36 Top Facebook Messenger Statistics For 2024

Looking for the latest Facebook Messenger statistics? You’re in the right place.

I’ve compiled a roundup of interesting facts and stats about Facebook Messenger from all the latest studies and reports.

Together, they provide a complete picture of Messenger and its place in the wider social media landscape.

Stats are grouped into different categories to help you find what you’re looking for. And for those who are short on time, here are my top picks…

Global Facebook Messenger statistics

We’ll start by looking at some general Facebook Messenger statistics that reveal how popular it is around the world.

1. Facebook Messenger has around 1 billion users globally…

Unfortunately, we can’t be much more specific than that as Meta hasn’t publicly shared the number of monthly active users (MAUs) that use the app—they’ve only shared how many users there are across Meta’s entire ‘family of apps’. 

The closest we have to official data is a generic statement that Messenger has ‘over a billion’ users.

So, the next best data we can go off comes from DataReportal, who worked out that Facebook Messenger’s total advertising audience is a little over 979 million. That’s likely to underrepresent the actual number of active users, as ads can’t reach everyone on the app, but it’s a good conservative estimate.

Source: DataReportal, Messenger News

2. …That’s over 12% of the global population

There are around 8 billion people on earth. So, if Facebook Messenger has around 1 billion users, that means its global penetration rate is around 12.5%.

And keep in mind that not everyone on Earth has access to the internet. If we look only at the total internet users globally, Facebook Messenger’s penetration rate is over 18%.

Source: Blogging Wizard

3. Facebook Messenger is the 7th most used social media platform in the world…

While Messenger is a messaging app first and foremost, it’s also technically categorized as a social media platform. 

If we rank social media platforms by their total monthly active users, Messenger comes in 7th place. That’s just below Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.

This is quite impressive given that this list covers all types of social media sites. It’s not just a list of the top social messaging services, for example.

Source: DataReportal

4. …and the 3rd most used mobile messenger app

WhatsApp is the most used mobile messaging app, with around 2 billion users. WeChat comes next with over 1.3 billion users, but Facebook Messenger ranks in a respectable third place with its 1 billion users. 

That puts it above rival mobile messaging apps Telegram (800 million users), Snapchat (750 million users), and QQ (558 million users).

Source: Statista

5. Facebook Messenger usage is up +5.2% YOY

As of the first quarter of 2024, usage of Facebook Messenger is up by +5.2% compared to the year before. 

However, while that may seem to indicate that Facebook Messenger’s user base is still growing, that’s not entirely true. If we look more closely at the data, it’s clear that the number of Messenger users isn’t rising consistently, but rather fluctuating.

For example, it’s up +5.2% year-over-year but down if we compare it to Q1 2021. And users are also down by -5.4% compared to last quarter.

Source: DataReportal

6. Facebook Messenger is the most popular messaging app in 16 countries

Globally, Messenger might only be the third most used messaging app. However, it’s number one in 16 different countries, including in lots of developed economies like the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and more.

Messenger’s biggest rival WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in 63 countries.

Source: SimilarWeb

7. Facebook Messenger was downloaded 262.53 million times last year

That might seem like a lot, but it’s been declining steadily year over year, and it’s down significantly from its peak in 2015. The table below shows the number of times Facebook Messenger was downloaded each year since then.

Year	Number of Messenger downloads
2023	262.53 million
2022	329.28 million
2021	336.57 million
2020	485.63 million
2019	702.09 million
2018	782.31 million
2017	768.37 million
2016	743.03 million
2015	794.61 million

Source: Statista³

8. Only 2.3% of social media users say Messenger is their ‘favorite’ social media platform

This makes it the 9th most well-liked social media platform. Instagram topped the likeability rankings with 16.5% of surveyed users rating it as their favorite platform. Rival messaging app WhatsApp came next with 16.1% of the vote, Facebook came third with 12.8%, and WeChat was fourth with 12.8%.

Interestingly though, older users seem to be more likely to rate Facebook Messenger as their favorite platform. 3.3% of 55- to 64-year-olds in the survey said it was their favorite, compared to just 1.8% of 16- to 24-year-olds.

Source: DataReportal

Facebook Messenger activity statistics

Next, we’re going to look at some interesting Facebook Messenger statistics that tell us what kind of activities take place on the app every day.

9. Over 100 billion messages are sent via Facebook Messenger daily

That eye-watering amount doesn’t just include messages sent through Messenger, but also messages sent through Facebook’s wider family of apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.). 

However, you can bet Messenger handles a good chunk of those messages—we’re talking tens of billions every day. To meet that demand, Facebook maintains 40 million square feet of global data centers with tens of thousands of servers.

Source: Blogging Wizard

10. Over 1.3 billion photos and videos are shared on Messenger daily

Messenger users don’t just send text messages through the app. Increasingly, they also use multimedia like images, videos, and voice notes. 

In fact, Facebook Messenger users exchanged over 1.3 billion photos and videos with each other on any given day, according to the stats. That’s over 54 million per hour, over 900k per minute, and over 15k per second.

Source: Facebook News

11. Over 5 million GIFs are sent through Messenger every day

GIFs are short animations that can be sent quickly over messaging apps. Messenger has a library of GIFs that users can search through and use in their messages, and over 5 million of them are sent on the app daily.

Source: Facebook

12. Over 5 billion emojis are sent on Messenger daily

In addition to GIFs and multimedia files, you can also add emojis to communicate an emotion and spice up your messages. Collectively, users send over 5 billion emojis to each other on Messenger every day.

Source: Facebook²

13. Over 375k people engage with Messenger chatbots daily

Facebook chatbots are automated programs that brands can use to automatically interact with users on Messenger around the clock and provide answers to queries using preprogrammed replies. They’re a lot like website chatbots but built into the Messenger app.

Since Facebook launched chatbots back in 2016, they’ve become increasingly popular. And now, over 375,000 people interact with them every day.

Related: 50 Critical Chatbot Statistics

Source: Facebook

14. Messenger accounts for over 10% of all global mobile VoIP calls

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. In short, it refers to any call users make over the internet (as opposed to over a cellular network).

Facebook Messenger has proven to be an extremely popular channel for VoIP calls and accounts for 10% of all calls made over the internet globally.

Source: Facebook

Facebook Messenger user statistics

Here are some Facebook Messenger statistics that tell us more about the different demographics that use Messenger and how often they use it.

15. The average Messenger user spends 3 hours 21 minutes on the app monthly…

This is in a similar ballpark to rivals SnapChat (3 hours 33 minutes) and Telegram (3 hours 45 minutes). However, it’s significantly below Messenger’s biggest competitor WhatsApp (17 hours 6 minutes), as well as Line (8 hours 14 minutes), and other channels. 

Source: DataReportal

16.  …and 1 minute 06 seconds on the app each time they open it

This is identical to the average time users spend on WhatsApp per session. However, it’s less than the average amount of time users spend on Telegram (1 minute 21 seconds) and Snapchat (1 minute 23 seconds).

Source: DataReportal

17. The average Facebook Messenger user opens the app 183.9 times per month…

That works out at around 6 times per day, for the record. Interestingly, users open Messenger more times per month than Snapchat (153.9) and Telegram (166.6).

However, it still falls far, far short of WhatsApp, which the average user opens a whopping 929.9 times per month. That’s almost 3x more than any other social media app and shows just how dominant WhatsApp is in the instant messaging space.

Source: DataReportal

18. …and 42.6% of Facebook Messenger users open the app daily

Just short of half of all Facebook Messenger users engage with the app every single day. But as the last stat shows, those that do often open it multiple times per day.

Facebook’s daily usage rate is above Snapchat (40.3%) and Telegram (38.2%), but again, far below WhatsApp (83.2%). Coincidentally, WhatsApp is the number one social media app by daily usage, and by a large margin.

Source: DataReportal

19. 55.5% of Facebook Messenger users are male

The gender divide of Facebook Messenger’s user base is slightly skewed towards men. 55.5% of its advertising audience (a good estimation of total users) are male, while only 44.5% are female.

Source: DataReportal

20. Facebook Messenger is most popular amongst 25 to 34 year olds

This is the largest age bracket among Facebook Messenger users. Almost a third (32.4%) of the app’s users are 25-34 years old.

The second most common age bracket is 18-24 years old (22.9%); the third most common age bracket is 35-44 years old (20.7%), and the fourth most common age bracket is 45-54 years old (12.2%). 

Taken together, these statistics tell us that usage of Facebook Messenger negatively correlates with age. This flies in the face of conventional wisdom, as many people mistakenly believe Facebook and Facebook Messenger appeal more to older demographics.

Source: DataReportal

21. Facebook Messenger has around 192 million users in the US

According to DataReportal, around 61.3% of internet users in the US use Facebook Messenger—or around 192 million people. This makes it the third top social media platform by penetration rate in the US, just behind Facebook and Instagram.

Source: Statista², DataReportal

Facebook Messenger revenue statistics

How much does Facebook Messenger generate in revenue? Let’s look at a couple of statistics that shed light on that question.

22. Facebook Messenger’s ‘Family of Apps’ earned $133B in revenue last year

According to Meta’s latest end-of-year SEC filing, its Family of Apps (which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, as well as other services) earned a combined total of $133,006 million (around $133B) in revenue.

That’s as of the year ended December 31, 2023. After deducting costs and expenses, income from Meta’s Family of Apps was around 62.87 billion. Keep in mind, though, that Messenger likely contributed only a small portion of this revenue.

Source: Facebook Investor Reports

23. Facebook Messenger made 1.93 million in IAP revenues last year

One way in which Meta has attempted to monetize Facebook Messenger is through in-app purchases (IAPs). For example, back in 2017, they launched Messenger Games, many of which are available for purchase.

However, revenues from these in-app purchases have been relatively small, accounting for just $1.93 million in 2023. That’s a decrease of over 37.5% compared to the previous year, and significantly down from its peak of $14.98 million in 2020.

Year	Facebook Messenger IAP revenues
2023	$1.93 million
2022	$3.09 million
2021	$4.36 million
2020	$14.98 million
2019	$4.62 million
2018	$1.92 million
2017	$130,000

In 2023, Facebook Messenger saw a drastic decrease in revenues, by over 37.5 percent compared to the previous year.

Source: Statista⁴

Facebook Messenger for business

Next, let’s look at some statistics about how businesses are using Facebook Messenger to communicate with their customers.

24. There are over 40 million active businesses on Messenger

That might not be close to the number of total users of Facebook Messenger, but it’s still incredibly impressive and shows just how popular the platform is for brands of all sizes.

Source: Messenger News²

25. Over 8 billion messages are sent between businesses and consumers on Messenger monthly

Every month, over 8 billion messages are sent between businesses and their potential customers on Facebook Messenger. If you’re a business and you’re not already using it, you’re probably missing out on a ton of leads.

Source: VentureBeat

26. Facebook Messenger is the most used messenger service by brands

85% of brands use Facebook Messenger for marketing and customer support. This makes it the number one most-used messaging service by businesses.

Source: Statista⁵

27. There are over 300,000 chatbots on the Messenger platform

As we discussed earlier, Messenger chatbots have become an increasingly important feature since they were first launched in 2016—they provide a way for businesses to communicate with their social audiences around the clock, even when they’re out of the office. To date, over 200,000 developers have used Messenger to develop over 300,000 chatbots.

Source: VentureBeat

Facebook Messenger facts and trends

Before we wrap up, here are some more interesting facts about Facebook Messenger, as well as some of the most recent trends shaping the app.

28. Facebook Messenger was launched in August 2011

Facebook first launched Messenger on iOS and Android back in August 2011. It had already begun work on a messaging service before that, but it was known as Facebook Chat and only available on the web. 

Source: Facebook, Wikipedia

29. Facebook Messenger is owned by Meta

If you didn’t know already, Facebook Messenger is owned by parent company Meta (formerly Facebook). Meta also owns several other popular social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and is the dominant player in the social media sector.

30. Facebook Messenger is the second most downloaded iOS app of all time

In 2019, Facebook announced that Messenger was the 2nd most downloaded mobile app of the decade (from 2011 to 2019). Unfortunately, it’s since been overtaken by TikTok and other apps.

Source: Facebook

31. Messaging traffic on Facebook Messenger increased by 50% during the pandemic

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries went into lockdown. In those that were in quarantine, usage of Facebook Messenger to send messages surged by 50%. What’s more, group calls on Messenger soared by over +1000%. 

The app played an important role in helping people stay connected digitally at a time when vast swathes of the population couldn’t be together physically.

Source: Wikipedia

32. Facebook launched Messenger Kids in 2017

In 2017, Facebook Messenger released a new app for users under the age of 13. The child-friendly version—Messenger Kids—has a few big differences to make it safer for children. 

For one, it offers a whole suite of parental controls. Plus, it doesn’t require the children using it to have their own Facebook account. The idea is that parents download the app onto their child’s device and then sign in using their own Facebook account instead, keeping their children’s information private.

So far, Messenger Kids has been very successful. Meta hasn’t released any official usage figures, but it likely runs in the tens of millions.

Source: Wikipedia

33. Facebook Messenger launched Stories in 2017

Also in 2017, Messenger rolled out another exciting new feature: Stories. Stories let users share time-limited updates with their friends and followers, which are only visible for 24 hours. It works the same way as Instagram Stories and has helped Messenger to better compete with rival Snapchat.

Source: Wikipedia 

34. Facebook Messenger launched Rooms in 2020

In 2020, Facebook released Messenger Rooms—a video conferencing feature that lets you chat with up to 50 people in one call, much like Zoom. 

The timing here is relevant: 2020 was the year when offices across the world closed due to the pandemic, and thousands of businesses had to switch to remote working arrangements. As such, demand for video conferencing apps soared, and Messenger moved to capitalize on that demand by expanding its service.

Source: Wikipedia 

35. Facebook Messenger launched default end-to-end encryption last year

One of the biggest recent changes to Facebook Messenger is the launch of default end-to-end encryption. They began rolling out the feature at the end of last year. Once fully rolled out, all messages sent through Messenger will have an extra layer of security and protection. No one will be able to see your messages except for you. 

This may help Messenger to compete with rival apps that are known for offering better security and privacy, like Telegram. 

Source: Messenger News³

36.  There are over 4,000 emojis on Facebook Messenger

Ever wondered how many emojis there are to choose from on Facebook Messenger? Well, we tried counting them and found that there were at least 4,000 if you count each color variation separately. 

Source: Emojipedia

Final thoughts

That concludes our roundup of 36 of the latest Facebook Messenger stats.

As these stats show, Messenger continues to be one of the leaders in the social media and instant messaging space. However, growth is beginning to slow as user figures have stagnated and the number of monthly downloads has fallen year over year.

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