Best-selling books are known for their unique ability to captivate readers all over the world across different generations, with many going on to form the basis of a successful book series. Earning their special place in history, these immensely popular titles were able to achieve incredible levels of success by introducing new ideas, offering comfort and providing entertainment to readers.
note: books listed in this article can span multiple genres
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry are the two best-selling books of all time, each selling in excess of 200 million copies.
- It can be estimated that The Little Prince has been selling at a rate of 2.50 million copies per year since its release in 1943.
- The Little Prince is also the shortest book in the given list (under 100 pages).
- However, A Tale of Two Cities has sold around 1.22 million copies per year since its 1859 release.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling is the third best-selling book of all time, selling over 120 million copies since its release in 1997.
- This amounts to a staggering 4.62 million copies sold per year on average.
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien have each sold over 100 million copies.
- Dream of the Red Chamber is also the longest book in the given list (over 2,500 pages).
- Other titles in the list include The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (over 85 million copies sold), She: A History of Adventure (over 83 million copies sold) and Vardi Wala Gunda (over 80 million copies sold).
- The Da Vinci Code (2003) by Dan Brown is the final entry on the list selling over 80 million copies, with average yearly sales of 4 million copies.
# | Title* | Author | Year published | Genre | Page count | Estimated copies sold** |
1 | A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens | 1859 | Historical fiction | 448 | 200 million |
2 | The Little Prince | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 1943 | Children’s | 96 | 200 million |
3 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | J. K. Rowling | 1997 | Children’s/YA | 223 | 120 million |
4 | And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie | 1939 | Mystery/Thriller | 272 | 100 million |
5 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | 1791 | Historical fiction | 2,500+ | 100 million |
6 | The Hobbit | J. R. R. Tolkien | 1937 | Fantasy | 304 | 100 million |
7 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C. S. Lewis | 1950 | Children’s | 172 | 85 million |
8 | She: A History of Adventure | H. Rider Haggard | 1887 | Fantasy | 317 | 83 million |
9 | Vardi Wala Gunda | Ved Prakash Sharma | 1992 | Mystery/Thriller | 347 | 80 million |
10 | The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | 2003 | Mystery/Thriller | 689 | 80 million |
Best-selling audiobooks of all time
A number of titles are known for being all-time best-sellers in the audiobook format, although official sales data is largely unavailable.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is the oldest title in the given list, published in 1936.
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy is the newest title in the given list, published in 2022.
- In terms of audiobook length, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is the shortest title in the list, lasting just 4 hours.
- In contrast, It by Stephen King is the longest title in the list, lasting just under 45 hours.
- Overall, the best-selling audiobooks of all time spread various genres, including:
- Business/Finance
- Children’s
- Fantasy
- Historical fiction
- Memoirs
- Mystery/Thriller
- Romance
- Sci-fi
- Self-help
- Spirituality
Title* | Author | Year published | Genre | Audiobook length |
How to Win Friends and Influence People | Dale Carnegie | 1936 | Business/Finance | 7 hrs and 15 mins |
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C. S. Lewis | 1950 | Children’s | 4 hrs and 21 mins |
It | Stephen King | 1986 | Mystery/Thriller | 44 hrs and 55 mins |
The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | 1988 | Spirituality | 4 hrs and 0 mins |
Outlander | Diana Gabaldon | 1991 | Fantasy | 32 hrs and 38 mins |
A Game of Thrones | George R. R. Martin | 1996 | Fantasy | 33 hrs and 46 mins |
The Power of Now | Eckhart Tolle | 1997 | Spirituality | 7 hrs and 37 mins |
Rich Dad Poor Dad | Robert T. Kiyosaki | 1997 | Business/Finance | 6 hrs and 9 mins |
The Secret | Rhonda Byrne | 2006 | Self-help | 4 hrs and 24 mins |
Fifty Shades of Grey | E. L. James | 2011 | Romance | 19 hrs and 48 mins |
Ready Player One | Ernest Cline | 2011 | Sci-fi | 15 hrs and 40 mins |
All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr | 2014 | Historical fiction | 16 hrs and 2 mins |
The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | 2015 | Mystery/Thriller | 10 hrs and 58 mins |
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck | Mark Manson | 2016 | Self-help | 5 hrs and 17 mins |
Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng | 2017 | Mystery/Thriller | 11 hrs and 27 mins |
Becoming | Michelle Obama | 2018 | Memoir | 19 hrs and 3 mins |
Educated | Tara Westover | 2018 | Memoir | 12 hrs and 10 mins |
Girl, Wash Your Face | Rachel Hollis | 2018 | Self-help | 7 hrs and 4 mins |
Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens | 2018 | Mystery/Thriller | 12 hrs and 12 mins |
Greenlights | Matthew McConaughey | 2020 | Memoir | 6 hrs and 42 mins |
I’m Glad My Mom Died | Jennette McCurdy | 2022 | Memoir | 6 hrs and 26 mins |
Best-selling book series of all time
- The best-selling book series of all time is the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, selling in excess of 600 million copies.
- On average, around 23.08 million copies of the Harry Potter series have been sold per year since its first title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997.
- The Chicken Soup for the Soul series founded by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen has sold over 500 million copies (second best-selling).
- Goosebumps by R. L. Stine has sold over 400 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling business books of all time
- The best-selling business/finance book of all time is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, selling more than 70 million copies.
- On average, around 0.81 million copies of Think and Grow Rich have been sold per year since its release in 1937.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki has sold over 44 million copies (second best-selling).
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey has sold over 40 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling children’s books of all time
- The best-selling children’s book of all time is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, selling over 200 million copies.
- On average, around 2.50 million copies of The Little Prince have been sold per year since its release in 1943.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling has sold over 120 million copies (second best-selling).
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis has sold over 85 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling fantasy books of all time
- The best-selling fantasy book of all time is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling, estimated to have sold in excess of 120 million copies.
- On average, around 4.62 million copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone have been sold per year since its release in 1997.
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien has sold over 100 million copies (second best-selling).
- She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard has sold over 83 million copies (third best-selling [excluding The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, predominantly seen as a children’s title]).
Best-selling fiction books of all time
- As per estimates, the best-selling fiction book of all time (excluding children’s/ya titles) is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, which has sold over 200 million copies.
- On average, around 1.22 million copies of A Tale of Two Cities have been sold per year since its release in 1859.
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin have each sold over 100 million copies (joint-second best-selling).
- However, using official figures only, the list of best-selling fiction books of all time differs.
Best-selling memoirs and autobiographies of all time
- The best-selling memoir/autobiography of all time is An Autobiography by Agatha Christie, which has sold over 10 million copies.
- On average, around 0.91 million copies of her autobiography have been sold per year since its release in 2012.
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and A Promised Land by Barack Obama have each sold over 5 million copies (joint-second best-selling).
Best-selling mystery/thriller books of all time
- The best-selling mystery/thriller book of all time is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which has sold over 100 million copies.
- On average, around 1.19 copies of And Then There Were None have been sold per year since its release in 1939.
- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Vardi Wala Gunda by Ved Prakash Sharma have each sold over 80 million copies (joint-second best-selling).
Best-selling nonfiction books of all time
- The best-selling nonfiction book of all time is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, selling more than 70 million copies.
- On average, around 0.81 million copies of Think and Grow Rich have been sold per year since its release in 1937.
- You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock and The Hite Report by Shere Hite have each sold over 50 million copies (joint-second best-selling).
Best-selling poetry books of all time
- The best-selling poetry books of all time are The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, selling in excess of 11 million copies.
- On average, at least 0.02 million copies of The Divine Comedy have been sold per year since its release in 1304, although this is expected to be significantly higher as its sales numbers only account for the 20th century.
- Around 0.11 million copies of The Prophet have been sold per year since its release in 1923.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has sold over 10 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling romance books of all time
- The best-selling romance book of all time (non-series) is The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, which sold over 33 million copies.
- On average, around 1.22 million copies of The Thorn Birds have been sold per year since its release in 1996.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell have each sold over 30 million copies (joint-second best-selling).
Best-selling sci-fi books of all time
- The best-selling sci-fi book of all time is 1984 by George Orwell, estimated to have sold over 30 million copies.
- On average, around 0.41 million copies of 1984 have been sold per year since its release in 1949.
- Dune by Frank Herbert has sold over 20 million copies (second best-selling).
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams has sold over 15 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling self-help books of all time
- The best-selling self-help books of all time are Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, each selling more than 70 million copies.
- On average, around 0.81 million copies of Think and Grow Rich have been sold per year since its release in 1937.
- Around 2 million copies of The Alchemist have been sold per year since its release in 1988.
- You Can Heal your Life by Louise Hay has sold over 50 million copies (third best-selling).
Best-selling young adult books of all time
- The best-selling young-adult book of all time is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling, estimated to have sold in excess of 120 million copies.
- On average, around 4.62 million copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone have been sold per year since its release in 1997.
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien has sold over 100 million copies (second best-selling).
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has sold over 77 million copies (third best-selling).