Back in March 2009, we compiled a list of the top 30 earning websites in the world, with Google.com taking the top spot. However, in 2024, our new Top Earning Websites In The World list, reveals Amazon.com has overtaken Google.com – can you believe it?
While this is just a list of some of the top-earning websites in the world, it’s still fascinating to compare their revenues on a per-second basis. For example, earning $1000 in a day may seem like a dream come true, but it’s only 1.157 cents per second. Imagine what it must be like to be Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, or Sergey Brin, who are some of the richest billionaires in the world and own some of the most valuable internet businesses as well.
It’s important to remember that profit margins and cash flow are crucial in any business comparison, as turnover alone is merely vanity. So, who else should be on this list? Which names surprised you? With 31536000 seconds in a year, it’s up to us to make them count – just like Amazon.com.
At the end of the article, I share how they make money from their websites. Enjoy.
Business without profit is not business any more than a pickle is a candy ~ Charles F Abbott
| 1 | Amazon | Jeff Bezos | $575 Billion | $18,250 |
| 2 | Larry Page, Sergey Brin | $305 Billion | $9,668.92 | |
| 3 | Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes | $135 Billion | $4,273.50 | |
| 4 | JD.com | Liu Qiangdong aka Richard Liu | $114 Billion | $3,615.92 |
| 5 | Alibaba | Peng Lei, Jack Ma | $72 Billion | $2,280.70 |
| 6 | Tencent | Ma Huateng | $66 Billion | $2,092.84 |
| 7 | eBay | Pierre Omidyar | $59 Billion | $1,870.00 |
| 8 | Paypal | Peter Thiel, Yu Pan, Luke Nosek, Elon Musk, Ken Howery, Max Levchin | $30 Billion | $951.32 |
| 9 | Booking | Geert-Jan Bruinsma | $21.3 Billion | $674.25 |
| 10 | Salesforce | Marc Benioff, Parker Harris | $21 Billion | $665.78 |
| 11 | TikTok | Zhang Yiming | $18.5 Billion | $585.00 |
| 12 | Stripe | John Collison, Patrick Collison | $16 Billion | $506.74 |
| 13 | Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Jean-Luc Valliant, Allen Blue, Eric Ly | $15.1 Billion | $478.60 | |
| 14 | Rakuten | Hiroshi Mikitani | $15 Billion | $474.68 |
| 15 | Reuters | Paul Reuter | $12.6 Billion | $399.54 |
| 16 | Priceline | Jesse Fink, Jay S. Walker, Scott Case | $9.22 Billion | $292.36 |
| 17 | Shopify | Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake | $7.1 Billion | $225.00 |
| 18 | Spotify | Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon | $7 Billion | $221.68 |
| 19 | Expedia | Richard Barton | $6.67 Billion | $211.50 |
| 20 | Airbnb | Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk | $6 Billion | $190.00 |
| 21 | Baidu | Robin Li, Eric Xu | $5.21 Billion | $165.21 |
| 22 | Yahoo | Jerry Yang, David Filo | $4.97 Billion | $157.60 |
| 23 | ASOS | Nick Robertson, Quentin Griffiths | $3.55 Billion | $112.00 |
| 24 | Evan Williams, Noah glass, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone | $3.4 Billion | $107.00 | |
| 25 | Etsy | Robert Kalin, Chris Maguire, and Haim Schoppik | $3 Billion | $95.06 |
| 26 | NetEase | Ding Lei | $2 Billion | $63.42 |
| 27 | Zillow | Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink | $1.95 Billion | $61.80 |
| 28 | Overstock | Patrick M. Byrne | $1.66 Billion | $52.64 |
| 29 | Orbitz | Jeff Katz | $932 Million | $29.55 |
| 30 | Upwork | Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis | $780 Million | $24.73 |
How the biggest websites in the world make money
1. Advertising: Google, Facebook, and Tiktok generate revenue through advertisements.
2. Affiliate marketing: Amazon and eBay have affiliate programs where they earn a commission for each referral sale.
3. Subscription model: Netflix, Spotify, and Salesforce offer a subscription-based service model.
4. E-commerce: Amazon, Alibaba, and Shopify earn income through e-commerce transactions.
If you want to launch your own-only store, the two best tools for creating an online store are Shopify and WooCommerce. If you already have an online store, read this article on e-commerce SEO.
5. Digital products: Etsy and Upwork provide a platform for buying and selling digital products such as designs, music, and software.
6. Commission-based model: Etsy and Airbnb charge a commission for each transaction that occurs on their platforms.
7. Lead generation: Salesforce and HubSpot generate leads for businesses and earn income through lead generation.
If you want to create an email list, read this beginner’s guide to email marketing.
8. Data monetization: Facebook and Google earn revenue through data monetization.
9. Sponsored content: Instagram and TikTok generate revenue through sponsored posts and content.
10. Online education: Udemy and Coursera earn revenue through online courses and education programs.
11. Online gambling: Betfair earns income through online gambling.
12. In-app purchases: Mobile games such as Candy Crush and Clash of Clans earn revenue through in-app purchases.
13 Product reviews: Amazon and Yelp earn income through product reviews and sponsored content.
14. Consultancy services: Shopify and Upwork offer consultancy services for businesses and individuals.
If you want to learn about selling services, read this article.
15. Payment processing: Stripe and PayPal earn income through payment processing services.