Lua
Lua is a lightweight scripting language designed primarily for embedded use in applications.
It features a small core written in 
C/C++, automatic memory management, fast execution through a simple virtual machine, a flexible table-based data model, and a standard library that fits in a few hundred kilobytes, making it suitable for games, embedded systems, and extensible software.
For example, Lua is embedded in 
OpenResty for dynamic request processing, in 
Tarantool as a scripting layer for data transformations, and in the 
Kong Gateway API gateway for routing, authentication, and plugins.
According to our data, Lua is the third most popular programming language on the web.
It has 5.8% of the programming language market share and is detected on 4.9% of all websites.
- 🏠 Website
- 🔗 Links
- 👨👩👦👦 Community
Wikipedia
groups.google.com/g/lua-l
Reddit
Stack Overflow📊 Rankings and Market Share
- Programming Languages
- Rank: 3
- Market share: 5.8%
🏆 Lua Awards
- 🥇 Most popular in the British Virgin Islands in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in the United States in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in the United Kingdom in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in Germany in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in Canada in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in Korea in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in France in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in Russia in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in Slovakia in the Programming Languages category.
- 🥉 Third most popular in the Czech Republic in the Programming Languages category.
⚡ Sites Built With Lua
We have data on 187,019 websites that use the Lua programming language. Here is a list of some of the top ranked ones.
The highest rated site using Lua is p**nhub.com.
| # | Website | Rank | Country | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #26 | United States | English | |
| 2 | #49 | United States | English | |
| 3 |  shopify.com |
#51 | Canada | English |
| 4 |  line.me |
#179 | Japan | English |
| 5 | #185 | English | ||
| 6 | #222 | Singapore | English | |
| 7 | #294 | United States | English | |
| 8 | #309 | Spain | Spanish | |
| 9 | #361 | United States | English | |
| 10 | #369 | American English | ||
| 11 | #401 | Argentina | Spanish | |
| 12 | #403 | France | French | |
| 13 | #435 | English | ||
| 14 | #440 | Japan | Japanese | |
| 15 | #453 | English | ||
| 16 | #469 | Spain | American English | |
| 17 | #489 | China | English | |
| 18 | #500 | Argentina | Spanish | |
| 19 | #516 | Norway | English | |
| 20 | #529 | Argentina | Spanish |
📈 Usage Statistics
Most of the sites that use Lua:
- are located in the United States
- have content in English
- use the .com domain extension
- fall into the Online Shopping category.
Most of the sites using Lua are from the United States and the United Kingdom.
- United States 32.2%
- United Kingdom 8%
- Germany 4.2%
- Australia 4.2%
- Canada 4%
- China 3.7%
- India 3.6%
- Korea 3.1%
- Japan 3%
- Other 34%
Most Lua users speak English, German, or Chinese.
- English 72.3%
- German 3.1%
- Chinese 3.1%
- Spanish 2.7%
- Korean 2.4%
- Japanese 2.2%
- French 2.1%
- Russian 1.7%
- Czech 1.4%
- Other 9%
The Lua programming language is especially popular on .com top-level domains.
- .com 60.1%
- .co.uk 2.8%
- .org 2.5%
- .com.au 2.2%
- .de 2.1%
- .net 2.1%
- .ru 1.4%
- .cz 1.3%
- .sk 1.3%
- Other 24.2%
The primary market segments for websites utilizing Lua include online shopping, marketing and merchandising, and fashion and beauty.
- Online Shopping 33%
- Marketing/Merchandising 11.5%
- Fashion/Beauty 10.1%
- Business 9.4%
- Blogs/Wiki 3.4%
- Entertainment 3.4%
- Internet Services 2.6%
- Sports 2.5%
- Education/Reference 2.3%
- Other 21.8%
🕵️ Similar Technologies
These are some of the best Lua alternatives.
🆚 Compare Alternatives
Compare Lua to…
- 🕵️ Similar languages
- ⭐ Market leaders
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💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Lua from?
Lua is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Which country uses Lua the most?
The majority of Lua users are from the United States.
Who uses Lua?
According to our data, Lua is used on thousands of sites, including such established ones as wyze.com,
shopify.com, and line.me.
Is Lua used on government websites?
In total, we found Lua on 25 government sites in the United States.
Do academic institutions use Lua?
Yes. Overall, we know of 51 academic websites in the United States that use Lua.
How does Lua compare to the competition?
Lua is one of the most popular programming languages, second only to 
JavaScript and 
PHP.
👉 See Also
- ✨ Related technologies
🗃️ About This Data
- We evaluate the popularity of technologies based on the number of websites where we detect their usage.
- Technologies without a detectable web footprint, and those we do not track, are not reflected in the calculated market share.
- This report is based on the analysis of 3,814,833 websites.
- Statistics were last calculated on .
- For more details, see our methodology and disclaimer.