Top 25 most popular websites in the world 2023; OpenAI surpasses Microsoft Bing

The number of internet users is constantly growing. As the internet evolves, so do the tools we use to share information. As of April 2023, there were 5.18 billion internet users in the world, or approximately 63% of the global population, according to data from research firm Statista.

Additionally, it is also estimated that there are 1.13 billion websites in the world as of February 2023. However, only a fraction of them are actively visited and regularly updated. Surprisingly, a significant 82% of these websites are inactive, implying that only around 200,121,724 out of the 1.13 billion websites are actively maintained and visited by users.

While there are billions of websites out there, only a tiny few remain dominant due to factors such as relevance, reputation, quality of content, and user experience. With so many choices to choose from, most internet users always wanted to know the most popular websites to stay informed about current internet trends, understand user preferences, discover new sources of information or entertainment, explore popular platforms for business or marketing opportunities, or simply satisfying their curiosity about the digital landscape.

The question that is often asked is: what are the most popular websites in the world? To answer this question, web analytics firm Similar Web has come out with this year’s most popular websites. Using Similar Web’s most recent traffic numbers, Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley created an infographic of the top 25 most popular websites in the world in 2023.

Top 25 most popular websites in the world

Just like years before, the top 25 list is dominated by internet heavyweights like Google, and social platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In 2023, web properties owned by Alphabet and Facebook dominate the top 25 list as they have for many years now. In fact, the combined presence of Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp accounts for approximately 75% of the total traffic among the top 25 websites on the list.

However, what’s so remarkable about this year’s list is the incredible ascent of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and various other AI-driven tools. OpenAI.com, the website that powers ChatGPT, even surpassed Microsoft Bing despite the integration of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. OpenAI ranks 17th on the list while Bing barely makes it to the list, sitting at the bottom 25th position

OpenAI’s website has experienced a significant surge in traffic throughout the year, with monthly visits skyrocketing from approximately 20 million in the autumn of the previous year to a staggering 1.8 billion in April 2023.

In fact, OpenAI’s website traffic is experiencing such rapid growth that it has the potential to surpass established giants like TikTok and Amazon in the near future. The remarkable ascent of OpenAI and the popularity of ChatGPT demonstrate how quickly a company can gain prominence when its technology offering is captivating. However, only time will tell if OpenAI can sustain this level of popularity over the long term.

In just five days after its launch, ChatGPT crossed one million users. To put that in perspective, it took Netflix 3.5 years, Facebook 10 months, Spotify 5 months, and Instagram 2.5 months to reach the one million users mark. It took about nine months after its global launch for the popular short video app TikTok to add 100 million users. ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January, two months after its launch.

With that said, below is a complete list of the top 25 websites list as of April 2023:

The majority of the websites featured on this list are based in the United States, but there are a few exceptions such as Baidu from China and Yandex from Russia that also find their place. It is worth noting that the three adult websites mentioned, namely XVideos, PornHub, and XNXX, are based outside of the United States, which adds an interesting dynamic to the mix.