Top 10 Most Popular Celebrities on Social Media

If there’s one social network that dominates, at least in terms of celebrity presence, it’s probably Instagram, so that’s where we’ll be taking our numbers from for much of this list. With over 63 million followers, Rihanna doesn’t come close to some of the most followed stars. That being said, because of her various business ventures, her influence is undeniable. Her Fenty Beauty brand made waves in 2017 – boasting over 3.8 million Instagram followers itself – and even though she seems to be less active on Twitter, RiRi still lays claim to over 88 million followers.

With over 100 million followers on Instagram and over 106 million on Twitter, this singer, songwriter, and pop star is definitely not “sorry” for the sway he has. In fact, Justin Bieber has social media to thank for his illustrious music career. In 2007, his mother posted videos of him singing and playing the guitar to YouTube and their popularity is what led to his massive success today. Additionally, perhaps because of his youth, Bieber has always been able to use social media to his advantage as a place to rally and connect with his fans.

It may come as a surprise to many that Dwayne Johnson, with over 107 million, actually has more Instagram followers than Justin Bieber – or Katy Perry or Kendall Jenner for that matter – but the fact is, he’s putting out content that people love. As soon as fans got a taste of The Rock’s behind the scenes personality, his popularity skyrocketed. His workout videos, recipes and adorable meetings with fans brought people to his various channels and kept them engaged. In 2017, he was the second highest paid actor in the business, and his huge collection of online fans undoubtedly helped drive his box office haul.

Though in 2018 it may seem as though the tides have turned on Taylor Swift or that her popularity is waning, the numbers show otherwise. Her album, “Reputation” sold more copies than any other in 2017 and even though she took a brief break from the network, she is still one of the most followed people on Instagram with more than 108 million followers. Much of the marketing for her album was actually done via Instagram. One place that Swift edges out her competition is on YouTube, where her top videos have amassed over a billion views each, while her official channel has over 14.9 billion total views.

Social media helped make this starlet what she is today. The Kardashians and their social media go hand in hand, with all members of the family maintaining millions of followers across the platforms. But, Kim was the original and she definitely has staying power, with 111 million Instagram followers and counting tracking her every move. She’s surprisingly guarded online considering how much she bares on her reality show. Her various accounts are more likely to show professional images than anything truly intimate – though that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of skin either. Despite this, she is known as the queen of the social media generation and has “broken the internet” more than once.

If there’s one person on this list who can boast truly diehard fans, it’s Beyoncé. The Beyhive bows down to their Queen Bey, and will go wherever she leads them. She’s one of the most followed accounts on Instagram with 115 million plus followers. And when the singer posted a pregnancy photo of herself on Instagram to announce that she was having twins, the internet went berserk, skyrocketing the photo to briefly become the most liked of all time – with over 11 million likes.

She may not look it, but when it comes to Instagram, Ariana Grande is one of the all time heavyweights. Sitting behind Instagram’s own account and two celebs we'll get to in short order, the former Nickelodeon star leads 120 million followers as of 2018. Fans may flock to her account because of the music or snapshots into her life, but they stick around because of Grande's positivity and inspirational posts. This was especially true in March of 2018, when Ariana encouraged her fans to support body positivity and share selfies with the SelfiesForAriana hashtag.

Wait, you’re telling us that a football player has more followers than anyone from the Kardashian clan? Yep, that’s right, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo sits in Instagram’s top three most followed accounts, with more than 127 million followers. Granted, to any of the uninitiated, his posts may seem like a total bore, consisting mostly of photos of himself and other football players in uniform on the playing field. But hey, there’s something for everyone here. His rabid fan-base gives him millions of likes for every photo he posts and his sponsored posts are sure to be lucrative with that many devotees!

With 137 million followers, Selena Gomez easily takes first place for the most followed person on Instagram. Her posts consistently rank in the most liked in the history of the social network and are often wide ranging, from stylized editorial images to more political content. It seems that fame doesn’t come without its downsides though. Gomez’s relationship with Instagram is a double-edged sword. She told the New York Times in 2017 that, "I delete the app from my phone at least once a week,” going on to say about her trolls: “It’s like they want to cut to your soul.”

Kylie Jenner may not actually top the list of most followed celebrities, but all signs point to her being the most influential celeb around. She caused a media frenzy when she disappeared from the spotlight in 2017, only to reemerge with a birth announcement video that instantly garnered millions of views. And as of 2018, Jenner – although technically her daughter, Stormi – lays claim to the three of the top 10 most liked Instagram photos. Hers is a career just starting to pick up, so who knows what she'll do next.