What Percentage of Internet Traffic is Mobile? [Updated 2023]

We’re in the grips of a mobile revolution. Smartphones are everywhere, giving just about everyone the ability to go online from anywhere. So with that in mind, what percentage of internet traffic comes on mobile devices today?
If you’re running a business, and need to know where to best focus your efforts to reach the most possible users, pay close attention. If you’re just interested in the state of mobile vs desktop today - keep reading too, as you’re about to get the latest data on the browsing habits of today's internet users.
Since 2016, global internet traffic on mobile devices has eclipsed that of desktop computers. The majority of us today prefer the convenience of mobile, being able to go online wherever we are, much quicker than we could by firing up our PC or laptop.
Mobile makes up 57.8% of global internet traffic.
Desktop, in comparison, has a 40.16% share of the total web traffic. The remainder comes on tablet, with 2.04% of total online traffic.
Mobile internet traffic peaked at 60.73% in July 2022. At this time, desktop made up 37% of total traffic.
Let’s see how the share of mobile users vs desktop has changed over the last 10 or so years.
In 2013, mobile internet users made up 16.24% market share, compared to 79.18% for desktop.
Mobile first passed desktop late 2016. In 2018, mobile held 50.88% of website traffic market share, desktop 45.11%, and tablet 4.02%.
Here’s how the data looks year-by-year.
2013: Desktop: 79.18% - Mobile: 16.24% - Tablet: 4.59%
2014: Desktop: 66.57% - Mobile: 27.14% - Tablet: 6.29%
2015: Desktop: 59.17% - Mobile: 35.1% - Tablet: 5.73%
2016: Desktop: 51.37% - Mobile: 43.59% - Tablet: 5.04%
2017: Desktop: 43.75% - Mobile: 51.56% - Tablet: 4.69%
2018: Desktop: 45.11% - Mobile: 50.88% - Tablet: 4.02%
2019: Desktop: 46.04% - Mobile: 50.39% - Tablet: 3.57%
2020: Desktop: 45.64% - Mobile: 51.61% - Tablet: 2.75%
2021: Desktop: 42.31% - Mobile: 55.01% - Tablet: 2.69%
2022: Desktop: 39.43% - Mobile: 58.32% - Tablet: 2.25%
2023: Desktop: 40.11% - Mobile: 57.84% - Tablet: 2.04%
Now let’s look at how mobile usage differs in various parts of the world. We’ll look at mobile internet traffic in the US, each continent, as well as a range of notable countries worldwide.
In the United States of America, mobile makes up 44.26% of total web traffic.
Desktop leads with 53.06% of total traffic, with tablet taking 2.69%.
2013: Desktop: 79.79% - Mobile: 13.68% - Tablet: 6.53%
2014: Desktop: 67.89% - Mobile: 23.19% - Tablet: 8.93%
2015: Desktop: 64.67% - Mobile: 26.44% - Tablet: 8.89%
2016: Desktop: 60.61% - Mobile: 30.94% - Tablet: 8.44%
2017: Desktop: 51.1% - Mobile: 40.09% - Tablet: 8.8%
2018: Desktop: 51.2% - Mobile: 40.82% - Tablet: 7.97%
2019: Desktop: 48.45% - Mobile: 44.47% - Tablet: 7.08%
2020: Desktop: 47.84% - Mobile: 47.82% - Tablet: 4.34%
2021: Desktop: 48.88% - Mobile: 47.57% - Tablet: 3.56%
2022: Desktop: 46.43% - Mobile: 50.52% - Tablet: 3.05%
2023: Desktop: 53.06% - Mobile: 44.26% - Tablet: 2.69%
Key Statistic: Mobile internet traffic overtook desktop in the US in 2022, and was close to even in 2020-2021. However, desktop has come back to own higher market share in 2023.
Here's how the share of internet users on mobile phones breaks down in each continent:
Now let's take a look at some notable countries (other than the US, which we covered above), and what percentage of internet traffic comes on a mobile device.
Here are some key takeaways from the browsing habits of different locations across the globe.
Let's finish up with some general statistics on the state of mobile vs desktop web traffic today.
Now let’s examine some key statistics on how people use the internet on mobile devices.
Do more people use mobile apps or mobile browsers? How much time do we spend using apps? Which countries use apps the most?
Here are some interesting data points:
Check out more data and insights on mobile apps vs mobile websites here.
Data shows us that the rate of mobile vs desktop internet usage has exploded in the last 10 years. There are more smartphone users than ever, there are mobile friendly websites, and you can do almost everything you can on desktop devices with a mobile phone.
In many areas, mobile is now the preferred way for people to go online. In others, such as the US and UK, mobile market share almost equal or slightly behind desktop.
All the data indicates that global mobile vs desktop internet usage statistics should only increase as years go on, mobile internet becomes faster and more dependable, and mobile devices become more powerful and sophisticated.
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