Statistics
How Many People Watch Porn Online? 2026 Statistics (55 Data Points)
58% of Americans have watched porn, but only 27% did in the past month. 55 sourced stats on porn use by age and gender, site traffic and mobile viewing.
The short answer
No one has a reliable worldwide count. In the U.S., 58% of adults say they have watched pornography at some point, but only 27% say they watched it in the past month — fewer than half of those who ever have. Men report past-month use at four times the rate of women (44% vs 11%). Traffic is a different measure: Semrush estimated 3.65 billion visits to Pornhub in August 2026, but visits are not people.
Most people have watched porn. Most people did not watch it last month. That gap — 58% of Americans ever, 27% in the past month — is the number almost every porn statistics page skips, and it changes the picture. The billions of monthly site visits come from a minority of adults, and mostly from men.
This page brings together 55 data points from seven sources: U.S. surveys, a web-tracking study, an Australian government survey, a 42-country study and website traffic estimates. Every figure is linked to where it came from, the source type is named, and anything we worked out ourselves is labelled Slavia analysis.
How to read these statistics: a person, a survey answer, a website visit and an accidental encounter are four different measurements. The figures below keep their original population, time period and definition. Never add them together.
Online porn statistics: the key numbers
- 58% of Americans have watched pornography at some point (Institute for Family Studies, 2022).
- 27% of Americans watched it in the past month — fewer than half of those who ever have (Slavia analysis).
- 44% of men vs 11% of women reported past-month use — a 4 to 1 ratio.
- 57% of men aged 30–49 watched in the past month and 42% in the past week.
- 74.8% of Australians aged 16–18 have encountered online pornography, intentionally or not (eSafety Commissioner).
- 3.65 billion estimated visits to Pornhub worldwide in August 2026 (Semrush).
- 89.59% of those visits came from mobile devices.
- 3.2% to 16.6% of 82,243 people in 42 countries were at risk of problematic use, depending on which test was used (Bőthe et al., 2024).
Each line above measures something different. Lifetime use, monthly use, an accidental encounter, a site visit and a screening score cannot be combined into one "number of viewers".
58% of Americans have watched porn. Only 27% did last month.
How many people watch porn online?
No source can give a reliable worldwide count of unique people who watch pornography. What exists is a set of surveys asking about different time windows, plus traffic estimates that count visits. The longer the window a survey asks about, the bigger the number.
| What was measured | Population | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ever viewed pornography | 2,075 U.S. adult internet users | 70.4% (1,461) | Grubbs et al., 2019 |
| Ever watched pornography | U.S. adults | 58% | IFS, 2022 |
| Viewed in the past year | 2,075 U.S. adult internet users | 50.9% (1,056) | Grubbs et al., 2019 |
| Watched in the past month | U.S. adults | 27% | IFS, 2022 |
| Watched in the past week | U.S. men aged 30–49 | 42% | IFS, 2022 |
Sources: Institute for Family Studies, 2022; Grubbs, Kraus and Perry, 2019 (primary surveys). Grubbs percentages: Slavia analysis of the reported counts.
Two different U.S. surveys. Do not average them. Sources: Grubbs, Kraus and Perry 2019 (percentages are Slavia analysis of reported counts); Institute for Family Studies 2022.
1. 58% of Americans have watched pornography at some point
A 2022 analysis by the Institute for Family Studies, drawing on survey data from AEI's Survey Center on American Life, found that 58% of Americans had watched pornography at some point in their lives — about six in ten.
This is lifetime use. It says nothing about how recently or how often, and the question covers pornography in any format, not only online.
Source: Institute for Family Studies, 2022 (primary survey)
2. 27% watched it in the past month
The same analysis found 27% of Americans had watched pornography in the month before the survey.
Source: Institute for Family Studies, 2022 (primary survey)
3. 1,461 of 2,075 U.S. adult internet users had viewed pornography
A 2019 peer-reviewed study by Grubbs, Kraus and Perry in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions used a nationally representative sample of 2,075 U.S. adult internet users. Of these, 1,461 — 70.4% — had viewed pornography at some point (Slavia analysis).
The researchers defined pornography as sexually explicit films, video clips or pictures intended to arouse, accessed through the internet, magazines, books or television. That is higher than the IFS 58% partly because the sample was internet users only, and partly because the definition and wording differ.
4. About half had viewed it in the past year
The same study found 1,056 of the 2,075 participants — 50.9% — had used pornography in the past year (Slavia analysis). Put another way, 72.3% of those who had ever viewed it had done so in the previous twelve months.
Set the two surveys side by side and a pattern holds: roughly seven in ten of lifetime viewers are past-year viewers, and fewer than half are past-month viewers. The audience narrows fast as the window shortens.
Source: Grubbs, Kraus and Perry, Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2019 (primary survey)
Who watches porn online?
Mostly men — and the gender gap is far wider than the age gap. Survey answers and web-tracking data agree on the direction, even though they measure different things.
By gender
5. Men report past-month use at four times the rate of women
In the 2022 U.S. analysis, 44% of men and 11% of women reported watching pornography in the past month.
The ratio is specific to this survey's population and wording. It should not be read as a universal ratio for every country or age group.
Source: Institute for Family Studies, 2022 (primary survey)
6. Web tracking also found men are the main consumers
A 2025 peer-reviewed study by Alberto Martinez-Serra and Ana Sofia Cardenal in Computers in Human Behavior analysed observed browsing across five countries rather than survey answers. It found that men were the primary consumers in every country studied, while women's consumption was also significant in some countries.
That agreement matters. Surveys can be skewed by what people are willing to admit, and web tracking can miss devices, apps and private browsing. When two methods with opposite weaknesses point the same way, the finding is more solid than either alone.
Source: Martinez-Serra and Cardenal, Computers in Human Behavior, 2025 (web-tracking study)
By age
| Group (U.S., 2022) | Measure | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Men aged 30–49 | Watched in the past month | 57% |
| Men aged 30–49 | Watched in the past week | 42% |
| All men | Watched in the past month | 44% |
| All women | Watched in the past month | 11% |
| Younger women | Never watched | 44% |
| Women aged 65+ | Never watched | 81% |
Source: Institute for Family Studies, 2022 (primary survey)
7. 57% of men aged 30–49 watched in the past month, 42% in the past week
Men aged 30–49 had the highest reported past-month use among the groups the analysis highlighted: 57% in the past month and 42% in the past week.
This does not mean men aged 30–49 make up the largest share of viewers worldwide. It describes the rate within one U.S. age group.
8. 81% of women aged 65 and older have never watched pornography
More than eight in ten women aged 65 and older said they had never watched pornography — so about 19% had at some point (Slavia analysis). This is a lifetime measure.
9. 44% of younger women have never watched pornography
Among younger women in the same analysis, 44% said they had never watched pornography, meaning 56% had at least some lifetime exposure (Slavia analysis). Younger women were about three times as likely as women 65 and over to have ever watched it (Slavia analysis).
The generational gap is large, but these figures cannot say why — internet access, changing attitudes and willingness to answer honestly all plausibly play a part.
Source: Institute for Family Studies, 2022 (primary survey)
A note on teenagers
10. 74.8% of Australians aged 16–18 have encountered online pornography
Australia's eSafety Commissioner surveyed 1,004 adolescents aged 16–18 and found 74.8% had encountered online pornography at some point. Encounters included unintentional exposure — pop-ups, links, things sent by others.
This is a measure of exposure, not of watching by choice, and it is a separate question from adult use. It should never be used to estimate how many adults watch pornography, and it does not mean three in four teenagers worldwide seek it out. Its value is different: it shows how hard online pornography is to avoid, even for people who are not looking for it.
Source: Australia's eSafety Commissioner, 2023 (primary survey)
How much traffic do adult websites get?
Billions of visits a month — but visits are not people, and the totals cannot be turned into a head count.
| Website | Estimated visits, August 2026 | Share of the four-site total |
|---|---|---|
| Pornhub | 3.65 billion | 45.8% |
| XVideos | 2.34 billion | 29.4% |
| xHamster | 1.6 billion | 20.1% |
| OnlyFans | 382.68 million | 4.8% |
| Total, four sites | 7.97 billion | 100% |
Source: Semrush, Most Visited Adult Websites in the World, August 2026 (vendor estimate). Share column: Slavia analysis.
Billions of visits, not unique people. Source: Semrush, Most Visited Adult Websites in the World, August 2026 (vendor estimate).
11. Pornhub received an estimated 3.65 billion visits worldwide
Pornhub ranked first in Semrush's global adult website ranking, with about 3.65 billion estimated visits in August 2026. That is roughly 118 million visits a day across a 31-day month (Slavia analysis). It is not a count of people.
12. XVideos received an estimated 2.34 billion visits
XVideos ranked second with about 2.34 billion estimated visits.
13. xHamster received an estimated 1.6 billion visits
xHamster was third among the sites highlighted here, with about 1.6 billion estimated visits.
14. OnlyFans received an estimated 382.68 million visits
OnlyFans received about 382.68 million visits. It works differently from tube sites — paid subscriptions to individual creators rather than free video libraries — so its traffic is not the same kind of activity and is best read separately.
15. The four sites drew about 7.97 billion visits combined
Together, Pornhub, XVideos, xHamster and OnlyFans recorded about 7.97 billion estimated visits in August 2026. The three tube sites alone account for 95.2% of that total (Slavia analysis).
16. Semrush's estimates come from a clickstream panel
Semrush says its traffic data draws on a clickstream panel of more than 200 million anonymised users in over 190 countries and regions, combined with other data and modelling. That is a solid basis for comparing sites and spotting device patterns. It is not a census, and the absolute numbers are estimates.
Source: Semrush, August 2026 (vendor estimate)
Where does adult website traffic come from?
The United States sends more visits than any single country to the biggest sites — about a fifth to nearly a third of their global traffic. That says more about population and internet access than about how much each person watches.
17. The U.S. sent an estimated 751.19 million visits to Pornhub
Semrush estimated 751.19 million U.S. visits to Pornhub in August 2026 — 20.6% of its global total (Slavia analysis).
18. The U.S. sent an estimated 692.46 million visits to XVideos
U.S. visits to XVideos came to about 692.46 million — 29.6% of its global total (Slavia analysis). XVideos leans noticeably more on American traffic than Pornhub does.
| Website | U.S. visits | Global visits | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pornhub | 751.19 million | 3.65 billion | 20.6% |
| XVideos | 692.46 million | 2.34 billion | 29.6% |
Source: Semrush, U.S. and global adult website rankings, August 2026 (vendor estimate). U.S. share: Slavia analysis.
Total visits mostly reflect how many people a country has online. A country with a large, connected population will top a visits ranking even if a smaller share of its adults watch. Ranking "which country watches the most porn" fairly would need the same survey question asked of representative adults in each country — and no source here does that.
How do people watch porn online?
On their phones, overwhelmingly. Across the three biggest tube sites, between 85% and 90% of estimated visits come from mobile devices.
19. Mobile accounted for 89.59% of Pornhub's traffic
Pornhub received about 3.27 billion mobile visits and 380.42 million desktop visits in August 2026 — 89.59% mobile, or roughly 8.6 mobile visits for every desktop visit (Slavia analysis).
- Mobile89.59%
- Desktop10.41%
Share of 3.65 billion estimated worldwide visits. Source: Semrush, August 2026 (vendor estimate).
20. Mobile accounted for 88.94% of XVideos' traffic
XVideos recorded about 2.08 billion mobile visits and 259.25 million desktop visits.
21. Mobile accounted for 84.57% of xHamster's traffic
xHamster received about 1.35 billion mobile visits and 246.61 million desktop visits.
| Website | Mobile visits | Desktop visits | Mobile share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pornhub | 3.27 billion | 380.42 million | 89.59% |
| XVideos | 2.08 billion | 259.25 million | 88.94% |
| xHamster | 1.35 billion | 246.61 million | 84.57% |
Source: Semrush, Most Visited Adult Websites in the World, August 2026 (vendor estimate)
Phones are private, always nearby and do not share a screen with the rest of the household — plausible reasons for the pattern, though the data cannot test them. What it does show is that the desktop-era picture of online porn is out of date. It also should not be used to claim mobile users watch more often or for longer; these are visit shares, not viewing time.
How many people have a problem with porn use?
A small minority — but the size of that minority depends almost entirely on which test is used.
22. 3.2% to 16.6% were at risk of problematic use, depending on the test
A 2024 study in the journal Addiction, drawing on the International Sex Survey, assessed 82,243 participants across 42 countries. The share at risk of problematic pornography use ranged from 3.2% to 16.6%, depending on the screening tool.
This measures potential risk on a screening test, not a diagnosis, and not the number of people who watch.
Source: Bőthe et al., Addiction, 2024 (primary survey)
23. "Self-reported addiction" was studied separately in the U.S.
The Grubbs, Kraus and Perry study set out to examine self-reported addiction to pornography and how it relates to use habits, religiousness and moral incongruence — the feeling that one's use conflicts with one's values. Its framing is a reminder that how people feel about their use and how much they use are different questions.
Source: Grubbs, Kraus and Perry, 2019 (primary survey)
Why do the sources disagree?
Because they measure different things. Before quoting any porn statistic, check which of these it is:
| Type of number | What it counts | Example | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime use | Anyone who has ever watched | 58%, 70.4% | How widespread the experience is |
| Recent use | Past year, month or week | 50.9%, 27%, 42% | The actual audience |
| Encounter | Any exposure, wanted or not | 74.8% of 16–18s | How hard it is to avoid |
| Site visits | Page sessions, not people | 3.65 billion | Comparing sites and devices |
| Country visits | Visits from one country | 751.19 million U.S. | Traffic mix, not per-person use |
| Screening score | Risk on a questionnaire | 3.2%–16.6% | Problematic use, tool named |
Three disagreements cause most of the confusion:
- Ever vs recently. 58% and 27% come from the same survey. Using the first as "people who watch porn" more than doubles the monthly audience.
- People vs visits. 7.97 billion visits in a month does not mean 7.97 billion viewers, or anything close. Traffic counts repeat visits from the same people.
- Self-report vs observed. Surveys depend on people admitting a private behaviour; web tracking depends on a consenting panel and the devices it can see. Both probably undercount — in different ways.
There is no reliable year-by-year series of porn use by gender to show a trend. The 2019 and 2022 U.S. figures come from different studies with different questions, so their difference is not a measure of change.
Who funds these numbers, and which way does that skew them?
Pornography research is unusually shaped by who is asking. That does not make the data wrong, but it tells you how to read the framing.
- We are not neutral either. Slavia is an 18+ AI companion app — not a pornography site, but in the adult-adjacent space. We have tried to report these figures plainly, without making use look bigger or more alarming than the sources show.
- The Institute for Family Studies is a family-focused think tank that generally frames pornography as a social concern. Its survey data, from AEI's Survey Center on American Life, is solid; the analysis around it reflects that view.
- Some academic work centres on addiction. The Grubbs study was designed to examine self-reported addiction, religiousness and moral incongruence. Research framed around harm asks about harm — useful, but it shapes which numbers exist.
- The eSafety Commissioner is a regulator with a child-safety mandate. Its teen data is careful, and its focus is on exposure and risk.
- Semrush sells SEO and marketing data. Its traffic figures are modelled from a panel and are best for comparing sites, not for absolute counts. It has no stake in porn, but no way to see every visit either.
- Adult sites are absent as sources. The platforms with the most accurate data rarely publish it independently. That leaves outside estimates as the only traffic figures available.
The net effect: survey and academic sources lean toward concern framing, which tends to emphasise problems rather than inflate usage. The traffic numbers are the most likely to be read wrongly — not because they are inflated, but because visits are so easy to mistake for people.
How we built this page
We collected recent survey, web-tracking and traffic data on pornography use, kept each figure with its own population, time window and definition, and never added different measures together. Figures marked Slavia analysis are simple arithmetic between sourced numbers — ratios, shares and differences — with the inputs shown each time. The "Last reviewed" date above shows when the sources were last checked; traffic figures in particular will be updated as new monthly data appears.
The accurate way to cite this topic is with the measure attached: "27% of U.S. adults watched pornography in the past month" is accurate; "most people watch porn" is not, and "billions of people watch porn" is a misreading of visit counts.
The gender split here is far sharper than for AI companions: men report monthly porn use at four times the rate of women, while men are only about 1.35 times as likely to have tried romantic AI — see how many people use AI girlfriends. For why connection, not content, is what keeps people coming back to an AI companion, see why memory matters more than flirting and loneliness statistics by gender.
Frequently asked questions
How many people watch porn online?
There is no reliable worldwide count of unique viewers. The best U.S. survey data, from a 2022 Institute for Family Studies analysis, found 58% of Americans had watched pornography at some point and 27% had in the past month. Those figures describe U.S. adults, not the global population, and cover pornography in any format, not only online.
What percentage of people watch porn?
It depends on the time window. In the 2022 U.S. analysis, 58% had ever watched pornography and 27% had in the past month. A 2019 nationally representative study of 2,075 U.S. adult internet users found 70.4% had viewed it in their lifetime and 50.9% in the past year (Slavia analysis of the reported counts).
Do men or women watch more porn?
Men, by a wide margin. In the 2022 U.S. analysis, 44% of men and 11% of women reported watching pornography in the past month — a four-to-one ratio. A 2025 web-tracking study across five countries also found men were the main consumers, although women's use was significant in some countries.
How often do people watch porn?
There is no single frequency for everyone. 27% of Americans reported past-month use. Among men aged 30–49, 57% watched in the past month and 42% in the past week, which means about three in four of that group's past-month viewers had also watched that week (Slavia analysis).
Which country watches the most porn?
No source can answer that reliably, because total visits mostly reflect population and internet access. Semrush estimated 751.19 million U.S. visits to Pornhub in August 2026 — about a fifth of its global traffic — but that does not show the U.S. has the highest per-person use. A fair comparison needs the share of a representative adult population reporting use in a set period.
Is most porn watched on mobile devices?
Yes, by visits. In August 2026, Semrush estimated that mobile devices accounted for 89.59% of Pornhub visits, 88.94% of XVideos visits and 84.57% of xHamster visits worldwide. That describes visits, not viewing time or the number of people.
How many people visit Pornhub each month?
Semrush estimated about 3.65 billion worldwide visits to Pornhub in August 2026. That is a traffic estimate, not a count of unique people — one person can make dozens of visits in a month.
Sources
- Institute for Family Studies — How Prevalent Is Pornography? (Cox, Lee and Popky, 2022), using data from the AEI Survey Center on American Life primary survey
- Grubbs, Kraus and Perry (2019) — Self-reported addiction to pornography in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Behavioral Addictions primary survey
- Martinez-Serra and Cardenal (2025) — Who watches porn? Demographic insights from web tracking data. Computers in Human Behavior primary survey — web-tracking panel — observed browsing, not self-report
- Australia's eSafety Commissioner (2023) — Adolescent encounters with online pornography primary survey
- Bőthe et al. (2024) — Problematic pornography use across countries, genders, and sexual orientations. Addiction primary survey
- Semrush — Most Visited Adult Websites in the World (August 2026) vendor estimate — modelled from a clickstream panel; visits, not unique people
- Semrush — Most Visited Adult Websites in the United States (August 2026) vendor estimate