The ten singles with claimed sales of at least 20 million copies, from Xiao Zhan's digital single Spotlight and Bing Crosby's White Christmas to We Are the World, ranked by claimed worldwide sales.
"Spotlight" — Xiao Zhan has the highest claimed sales of any single, 54.3 million digital downloads. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", which Guinness World Records names the best-selling single, is second at over 50 million, and Elton John's 1997 "Candle in the Wind" double A-side third at 33 million. Ranked by claimed sales in Wikipedia's list of best-selling singles, as of October 2026.
No organization has tracked global single sales throughout history, so every figure here is a claimed estimate. This list takes every single that Wikipedia's list of best-selling singles records with claimed pure sales of at least 20 million copies (there are exactly ten) and ranks them by that claimed figure. By that measure Xiao Zhan's 2020 digital single "Spotlight" leads, at 54.3 million downloads. Guinness World Records, however, still names Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (over 50 million) the best-selling single worldwide and treats "Spotlight" as the best-selling digital single. Both are shown, at first and second.
The Chinese singer's 2020 single has the highest claimed sales of any single, 54.3 million, all of them digital downloads. In 2023 Guinness World Records named it the best-selling digital single of all time.
Guinness World Records names Crosby's 1942 recording of the Irving Berlin song the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. Its sales came before certification systems existed, so the figure is often disputed.
Guinness World Records calls this 1997 double A-side, released after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the biggest-selling single since the UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, at 33 million copies. It was the only single certified Diamond by the RIAA for a physical release between 1958 and 2013.
Crosby's 1935 recording of the carol has claimed sales of 30 million copies, tied with Tino Rossi's "Petit Papa Noël" and placed first as the earlier release. The figure is for this recording, not for all versions of the song.
The French singer's 1946 Christmas song has claimed sales of 30 million copies, tied with Crosby's "Silent Night" and placed second of the two as the later release.
The 1954 rock and roll single has claimed sales of 25 million copies.
Houston's 1992 recording of the Dolly Parton song, from The Bodyguard, has sold over 24 million copies. In 2025 Guinness World Records named it the best-selling single worldwide by a female artist.
The 2010 single has claimed pure sales of 20.6 million, the highest on the list for a song from the download era apart from "Spotlight".
Presley's 1960 single has claimed sales of 20 million copies, per Joseph Murrells' 1978 Book of Golden Discs. It is tied with "We Are the World" and placed first of the two as the earlier release.
The 1985 charity single for African famine relief has claimed sales of 20 million copies, tied with "It's Now or Never" and placed second of the two as the later release.
| # | Name | Artist | Release year | What the figure counts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Spotlight" — Xiao Zhan | Xiao Zhan | 2020 | Digital downloads |
| 2 | "White Christmas" — Bing Crosby | Bing Crosby | 1942 | Estimated sales, pre-certification |
| 3 | "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton John | Elton John | 1997 | Physical single sales |
| 4 | "Silent Night" — Bing Crosby | Bing Crosby | 1935 | Estimated sales, pre-certification |
| 5 | "Petit Papa Noël" — Tino Rossi | Tino Rossi | 1946 | Estimated sales, pre-certification |
| 6 | "Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His Comets | Bill Haley & His Comets | 1954 | Estimated sales, pre-certification |
| 7 | "I Will Always Love You" — Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston | 1992 | Single sales |
| 8 | "Rolling in the Deep" — Adele | Adele | 2010 | Pure sales (largely digital) |
| 9 | "It's Now or Never" — Elvis Presley | Elvis Presley | 1960 | Estimated sales, pre-certification |
| 10 | "We Are the World" — USA for Africa | USA for Africa | 1985 | Single sales |
Singles are ranked by claimed worldwide sales in millions of copies, using the figure in the claimed-sales table (singles with at least 20 million claimed pure sales) on Wikipedia's List of best-selling singles, read on 18 October 2026. That table has exactly ten entries and all ten are included. Wikipedia itself orders the table by release year because claimed figures are often exaggerated; this page orders it by the claimed figure and keeps the figure exactly as given. Physical and digital sales are not separated by the source: "Spotlight" and "Rolling in the Deep" are download-era singles, the rest physical-era, and the What the figure counts column says which. Streaming is not included. Ties (30 million and 20 million) are ordered by release year, earlier first. Singles with sales claims below 20 million, such as "Hound Dog" / "Don't Be Cruel", do not appear because the source records no 20-million claim for them.
It depends on the record you use. Guinness World Records names Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) the best-selling single worldwide, at over 50 million copies. The highest claimed figure for any single is the 54.3 million downloads of Xiao Zhan's "Spotlight" (2020), which Guinness classes as the best-selling digital single.
Poorly. Physical singles dominated until the mid-2000s, downloads until the mid-2010s, then streaming. The IFPI treats a digital track purchase as roughly 0.3 of a physical single, and older figures predate certification, so these claims are not like-for-like.
"White Christmas" and "Silent Night", both Bing Crosby recordings, and Tino Rossi's "Petit Papa Noël" have sold across many decades of holiday seasons. The figures are for those specific recordings, not every version of the songs.
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