The World's Favorite Emojis
Every day, billions of emojiEmoji
A Japanese word (絵文字) meaning 'picture character' — small graphical symbols used in digital communication to express ideas, emotions, and objects. fly across messages, posts, and reactions worldwide. But which ones rule the charts? Based on Unicode ConsortiumUnicode Consortium
The non-profit organization that develops and maintains the Unicode Standard, including the process for adding new emoji. frequency data, platform analytics from Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook, and messaging app telemetry, here are the 50 most used emojis in 2025.
Ranks 1–10: The Absolute Royalty
These ten emojis account for a staggering share of all emoji usage globally.
| Rank | Emoji | Name | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 😂 | Face with Tears of Joy | Laughter, humor |
| 2 | ❤️ | Red Heart | Love, affection |
| 3 | 🤣 | Rolling on the Floor Laughing | Extreme laughter |
| 4 | 👍 | Thumbs Up | Approval, agreement |
| 5 | 😭 | Loudly Crying Face | Sadness and overwhelming joy |
| 6 | 🙏 | Folded Hands | Thanks, please, prayer |
| 7 | 😘 | Face Blowing a Kiss | Affection, goodbye |
| 8 | 🥰 | Smiling Face with Hearts | Feeling loved |
| 9 | 😍 | Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes | Adoration, admiration |
| 10 | 😊 | Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes | Gentle happiness |
😂 has held the #1 spot for years — its universal appeal across cultures and languages makes it essentially the default reaction to anything amusing.
Ranks 11–25: The Essential Toolkit
These emojis form the core of everyday digital communication:
| Rank | Emoji | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 🔥 | Fire |
| 12 | 💕 | Two Hearts |
| 13 | 😢 | Crying Face |
| 14 | 👏 | Clapping Hands |
| 15 | 😎 | Smiling Face with Sunglasses |
| 16 | 💔 | Broken Heart |
| 17 | 💯 | Hundred Points |
| 18 | ✨ | Sparkles |
| 19 | 🎉 | Party Popper |
| 20 | 🤔 | Thinking Face |
| 21 | 💀 | Skull |
| 22 | 🤦 | Person Facepalming |
| 23 | 💪 | Flexed Biceps |
| 24 | 😅 | Grinning Face with Sweat |
| 25 | 🙄 | Face with Rolling Eyes |
Notice how 💀 appears here — younger users have adopted it as a synonym for "dying of laughter," a perfect example of emoji meaning drift.
Ranks 26–40: The Supporting Cast
| Rank | Emoji | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 😩 | Weary Face |
| 27 | 🥺 | Pleading Face |
| 28 | 😤 | Face with Steam from Nose |
| 29 | 🎊 | Confetti Ball |
| 30 | 💋 | Kiss Mark |
| 31 | 🤩 | Star-Struck |
| 32 | 🌹 | Rose |
| 33 | 😏 | Smirking Face |
| 34 | 😈 | Smiling Face with Horns |
| 35 | 🥳 | Partying Face |
| 36 | 👀 | Eyes |
| 37 | 💜 | Purple Heart |
| 38 | 🙂 | Slightly Smiling Face |
| 39 | 😡 | Enraged Face |
| 40 | 🌸 | Cherry Blossom |
Ranks 41–50: Climbing the Charts
| Rank | Emoji | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | 🥹 | Face Holding Back Tears |
| 42 | 😀 | Grinning Face |
| 43 | 🫶 | Heart Hands |
| 44 | 🌟 | Glowing Star |
| 45 | 💖 | Sparkling Heart |
| 46 | 🤗 | Smiling Face with Open Hands |
| 47 | 😴 | Sleeping Face |
| 48 | 😋 | Face Savoring Food |
| 49 | 🙃 | Upside-Down Face |
| 50 | 🫠 | Melting Face |
🥹, 🫶, and 🫠 are notable newcomers — all added in UnicodeUnicode
Universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character across all writing systems and symbol sets, including emoji. 14.0 (2021) — that have rapidly climbed the global rankings thanks to their expressive versatility.
What Makes an Emoji Go Viral?
Several factors drive emoji to the top of the usage charts:
Emotional Range
The most-used emojis cover the widest emotional territory. 😂 works for anything funny. ❤️ works for anything lovable. ✨ works as generic positivity. Versatile emojis win.
Platform Defaults
Emojis that appear in keyboard suggestion rows or reaction panels get outsized usage. If it's easy to tap, it gets tapped more.
Cultural Adoption
Memes, trends, and cultural moments can launch an emoji into the top 50. The 🥹 emoji blew up partly due to social media posts about feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
Cross-Language Universality
Emojis that need no explanation in any language — like ❤️ or 😂 — naturally reach the top. They communicate across every barrier.
The Long Tail
The top 50 emojis account for approximately 60% of all emoji usage. The remaining 3,900+ emojis share the other 40%. Some emoji — particularly obscure flags like 🇸🇯 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) or technical symbols — see almost no usage at all.
Explore Usage Data
Want to dive deeper into emoji statistics? Visit our Emoji Stats tool to explore emoji counts by category, version, and type — and see exactly how the emoji landscape breaks down across the Unicode standardUnicode Standard
The complete character encoding system maintained by the Unicode Consortium, defining characters, properties, algorithms, and encoding forms..