Podcast statistics you need to know
In recent years, podcasts have taken the digital world by storm.
With more than 619 million listeners worldwide, the podcast industry provides lucrative opportunities for both podcasters and marketers alike and offers an effective way for you to connect with your target audience.
To put this into perspective, there are currently around 7 million podcasts worldwide. Crazy right?
Podcast statistics at a glance
The podcasting landscape is booming, with millions tuning in for their fix of audio entertainment and education. Taking a look through all of our statistics will benefit your podcast, but if you don’t have time to go through everything, here are a few of the top podcast stats you should know.
- There are over 619.2 million podcast listeners worldwide.
- 55% of the US population 12+ listen to a podcast at least once a month.
- In 2025, worldwide podcast ad spending is estimated to hit $4.46 billion.
- Video podcasts are on the rise, with as many as 53% of US podcast listeners opting for watchable podcasts.
- YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts lead the pack for global podcast dominance.
Now it’s time to take a look at some fascinating podcast statistics. While podcasting may have originated in the United States, there are now listeners in every corner of the globe, and these stats highlight just how popular it is.
Let’s dive into all the latest podcast stats:
Podcast growth and trends
Podcast listeners worldwide
The number of podcast listeners worldwide reached 619.2 million in 2026, showing a 6.83% year-over-year increase.
By 2027, the number of podcast listeners worldwide is forecasted to hit 651.7 million.
Let’s take a look at the number of people who have tuned into podcasts around the world over the past few years.
| Year | Podcast Listeners Worldwide |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 506.9 million |
| 2024 | 546.7 million |
| 2025 | 584.1 million |
| 2026 | 619.2 million |
| 2027 | 651.7 million |
Source: eMarketer
Podcast listeners in the US
In the US, an estimated 158 million consumers listened to a podcast in the last month (as of 2025). That’s an increase from 135 million monthly podcast listeners in the US in 2024.
As of 2025, 55% of the 12+ population in the US are monthly podcast listeners, showing an all-time high share to date.
Here’s a table with the percentage of monthly podcast listeners in the US since 2008:
| Year | Share of Monthly Podcast Listeners (US Population 12+) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 9% |
| 2009 | 11% |
| 2010 | 12% |
| 2011 | 12% |
| 2012 | 14% |
| 2013 | 12% |
| 2014 | 15% |
| 2015 | 17% |
| 2016 | 21% |
| 2017 | 24% |
| 2018 | 26% |
| 2019 | 32% |
| 2020 | 37% |
| 2021 | 41% |
| 2022 | 38% |
| 2023 | 42% |
| 2024 | 47% |
| 2025 | 55% |
Source: Edison Research
Popular podcast platforms
Most used podcast platforms in the US
YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts make up 64% of weekly podcast US listeners’ most used platforms in October 2025.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the most popular podcast platforms among weekly podcast consumers in the US as of October 2025:
| Podcast Platform | Share of Weekly Podcast Consumers (Who Use the Platform the Most for Podcast Consumption) |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 42% |
| Spotify | 15% |
| Apple Podcasts | 7% |
Source: Cumulus Media
Preferred podcast platforms in the US
YouTube ranks as the platform of choice for listening to podcasts according to 42% of monthly podcast listeners in the US, followed by Spotify (15%) and Apple Podcasts/iTunes (7%).
Here’s a complete list of preferred podcast platforms in the US:
| Podcast Platform | Share of Monthly Podcast Consumers |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 42% |
| Spotify | 15% |
| Apple Podcasts/iTunes | 7% |
| 5% | |
| TikTok | 4% |
| iHeart Radio | 4% |
| Amazon Music/Audible | 2% |
| Proprietary Site/App | 2% |
| SiriusXM | 2% |
| 2% | |
| Pandora | 2% |
| Other | 13% |
Source: Cumulus Media
How many podcasts are there on spotify?
As of February 2026, Spotify has approximately 7 million podcast titles on its platform.
Source: Spotify
Podcast listening behavior trends
The go-to device for podcast listening is the smartphone, with a whopping 67% of US weekly podcast consumers choosing it, while laptop and desktop listening lag behind at only 12%.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the most used devices for podcast consumption:
| Device Most Used | Share of Weekly Podcast Listeners |
|---|---|
| Mobile Phone | 67% |
| Computer/Laptop | 12% |
| TV | 10% |
| Tablet | 6% |
| Smart Speaker | 4% |
24% of weekly podcast newcomers prefer audio-only podcasts, while 53% claim they like to actively watch a video podcast.
Another 23% of podcast consumers express a preference to listen to a podcast while the video is playing in the background or minimized.
Source: Cumulus Media
Podcast listener demographics
When it comes to podcasts, it’s interesting to unpack who is listening to the content. If you’re planning on starting your own podcast, you’ll need to determine your target audience from the get-go.
By age:
- 18 to 44-year-olds make up 59% of US podcast listeners
- According to a 2025 Edison Research study, 66% of consumers in the US aged 12-34 had listened to a podcast in the last month.
- In the same study, 61% of Americans aged 35-54 had listened to a podcast in the past month.
- 38% of Americans aged over 55 are monthly podcast listeners.
- 29% of kids ages 6 to 12 listened to a podcast in the past month.
By gender:
- 51% of monthly podcast listeners in the US are male.
- 48% of American podcast listeners are female.
- Non-binary Americans make up 1% of monthly podcast consumers.
Source: Edison Research, Edison Research
Podcast listeners by country
Podcasts are popular worldwide, but some countries spend more time tuning into podcasts than others. Let’s have a look at how these are distributed around the globe.
The following countries have the highest share of adults listening to podcasts at least 1 hour per week:
| Country | Podcast Listening (1h+ per week) |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 66% |
| Saudi Arabia | 60% |
| Indonesia | 59% |
| UAE | 57% |
| Thailand | 54% |
| India | 54% |
| Egypt | 52% |
| Mexico | 50% |
| Vietman | 48% |
| Romania | 47% |
| Morocco | 45% |
| Brazil | 44% |
| Philippines | 43% |
| Sweden | 42% |
| Taiwan | 42% |
Source: YouGov
In the US alone, there are an estimated 129.9 million podcast listeners, followed by China (117.1 million) and Brazil (51.8 million).
Here’s a table with the number of podcast listeners in select countries:
| Country | Monthly Podcast Listeners |
|---|---|
| US | 129.9 million |
| China | 117.1 million |
| Brazil | 51.8 million |
| Mexico | 27.5 million |
| Germany | 22.1 million |
| UK | 18.3 million |
| France | 16.4 million |
| Japan | 15.0 million |
| Spain | 14.7 million |
| Italy | 13.6 million |
| Canada | 13.4 million |
| Argentina | 10.4 million |
| Australia | 9.2 million |
| South Korea | 6.8 million |
Source: eMarketer
Popular podcast genres
The most popular podcast genre worldwide by share of listening hours is comedy, with a 30% share.
Here’s a complete list of the most popular podcast genres by share of listening hours:
| Podcast Genre | Share of Listening Hours |
|---|---|
| Comedy | 30% |
| Society and Culture | 18% |
| Lifestyle and Health | 15% |
| True crime | 10% |
| Educational | 7% |
Source: Statista
Popular podcast channels
Below, I’ve gathered stats for the top podcast channels on Spotify in some of the countries with the highest podcast listeners.
Here are the top podcast channels in the US:
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
- The Shawn Ryan Show
- Spotify Presents
- Crime Junkie
You’ll see the top podcast channels for the UK below:
- The Rest Is Politics
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe
- The Diary of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
- The Rest Is History
And finally, the top podcast channels for Australia are here:
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- The Diary of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
- Spotify Presents
- Casefile True Crime
- Shameless
You can check out which Podcasts are the most popular in each country on Spotify’s podcast charts.
Source: Spotify
Video podcast statistics
Also known as vodcasts, video podcasts are also making waves in the podcasting industry. They combine audio and visual content, tailoring it to diverse audiences while offering something unique.
Since the podcasting industry is growing rapidly, so is vodcasting.
Here are some stats to prove it:
- As of October 2025, 53% of new US weekly podcast listeners prefer watching a podcast – that’s up from 30% in April 2022.
- As of February 2025, Spotify’s content library includes over 330,000 video podcasts, up from 100,000 in 2023.
- On Spotify, over 270 million users have watched a video podcast to date.
Sources: Cumulus Media, Spotify
Podcast advertising revenue
The number of people who listen to podcasts continues to rise astronomically. But what does this mean for the amount of revenue that’s generated?
Let’s take a look at some intriguing statistics that illustrate the podcast boom!
- US podcast ad spending is estimated to reach $2.55 billion in 2025, showing a 11.84% year-over-year increase.
- In 2025, worldwide podcast ad spending is estimated to hit $4.46 billion, which is a 10.95% increase since 2024.
- By 2027, podcast ad spending is forecasted to reach $5.03 billion.
How podcast creators make money
There’s clearly money to be made in podcasting.
Payment for these ads typically depends on the number of impressions the ads get, and the more listeners you have, the more impressions you’ll get.
This is how much revenue the most common types of podcast ads make:
- Host-read ads: Adverts read by hosts account for around 55% of podcasting ad revenue
- Announcer-read ads: 40% of podcast ad revenue comes from ads read by announcers
- Brand or Agency read ads: Adverts produced by brands or agencies make up only 3% of podcast advertising revenue.
But if you don’t have many listeners yet, there are alternative methods to kickstart your earnings. These include:
- Affiliate marketing: This involves promoting a service or product and earning commissions for the sales made via your affiliate link.
- Premium content: You could try charging an extra fee for listeners to access exclusive content that’s not available on your regular podcast feed. You could set up a subscription, having certain episodes that are only available to paying subscribers. Many podcast hosts release free episodes on platforms like Apple Podcasts and also release episodes on Patreon for their paying subscribers.
- Video monetization: You could make video recordings of your podcast as well as audio recordings and then upload your videos to YouTube, where you can monetize them with YouTube ads.
Source: IAB
Leveraging podcast statistics
Judging by the statistics alone, it’s clear that podcasts are incredibly popular all around the world.
Reviewing industry stats can be a valuable way to discover insights that can inspire your content strategy. You can find out what’s trending, generate content ideas, and find new ways to outdo your competition.
An awesome way to find content ideas is by using Semrush’s Topic Research tool. The tool will show you the most trending topics related to your niche.
All you need to do is type in your topic (I went with “running shoes”), select a region, and click “Get content ideas”.
On the next page, toggle “See trending subtopics first” on, and you get a collection of “cards” containing trending topics related to your keyword.
You can then take these trends into podcast topics for upcoming podcast episodes.
Final thoughts
From connecting with your audience to boosting your ad revenue, podcasts offer a whole new range of possibilities.
Plus, the numbers show a skyrocketing audience, diverse tastes, and some serious ad potential.
Explore more on
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