The ten best-selling individual books of all time, from A Tale of Two Cities to The Da Vinci Code, ranked by estimated copies sold.
Updated July 30, 202610 ranked3 sources
Quick answer: 1. A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens, 2. The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 3. The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho, 4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — J. K. Rowling, 5. And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie, 6. Dream of the Red Chamber — Cao Xueqin, 7. The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien, 8. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll, 9. She: A History of Adventure — H. Rider Haggard, 10. The Da Vinci Code — Dan Brown.
Books have been the primary medium for sharing knowledge and stories for centuries, and a select few have achieved remarkable sales figures that place them among the best-selling works of all time. Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities leads the list of individual fiction titles, with over 200 million copies sold since its 1859 publication, while Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince has matched that figure across its translation into over 300 languages.
This list ranks the top ten best-selling individual books by estimated copies sold, based on data from publishers, Guinness World Records, and Wikipedia's compiled list. Religious texts and political works are excluded from this ranking due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable, consistent sales figures across centuries and multiple publishers.
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Copies sold (millions)
Copies sold (millions)
A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens
200 million copies
The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
200 million copies
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
150 million copies
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — J. K. Rowling
120 million copies
And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie
100 million copies
Dream of the Red Chamber — Cao Xueqin
100 million copies
The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
100 million copies
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll
100 million copies
She: A History of Adventure — H. Rider Haggard
83 million copies
The Da Vinci Code — Dan Brown
80 million copies
The ranking
1
A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens
Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens's most famous historical novel. First published in weekly installments in 1859, it has sold over 200 million copies worldwide. The novel opens with one of the most famous lines in literature — "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" — and tells the story of Dr. Manette, his daughter Lucie, and the self-sacrificing Sydney Carton.
Author: Charles DickensFirst published: 1859Original language: EnglishGenre: Historical fiction
2
The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Written and illustrated by French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince is a poetic children's novella that has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects, making it one of the most translated books ever. First published in 1943, it has sold over 200 million copies worldwide. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, offering philosophical observations about life, love, and human nature.
Author: Antoine de Saint-ExupéryFirst published: 1943Original language: FrenchGenre: Fantasy, children's fiction
3
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago on his journey to find treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Since its initial publication in Portuguese in 1988, the allegorical novel has sold over 150 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books by a living author. Translated into over 80 languages, it has been praised for its inspirational message about following one's dreams.
Author: Paulo CoelhoFirst published: 1988Original language: PortugueseGenre: Fantasy, adventure
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4
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — J. K. Rowling
The first novel in the Harry Potter series introduced the world to the young wizard Harry Potter and the magical world of Hogwarts. Published in 1997, it has sold over 120 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling single volume in the series. The book launched a seven-book franchise that has sold over 600 million copies total, spawned eight blockbuster films, and transformed children's publishing forever.
Author: J. K. RowlingFirst published: 1997Original language: EnglishGenre: Fantasy
5
And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None is the best-selling mystery novel of all time, with over 100 million copies sold. Published in 1939, the novel traps ten strangers on an isolated island where they are killed off one by one according to a nursery rhyme. The novel has been adapted into films, stage plays, and television series more times than any other Christie work and remains a landmark of the mystery genre.
Written in the mid-18th century during the Qing dynasty, Dream of the Red Chamber is considered the greatest novel in Chinese literature. The semi-autobiographical work chronicles the rise and fall of the wealthy Jia family and explores themes of love, family, and social status. It has sold over 100 million copies and is the subject of an entire field of academic study known as "Redology."
Author: Cao XueqinFirst published: 1791Original language: ChineseGenre: Family saga
7
The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit began as a children's story he told to his own children and was published in 1937. The tale of Bilbo Baggins's unexpected journey to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim treasure from the dragon Smaug has sold over 100 million copies. It introduced the world to Middle-earth and laid the foundation for Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings, which has sold an additional 150 million copies as a trilogy.
Author: J. R. R. TolkienFirst published: 1937Original language: EnglishGenre: Fantasy
8
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865, is one of the most influential works of children's literature ever written. The story of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a whimsical world of talking animals and playing cards has sold over 100 million copies. Its characters — including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts — have become cultural icons, and the book has never been out of print.
Author: Lewis CarrollFirst published: 1865Original language: EnglishGenre: Fantasy, absurdist fiction
9
She: A History of Adventure — H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard's She: A History of Adventure, published in 1887, was a landmark in adventure fiction. The novel tells the story of a quest to find a mysterious African queen, Ayesha ("She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed"), who has possessed immortality for centuries. The book has sold over 83 million copies and is credited with creating the "lost world" genre, influencing writers from H. P. Lovecraft to J. R. R. Tolkien.
Author: H. Rider HaggardFirst published: 1887Original language: EnglishGenre: Adventure
10
The Da Vinci Code — Dan Brown
Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was a publishing phenomenon when it was released in 2003, becoming one of the fastest-selling adult novels in history. The thriller follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon as he unravels a conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, the Holy Grail, and the works of Leonardo da Vinci. Despite mixed critical reviews, the book has sold over 80 million copies and was adapted into a 2006 film starring Tom Hanks.
Author: Dan BrownFirst published: 2003Original language: EnglishGenre: Mystery thriller
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Full comparison
#
Name
Author
First published
Original language
Genre
1
A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
1859
English
Historical fiction
2
The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
1943
French
Fantasy, children's fiction
3
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho
1988
Portuguese
Fantasy, adventure
4
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
1997
English
Fantasy
5
And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
1939
English
Mystery
6
Dream of the Red Chamber — Cao Xueqin
Cao Xueqin
1791
Chinese
Family saga
7
The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
1937
English
Fantasy
8
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
1865
English
Fantasy, absurdist fiction
9
She: A History of Adventure — H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
1887
English
Adventure
10
The Da Vinci Code — Dan Brown
Dan Brown
2003
English
Mystery thriller
How we ranked this
Books are ranked by estimated copies sold worldwide, based on the most reliable figures available from publishers, Guinness World Records, and Wikipedia's compiled list of best-selling books. Figures are estimates, as sales data for classic works predates modern point-of-sale tracking systems. Religious texts (Bible, Quran, Book of Mormon, Bhagavad Gita) and political works (Quotations from Chairman Mao) are excluded due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable, verifiable sales figures across multiple publishers and centuries. Data reflects the most recent available estimates as of 2026.
FAQ
What is the best-selling book of all time?
The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated 5 to 7 billion copies distributed. However, this list focuses on individual fiction and non-fiction titles with verifiable sales figures, excluding religious texts.
Why are religious texts not included in the main list?
Religious texts like the Bible and Quran have been published by countless different publishers over many centuries, making reliable sales figures impossible to verify. The Wikipedia convention, which this list follows, excludes them for this reason.
How many copies has the Harry Potter series sold?
The entire Harry Potter series has sold over 600 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling book series in history. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, accounts for over 120 million of those sales.