Top 20 Most Profitable Websites in the World

In this article, we will be taking a look at the top 20 most profitable websites in the world. To skip our analysis of the internet industry and the recent developments, you can go directly to see the Top 5 Most Profitable Websites in the World.

The rapid developments in the internet sector have played a pivotal role in the global economy as the digital economy now takes up 15% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Washington DC-based think-tank Wilson Center. In the last decade and a half, the contribution of the Internet sector to the global economy has grown at a pace that is two and a half times faster than the growth of the total global GDP. According to research ordered by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and led by a Harvard Business School (HBS) researcher, the contribution of the Internet sector grew seven times faster than the US economy in the four years leading to 2021. The Internet sector now accounts for 12% of the US GDP. Since 2008, the contribution of the sector to the US economy has risen by eight times from $300 billion to $2.45 trillion. Furthermore, the sector also employs 17 million people in the US as compared to seven million four years earlier. Some of the Top 20 Online Shopping Websites in USA in 2023 also have a key role to play in the expansion of the market.

As discussed in one of our previous articles, the e-commerce sector is forecasted to expand from a value of $48 billion in 2022 to $117.7 billion by the end of 2030. The high penetration of the Internet in the developed world has resulted in 70% of the population in these countries buying goods and services online. On the other hand, only 2% of people in the least developed regions like the Sub-Saharan countries use the Internet to buy goods and services online. To ensure global internet connectivity by the end of this decade, an investment of $428 billion is required, with a special emphasis on low-income and underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, the global economy would require an outlay of $1 trillion to keep up with the requirements of 5G, data centres, and other digital initiatives like intelligent transportation or smart cities. The internet revolution has resulted in the drastic rise of notable companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the last 15 years.  These companies also own some of the top 10 earning websites in the world.

Overall, there are 4.80 billion social media identities present on the internet. This is equivalent to 59.9% of the global population. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, the number of internet users increased by 2.9% or 147 million people. This is three times faster than the global population growth of 0.9% YoY or 69 million people only. Meanwhile, the number of social media identities increased by 3.2% YoY or 150 million. It must be noted that 96.6% of internet users between the ages of 16 to 64 years use smartphones as a device to access the internet. Meanwhile, 57.8% of internet users between the ages of 16 to 64 years do this through a laptop or desktop computer. On average, a user between the ages of 16 to 64 years spends six hours and 35 minutes daily on the internet. The highest amount of time is taken up by watching television on the internet through broadcast or streaming media. Users are also increasingly looking to make income through trusted online earning sites and look for simple websites that make money. Best earning websites for students like Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) and Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE:FVRR) have also become more popular. South Africa is the country that spends the highest amount of time on the internet, at a daily average of nine hours and 27 minutes.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Our Methodology

We referred to multiple reliable sources, such as financial reports, industry publications and credible news outlets, to assess the revenue and profitability of different websites. We also looked at the average monthly visitors, average visit duration, and pages per visit to gauge the efficiency and popularity of the shortlisted websites. Due to limited data shared by Google and YouTube parent Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) regarding the profitability of these two leading websites, we have apportioned the net income of the Google Services segment on these two websites based on their top-line contribution. A similar method has been used to determine the net income for Meta Platform-owned Facebook and Instagram.

Top 20 Most Profitable Websites in the World

20. Wayfair.com

Annual Net Income: $284.3 million

Average Monthly Visitors: 57.2 million

Average Visit Duration: 11 minutes and 49 seconds

Pages per Visit: 3.5 pages

Wayfair Inc. is a Boston, Massachusetts-based e-commerce company that specializes in the sale of furniture and home goods. The company’s online sales are mostly generated through its German website Wayfair.de. As of December 2022, the net revenue per active customer for Wayfair Inc. stood at $553, reflecting year-over-year growth of 10.4%. In the fourth quarter of 2022, repeat customers accounted for 77.4% of the total orders received by the company.

19. GoDaddy.com

Annual Net Income: $353 million

Average Monthly Visitors: 53.4 million

Average Visit Duration: 10 minutes and 42 seconds

Pages per Visit: 3.9 pages

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) is a Tempe, Arizona-based website domain registrar and web hosting company. It is one of the surprise entrants in the list as the company is not involved in significant revenue-generating internet industries like e-commerce, advertising, cloud computing, or subscription-based models.

18. Yandex.ru

Annual Net Income: $677 million

Average Monthly Visitors: 3.43 billion

Average Visit Duration: 18 minutes and 7 seconds

Pages per Visit: 2.3 pages

Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ:YNDX) is a Moscow, Russia-based provider of search engine services in Russia and other nations. The website generates revenue through online advertising, e-commerce, ride-hailing services, food delivery, and cloud computing. Additionally, Yandex offers services such as email, maps and navigation, music, and news.

17. EpicGames.com

Annual Net Income: $710 million

Average Monthly Visitors: 233 million

Average Visit Duration: 6 minutes

Pages per Visit: 2.4 pages

Epic Games is a prominent American company in the video game and software industry. The company offers a digital marketplace for both PC and Mac users. In 2022, EpicGames.com reached a peak of 34.3 million daily active users, while the monthly active users rose to 68 million.

16. Baidu.com

Annual Net Income: $845.7 million

Average Monthly Visitors: 5 billion

Average Visit Duration: 17 minutes and 39 seconds

Pages per Visit: 4.7 pages

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a Beijing, China-based provider of search engine services. It is referred to as the “Google of China.” The company has a similar portfolio to Google as it offers advertising platforms, which allow businesses to advertise on its search engine and affiliated websites. The website also offers other services like maps, cloud, and online encyclopedias.

15. Naver.com

Annual Net Income: $1.05 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 626.3 million

Average Visit Duration: 23 minutes and 55 seconds

Pages per Visit: 5.3 pages

NAVER Corporation (035420.KS) is a popular search engine service provider in South Korea. The website offers a wide variety of services like news, online comics, shopping, and email. The website has its own advertising platform. It has secured the seventeenth place on our list of the top 20 most profitable websites in the world.

14. Expedia.com

Annual Net Income: $1.62 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 57.2 million

Average Visit Duration: 10 minutes and 31 seconds

Pages per Visit: 3.1 pages

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) is a Seattle, Washington-based online travel agency that provides users the option to book flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation packages, and other travel-related services. The company generates revenue through commissions and fees earned from bookings made through its platform.

13. Airbnb.com

Annual Net Income: $1.89 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 71.8 million

Average Visit Duration: 14 minutes and 17 seconds

Pages per Visit: 2.6 pages

Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) is a San Francisco, California-based online marketplace that connects travellers with hosts who offer accommodations such as homes, apartments, and rooms for short-term rentals. The primary source of revenue for the company is host service fees, where hosts pay a percentage of each booking to Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB).

12. PayPal.com

Annual Net Income: $2.42 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 699.6 million

Average Visit Duration: 5 minutes and 11 seconds

Pages per Visit: 3.3 pages

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is a San Jose, California-based online payment platform that enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments securely over the Internet. It operates as a digital wallet, allowing users to link their bank accounts, credit cards, or debit cards to make online transactions. The company generates revenue through transaction fees. The website has secured the fourteenth place on our list of the top 20 most profitable websites in the world.

11. Booking.com

Annual Net Income: $3.1 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 520.5 million

Average Visit Duration: 11 minutes and 25 seconds

Pages per Visit: 3.8 pages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based online travel agency that is at twelfth place on our list of the top 20 most profitable websites in the world. Like its competitors, the company generates revenue from commissions earned from bookings made through its platform.

10. Netflix.com

Annual Net Income: $4.49 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 1.04 billion

Average Visit Duration: 27 minutes and 3 seconds

Pages per Visit: 2.2 pages

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a  Los Gatos, California-based online streaming platform that provides a wide range of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and other video content to its subscribers. It operates as a subscription-based service, allowing users to access its extensive library of content for a monthly fee.

9. Pinduoduo.com

Annual Net income: $4.57 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 751.3 million

Average Visit Duration: 22 minutes and 42 seconds

Pages per Visit: 4.6 pages

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is a Shanghai, China-based e-commerce platform which operates as a group-buying platform, offering users the ability to purchase products at discounted prices by forming shopping teams with friends, family, or other users. The company generates revenue primarily through transaction commissions.

8. Adobe.com

Annual Net Income: $4.76 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 381 million

Average Visit Duration: 8 minutes and 31 seconds

Pages per Visit: 2.1 pages

Adobe.com is the official website of San Jose, California-based software company Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE). The website is a gateway to a wide variety of software tools for use in graphic design, web development, video editing, photography, and digital marketing.

7. JD.com

Annual Net Income: $5.05 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 138 million

Average Visit Duration: 10 minutes and 44 seconds

Pages per Visit: 7 pages

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) is a Beijing, China-based business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) online retailer which generates its revenue through online retail sales. In addition to retail sales, JD.com also offers value-added services such as logistics and warehousing.

6. Amazon.com

Annual Net Income: $12.25 billion

Average Monthly Visitors: 2.72 billion

Average Visit Duration: 12 minutes and 47 seconds

Pages per Visit: 4.9 pages

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a Seattle, Washington-based, globally renowned online retailer and marketplace. The primary source of revenue for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is product sales through its website or mobile application. The website also acts as a marketplace that facilitates transactions between third-party sellers and customers and, as a result, earns a certain percentage of sales as commission.

Websites owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have also made it to our list of the top 20 most profitable websites in the world.