How much people earn online, platform by platform
Every figure below comes from a platform's own published numbers, annual reports or official pages, with a link to the source. Added together, they show the scale of the opportunity the internet has opened up.
Paid to people: at least $550B
Money platforms say they paid to the people earning on them: hosts, drivers, couriers, creators, freelancers and sellers.
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1
Airbnb
$380B
All-time · 69% of total
Airbnb hosts have earned more than $380 billion all-time, per Airbnb's newsroom fact page (updated May 2026). Source · 2026-05 ↗
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2
YouTube
$32B
2024 · 5.8% of total
YouTube paid out more than $32 billion to its partners (creators, artists and media companies) globally in 2024. Source · 2024 ↗
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3
Instacart
$24B
All-time · 4.4% of total
Instacart shoppers have earned over $24 billion in income, per Instacart's 2025 Economic Impact Report cited in its Q4 2025 shareholder letter. Source · 2025 ↗
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4
DoorDash
$20B
2025 · 3.6% of total
People who dashed on DoorDash earned a total of over $20 billion in 2025, per DoorDash's 2025 annual report (Form 10-K). Source · 2025 ↗
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5
Uber
$20B
Q4 2024 · 3.6% of total
Uber drivers and couriers earned an aggregate $20.0 billion (including tips) in Q4 2024 alone, up 16% year over year. Source · 2024-12 ↗
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6
Grab
$15.3B
2025 · 2.8% of total
Driver- and merchant-partners earned a combined $15.3 billion on Grab in 2025, up 19% (driver earnings counted as fares, tips and bonuses net of commission). Source · 2025 ↗
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7
Patreon
$10B
All-time · 1.8% of total
Patreon says creators have earned more than $10 billion on the platform since it was founded in 2013. Source · 2026 ↗
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8
Teachable
$10B
All-time · 1.8% of total
$10B+ earned by Teachable and Hotmart creators combined (cumulative), per Teachable's About page. Not a Teachable-only figure. Source · 2026 ↗
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9
Poshmark
$8B
All-time · 1.5% of total
Poshmark says its sellers in the US and Canada have generated $8 billion in earnings since the platform launched in 2011. Source · 2026 ↗
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10
ClickBank
$7.3B
All-time · 1.3% of total
ClickBank says it has paid over $7.3 billion in commissions to affiliates and sellers over more than 27 years. Source · 2026 ↗
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11
Turo
$6.6B
All-time · 1.2% of total
Cumulative host earnings on Turo from the company's inception through October 31 2025, per Turo's official list-your-car page footnotes. Source · 2025-10 ↗
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12
Raptive
$4B
All-time
Raptive says it has paid out $4 billion directly to creators and media companies across its network. Source · 2026 ↗
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13
Facebook
$3B
2025
Facebook paid content creators nearly $3 billion in 2025, up 35% on 2024 and its highest annual total ever, with 60% of payouts going to reels. Source · 2025 ↗
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14
Roblox
$1.5B
2025
Roblox creators earned over $1.5 billion in 2025, up from $923 million in 2024. Source · 2025 ↗
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15
CodeCanyon
$1.3B
All-time
CodeCanyon shows $1,254,157,847 in community earnings and 78,938,100 items sold, a running total shared across Envato Market sites, per its homepage. Source · 2026 ↗
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16
Taboola
$1.2B
2025
Taboola paid $1.215 billion in traffic acquisition cost to the websites and apps that host its ads in 2025, per its 2025 annual report on Form 10-K. Source · 2025 ↗
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17
CD Baby
$1B
All-time
CD Baby says it has paid over $1 billion to independent artists since 1998. Source · 2026 ↗
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18
Podia
$900M
All-time
Podia says its creators have together earned more than $900M on the platform (cumulative, no period stated), per its homepage. Source · 2026 ↗
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19
Swagbucks
$704M
All-time
Swagbucks' homepage counter shows $704,411,338 paid to members worldwide (cumulative, all time) as of September 2026. Source · 2026-09 ↗
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20
Outlier
$500M
All-time
Outlier states it has paid more than $500 million to experts who train AI models on its platform, paid weekly. Source · 2026 ↗
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21
TuneCore
$400M
2020
TuneCore paid out over $400 million to independent artists in 2020, according to Music Business Worldwide as cited by Wikipedia. Source · 2020 ↗
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22
HackerOne
$380M
All-time
HackerOne states more than $380 million has been rewarded to hackers across its bug bounty programs to date. Source · 2026 ↗
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23
99designs
$300M
All-time
99designs says its creator community of designers has earned more than $300 million on the platform since launch. Source · 2026 ↗
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24
Hipcamp
$300M
All-time
Cumulative earnings by Hipcamp Hosts to date, per Hipcamp's official become-a-host page (no period stated). Source · 2026 ↗
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25
iStock
$220M
2025
Getty Images, which owns iStock, paid over $220 million in royalties to content contributors (including content partners) in 2025, per its 10-K. Source · 2025 ↗
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26
Udemy
$168M
2025
Udemy instructors collectively earned $168 million in 2025, per Udemy's annual report (Form 10-K). Source · 2025 ↗
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27
Aspire
$100M
All-time
Aspire says more than $100 million in influencer payouts have been distributed through its platform. Source · 2026 ↗
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28
Ghost
$100M
Per year
Ghost says publications running on its platform earn over $100 million in revenue each year, with 0% payment fees taken by Ghost. Source · 2026 ↗
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29
Hotplate
$100M
All-time
Hotplate says chefs selling through its platform have collectively earned $100 million, per its official homepage. Source · 2026 ↗
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30
Redbubble
$70M
All-time
By January 2017, ten years after launch, artists had earned $70 million on Redbubble, per the company CEO's blog post cited on Wikipedia. Source · 2017-01 ↗
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31
Steam
$57M
All-time
By January 2015 more than $57 million had been paid to content creators selling items through the Steam Workshop. Source · 2015-01 ↗
-
32
GitHub Sponsors
$40M
All-time
GitHub says more than $40 million has been given back to open source maintainers through GitHub Sponsors, across 103 supported regions. Source · 2026 ↗
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33
Gumroad
$2.1M
One week
Gumroad reports its creators earned $2,139,825 in income in the most recent week, as shown on its About page in September 2026. Source · 2026-09 ↗
Sold through platforms: at least $4.54T
The value of everything sold or booked on these marketplaces, before fees. This is money flowing to sellers and service providers, not their take-home income.
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1
Amazon
$2.5T
All-time · 55% of total
Amazon says independent sellers have generated more than $2.5 trillion in sales in its store over 25 years of third-party selling. Source · 2025 ↗
-
2
Shopify
$1.6T
All-time · 35% of total
Shopify merchants have sold $1.6 trillion in gross merchandise volume in total since the platform launched, per Shopify's investor relations page. Source · 2026 ↗
-
3
Shopee
$127B
2025 · 2.8% of total
Sea Limited reported $127.4 billion in Shopee gross merchandise value for full-year 2025, up 26.8 percent year over year. Source · 2025 ↗
-
4
eBay
$80B
2025 · 1.8% of total
eBay sellers generated nearly $80 billion in gross merchandise volume in full-year 2025, per eBay's 2025 Form 10-K. Source · 2025 ↗
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5
MercadoLibre
$65B
2025 · 1.4% of total
MercadoLibre's 2025 10-K reports $65.04 billion in gross merchandise volume across its Latin American marketplace in 2025, up from $51.47 billion in 2024. Source · 2025 ↗
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6
DiDi
$64.5B
2025 · 1.4% of total
DiDi's Core Platform gross transaction value was RMB450.8 billion (US$64.5 billion) in 2025, per its 20-F (rider spend, not driver take-home pay). Source · 2025 ↗
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7
BigCommerce
$31.7B
2025
Merchants on BigCommerce processed $31.7 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2025 (sales incl. shipping and tax, not profit), per its 2025 Form 10-K. Source · 2025 ↗
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8
CJ Affiliate
$16B
Per year
CJ says it drives more than $16 billion in advertiser revenue annually (company claim of sales driven, not commissions paid to publishers). Source · 2026 ↗
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9
Etsy
$10.5B
2025
Buyers spent $10.46 billion with sellers on the Etsy marketplace in full year 2025 (gross merchandise sales, before fees). Source · 2025 ↗
-
10
StubHub
$9.2B
All-time
StubHub's FY2025 results report $9.2 billion in gross merchandise sales, the ticket value sold on its marketplace, up 6 percent year over year. Source · 2025 ↗
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11
Grubhub
$8.7B
2020
Diners ordered $8.67 billion of food through Grubhub in 2020 (Gross Food Sales, not driver pay), per Grubhub's 2020 annual report on Form 10-K. Source · 2020 ↗
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12
Whatnot
$8B
2025
Whatnot's 2026 State of Live Selling Report says sellers made more than $8 billion in sales in 2025, more than double the 2024 total. Source · 2025 ↗
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13
Squarespace
$6.2B
2023
Squarespace sites processed about $6.21 billion of gross merchandise value in 2023 (seller sales, not profit), per its 2023 annual report on Form 10-K. Source · 2023 ↗
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14
Upwork
$4B
2025
Clients spent $4.03 billion on Upwork in 2025 (gross services volume, the total billed for freelance work and related fees, before Upwork's cut). Source · 2025 ↗
-
15
Vivid Seats
$2.7B
2025
Vivid Seats reported $2.70 billion in Marketplace gross order value in full-year 2025, the total value of marketplace orders including fees. Source · 2025 ↗
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16
Klook
$2.5B
2024
Travelers booked US$2.5 billion of activities, tours and attractions on Klook in 2024 (gross transaction value, not merchant profit), per its SEC F-1 filing. Source · 2024 ↗
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17
Depop
$1.1B
2025
Depop gross merchandise sales were $1.07 billion in full year 2025, as reported by then-owner Etsy in its annual results. Source · 2025 ↗
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18
Fiverr
$1.1B
2025
Buyers spent $1.07 billion on the Fiverr marketplace in 2025 (marketplace GMV, before Fiverr fees), per Fiverr's 2025 annual report on Form 20-F. Source · 2025 ↗
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19
Jumia
$819M
2025
Jumia reported $818.6 million in gross merchandise value for full-year 2025, up 14 percent from $720.6 million in 2024. Source · 2025 ↗
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20
Epic Games Store
$400M
2025
Players spent a record $400 million, retail including taxes, on third-party PC games on the Epic Games Store in 2025, up 57% year over year. Source · 2025 ↗
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21
Newegg Marketplace
$164M
H1 2026
Newegg reported $163.6 million in marketplace GMV sold by third-party sellers in the six months to June 30 2026, down from $173.0 million a year earlier. Source · 2026-06 ↗
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22
Rover
$150M
2016
Pet owners booked $150 million of care on Rover and DogVacay combined in 2016, with the companies keeping about 20% as fees, per TechCrunch cited on Wikipedia. Source · 2016 ↗
Raised by creators and causes: at least $50.7B
Money pledged to projects and fundraisers, or lent to small businesses.
-
1
GoFundMe
$40B
All-time · 79% of total
GoFundMe says $40 billion has been raised through its platform since 2010 by fundraisers helping people and causes. Source · 2026 ↗
-
2
Kickstarter
$8.7B
All-time · 17% of total
Backers pledged a cumulative US$8.71 billion on Kickstarter, from 24.1 million backers, to fund 277,302 projects as of April 2025. Source · 2025-04 ↗
-
3
Kiva
$2B
All-time · 3.9% of total
Kiva lenders have crowdfunded more than $2 billion in loans to borrowers since the platform launched in 2005. Source · 2026 ↗
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4
itch.io
$216K
2022
The 2022 Queer Games Bundle on itch.io raised US$216,000 for the 431 creators who took part. Source · 2022 ↗
How the live estimates work
The "Right now, online" counters on our homepage take published yearly totals and spread them evenly across the year: a yearly total divided by the seconds in a year gives a per-second rate. Real activity rises and falls through the day and week, so they show the scale of what is happening, not a live feed.
- Paid to people: at least $73.5B a year, about $2,329 a second. The sum of single-year payout totals from 9 platforms: YouTube $32B (2024), DoorDash $20B (2025), Grab $15.3B (2025), Facebook $3B (2025), Roblox $1.5B (2025), Taboola $1.2B (2025), iStock $220M (2025), Udemy $168M (2025), Ghost $100M (Per year). Platforms that only publish all-time or quarterly totals are left out, so the real figure is higher.
How we counted
- Published figures only. Each number is what the platform, its annual report or official page says. We link every source and haven't audited them.
- One figure per platform. Where a platform publishes several, we use its largest. Sites that share one running total, such as Envato's marketplaces, are counted once.
- Totals are minimums. Some platforms publish all-time totals, others only a single year or quarter. A single year is always less than the all-time total, so each sum is a floor: the real figure is higher.
- Payouts and sales are kept apart. Sales through a marketplace are not anyone's income, so they are never added to money paid to people.
- US dollars only. Figures published in other currencies, and counts that aren't money, are listed below but not added.
Not included in the totals: Allegro (~PLN 70 bn GMV in 2025), Flippa (450,000+ deals completed), Honeygain (1M+ payouts completed), Liberapay (€22,472 per week), PeoplePerHour (£100M+ all-time), Printful (143.9M items shipped), Sedo (700,000 domain sales), TeePublic (Tens of millions paid), Vinted (EUR 10.8B sold in 2025).