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WeChat is the tech giant you’ve never heard of. It’s the sixth most used social media network and the third most popular messaging app on the planet but, if you live outside of China, it’s unlikely that you’ll have ever even used it.
To shed some light on this little-known titan of the mobile app industry, we’ve compiled a list of the latest WeChat statistics, facts, and trends.
These stats will reveal useful information about the so-called ‘super app’ and the people that are using it. Ready? Let’s dive right into it!
Editor’s top picks – WeChat statistics
These are our most interesting statistics about WeChat:
- WeChat has over 1.2 billion people log into their platform every day. (Source: Statista1)
- Users on WeChat send over 45 billion messages every day… (Source: ZDNet)
- WeChat Pay has a daily transaction volume of over 1 billion. (Source: PYMNTS.com)
WeChat usage statistics
First, let’s take a look at some key WeChat statistics that tell us more about the state of the platform, how many people are using it, and the ways in which they’re using it.
1. Over 1.2 billion people log in to WeChat every day
According to founder Allen Zhang, the app passed the 1 billion mark back in August 2018. It was the first Chinese app and one of just six apps globally to reach this incredible milestone.
It’s especially impressive when you consider the fact that the vast majority of those users come from China, and the entire population of China stands at only a little over 1.4 billion.
Source: Statista1
2. WeChat is the most popular mobile app in China…
WeChat dominates the social media landscape in China. It’s the leading social app by market penetration by a large margin. 73.7% of respondents in a survey from 2019 said they use it frequently.
For comparison, only 43.3% of respondents in the same survey said they used QQ, the second most popular social media app in China. Sina Weibo trailed behind in a distant third place with just 17% of respondents saying they used it frequently.
Source: Statista2
3. …And the sixth most popular social media network globally
WeChat might be the dominant social media app in China, but it’s struggling to make inroads in the international market. It hasn’t yet managed to break into the top 5 most popular social media networks globally, but it isn’t far off.
Facebook takes the number one spot, with over 2.8 billion monthly active users (more than double that of WeChat). WeChat also ranks behind YouTube (~2.3 billion MAUs), WhatsApp (2 billion MAUs), Instagram (~1.4 billion MAUs), and Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion MAUs).
However, given that WeChat is only around 60 million monthly active users short of Facebook Messenger, there’s a chance it may surpass in the next few years, especially if it continues to grow as rapidly as it has been in recent years.
Source: Statista3
Related Reading: 28 Latest Social Media Statistics: What Is The State Of Social Media?.
4. WeChat accounts for around 35% of total time spent on mobile in China
This is according to data from 2017 so it may have changed a little since then. However, given that WeChat continues to dominate the social landscape in China, it’s unlikely it will have decreased by a significant amount.
In total, Tencent (WeChat’s parent company) accounts for 55% of all mobile time in China. This market monopoly is as worrying as it is impressive. China’s leaders seem to agree and have recently made anti-monopoly enforcement a priority. Regulators have recently handed out anti-monopoly fines to tech giants including Tencent and Alibaba.
Source: China Channel
5. Users on WeChat send over 45 billion messages every day…
WeChat is, first and foremost, a messaging app – and an incredibly popular one at that. 45 billion messages are sent through the platform each day. For comparison, around 100 billion messages are sent each day on WhatsApp.
Source: ZDNet
Related Reading: 34 Latest WhatsApp Statistics, Facts, And Trends.
6. …and make over 410 million calls
Another way that WeChat can be used is to make calls. Like other popular messaging apps like Messenger or Whatsapp, WeChat allows users to make free wifi calls to other users. This makes it an affordable alternative to regular cell phone calls, and as such, it’s a popular way for people to stay in touch. Around 410 million audio and video calls are made through the app every day.
Source: ZDNet
7. There are over 20 million WeChat Official accounts
WeChat Official accounts are WeChat’s answer to Facebook Pages. They’re WeChat’s ‘business’ account option and provide an interface for brands to gather and interact with their followers and reach new customers. To date, there are over 20 million of these Official accounts on WeChat.
Source: WeChat Wiki
8. Around half of all WeChat users follow between 10 and 20 official accounts
49.3%, to be exact. A further 24% follow less than 20 accounts, and nearly 20% follow 20-30 accounts. This shows that WeChat users are receptive to brands and willing to engage with them on the app.
Source: Statista4
9. 57.3% of WeChat users find new WeChat Official accounts through other Official accounts
The bulk of WeChat users that follow Official accounts find them through other Official accounts. According to data published on WeChat Wiki, women also follow more Official accounts than men, on average.
Source: WeChat Wiki
10. 30% of WeChat users find WeChat Official accounts through WeChat Moments Advertising
Brands are able to place ads on WeChat users’ Moments feed to promote their products and services. 30% of users say they find new Official accounts to follow through these ads.
Source: WeChat Wiki
11. 750 million people access WeChat Moments every day
WeChat Moments is one of the most important features of WeChat. It offers a ton of social functions for users. You can browse the Moments feed to keep up to date with your friends or share your own status updates, pictures, and videos.
On average, each WeChat user accesses Moments over 10 times every day, totaling over 10 billion visits each day.
Source: WeChat Blog
12. Over 100 million users take advantage of Moments privacy settings
This is the number of people that have set their Moments visibility to three days or less using a togglable privacy feature, according to a speech from WeChat founder Allen Zhang.
Source: WeChat Blog
13. Around 46% of internet users in China make purchases through social networks like WeChat
In China’s mobile-first economy, social media functions as a social marketplace. 46% of internet users in the country purchase products and services through social platforms like WeChat, and that figure is expected to surpass 50% by 2024.
Source: eMarketer
WeChat user demographics
Next, let’s take a look at the people that are using WeChat. Here are some enlightening WeChat statistics related to user demographics.
14. 78% of 16 to 64-year olds in China use WeChat
WeChat is very popular across generations, with a similar number of users across age brackets. More than three-quarters of people in China between the ages of 16 and 64 use the platform.
Source: We Are Social
15. 20% of the elderly population of China use WeChat
Even amongst seniors, WeChat is popular. The app had over 61 million users over age 55 in 2018, which was around a fifth of the elderly population of China at the time.
Source: China Internet Watch
16. 53% of WeChat users are male
While 47% are female. In 2014, that difference between genders was much more pronounced: 64.3% of WeChat users at the time were male compared to just 35.7% female. This shows that over time, WeChat has managed to broaden its appeal and close that gender gap.
Source: WeChat Wiki
17. 40% of WeChat users are in so-called ‘Tier 2’ cities
Analysts have long used a ‘tier’ system to classify cities in China based on the average income of their population. The largest segment of WeChat users live in ‘tier 2’ cities, which are cities with a GDP of between US$68 billion and US$299 billion. A further 9% of users are from tier 1 cities, 23% live in tier 3 cities, and 27% in tier 4
Source: WeChat Wiki
18. There are an estimated 100-200 million WeChat users outside of China…
According to Human Rights Watch, this may have worrying implications. WeChat doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to user privacy, and it’s been shown that WeChat surveils users from outside China and shares the data it gathers with the Chinese government, which can be used to censor China-registered accounts.
Source: HRW
19. …And around 19 million of those users are in the US
WeChat isn’t nearly as popular in the US as other social networks, but 19 million is still no small figure. It works out at around 0.05% of the population.
Source: Reuters
WeChat revenue statistics
Wondering how much money WeChat generates? Check out these WeChat revenue statistics!
20. WeChat’s parent company generated over 74 billion in revenue in 2020
That’s over 482 billion RMB and represents an increase of 28% compared to the year prior.
Interestingly, unlike most social networks, WeChat’s revenue isn’t primarily driven by advertiser dollars. Rather, much of it comes from the platform’s value-added services. For example, 32% of revenue in 2018 came from games.
Source: Tencent Annual Results
21. WeChat has an ARPU of at least $7 USD
ARPU stands for average revenue per user. WeChat’s ARPU is shockingly high compared to its competitors. For example, it’s 7x greater than WhatsApp, which is the largest messaging app in the world and has an ARPU of just $1 USD.
The reason it’s so high ties back in with how WeChat is much more than just a messaging system. Its ecosystem of mini-apps caters to every aspect of its users’ daily lives and opens up a world of new monetization opportunities.
Source: World Economic Forum
22. Value-added services generate the bulk of Tencent’s revenue
In Q3 2016, VAS accounted for 69% of WeChat’s earnings. For comparison, online advertising made up just 19% of revenue. This is in stark contrast to most social networks in the western world, where advertiser dollars are the primary revenue source.
Source: China Channel
WeChat mini app statistics
WeChat is much more than just a messaging app. It functions as a whole mobile ecosystem, with thousands and thousands of mini-programs available within WeChat itself. These sub-applications function like lightweight mobile apps. Users can use them to make payments, play games, book flights, and much more.
Here are some WeChat statistics that tell us more about the Mini Apps available on the platform and how users interact with them.
23. There are over 1 million ‘Mini Apps’ on WeChat
One cool thing about WeChat that makes it different from other messaging apps is its Mini App feature. It essentially functions like an app store, allowing users to install lightweight apps that run inside WeChat itself. Third parties and brands can make their own WeChat apps and list them to reach more customers.
And this stat just shows how popular Mini Apps are. With over 1 million apps on the platform, the platform’s app database is almost half the size of Apple’s App Store.
Source: TechCrunch
24. 53% of people install WeChat Mini Apps for temporary use
Many people who use Mini Apps only do so temporarily. For example, it might be that they’re caught in the rain and need to hail a cab in a pinch.
Source: WeChat Wiki
25. 40% of people use Mini Apps as they’re unwilling to download mobile apps
Another one of the reasons Mini Apps are so popular is that they’re very lightweight compared to full-featured mobile apps the likes of which you might download on an app store. Many users are reluctant to waste their bandwidth and space on mobile apps, and so look for a Mini App equivalent instead.
Source: WeChat Wiki
26. 60% of people use Mini Apps as they find them easy to use
WeChat Mini Apps form a big part of daily life in China, and many users are keen to make the most of the services and entertainment they offer. This may be thanks to their usability and ease of access. According to WeChat Wiki, over half of all WeChat users find Mini Apps easy to use.
Source: WeChat Wiki
27. Games are the most popular type of WeChat Mini App
42% of people use WeChat Mini Apps for gaming. The next most popular category of Mini Apps is Life Services (39%) and Reading and Shopping apps rank joint third at 28%.
Source: WeChat Wiki
28. There were x27 more eCommerce transactions on WeChat Mini Apps in 2019 compared to the year before
Like many of the additional features of WeChat, Mini Apps are becoming more popular and are growing in both usage and revenue. A lot of the Mini Apps available on WeChat can be used to make purchases. In 2019, the number of e-commerce transactions that took place on these kinds of WeChat Mini Apps increased 27-fold. Yep, that’s right – that’s an increase of 2700% year over year.
Source: WeChat Wiki
WeChat Pay statistics
WeChat Pay is WeChat’s answer to Alipay. It’s a mobile payment and digital wallet service integrated into the WeChat app, which allows users to make instant payments via their smartphone.
Here are some WeChat statistics that tell us more about this payment service and the merchants and consumers that use it
29. Hundreds of millions of people use WeChat Pay every day
WeChat Pay is just as popular as its messaging counterpart and has a massive number of daily active users. Although WeChat hasn’t disclosed the exact user figures, they do report that ‘hundreds of millions’ of people use the payment app on a daily basis.
Source: WeChat Pay1
30. WeChat Pay is used by over 800 million people every month
WeChat experienced rapid growth in popularity in 2018 and beyond. By 2019, they became the most popular payment app in China and overtook the market leader Alipay, which had around 520 million users in 2019.
Source: WeChat Pay2
31. WeChat Pay has a daily transaction volume of over 1 billion
WeChat pay is no passing fad, it’s responsible for an extremely high volume of transactions every day. Across all the countries in which it’s available, over 1 billion transactions are completed each day.
Source: PYMNTS.com
32. The number of merchants that accept WeChat Pay increased 700% in one year
WeChat Pay was launched in 2013, but it took some time to gain traction. However, in 2018, usage of the app saw substantial growth of around 700%. Not only did the apps usage increase in China, but it also became available in 49 markets outside China
Source: PR Newswire
33. At least 1 in 5 WeChat users have set their accounts up for WeChat Payments
This means they’ve linked their debit or credit card up to their WeChat user account for instant, frictionless payments. This function helps to enable users to make payments both in physical stores, and make in-app purchases.
Source: a16z
WeChat statistics sources
Final thoughts
That concludes our roundup of the 33 latest WeChat statistics. Hopefully, this has helped shed some light on the state of China’s largest mobile app.
TikTok is another huge social media platform owned by a Chinese parent company. While you’re here, you might want to check out our roundup of the latest TikTok statistics to see how it compares to WeChat.
Alternatively, you may want to check out our posts on Snapchat stats, smartphone stats, or SMS marketing stats.
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