What the ad platforms earn from an hour of a UK user's time, from their own
filings - from 3.6p on YouTube
to 28.0p on Reddit.
Tap a row for the working.
Redditthey earn28.0p/hr
£6.73 per user per year ÷ 24 usage hours
= 28.0p per hour. Reddit Q2 2026 results (30 Jul 2026): international ARPU $2.26/quarter x 4 = $9.04/yr. The UK sits in the international bucket, and Reddit calls the UK its largest international market - so this is a floor; the US equivalent is $47.40 (~£35).
TikTokestthey earn21.8p/hr
£37.00 per user per year ÷ 170 usage hours
= 21.8p per hour. Modelled: TikTok is private and files no per-user figure anywhere - its UK entity accounts mix Europe, Latin America and Africa. Credible 2025 estimates of its UK ad revenue span ~£1.1-1.6bn over 24.8-30m UK users, a band of ~£37-65 per user; we price at the bottom of the band, so this is a floor.
£53.87 per user per year ÷ 262 usage hours
= 20.6p per hour. Modelled from single-country filings: ITV FY2025 total advertising revenue £1,723m (annual results, 4 Mar 2026) plus Channel 4's disclosed FY2025 total advertising revenue of £922m (Annual Report, May 2026), spread over the UK's 49.1m online adults (Ofcom Online Nation 2025).
Meta (Facebook + Instagram)they earn12.4p/hr
£47.31 per user per year ÷ 383 usage hours
= 12.4p per hour. Meta Q2 2026 earnings: trailing-twelve-month worldwide Family ARPP $63.54 (the four filed quarters to Jun 2026; FY2025 as filed was $57.03). The worldwide average is the only per-person figure Meta files - a UK user is worth materially more.
Browsing the open webestthey earn9.2p/hr
£51.19 per user per year ÷ 554 usage hours
= 9.2p per hour. Modelled: AA/WARC put UK "other online display" advertising (the open web outside search, social and retail media) at £2,513m in 2025, spread over the UK's 49.1m online adults (Ofcom Online Nation 2025).
X (Twitter)estthey earn8.1p/hr
£3.00 per user per year ÷ 37 usage hours
= 8.1p per hour. Modelled: X is private and has filed nothing since 2022. Ads-only maths from independent estimates - ~$2.26bn 2025 advertising revenue over ~561m monthly users = $4.03/yr - converted at the stated rate. Total-revenue variants reach ~£4.80, so this is the bottom of the band.
Snapchatthey earn6.6p/hr
£10.78 per user per year ÷ 164 usage hours
= 6.6p per hour. Snap Q2 2026 results (3 Aug 2026): Europe ARPU $3.62/quarter x 4 = $14.48/yr, converted at the stated rate. Europe is the finest split Snap files; the UK prices above the Europe average.
YouTubeestthey earn3.6p/hr
£11.13 per user per year ÷ 310 usage hours
= 3.6p per hour. Modelled: Alphabet's FY2025 10-K files YouTube advertising revenue of $40,367m but no per-user figure; spread over ~2.70bn monthly users (secondary estimate) = $14.95/yr, converted at the stated rate.