Social media users in India: 2026 statistics.
India has about 500 million social media users, 34% of the population, and about 1 billion people online. YouTube and Instagram are the largest platforms, each reaching close to 500 million people, and WhatsApp has about 53 crore (530 million) users. Every number below links to its original source, and we say exactly what each one measures.
By Dinesh Kannaa, FounderKey numbers
500 million
social media user identities in India in late 2025, 34.1% of the population.
455 million
social media users aged 18 and over, 43.9% of Indian adults.
1.09 billion
internet subscriptions in India at the end of March 2026, up 12.8% in a year.
Source: TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
958 million
active internet users in India in 2025; 57% of them (about 548 million) live in rural areas.
Source: IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026)
588 million
Indians watched short videos in 2025, 61% of all active internet users.
Source: IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026)
481 million
people that Instagram ads can reach in India, up 22.9% in a year.
25.5 GB
mobile data used per user per month in India in 2025-26, up from 21.5 GB.
Source: TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
₹21,057 crore
spent on social media ads in India in 2025, the biggest share (29%) of all digital ad spend.
Users of each social media platform in India
Ad reach in late 2025: how many people in India each platform can show ads to. It is the best public measure that uses the same method for every platform, but it is not the same as monthly active users. Source: DataReportal, Digital 2026: India (Kepios), except WhatsApp (Government of India (PIB), IT Rules 2021 release, 25 February 2021).
| Platform | Reach in India | % of population | Change in a year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 500 million | 34.1% | +1.8% | Largest ad reach of any platform in India. |
| 530 million (53 crore) | n/a | n/a | Users, not ad reach. The figure the Government of India cited in 2021; Meta has not published a newer India number. India is WhatsApp’s largest market. | |
| 481 million | 32.8% | +22.9% | Fastest growing of the big platforms. | |
| 403 million | 27.5% | +8.1% | ||
| Snapchat | 213 million | 14.5% | +4.1% | |
| 170 million members | 11.6% | +21.4% | Registered members, not monthly users. | |
| Messenger | 108 million | 7.4% | +0.5% | |
| Threads | 26.6 million | 1.8% | n/a | |
| X (Twitter) | 22.2 million | 1.5% | -12.3% | Shrinking in India. |
Internet users in India
TRAI counts subscriptions (SIMs and connections), so one person can be counted twice. Surveys count people. That is why the numbers differ.
- Internet subscriptions (March 2026) · TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- 1,092.79 million
- Of which broadband · TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- 1,065.88 million
- Growth in a year · TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- +12.76%
- Telephone subscriptions (March 2026) · TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- 1,330.58 million (tele-density 93.26%)
- Rural tele-density · TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- 60.46% (urban 151.47%)
- Internet users, estimate (October 2025) · DataReportal, Digital 2026: India (Kepios)
- 1.03 billion, 70% of the population
- Active internet users (2025, survey of about 1 lakh people) · IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026)
- 958 million
- Median mobile download speed · DataReportal, Digital 2026: India (Kepios)
- 131.77 Mbps
How Indians use social media
- Short video is the main format. 588 million people, 61% of active internet users, watched short videos in 2025, and rural viewers (302 million) outnumber urban ones (286 million). (IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026))
- Rural India is growing fastest. Rural areas now have 57% of active internet users and are growing almost four times as fast as cities. (IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026))
- Data is cheap and heavily used. The average mobile data user uses 25.5 GB a month, and 1 GB of mobile data earns operators about ₹8. (TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026))
- Online shopping is mainstream in cities. 230 million urban users, 56% of urban internet users, shopped online in 2025. (IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026))
- Brands now spend most on digital. Digital was 59% of India’s ₹1,21,339 crore ad market in 2025 (₹71,621 crore), and social media was its largest part at ₹21,057 crore. Digital is expected to reach 70% by 2027. (dentsu-e4m Digital Advertising Report 2026)
What this means for a small business
- Be on Instagram and WhatsApp first. Between them they reach most of your customers, in cities and towns.
- Make short videos, not only photos. Six in ten Indians online watch short video. Reels of your shop, products and customers work better than posters alone.
- Post in your customers’ language. Most new users are rural and outside the big cities. Try our free Hindi and Tamil caption generators.
- Post when people are online. See our guide to the best time to post on Instagram in India.
- Plan around festivals. Use the 2027 festival calendar and the free festival poster maker.
Questions
Sources
- DataReportal, Digital 2026: India (Kepios)
- TRAI, Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-26 (5 October 2026)
- IAMAI and Kantar, Internet in India Report 2025 (January 2026)
- dentsu-e4m Digital Advertising Report 2026
- Government of India (PIB), IT Rules 2021 release, 25 February 2021
Using these numbers? Please credit “Nebulaa, Social media users in India 2026” and link to this page. We update it every quarter.
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