This ranking helps you understand the audience of social networks and messengers in Russia entering 2026. The main table covers December 2025; the video-service figures cover January 2026. These are historical snapshots, which neither describe all of 2026 nor guarantee that the platforms are currently available.
The ranking uses monthly reach (MAU): how many people aged 12 and over accessed a service at least once during the month on mobile or desktop devices. This allows comparison across messengers, social networks, video and feeds.
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How was the ranking calculated?
We use one consistent measure: monthly reach in Russia among people aged 12 and over, on mobile devices and computers. A user is counted if they opened the resource's pages or app at least once during the period. Reach is not the number of installations or registrations.
The main source is Mediascope Cross Web's public rankings (in Russian): Russia 0+, December 2025, population aged 12 and over, mobile and desktop measurement, the “Social media” and “Messengers” categories. Table figures are rounded to one decimal place in millions. An extended list, including OK, appears in MEDIA RESEARCHES' republication of 8 February 2026 (in Russian), citing Mediascope data.
For VK Messenger, Mediascope counts only the separate mobile app, excluding the messaging section of VK's website and app. Audiences overlap across platforms: you cannot add their reach figures to obtain a total of unique people.
Selected platforms by monthly reach (MAU)
The table combines ten selected social networks, messengers and media platforms from these sources. It is not an exhaustive ranking of all internet resources; individual video services are covered below.
| Rank | Platform | Format | MAU, million people | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VK | social network | 94.9 | December 2025 |
| 2 | messenger | 94.5 | December 2025 | |
| 3 | Telegram | messenger / social media | 93.6 | December 2025 |
| 4 | MAX | messenger | 70.1 | December 2025 |
| 5 | YouTube | video | 67.5 | December 2025 |
| 6 | Dzen | content feed / social media | 66.2 | December 2025 |
| 7 | TikTok | short video | 65.9 | December 2025 |
| 8 | OK | social network | 53.2 | December 2025 |
| 9 | VK Messenger | messenger | 15.7 | December 2025 |
| 10 | Imo IM | messenger | 9.8 | December 2025 |
Important details for interpreting the figures
MAU answers “who accesses the service at least once a month?” For work, daily audience is often more useful: how many people visited the service per day on average during the selected month.
In December 2025, Telegram led messengers by daily reach, with 74.3 million people per day. WhatsApp reached 69.8 million per day, and MAX 42.0 million. This is average daily reach for the month, not the number of visits.
Another measure is time spent in a service. When comparing it, check whether it is calculated per platform user or for the entire population, and which devices are included. Monthly reach alone does not show depth of attention.
Video services are compared separately. Vedomosti reported on 9 February 2026, citing Mediascope (in Russian), that in January 2026 VK Video had 82.8 million monthly users, YouTube 65.9 million and Rutube 47.7 million. This Cross Web snapshot included mobile and desktop versions, excluding Smart TV, background and embedded viewing. These figures cannot be combined with the December table into one ranking.
In December 2025, MAX's monthly reach was around 70.1 million people. Assessing its trajectory requires comparable snapshots from several months. Its position in one ranking does not explain the causes of growth.
There is also a difference between “using” and “posting”. Analysis of publication authors, such as that provided by Brand Analytics (in Russian), serves a different purpose from measuring user reach. Do not mix these indicators: posts, comments and user-generated content require a suitable methodology.
The final layer is surveys. They answer “which services do people believe they use?” and sometimes differ from traffic-based measurements. FOM's “Messengers and social networks” publication of 12 September 2025 (in Russian) presents a survey conducted on 22–24 August 2025: WhatsApp 57%, Telegram 46%, VK 41%. These are shares of all surveyed adults aged 18 and over for the regular-use question; the question itself was asked of weekly internet users, who made up 80% of respondents. Multiple answers were allowed. The survey must not be interpreted as measured MAU.
If you need practical help choosing platforms, content and advertising, two short guides from the 101 blog may help: getting more from Telegram than messaging (in Russian) and hiring a social media specialist with realistic expectations (in Russian).
How should a business choose platforms?
In the December 2025 snapshot, Russia's market had three broad everyday entry points: VK, WhatsApp and Telegram. Their reach figures were close, followed by MAX with a substantial gap, then media platforms competing for people's free time: YouTube, Dzen, TikTok and OK.
If your goal is communication with customers and teams, look at messenger DAU. If it is content and reach, consider MAU together with time spent. A combination of 2–3 platforms may suit different scenarios. Choose it for the audience of your task and check the services' current availability.
