51 Mobile vs. Desktop Usage Statistics For 2024

The mobile vs. desktop usage discussion is highly relevant in these current times. This one doesn’t just affect consumers and how they go through content, shop, or interact but also has a bearing on how the all-important marketing efforts get spent.

It’s a well-known fact that driven by better devices and the availability of faster internet on the go, internet traffic is increasingly being conducted through mobile devices. However, several pertinent aspects of this debate might be new information to even the most seasoned marketers and tech experts.

2023 Mobile vs. Desktop Usage Insights

• Mobile devices accounted for 49.78% of all web visits, while desktops made up the remaining 50.22%.
• Over one year, mobile users' share increased by 5%.
• Social media takes 25% of all digital media consumption and it is mainly accessed on mobile.
• US adults spend five and a half hours daily in 2022 on their mobile phones.
• In 2022, mobile phones generate 60.66% of website traffic, while desktops and tablets are responsible for 39.34%.
• 55% of page views in 2021 came from mobile phones.
• More than half of all video views come from mobile devices as well.
• Phone-based CPCs cost 24% less than desktops while having a 40% higher CTR.
• Mobile apps have higher engagement rates than mobile-optimized websites or desktop web viewing.

To help you get up-to-date with all the pertinent information you need, we at TechJury have put together 50+ key data points.

• Over one year, mobile users' share increased by 5%.

In the course of one year, desktop internet usage dropped from 41.52% to 37.08%, while mobile users’ share marked an increase from 56.05% to 60.66%.

• American adults spend an average of 5.5 hours on their phones.

If you’ve ever wondered how much time US adults spend on their smartphones, the answer is “A lot!” Considering that the average waking time is about 16 hours (including work), this would mean that Americans spend about one-third of it glued to their phones.

• The number of smartphone subscriptions worldwide went over 6.5 billion in 2022.

As of April 2022, the global internet population surpassed 5 billion people. Most of them are browsing the Web on a mobile device. As we can see, some own a couple. What’s more, the predictions point to further growth of several hundred million in the next couple of years. The 2027 subscription figure is forecast at 7.7 billion!

Mobile vs Desktop Usage

Nowadays, the majority of internet traffic is mobile, and most B2B inquiries and social media consumption are made through phones. Nevertheless, there still appears to be a place for the desktop, or so the mobile vs. desktop usage statistics in 2022 indicate.

1. The total number of visits is from mobile when compared to desktop.

(Source: Stat Counter)

Mobile devices accounted for 49.78% of all web visits, while desktops made up the remaining 50.22%.

Safari, the mobile internet browser developed by Apple, has emerged as the top preference for mobile internet users in the US.

According to recent statistics, 51.1% of all US mobile users opt for Safari to access the internet, while Google Chrome comes in second with a usage rate of 42.84%.

2. Mobile usage vs. desktop usage comparison: 58% of all multi-device purchases use mobile to close the sale.

(Source: Merchant Savvy)

Still, desktops play an important role here, too. After all, browsing a site is much easier on a larger screen.

3. 60.66% of traffic is mobile and 37.08% is desktop.

(Source: Statcounter)

What else do the 2022 mobile traffic vs. desktop traffic facts reveal? For instance, what percentage of internet traffic is mobile? Unsurprisingly, a primary part of it is.

To be more precise, 60.66% currently comes from mobile phones. Desktop devices, on the other hand, generate about 37%, while tablets are responsible for the tiniest bit—2.26%

4. Money spent on mobile ads will exceed desktop ads by end-2022.

(Source: Statista)

You now know that the majority of internet traffic is mobile. So it’s in marketers' best interest to direct more of their efforts into ads for mobile devices. What are the forecasts?

By end-2022, mobile ad spending will outpace desktop one! It’s estimated that 51% of it will go into mobile ads, while 49% will be left for desktops

5. American adults spend an average of 5.5 hours daily on their cell phones in 2022.

(Source: Earthweb)

Most of us can’t go a whole day without poking around our phones. Indeed, US adults spend about one-third of their waking time on their smartphones.

That’s not all:

The latest mobile phone usage statistics predict this number will only keep going up!

6. Fixed internet is 29.2 Mbps faster than mobile internet connection speed.

(Source: DATAREPORTAL)

Fixed internet connection speeds (i.e., those used for desktops) are higher than mobile. The latter is commonly at 25.1 Mbps, while the former goes up to 54.3 Mbps. This means that fixed internet is leading with 29.2 Mbps, which explains why time spent on desktop sites is higher than on mobile.

7. Social media takes 25% of all digital media consumption and is mainly accessed on mobile.

(Source: Riptide Web)

In other words, 1 out of every 5 minutes we spend consuming digital content goes to social media. And that happens primarily on mobile, or so the mobile vs. desktop social media usage stats report as of most recently.

General Mobile vs. Desktop Internet Usage Statistics

Mobile devices are now the leading source of internet traffic in the US as well as worldwide. People are spending more and more time staring at their smartphones.

8. People spend an average of seven hours daily on the internet.

(Source: Data Reportal)

Now that we know how much time we spend on the Web and our phones, it’s time to go into some fascinating details.

For starters, do you know which nation spends the greatest amount of time online? That would be South Africans—they report an average of 10 hours and 46 minutes of online activities. Alternatively, who spends the least time online? The answer is Japan, with “just” 4 hours and 26 minutes daily average.

The US ranks right above the worldwide average of seven hours, with 7 hours and 5 minutes.

9. In 2021, mobile phone usage increased by 24.5%.

(Source: Oberlo)

What do the latest mobile vs. desktop usage stats reveal about mobile phone usage? They tell us that the time consumers spend on mobile phones has gone up by nearly 25% in five years. Impressive, isn’t it?

What’s more, mobile ecommerce sales shares have also risen immensely. The current figure is 72.9%—a 39% increase compared to 2016.

10. The average bounce rate for mobile and desktop devices goes as follows:

(Source: TMW)

Mobile bounce rate averages 67.4%, while desktop drops down to 32%.

This goes to show that users are much less patient while using their phones. The chance of a user abandoning your website goes up by:

• 32% if the loading time is increased by 1 to 3 seconds.
• 90% if it’s increased by 1 to 5 seconds.
• 123% if it’s increased by up to 10 seconds.

11. 96.6% of internet users between 16 and 64 own a mobile phone.

(Source: Data Reportal)

Have you wondered what the deal is with device ownership in 2022? Or what is more popular—desktop or mobile? As always, we’re here to answer all your pressing questions. So:

• 96.2% of people in this group own a smartphone.
• 63.1% have a laptop or a computer.
• 34.8% use a tablet device.
• 27.4% have a smartwatch or wristband.
• 20.3% are owners of a games console.
• 15.5% have a TV streaming device, while 14.1% have upgraded their homes with a smart home device.

12. 92.1% of internet users access the Web through mobile devices.

(Source: Data Reportal)

The current number of internet users is 5.03 billion people or about 63.1% of the world population. Out of them, 92.1% access it via mobile phones.

Curiously, the unique mobile phone users are 5.34 billion (66.9% of the population). So not all of them use their phones to access the internet after all.

13. The global internet population will spend over 1.4 billion years online in 2022.

(Source: Data Reportal)

Prepare to become even more amazed:

As of 2022, there are 5.03 billion internet users! That’s about two-thirds of the entire human population. In the past year, this number has grown by 178 million users, or about half a million new ones every single day.

But wait, there’s more!

14. By end-2022, global mobile traffic will amount to 77.49 exabytes monthly.

(Source: Statista)

These mobile statistics are getting even more fascinating…

They reveal that traffic grew four times from 2017 to 2021! In Q4 2021, global mobile traffic reached 56.8 exabytes per month. In comparison, the 2017 figure was 11.51 exabytes. What about 2022? Data points out that by the end of the year, monthly traffic will climb to 77.49 exabytes!

15. 65% of all digital media time is spent on mobile devices.

(Source: Business2Community)

The break-up of this digital media time across content categories is equally interesting. According to the infographic, there are some categories, like social networking surprisingly, where the desktop share continues to be substantial. Mobile devices score in categories like business/finance and entertainment/news.

16. The current mobile market share is over 20% bigger than that of desktops.

(Source: StatCounter)

Mobile vs. desktop usage stats further reveal people are increasingly favoring mobile. This trend will only continue to go up, probably leading to the near obliteration of desktops in the distant future.

17. 92.5% of mobile time is spent on apps.

(Source: Data Reportal)

How is mobile time distributed across different activities?

92.5% of it, of course, is reserved for mobile apps. The remaining 7.5% are spent using web browsers.

Interestingly, the daily use of smartphones boasts a 6.7% year-on-year increase. We leave the drawing of conclusions to you…

Mobile vs. Desktop Search Statistics

Yes, users view more and more content through their smartphones. But they do so much more on them. For instance, searching for information. Let’s see what:

18. What percentage of searches are mobile device-based?

(Source: Statista)

Google has already released statements in the past that over half of all search queries worldwide originate from mobile devices. A recent report from Statista, including an industry-wide analysis of search volume, provides even more precise information. They put the latest number at 61%, though the tendency is to only go up from there!

19. In 2021, more than 50% of page views came from cell phones.

(Source: Statista) 

Mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular for accessing the internet. 

According to mobile browsing stats, 55% of page views are from portable devices, which is set to be the trend in the coming years.

20. The mobile search ad revenue in the US is expected to reach $21.55 billion in 2022.

(Source: Statista)

The mobile search ad revenue in the US is expected to grow from $8.97 billion in 2015 to $21.55 billion by the end-2022. In the process, it will surpass the desktop revenue, which is forecast at $19.8 billion by the same period.

21. Global mobile search advertising spending grew to $105.39 billion in 2022.

(Source: Statista)

As we’ve already mentioned, more and more money is being allocated to mobile advertisements. In 2022, mobile social media advertising is the most significant form of such expenses, reaching $140.92 billion. Banner ads rank second, with $128.07 billion, while video advertising spending completes the top four with $75.26 billion.

22. 79% of all keywords and 47% of those in the top 20 rank differently on mobile and desktop SERPs.

(Source: BrightEdge)

This clearly indicates that if you value mobile traffic over desktop, you need to have a comprehensive SEO and content strategy for it.

Just making your website mobile-responsive is not enough to consider it mobile-optimized. As a marketer, you can use several methods to understand better what your on-the-go visitors need and provide the right content for them.

23. 35% of search queries bring out a different top ranking result on mobile and desktop SERPs.

(Source: BrightEdge)

The search results on mobile and desktop can differ greatly… They can be so divergent that as many as 35% of them will yield different top ranking result for the same query depending on your device.

Considering that a significant aspect of the SEO game is to rank at the top of the search results, this speaks volumes about the need to adapt strategies for your target platform.

24. 62% of organic searches display different results on desktop vs. mobile.

(Source: BrightEdge)

The difference in the top ranking results discussed above becomes even wider when all the search results are considered. More than 6 of the top 10 results are likely to differ between the desktop and the mobile.

25. People spend over half of their internet time in 2022 on their mobile phones.

(Source: Data Reportal)

Mobile internet use has been on an upward trend while that of desktops has been decreasing. Phones are more accessible and convenient to carry around; hence, people can use them for browsing from practically anywhere. Even in the bathroom!

26. Only 13% of sites retained their search position across all devices.

(Source: Smart Insights)

What’s more, 30% of first-page results on desktop devices don’t appear in the top 10 places on mobile. Results like this mean that most businesses haven’t optimized their SERPs for both mobile and desktop.

Marketers in 2022 especially need to focus on building an omnichannel marketing strategy for their businesses.

Mobile vs. Desktop Email and Video Statistics

If video content is king, then mobile devices are the king's carriage of choice. Nowadays, people predominantly watch videos on their phones and tablets. Let’s learn more about it:

27. In 2022, there will be 205 million mobile video viewers in the US alone.

(Source: Yans)

A significant rise compared to previous years. Logical, though, as videos are being optimized to vertical clips for easier viewing on mobile devices.

What’s interesting is that users view up to 90% of vertical videos and only about 14% of horizontal ones. What’s more, only 30% will flip their device sideways to watch a horizontal video.

28. More than 70% of YouTube viewing happens on mobile devices.

(Source: Comscore)

The latest YouTube mobile vs. desktop usage figures are more than clear—mobile devices have won the battle hands down.

Almost three-fourths of all content on the video-sharing platform is watched on smartphones or tablets.

29. Each of the top 50 YouTube channels has extended its desktop audience by an average of 218% after including mobile consumption.

(Source: Comscore)

Content producers and brands are benefiting from offering videos on smartphones and tablets. The introduction of consumption on mobile devices has helped them more than triple their reach!

30. Google reported that video ad viewability is significantly higher among mobile users (83%) than among desktop (53%).

(Source: Business2Community)

So what do the latest mobile vs. desktop usage stats report?

Apparently, mobile users are watching more video ads than desktop ones. This turns the former into a key audience that should never be excluded in your campaigns.

The higher viewability on mobile devices is probably due to desktop ad blockers as well as the fact that mobile viewers are watching the videos longer.

Mobile vs. Desktop Social Media Statistics

Smartphones have such a significant impact on internet usage. Consequently, numerous websites, especially social media like Facebook, are becoming increasingly mobile-centric.

31. 80% of social media browsing is on mobile devices.

(Source: Smart Insights, Marketing Land)

Roughly 1 in every 5 minutes of digital media time is spent on social network sites or apps. Mobile devices, including both smartphones and tablets, account for 80% of the time spent by users worldwide on social media. Desktop’s share in this category has significantly dropped in the last few years.

32. 81.8% of Facebook users access the media only via smartphone.

(Source: Data Reportal)

So, according to the 2022 mobile vs. desktop usage statistics, over two-thirds of all Facebook users access the platform only through its mobile app. But what about the other cases?

• 98.5% use a mobile phone to open Facebook.
• 1.5% only do it via laptop or desktop computer.
• 16.7% use both options—via a mobile app and a web browser.

This Facebook mobile vs. desktop usage data shouldn’t come as a surprise, bearing in mind the amount of work the company has put into mobile accessibility. It has multiple apps for the devices giving it an advantage compared to its competitors.

33. 80% of all Twitter users access the platform on a mobile device.

(Source: Neal Schaffer)

Given how fast-paced Twitter is, with thousands of new tweets coming in by the second (to be more precise, that would be 10,138 in one second), mobile devices definitely work best for the platform. Take notes, marketers!

Funnily enough, the same percentage of Twitter users is described as “affluent millennials.”

34. 85% of Pinterest users make use of the mobile app.

(Source: Omnicore)

Like most other major social media platforms, traffic on Pinterest has majorly shifted to mobile devices. What’s more, 85% of all traffic to the platform comes from mobile usage.

Mobile is the future, and the numbers prove it. Yet another clear indication that marketers need to prioritize mobile optimization.

35. 57% of LinkedIn traffic came from mobile in 2021.

(Source: Hootsuite)

If you think LinkedIn users are likely to access the site via desktops since it’s a professional network—you’re wrong. As people mostly use it to search for jobs or network with other professionals, they tend to do it in their spare time via their phones. 

Actually, LinkedIn spent the last few years working hard to become a mobile-first company. Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that nearly 60% of its 2021 traffic came from mobile devices.

Mobile vs. Desktop Ecommerce Statistics

Time to shift our focus toward our shopping habits. Think about what you prefer—purchasing a product via your phone or your computer. Let’s learn something new:

36. Average smartphone conversion rates are up 64% compared to desktop conversion rates.

(Source:  Formstack)

A key aspect regarding mobile vs. desktop search is that when a person uses a smartphone to make a query, they generally have a particular end goal in mind.

Companies can benefit from this by providing a well-defined call-to-action button. Marketers can also improve their mobile conversions by simplifying and streamlining the content they present to their users.

37. The retail conversion rate is three times higher for desktops than smartphones.

(Source: Smart Insights)

The Adobe Digital Index retail report puts the desktop retail conversion rate at 3.7% to 4%, while the mobile one is between 1.25% to 1.34%. This clearly shows that smartphones are generally used for research, while the purchase is left for desktops.

Providing valuable, personalized content on their mobile sites can help retailers influence the final purchase decision of the users.

38. 46% of adults prefer to use their mobile devices to search for items before purchasing them over their desktops or laptops.

(Source: Facebook IQ)

Phones are becoming a complement to brick-and-mortar stores. In a study of more than 2,400 omnichannel shoppers, 46% of those who researched product ratings or reviews before buying them offline do so on mobile phones. 36% of the ones who compare prices prior to buying offline have performed this on a mobile device. Additionally, 51% researched a product on their phone while in-store.

39. M-commerce sales in the US are set to reach $728.28 billion in 2025.

(Source: SWRVE)

Talk about massive growth!

In 2019, mobile commerce sales were approximately $220 billion. The 2022 amount is $436.75 billion, a 75.9% increase from just three years back. Predictions are even bolder and go as follows:

• In 2023, m-commerce sales will reach $523.87 billion, amounting to 41.5% of total ecommerce sales.
• In 2024, that number will reach $620.97 billion, or 42.9% of total sales.
• In 2025, the amount will increase by 17.3% from the previous year, going up to a whopping $728.28 billion, or 44.2% of total ecommerce sales.

40. Categories with the highest mobile share of purchases are also the ones with the most rapid ecommerce growth.

(Source: Comscore)

Logically, mobile purchases tend to be higher for relatively cheap products such as video games, movies, and digital content and lower for more expensive categories such as computer hardware. An interesting feature of mobile vs. desktop usage stats is that the former may enable shopping for products that were previously less likely to be purchased online altogether.

Thus, we can conclude that eliminating the friction of buying on portable devices (smaller screens, privacy concerns, etc.) is critical for retailers.

41. Mobile users are 39% less likely to book a flight online.

(Source: PhocusWire)

According to an analysis by the UK-based metasearch engine Skyscanner, mobile users are 39% less likely to book a flight online. And that’s even though mobile has a more significant share in the overall traffic to the platform.

42. Users are 31% more likely to complete a purchase or form-fill when their mobile device has a larger screen.

(Source: Mobile Marketer)

User experience is a critical factor in consumer mobile web usage. A recent study found that tablet clicks convert 86% as often as those from ads displayed on a desktop. The percentage of small-screen phone clicks is 48%.

It is fair to expect that mobile conversion rates will increase as the user experience improves.

43. 90% of customers expect consistent interactions across channels.

(Source: V12 Data)

Given the high number of shoppers who use their mobile devices to research products before making a purchase and those who visit stores to evaluate them before ordering online, the most successful marketers will have to ensure a consistent customer experience across channels and devices.

44. 98% of Americans switch between devices on the same day.

(Source: Mobile Payments Today)

Google is the go-to place for mobile vs. desktop usage information!

According to the tech behemoth, 98% of Americans switch between devices within the same day. This includes people who move across before completing an online purchase.

So businesses need to deliver the same feel and structure to ensure that these interrupted transactions are completed as seamlessly as possible on the next device.

45. 86% of shoppers use at least two channels when shopping.

(Source: CommerceHub)

This channel-hopping is not limited to shoppers in the US or other developed economies. The channel-hopping consumer is to be found everywhere. With 86% of them making use of at least two channels now, such switching is a reality, one that retailers and brands will have to come to terms with.

46. 12% of users think their phone loading is faster than their desktop; 21% think it’s equal.

(Source: Kissmetrics)

Mobile internet users expect a web-browsing experience on their phones comparable to what they get on their desktops. The majority (67%) of mobile users claim their phones generate slower loading times compared to their desktops. Alternatively, 21% think the connection is about the same.

47. 64% of smartphone users expect pages to load faster than on the desktop.

(Source: Radware)

The previous point ties in with another exciting study on mobile vs. desktop usage. This one claims that 64% of smartphone users expect loading times to be faster on their phones than on their desktops. What’s more, 85% expect the same loading speed on mobile and desktop devices. Apparently, marketers have learned to keep the content of their mobile-optimized sites crisp and light.

48. The number of internet users worldwide was 5.3 billion, up from 4.9 billion in the previous year.

(Source: Statista)

Computer usage statistics: The degree of internet penetration often depends on the level of development in communication infrastructure. In January 2022, China had approximately 1.02 billion internet users, while the United States had 307 million.

Social networking is a highly favoured online activity globally, and Facebook is the top social media platform in terms of active users. As of the third quarter of 2022, Facebook had over 2.9 billion monthly active users, representing more than half of all internet users worldwide. Internet users commonly engage in activities such as connecting with loved ones, expressing their opinions, entertainment, and online shopping.

49. 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if pages take longer than three seconds to load.

(Source: Marketing Dive)

Mobile speeds matter greatly! Users do not have the patience for mediocre performances and can be brutal if they feel their time is being wasted. If your mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load, you will likely lose more than half of your potential customers.

50. 40% of users are likely to abandon a desktop site if it doesn’t load within three seconds.

(Source: Neil Patel)

This impatience with slow loading speeds is seen on desktops, too. Almost 40% of users expect pages to load within three seconds on desktops and would abandon the site otherwise. Studies have shown that just a second delay in webpage loading can result in a 7% decline in conversion. In fact, 75% of users won’t return to a webpage if it takes more than four seconds to load.

51. The abandonment rate for mobile shopping carts is 97%, compared to 70-75% for desktop carts.

(Source: Radware)

Slow loading pages are one of the main reasons for the abandonment of shopping carts. Additionally, mobile device usage statistics reveal the more impatient users are the ones on their phones.

Of course, other reasons, such as not being comfortable spending on a mobile device or an inconvenient checkout process, could also be important factors.

52. Phone-based CPCs cost 24% less than desktop while having a 40% higher CTR at the same time.

(Source: Aum)

Advertising on mobile appears to be a more cost-effective option for marketers.

With a lower cost per click getting you a significantly higher click-through rate compared to desktops, it is no wonder that mobile devices already account for over half of all paid-search clicks.

53. Mobile apps have much higher engagement rates than mobile-optimized websites or desktop web viewing.

(Source: CleverTap)

While it does help to have mobile-optimized websites, the most recent mobile app vs. mobile website statistics shed new light on the subject. Apps beat even an efficiently optimized website regarding user engagement and conversion. With a difference in conversion rates of up to 300%, it’s evident that such investment can help you reap substantial benefits in the long run.

Key Takeaways From Mobile vs. Desktop Statistics 2023

• More than half of the internet traffic worldwide is driven through mobile devices, with current trends indicating mobile share increasing to as high as 80%.
• This trend is not limited to any one segment of the internet. Search volumes, social media network access, and ecommerce revenues all show a continuous shift towards mobile compared to desktop.
• This makes it imperative that marketers have a clearly defined strategy for mobile users. Merely making your website responsive to smartphones and tablets is not going to be enough.
• Users demand a mobile-optimized experience, and your SEO and content strategy will have to reflect this if you want to be on the winning side of the mobile vs. desktop usage story.