Updated 13 November 2026
Safaricom market share stood at 69.8% of Kenya’s active mobile SIM subscriptions at 30 June 2026, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). Safaricom also held about 64.5% of mobile broadband subscriptions, 88.8% of mobile money subscriptions through M-Pesa and 36.1% of fixed internet subscriptions. Airtel was second in mobile with 26.8% of SIMs and 11.1% of mobile money. This guide sets out the latest shares by service, the size of each market and what changed in 2025/26.
Updated 13 November 2026. Figures come from the CA Sector Statistics Report for Q4 of the 2025/26 financial year (April to June 2026), checked on 13 November 2026. CA compiles them from operators’ returns.
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Safaricom market share by service
| Service (30 June 2026) | Safaricom | Airtel | Telkom | Jamii | Finserve (Equitel) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile (SIM) subscriptions | 69.8% | 26.8% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 1.7% |
| Mobile broadband subscriptions | 64.6%* | 31.9% | 0.6% | 1.7% | 1.3% |
| Mobile money subscriptions | 88.8% (M-Pesa) | 11.1% (Airtel Money) | 0.0% (T-Kash) | – | – |
| Fixed data/internet subscriptions | 36.1% | – | – | 19.1% | – |
*The CA chart shows 64.6% for Safaricom’s mobile broadband share, while the report text gives 64.4%. Fixed internet shares come from CA’s top-10 operator table, where Airtel and Telkom are not listed separately.
Mobile subscriptions
Kenya had 88.0 million active mobile SIM subscriptions at 30 June 2026, up 4.6% from a year earlier, according to CA. That is a mobile penetration rate of 165.0%, against 146.3% in June 2025, as many people hold more than one SIM. CA links the growth to customer win-back campaigns run by mobile operators. Prepaid lines make up 97.1% of the total, postpaid only 2.9%.
| Indicator | June 2026 | March 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile SIM subscriptions | 87,999,998 | 84,090,298 |
| Mobile data subscriptions | 64,263,694 | 62,634,225 |
| Mobile broadband subscriptions | 54,925,257 | 52,852,505 |
| Mobile money subscriptions | 54,005,800 | 53,368,939 |
| Machine-to-machine (M2M) subscriptions | 2,220,450 | 2,000,360 |
With a 69.8% Safaricom market share of 88.0 million SIMs, Safaricom serves roughly 61 million active lines (Business Radar calculation from CA’s figures). Mobile data subscriptions grew 9.7% in the year, and broadband (3G, 4G and 5G) made up 85.5% of them. CA’s chart of consumption per subscription shows 5G users averaging 64.4GB in June 2026, up from 35.2GB a year earlier; see where the network reaches in our guide to Safaricom 5G coverage areas.
Mobile money
Mobile money subscriptions reached 54.0 million at 30 June 2026, up 13.2% in the year, a penetration rate of 101.3%. M-Pesa’s 88.8% share means it holds roughly 48 million of those subscriptions (our calculation). Airtel Money has 11.1%, and Telkom’s T-Kash rounds to zero.
The gap between Safaricom’s 69.8% SIM share and its 88.8% mobile money share suggests that many Airtel SIM users also keep M-Pesa for payments. Interoperability is improving: Airtel Money users can now move money straight to bank accounts, as covered in our report on Airtel Money to bank via PesaLink.
Fixed internet
Fixed internet is far more competitive than mobile. CA counted 2.84 million fixed data subscriptions in June 2026, up 32.4% in a year, with fibre (1.57 million) and terrestrial wireless (1.03 million) the main technologies.
| Fixed internet provider | Subscriptions | Market share |
|---|---|---|
| Safaricom PLC | 1,024,950 | 36.1% |
| Jamii Telecommunications | 541,003 | 19.1% |
| Wananchi Group (Zuku) | 294,375 | 10.4% |
| Ahadi Wireless | 270,586 | 9.5% |
| Poa Internet | 248,601 | 8.8% |
| Vilcom Network | 186,240 | 6.6% |
| Mawingu Networks | 105,275 | 3.7% |
| Vijiji Connect | 35,861 | 1.3% |
| Starlink Internet Services Kenya | 27,616 | 1.0% |
| Dimension Data Solutions East Africa | 23,280 | 0.8% |
Choosing a home or office line? Compare packages in Safaricom Home Fibre vs Zuku and our business fibre internet guide.
Voice and SMS traffic
In 2025/26, Kenyans made 126.7 billion minutes of domestic mobile calls, up 13.6%, and sent 57.1 billion SMS, down 0.3%, which CA attributes to messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Safaricom carried 80.3 billion of those minutes (about 63%) and 52.8 billion SMS (about 92%), while Airtel carried 46.2 billion minutes, based on CA’s operator table.
What the Safaricom market share numbers mean
- Mobile money is the moat: an 88.8% share of 54 million wallets underpins M-Pesa’s dominance in payments, lending and savings products.
- Airtel is closing in on data: its 31.9% broadband share is higher than its 26.8% SIM share, which suggests its customers lean more on data.
- Fixed is the growth market: a 32.4% annual rise in fixed connections, with smaller ISPs and satellite (up 54.4%) taking share.
Investors can see how this translates into earnings in our Safaricom half-year results report and Safaricom dividend history.
How CA measures market share
The Communications Authority builds its quarterly report from returns that each licensed operator files. Subscriptions are counted as active lines, not people, which is why mobile penetration can exceed 100% when one person carries two or three SIM cards. Mobile money shares are based on registered, active wallets rather than the value of money moved, so they show reach, not the size of payments.
That matters when you compare Safaricom market share figures from different sources. Company results report customers and revenue, while CA reports subscriptions. Shares can also shift between quarters when an operator cleans out inactive lines or runs a promotion to win customers back. For a fair picture, look at the trend across several reports rather than one quarter, and use the same CA table each time.
Smaller players matter too. Jamii, Finserve’s Equitel and Telkom together hold less than 4% of mobile SIMs, but Jamii is the second-largest fixed internet provider, and satellite operator Starlink already has about 1% of fixed connections.
Frequently asked questions
What is Safaricom’s market share in Kenya?
69.8% of active mobile SIM subscriptions at 30 June 2026, per the Communications Authority of Kenya. Its share of mobile money is higher, at 88.8%.
What is Airtel Kenya’s market share?
26.8% of mobile SIM subscriptions, 31.9% of mobile broadband and 11.1% of mobile money at 30 June 2026.
What is M-Pesa’s market share?
88.8% of Kenya’s 54.0 million mobile money subscriptions at 30 June 2026.
Who has the biggest fixed internet market share in Kenya?
Safaricom, with 36.1% of fixed data subscriptions, followed by Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) at 19.1% and Wananchi Group (Zuku) at 10.4%.
How often does CA publish market share data?
Every quarter, in its Sector Statistics Report. The Q4 2025/26 report, covering April to June 2026, is the latest on the CA website.
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