World Sites & Apps
South America · #56 · 2025–2026

Ecuador: internet and everyday apps

Ecuador has about 13 million people online — a penetration rate of 71% and rank #56 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 16 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 13 million Penetration 71.0% World rank #56 Updated 2026-11-12
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TL;DR
  • Ecuador has roughly 13 million internet users (13,000,000 people) — about 71% of the population and rank #56 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Gaming and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

Ecuador in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
13 million13,000,000 · #56
Penetration
71.0%#142
Population
18.3 million18,300,000 · #70
GDP
$124B#65
GDP growth
-1.9%#210
GDP per person
$6,765#127
Land area
276.8k km²#74
Capital
Quito
Region
South America
Official languages
Spanish

How Ecuador goes online

Quito and Guayaquil run on WhatsApp: the family group, the school group, the work group. Facebook is still where news gets read and politics gets argued. DeUna and Payphone made paying for lunch or a taxi ride stop requiring cash. Whatever the neighbourhood does not have gets searched on Mercado Libre, and Rappi brings dinner when it is already late. Cash still works for the market and the bus, but the phone covers most of the rest.

Around 71%. With a population of about 18.3 million and 13 million online, roughly 5.3 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 16 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

16 Most-used apps

Messaging

1 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Instagram Social · Meta · 2010 Facebook Social · Meta · 2004

Video

2 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005 TikTok Video · ByteDance · 2016

Shopping

2 Most-used apps →
Mercado Libre Shopping · Mercado Libre · 1999 Amazon Shopping · Amazon.com, Inc. · 1994

Payments

1 Most-used apps →
Mercado Pago Payments · Mercado Libre · 2003

Mobility

2 Most-used apps →
Uber Mobility · Uber Technologies · 2009 inDrive Mobility · inDrive · 2012

Food

2 Most-used apps →
Rappi Food · Rappi · 2015 PedidosYa Food · Delivery Hero · 2009

Tools

2 Most-used apps →
Google Tools · Google · 1998 Gmail Tools · Google · 2004

Gaming

2 Most-used apps →
PUBG Mobile Gaming · Krafton · Level Infinite · 2018 Garena Free Fire Gaming · Garena · 2017

Websites people in Ecuador actually use

12

The 12 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

News3Banking2Property1Food1Government1Shopping1Telecom1Education1Health1
El UniversoNewseluniverso.comGuayaquil's daily, mixing national news with a lot of sport. El Comercio EcuadorNewselcomercio.comNews and politics from Quito, with coverage beyond the capital. PrimiciasNewsprimicias.ecNews and interviews, widely read by people who follow politics. Banco PichinchaBankingpichincha.comThe app for transfers, bill payments and checking the day's balance. Central Bank of EcuadorBankingbce.fin.ecThe central bank of a dollarised economy. PlusvalíaPropertyplusvalia.comProperty listings filtered by neighbourhood and price, used across the country. SupermaxiFoodsupermaxi.comThe big weekly shop, with promotions and home delivery. SRIGovernmentsri.gob.ecTaxes, invoices and online paperwork that almost nobody avoids. Mercado Libre EcuadorShoppingmercadolibre.com.ecBuying and selling almost anything, with shipping and payment handled in one place. CNTTelecomcnt.gob.ecThe state telecom, with fibre in the provincial capitals. National Polytechnic SchoolEducationepn.edu.ecThe main technical university. Ministry of HealthHealthsalud.gob.ecCampaigns and epidemiological data.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in Ecuador are online?

About 13 million (13,000,000 people). That works out to roughly 71% of the population, which puts Ecuador at #56 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in Ecuador use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Gaming. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in Ecuador?

WhatsApp dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in Ecuador?

Around 71%. With a population of about 18.3 million and 13 million online, roughly 5.3 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in Ecuador?

The everyday ones are El Universo, El Comercio Ecuador, Banco Pichincha, plus the other 12 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “Ecuador: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/ec-en.html