In this guide
- Why these numbers matter
- What the world searched for
- The most viewed categories
- The most searched performers
- Who watches: women, age and countries
- How long people watch, and on what
- Age verification is redrawing the map
- What the data cannot tell you
- My take
Every year in December, Pornhub publishes its Year in Review, a huge report on what its visitors searched for, watched and how they behaved. Journalists love it. Academics are suspicious of it. People in my industry read it very carefully, because it tells us what audiences want.
I read it for another reason too. In the 2025 report, my own name appeared. I will come back to that.
Let me be clear first: these figures come from one company, published partly as marketing. They do not represent all porn, all sites or all people. But with billions of visits behind them, they are still one of the biggest datasets about human sexual curiosity that exists. Here is what the 2025 edition says (Pornhub Insights: 2025 Year in Review).
Why these numbers matter
Studios use this kind of data to decide what to shoot. Performers use it to understand which niches are growing. Creators on platforms like OnlyFans use it to choose themes and titles. And researchers, parents and politicians use it, sometimes badly, to argue about what porn is doing to society.
If you understand the trends, you understand the business. I explained who owns the site that publishes them in who owns Pornhub.
What the world searched for
The top searches worldwide in 2025:
- “hentai” was number one for the fifth year in a row. Animated and anime-style content keeps growing, especially with young viewers.
- “milf” stayed second, “now just a hair behind” hentai, according to Pornhub.
- “anal” and “big ass” stayed fifth and sixth.
Pornhub also highlighted trends: searches for “cougar” up 83%, “gilf” up 129% and “50 plus” up 105%, which it linked to growing interest in mature women and natural beauty. Role-play searches also grew, with the Role Play category up 98%, and job-themed searches like “boss” up 175%.
The world’s most searched porn is a cartoon, and the second is an older woman. That alone should destroy most stereotypes about what men want.
In the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world, the patterns are local. In Spain, the top searches were “milf”, “hentai”, “espanol” and “lesbianas”. In Brazil, “hentai” led, followed by “brasileira”, “punheta guiada” (guided masturbation, or JOI) and “anal”. People everywhere like to see people who look and speak like them.
The most viewed categories
Searches and categories are different things: a search is what people type, a category is how videos are grouped. In 2025, Pornhub’s most viewed categories worldwide were:
- Lesbian (up three places)
- Transgender (up five places, its highest ever)
- MILF (number one in 2024)
- Anal
- Mature
The rise of the Transgender category was one of the big stories of the report. Pornhub also noted strong growth in SFW sections of the site, such as its Podcast and Music categories, which is a sign that some visitors use it for more than porn.
The most searched performers
The most searched pornstars of 2025, according to Pornhub:
- Alex Adams, a male performer at the top of the list, after climbing five places
- Angela White
- Violet Myers
- Bonnie Blue, a newcomer to the list
- Lana Rhoades
- Lily Phillips, another newcomer
Among the biggest climbers, Pornhub listed several names, including Blake Blossom, Coco Lovelock and, yes, Maximo Garcia, up 15 places. And in the Brazil section, the report listed Maximo Garcia as the second most searched pornstar in the country, right after Elisa Sanches. The report called me “another popular Brazilian pornstar”. I am not Brazilian, but after that, Brazil, I am happy to be adopted.
I mention this not to show off, but because it shows how the rankings work: they are driven by searches, and searches are driven by what people discover on social media, clips and word of mouth. I wrote about how performers’ careers are built in how to become a porn actor.
Who watches: women, age and countries
Women. Pornhub reported that 38% of its visitors in 2025 were women. In 2015, the figure was 24%. In some countries, including Colombia and Argentina, women made up a majority of visitors, at 56%. In much of Europe the share was lower, around 25% to 27%.
Age. The average visitor was 38 years old. Visitors aged 18 to 24 made up the largest group, at 29%, followed by 25 to 34 at 23%. Visitors aged 65 and over were 7%.
Countries. The United States was again the biggest source of traffic. Mexico jumped to second. Brazil rose to fourth and Germany to fifth. France fell four places after Pornhub suspended access there in a dispute over the French age verification rules, and the United Kingdom dropped three places after its own age checks came in.
How long people watch, and on what
Time. The average visit lasted 9 minutes and 33 seconds, seven seconds less than in 2024. Young visitors stayed less than average; visitors over 65 stayed about two minutes longer. Japan had the longest average visits at 11 minutes and 2 seconds.
Devices. Phones made up 87% of traffic, down 3.5% from the year before, while desktop rose to 11%. In the United States, phone share fell from 92% to 84%, which Pornhub linked to age verification laws changing how people access the site.
Nine and a half minutes is a useful number for men worried about how long they last. Most porn is consumed in short sessions. It is not a model of real sex, as I explained in is porn real.
Age verification is redrawing the map
The most important trend in the 2025 report is not a search term. It is geography.
Pornhub has blocked access in many US states and suspended access in France rather than comply with age verification laws it considers unsafe for users’ privacy. The UK’s checks also cut its traffic. I explained these laws in porn age verification laws.
That means the data now partly reflects where Pornhub is still available, not only what people want. Many viewers in blocked regions simply move to other sites, often less safe ones, or use VPNs. That is a story the report hints at but cannot fully measure.
What the data cannot tell you
A few honest warnings before you quote these numbers:
- It is one site. Many people watch on other tube sites, subscription sites, OnlyFans or social media.
- It is published by the company. There is no independent audit of these figures.
- Searches are not identity. People search for things out of curiosity, jokes or trends. A search does not mean a lifestyle.
- Age and gender are estimates. They come from analytics tools, not checked IDs.
- Piracy and AI are invisible. Huge amounts of porn are consumed on pirate sites, which I covered in tube sites and piracy.
My take
I love these reports, and I also take them with a pinch of salt. They are a mirror held up by a company that wants headlines. But mirrors still show something.
What they show me is that human desire is far more varied, female and mature than the old clichés suggest. Cartoons, older women, lesbian scenes, trans performers, role play and couples who look real: that is what the world is searching for. The audience is getting older, more female and more mobile. And governments are now shaping the map as much as desire is.
On a personal level, seeing my name climb 15 places and seeing Brazil put me second was a strange and beautiful moment. Fourteen years in this business, and the audience still surprises me. I never forget that every one of those searches is a person, and that my job is to give them something honest, consensual and well made.
For the human stories behind this industry, read my columns on House of Maximo. Follow my work at maximogarciaworld.com, and for the 18+ side, fuckingpornstars.net.
Sources
- Pornhub Insights. 2025 Year in Review.
- Pornhub Insights. 2024 Year in Review.
