | Best For | User Base | Content Type | Ads & Marketing | Engagement Level |
Branding, ads, community | 3B+ | Mixed content | Strong | High | |
Visual content, eCommerce | 2B+ | Images, reels | Strong | Very High | |
Twitter (X) | News, real-time updates | 550M+ | Short text | Moderate | Medium |
B2B marketing, jobs | 1B+ | Articles, posts | Strong | Medium | |
YouTube | Video marketing | 2.7B+ | Videos | Strong | High |
TikTok | Short-form video, viral trends | 1.5B+ | Short videos | Moderate | Very High |
Snapchat | Messaging, younger audiences | 750M+ | Stories | Limited | High |
Niche discussions, community | 430M+ | Text, links | Moderate | Medium | |
Visual discovery, shopping | 450M+ | Images, infographics | Limited | Medium | |
Customer communication | 2B+ | Messaging | Limited | High |