• 2 min read
Max Tops Telegram in Russia, but Growth Has Stalled
Max overtook Telegram in monthly audience in Russia in June 2026, reaching 86.26 million users. But its month-to-month growth has nearly flattened.
Image: 3dnews
Max overtook Telegram for the first time in June 2026 by monthly audience among messengers in Russia. But the milestone came with a warning sign: growth has almost stopped.
According to Mediascope, 86.26 million people aged 12 and older used Max during the month. That was only a marginal increase from 86.06 million in May and 85.35 million in April. June added just 198,000 users — barely visible at this scale.
By contrast, Telegram fell much more sharply over the same period. Its monthly audience dropped to 75.69 million in June, down from 87.92 million in April, when it was still the Russian messenger market leader. WhatsApp ranked third with 63.51 million users.
Mediascope’s study covered mobile and desktop versions of the services and included Russian residents aged over 12. By monthly reach, Max now accounts for 70% of the country’s population, versus 61.4% for Telegram and 51.5% for WhatsApp.
Max also led by a wide margin in average daily reach. In June, 69.03 million people used the service daily, compared with 35.41 million for Telegram and 23.62 million for WhatsApp. The gap between monthly and daily audiences suggests Max has become a routine app for many users rather than something they open occasionally.
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Why Max’s growth slowed
Max’s rapid rise coincided with restrictions on foreign messengers. In August 2025, Roskomnadzor announced limits on calls in Telegram and WhatsApp. In November, it introduced further step-by-step restrictions on WhatsApp, and in February 2026 said similar measures against Telegram would continue.
That gave the domestic service a very large starting audience, driven not only by messaging but also by more frequent daily use. Now the first surge appears to be fading.
Over two months, Max added about 900,000 users in monthly reach, and its latest gain was small enough to fall within the statistical margin of error for a platform of this size. For a service with tens of millions of users, the next phase looks less like a race for mass migration and more like a fight to keep people from leaving — and to make sure they keep opening the app every day.
In Russia’s messenger market, the balance may now shift less on installs than on actual usage frequency. Telegram still has channels, news, and user habit on its side. WhatsApp remains strong in everyday personal communication. Max, judging by the June numbers, has joined that top tier — but it now has to prove first place is more than a striking line in a report.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via ITzine
