Podcast Statistics 2026: How Many People Listen, Watch and Advertise?

What are the key podcast statistics for 2026?

If you only need one table, this is it. Every figure here was checked on the page it comes from on 14 November 2026. The sections below give the detail, the trend and the caveats.

How many people listen to podcasts?

In the US, 58% of people aged 12 and over, about 167 million, consumed a podcast in the last month, and 45%, about 130 million, did so in the last week. Both are the highest figures Edison Research has recorded in more than twenty years of tracking podcasts in The Infinite Dial, a national survey of 2,050 Americans aged 12+ run in January 2026. Eight in ten Americans (80%, 230 million) have now listened to or watched a podcast at some point.

Edison changed its wording in 2025 from "listened" to "consumed", so the figures now include people who watch podcasts on YouTube, Spotify or Netflix. That is part of why the numbers jumped: 57% of Americans 12+ have both listened to and watched a podcast. As Edison's Megan Lazovick put it at launch, "Video isn't replacing podcast audio. It's expanding the tent."

Source: Edison Research at SSRS, The Infinite Dial 2026, published 12 March 2026; fieldwork January 2026, n=2,050, weighted to the US 12+ population. The share who have never listened or watched fell from 27% in 2025 to 20% in 2026 (National Public Media). The 2025 row is from Edison's 2025 release, the first year Edison counted watching as well as listening, so earlier years are not directly comparable.

Pew Research Center measures something slightly different, adults who listened in the past year, and gets a lower number: 54% of US adults in August 2025, up from 49% when Pew first asked in 2022 (Pew, Podcasts and News Fact Sheet, 25 September 2025). The gap with Edison is mostly the question: Pew asks about listening, while Edison counts watching too.

How many podcast listeners are there worldwide?

Nobody runs a single worldwide survey of podcast listening, so every global number is a model. The two most solid ones in 2026 both come from platforms:

• YouTube: more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content, as of January 2025 (YouTube, 26 February 2025), repeated in its December 2025 review.
• MIDiA Research: 965.4 million gross monthly users across podcast platforms in Q4 2025, "almost a billion monthly users", up more than 60 million in a year. MIDiA counts users per platform, so someone using YouTube and Spotify counts twice (MIDiA, Podcast market shares 2025, 15 October 2026).

Both are far above the 383.7 million (2021) and 424.2 million (2022) listener forecasts The B2B House published, which were eMarketer projections for 18 countries only. We keep those in the archive; they are not a current measure of the global audience.

Cite: "58% of Americans aged 12+ (167 million) consumed a podcast in the last month and 45% (130 million) in the last week (Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2026)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#how-many-listeners

Who listens to podcasts: age, gender and education?

Podcasts are no longer a young person's medium. In Edison's 2026 survey the highest monthly reach of any age group was among 35 to 54 year olds, at 68%, the core of most B2B buying committees. The fastest growth is older still: monthly consumption among Americans 55+ rose from 38% to 58% in a single year (Tubefilter, reporting Infinite Dial 2026).

Pew's adult survey shows the same shape. Under-30s are still the most likely to have listened in the past year, but the older groups are the ones growing:

Source: Pew Research Center, Podcasts and News Fact Sheet, survey of US adults 18 to 24 August 2025, published 25 September 2025. Pew does not report podcast listening by gender or income on this fact sheet.

Gender. The gap between men and women is small and narrowing. The best published primary measure we could open is Pew's question on getting news from podcasts: 35% of men and 28% of women do so at least sometimes (Pew, August 2025). Sounds Profitable's 2025 study found podcast ad recall almost identical by gender, 86% of men and 85% of women among the most active listeners (Sounds Profitable, June 2025). The B2B House's advice still holds: do not target podcasts by gender, target by show and topic.

Education. College graduates are the most likely to use podcasts for news: 38% get news from podcasts at least sometimes, against 27% of those with a high school education or less (Pew, 2025). For B2B advertisers, that skew toward educated, mid-career listeners is the whole point.

Cite: "68% of Americans aged 35 to 54 consumed a podcast in the last month, the highest of any age group (Edison Research, 2026)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#demographics

Which countries listen to podcasts the most?

The US, Australia, the UK and Canada all now have roughly half their population or more consuming podcasts every month. Each country runs its own survey, on slightly different age bases, so read these as close comparisons, not a league table to one decimal place.

Sources as linked. Australia: 1,600 Australians 10+, surveyed April 2026, commissioned by Commercial Radio & Audio; weekly reach is 45%, level with the US. UK: monthly reach by age is 61% for 16 to 24, 56% for 35 to 54 and 38% for 55+. Canada: Triton's report incorporates The Canadian Podcast Listener by Signal Hill Insights; francophone Canadians are at 33%.

Compare that with what The B2B House published from eMarketer's 2021 forecasts: US 40.0% of internet users, Australia 33.2%, Canada 32.8%, UK 27.9%. Every one of those markets has grown well past the forecast, partly because video now counts. The old table, including Sweden, Norway, Spain and the other 14 countries, is kept in the archive. We could not find a current, open primary survey for most of the non-English markets, so we do not invent replacements.

Podcasts as a news source, by country

The Reuters Institute's Digital News Report tracks one slice of podcast use across markets: people who consume a news podcast every week. In its May 2026 analysis, that was 15% in the US, 11% in Norway and 7% in the UK, and fewer than 2% in any market say podcasts are their main source of news (Reuters Institute, Nic Newman, 7 May 2026). Pew puts the US share who get news from podcasts at least sometimes at 32%, up from 22% in 2020.

Cite: "Monthly podcast reach is 58% in the US (12+), 55% in Australia (10+), 51% in the UK (16+) and 46% of Canadian adults (2025 to 2026 surveys)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#by-country

How big are video podcasts in 2026?

Video is now as common as audio among podcast consumers. In Edison Podcast Metrics, video overtook audio-only for the first time in Q3 2025: 82% of US weekly podcast consumers watch video podcasts and 78% listen to audio only (most do both). In 2023 the split was 73% video and 89% audio (Edison, The Podcast Consumer 2026, 4 June 2026).

YouTube's figures are its own internal data; they are not audited. The 700 million hours is for October 2025 only and for TV-screen viewing only, not all YouTube podcast viewing. Spotify's 500 million is users who have ever streamed a video podcast, not a monthly figure.

The TV screen is the surprise. YouTube's podcast viewing on living room devices grew by about three quarters in a year, and the Reuters Institute reports that about 40% of YouTube views for Goalhanger's shows (The Rest is Politics, The Rest is History) come through connected TVs. Netflix started carrying video podcasts in the US in early 2026, starting with Spotify Studios and The Ringer shows (Spotify, 14 October 2025).

For marketers the practical consequence is that a podcast is now also a library of video clips. That matters on LinkedIn, where short video can be promoted as an ad; we cover what that costs in section 11.

Cite: "82% of US weekly podcast consumers watch video podcasts, against 78% who listen audio-only (Edison Podcast Metrics, Q3 2025); YouTube has 1 billion+ monthly podcast viewers." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#video-podcasts

Spotify, Apple and YouTube: which podcast platform is biggest?

YouTube is the podcast platform Americans use most, Spotify is second and Apple Podcasts third. In Edison Podcast Metrics for Q3 2026, YouTube had the highest share of US weekly podcast consumers who say it is the platform they use most often; Spotify was second at 17% and Apple Podcasts third at 9%. Netflix, in its first year of podcasts, was seventh at 3% (Edison, The Number 1 Podcast Platform, 7 October 2026). Edison did not publish YouTube's own percentage for that quarter; in Q4 2025 it was 39%, against 20% for Spotify and 11% for Apple (Edison Podcast Metrics Q4 2025, as reported by Net Influencer).

Sources: US, Edison Podcast Metrics Q3 2026 and Q4 2025 (via Net Influencer); UK, Edison Podcast Metrics UK, weekly consumers 15+, 8 July 2026; Canada, Triton Digital 2026 (a "use" figure, not "use most"). Blank cells: not measured or not published.

Spotify podcast statistics

• 8 million podcast titles, alongside 100 million+ tracks and 800,000 audiobooks, for 788 million monthly users and 306 million subscribers in 184 markets (Spotify, About, Q3 2026 figures). The B2B House quoted 3.2 million in December 2021.
• 500 million+ users have streamed a video podcast, up nearly 50% year on year (Spotify, 21 May 2026).
• Nearly half a million video shows (Spotify, 13 November 2025).
• $100 million+ paid to podcasters in Q1 2025 through the Spotify Partner Program and other programmes (Spotify, 28 April 2025).
• Lower Partner Program thresholds from January 2026: 1,000 engaged audience members, 2,000 hours consumed in 30 days and 3 published episodes, down from 2,000, 10,000 and 12 (Spotify, 7 January 2026).

Spotify does not report podcast advertising revenue as a separate number, so there is no current figure to set against The B2B House's "$286.5 million in 2023", which was an eMarketer forecast. See the archive.

Apple Podcasts statistics

• 125 million+ episodes in 13 languages, "millions of shows across hundreds of categories", in more than 170 countries and regions (Apple Newsroom, 16 February 2026).
• HLS video: switch between watching and listening, offline video, and dynamic video ads including host-read spots. Apple charges ad networks an impression-based fee for dynamic ads in HLS video, but nothing to creators for distribution (same source).
• Apple still leads downloads. On Buzzsprout's hosting platform, Apple Podcasts accounts for 38.4% of US downloads, ahead of web browsers (20.8%) and Spotify (18.4%), in October 2026 (Buzzsprout stats). Downloads only measure RSS audio, which is why Apple looks bigger here than in Edison's "used most" question, where YouTube's video viewing counts.

Apple does not publish listener numbers. The B2B House's "Apple will hover around 29.4 million US listeners until 2026" was an eMarketer forecast with no Apple source; we list it under stats we no longer recommend.

YouTube and the global picture

MIDiA's platform model puts YouTube at 308.2 million podcast users in 2025 (up from 281.2 million), a 32% share of global platform users; YouTube and Spotify together hold 50.0%. China's Ximalaya FM is second globally at 29.2%, almost entirely in China, the one market where YouTube does not operate (MIDiA, 15 October 2026). MIDiA's YouTube figure is lower than YouTube's own "1 billion" because the two define a podcast user differently.

Cite: "YouTube is the platform US weekly podcast consumers use most; Spotify is second at 17% and Apple Podcasts third at 9% (Edison Podcast Metrics, Q3 2026). Spotify lists 8 million podcast titles." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#platforms

How much is podcast advertising worth?

US podcast advertising revenue was $2.9 billion in 2025, up 17.6% on 2024, according to the IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report published on 16 April 2026 (IAB). That is about 1% of the $294.6 billion US internet advertising market, which grew 13.9%. Podcasts grew faster than digital audio as a whole, which reached $8.4 billion (+10.2%) (Radio Ink, reporting the IAB report).

The IAB stopped publishing its standalone podcast revenue study after the 2024 edition; podcast revenue now appears as a line in the annual IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report. IAB and eMarketer use different methods, so do not join the two series into one growth line.

Two other things changed in podcast advertising since The B2B House wrote its guide. First, buyers moved to video: Apple's HLS video launch sells dynamic video ads into shows, Spotify pays video creators through its Partner Program, and YouTube sells podcasts as part of its normal ad inventory. Second, in the IAB's last standalone study comedy's share of podcast ad revenue grew four points in two years while sports slipped from 15% to 13%, and over a quarter of revenue sat in an "other" category that includes government, non-profit, pets and home.

The UK market is far smaller. The Reuters Institute puts UK podcast ad revenue at about £90 million in 2024, out of about £175 million for all UK audio advertising.

Cite: "US podcast advertising revenue was $2.9 billion in 2025, up 17.6% (IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report, April 2026)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#advertising

Do podcast ads work?

Podcast listeners say they remember and act on ads more than most media. 76% of US weekly podcast consumers say they have acted on a podcast ad, such as visiting a website, buying, using a promo code or recommending a product (Edison, The Podcast Consumer 2026). That is the same 76% The B2B House quoted from the 2021 Super Listeners study, now measured on all weekly consumers rather than heavy listeners.

All of these are survey answers or media-mix models, not measured conversions. Sounds Profitable is an industry body funded by podcast companies; the Edison study was presented by Edison and sponsored by its partners. Treat them as strong signals of attention, not proof of sales.

Why do podcast ads hold attention? The B2B House's answer was "no distractions", and the data now adds a second reason: the host. Podcast audiences trust the person reading the ad. That is also the logic behind thought leader ads on LinkedIn, where a post from a named person outperforms the company page; more in section 11.

Cite: "76% of US weekly podcast consumers say they have acted on a podcast ad (Edison Research, The Podcast Consumer 2026); 86% of the most active listeners recall podcast ads (Sounds Profitable, 2025)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#ad-effectiveness

What podcast genres are most popular?

True Crime is now the most popular podcast topic in the US, ahead of Comedy. Comedy had held first place since Edison began tracking topics in 2019; in the first half of 2026 True Crime edged ahead, after climbing steadily from fifth in 2019 (Edison, Crime Pays?, 2 September 2026). Edison publishes the leader but not the full percentages, which are for subscribers.

For B2B, the useful number is lower down the list: Business is the seventh most popular genre among US weekly consumers 13+, reaching close to 10 million Americans a week, ahead of Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness and Music (Edison, 22 July 2026, Q1 2026 data). The largest Business shows are Planet Money, The Ramsey Show and The Diary of a CEO, with How I Built This, The Tim Ferriss Show and PBD Podcast also in the top ten.

Source: Edison Research at SSRS, The Top 50 Podcasts in the US for Q2 2026, 20 July 2026, Americans 13+, weekly reach, audio and video. No new show entered the top 10 this quarter.

Cite: "True Crime overtook Comedy as the most popular US podcast topic in 2026; Business is the seventh most popular genre, reaching close to 10 million Americans weekly (Edison Podcast Metrics)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#genres

What are good podcast download numbers and episode lengths?

A podcast episode with more than 27 downloads in its first 7 days beats half of all episodes; 425+ puts it in the top 10% and 4,658+ in the top 1%. These are Buzzsprout's October 2026 benchmarks, from 111,713 active shows hosted on its platform that published 150,766 episodes and served 88.1 million downloads that month (Buzzsprout stats). They are the same benchmark series The B2B House quoted, so the comparison is like for like.

Source: Buzzsprout, Podcast industry statistics, October 2026, fetched 14 Nov 2026. Buzzsprout's ranges are by episode and for shows it hosts; they measure RSS downloads, so YouTube and Spotify video views are not included. The thresholds move a little every month.

How long is the average podcast episode?

Among 24,057 episodes published on Buzzsprout in October 2026, the median episode was about 24 minutes. We grouped Buzzsprout's minute-by-minute table into the same bands The B2B House used:

Source: Buzzsprout, "How long are podcast episodes?", October 2026. Bands are whole minutes 0 to 9, 10 to 19, 20 to 39, 40 to 59 and 60+. The rise in very short episodes reflects trailers, clips and daily shows published as full episodes.

How often do podcasts publish? Weekly is the most common rhythm by far: 20.7% of active Buzzsprout shows left exactly 7 days between episodes in October 2026, with 14 days (7.8%) and 8 days (7.6%) next (same source).

How do you measure success? First-week downloads remain the fairest comparison between audio shows, as The B2B House said. In 2026 add two more: video views and watch time on YouTube and Spotify, and, for B2B, whether the right accounts are hearing it. Download counts cannot tell you that; paid distribution of clips can, because LinkedIn reports who saw them by company and job title.

Cite: "A podcast episode needs 28+ first-week downloads to beat the median and 425+ to reach the top 10% (Buzzsprout, October 2026)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#benchmarks

Are podcasts worth it for B2B brands and founder-led media?

Yes for reach into the buying committee, but rarely on downloads alone. The audience is right: 68% of 35 to 54 year olds in the US consume podcasts monthly, Business reaches close to 10 million Americans a week, and college graduates over-index. The problem for most B2B shows is distribution. The median Buzzsprout episode gets 27 or fewer first-week downloads, and you cannot tell which companies those 27 people work for.

That is why we treat a B2B podcast, or a founder's guest appearances, as a content source rather than a channel. One recorded hour becomes ten or more short clips, and each clip can run as a paid video post in front of exactly the accounts and job titles you sell to. On LinkedIn the best way to do that is a thought leader ad: the clip is posted by the founder or host, then promoted from the company's ad account. Our founder-led content service is built around exactly that loop, and our LinkedIn Ads agency runs the paid side.

What the Kiin panel says about promoting podcast clips on LinkedIn

Kiin Labs' 2026 LinkedIn video ads benchmarks cover 676 advertisers and $10.2M of video spend (7 October 2025 to 6 October 2026), part of a panel of 1,000+ accounts and $65M+ of LinkedIn ad spend. The findings that matter for podcast clips:

Kiin Labs panel, medians across accounts, USD. Paired figures compare the same advertiser running both formats. Full method on the video benchmarks report.

Read together, those numbers give a simple playbook for podcast clips:

1. Cut short. People watch 6 to 8 seconds at the median, and 15-second cuts are 54% cheaper per completed view than 16 to 30 seconds. The strongest 15 seconds of an episode is the ad; the episode is the follow-up.
2. Use clips to build an audience, not to ask for a demo. A 50% view costs about $1.09 on the website visits objective, one of the cheapest ways to fill a retargeting pool. Then retarget the viewers with the offer.
3. Test the static version too. Thought leader video is the weakest thought leader ad format in our data: against a static post from the same person, engagement rate is 29% lower. A quote card from the episode often beats the clip.
4. Judge it on pipeline. Clips are demand creation; measure them on the accounts they reach and the pipeline they influence, not cost per lead. Our LinkedIn Ads statistics and LinkedIn statistics pages cover the wider benchmarks.

Founder-led media works for the same reason podcast ads do: people trust a person more than a logo. Podcast listeners extend that trust to hosts (80% of the most active listeners trust podcast ads, Sounds Profitable 2025), and LinkedIn audiences extend it to named executives. If you would rather sponsor other people's shows than run your own, see our list of the best B2B influencer marketing agencies.

Cite: "On LinkedIn, video earns 42% more dwell than an image but costs 18% more per landing page click, and viewers watch 6 to 8 seconds at the median (Kiin Labs, 676 advertisers, 2026)." Kiin Labs, kiin.co/research/podcast-statistics#b2b-podcasts

Figures previously published by The B2B House

The B2B House's "Podcast Statistics, Data & Trends" was cited by more than twenty sites, from Michigan State University's globalEDGE to Radio France. The B2B House is now part of Kiin, so the figures it published stay here, exactly as published, so every link to them still makes sense. Next to each one is what we know in 2026.

Two things to know before you use them:

• Most were forecasts. The guide was titled "2024 Update", but almost all its listener and ad figures were eMarketer (Insider Intelligence) projections made in 2021, for 18 countries, for the years 2021 to 2026. They were predictions, not measurements.
• Measured figures have overtaken them. Where a primary source now measures the same thing, we give it. Where none exists, we say so rather than invent a replacement.

Podcast stats we no longer recommend using

A good statistics page should also say what not to quote. These figures are still widely repeated, including in AI answers, but are out of date or have no primary source:

• "383.7 million" or "424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide." 2021 eMarketer forecasts for 18 countries. Measured platform counts are now near 1 billion. Details.
• "Spotify podcast ad revenue of $286.5 million." A forecast; Spotify has never reported podcast ad revenue. Details.
• "Apple Podcasts will stagnate at 29.4 million US listeners." An eMarketer forecast; Apple publishes no listener count.
• "Only 12% of listeners always ignore podcast ads." Attributed to "a recent poll" with no name or date.
• "Comedy is the most popular genre." True in Edison's data from 2019 to 2025; True Crime leads in 2026. Details.
• "Podcasts earn about $20 per 1,000 downloads." No source, then or now. Details.
• "8.7% of Chinese internet users listen to podcasts." A 2021 forecast with no open update.

The original B2B House guide, archived in full

The B2B House is now part of Kiin. So that every link to its guide still makes sense, the complete original is kept below, section by section, exactly as it was last published (only typos fixed). Figures in it are from the dates its authors gave; the sections above give the current numbers and sources. Open any section to read it.

Where are podcasts listened to the most?

North America and Northern Europe are the most popular podcast listeners.

The United States leads the globe in podcast listenership in all categories. In 2021, 117.8 million people in the United States listens to podcasts on a monthly basis, accounting for 40.0 percent of all internet users.

Sweden ranks second in terms of podcast penetration, with 34.6 percent of internet users planning to listen to podcasts this year. In Norway, Australia, Canada, and Spain, adoption will be prevalent. Due to their large populations, China and Brazil will rank second and third in overall podcast listeners (85.6 million and 39.2 million people, respectively).

Podcast Listeners by Countries	Percentage of internet users
US	40.00%
Sweden	34.60%
Norway	34.20%
Australia	33.20%
Canada	32.80%
Spain	30.00%
Denmark	28.40%
UK	27.90%
Finland	27.60%
Mexico	25.80%
Italy	25.00%
Brazil	24.50%
Germany	24.40%
France	22.90%
Argentina	19.20%
South Korea	12.20%
Japan	11.80%
China	8.70%
Total Europe	26.30%
Total North America	39.20%
Total	18.70%

Podcast Listeners by Countries

Podcasts, like many other forms of entertainment, are becoming increasingly international. Podcasts, unlike movies, television, sports, and music, are difficult to enjoy if the listener does not understand the content creator’s native language. This reality is influencing the growth of podcast audiences around the world.

Countries with largely English-speaking populations have embraced podcasts the most, led by the United States.

In terms of both content development and listener uptake, the United States leads the world in podcasting.

English speakers around the world have access to a larger collection of podcast content created in the United States than non-English speakers. As a result, podcast uptake becomes easier in countries with a high degree of English proficiency.

The United States also has the biggest percentage of internet users who listen to podcasts.

This year, 40.0 percent of internet users in the United States will listen to podcasts at least once a month. The Nordic countries, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, all of which have considerable populations of competent or proficient English speakers, also rank highly in this category.

Podcast adoption is lower in nations with native languages that are not widely spoken in other key markets. To create an appealing podcasting ecosystem for the typical consumer, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and Italy rely heavily on local creators. So far, these countries have a smaller number of podcast listeners.

Notably, Spanish is rapidly approaching the status of second worldwide language for podcasting.

Over the next few years, Spanish-language podcasting will grow in line with podcast penetration among Spanish-speaking populations. In 2021, among nations with weak English proficiency, Spain will have the greatest podcast penetration rate (30.0 percent of internet users), but Mexico will have a higher rate (25.8% of internet users) than much of Europe.

Similar patterns emerge among digital audio listeners in particular. When it comes to consumers who listen to digital audio, podcasts are disproportionately popular in areas where English or Spanish is widely spoken. Podcast listenership is behind in other parts of the world, even where digital audio has become highly popular.

Percentage of digital audio listeners by region/country, podcast statistics

Take, for example, China:

• This year, 72.9 percent of all internet users in the country will be monthly digital audio listeners, one of the highest percentages in the world.

• Despite this, just 12.4 percent of digital audio listeners will subscribe to a monthly podcast, the lowest rate of any country in our study.

Brazil, a major country with a sizable digital audio audience, exhibits a similar but less significant divergence:

• Over 70% of the online population will listen to digital audio at least once a month.

• However, just 34.9 percent of that group will listen to podcasts on a regular basis.

Nonetheless, China and Brazil have large enough populations to develop substantial podcast listener bases without the benefit of enormous worldwide archives of local-language content. Due to the sheer magnitude of their populations, both countries rank relatively high in terms of total listeners.

Podcast Statistics Worldwide

Podcast Listeners Worldwide Stats

Are podcast growing in popularity? Yes they are.

This year, the overall number of monthly podcast listeners in the 18 countries will rise by 15.5 percent to 383.7 million. The number of listeners will increase to 424.2 million next year.

Podcast Listener, Percentage of internet users

Podcast Listeners and Audience by Age group

Ages 25 to 34 have the highest number of audiences/listeners at 29.5 million in the US alone. Ages 35 to 44 is the next largest cohort of podcast audiences with 22.6 million listeners.

Podcast Listeners and audience by age group

18 to 24 age group has the highest penetration rate of over 65% in 2022. The next largest penetrated age group is 25 to 34.

Podcast Penetration Rate by Age Group

Age group 25 to 34 has the largest podcast listener share, which doesn’t come as a surprise since they have the largest number of total podcast listeners.

Podcast Listener Share by Age Group

If you’re targeting ages 25 to 44, podcast seems to be a viable channel for you to test.

Podcast Listeners by Gender

While there are 7% more males than females who listen to the podcast, the differences are quite negligible. Don’t focus your targeting by gender in podcasts. Instead focus on targeting the podcast with the right relevant content.

Podcast listeners by Sex

Podcast Listeners by Generations

Millenials use podcasts the most in the US, with almost 42.8 million in 2022 alone. Gen Z is close behind with 32%

Podcast Listeners in selected countries

Region	2022	2023	2024	2025
Argentina	7,835,902	8,674,520	9,211,982	9,591,322
Australia	7,429,991	7,724,014	7,997,145	8,275,629
Brazil	42,918,665	46,426,766	50,296,716	52,432,294
Canada	12,039,438	12,859,057	13,292,428	13,705,930
China	102,374,682	121,686,437	143,650,589	158,552,235
Denmark	1,572,035	1,623,307	1,681,762	1,740,526
Finland	1,427,588	1,479,934	1,512,341	1,548,849
France	14,300,802	15,510,543	16,305,700	16,954,823
Germany	18,915,486	20,686,251	21,586,156	22,396,169
Italy	12,029,282	12,780,300	13,317,188	13,846,478
Japan	13,780,386	14,982,400	15,854,365	16,510,142
Mexico	22,785,015	24,529,002	26,442,714	27,629,763
Norway	1,738,015	1,789,049	1,854,773	1,915,646
South Korea	6,287,061	6,842,263	7,252,440	7,566,431
Spain	12,585,174	13,469,216	14,138,696	14,596,023
Sweden	3,247,612	3,403,195	3,532,712	3,653,962
UK	18,095,431	19,395,334	20,502,437	21,291,576
US	126,053,845	132,194,490	138,237,333	144,354,720

Podcaster Listeners in selected countries

In total, 18 countries create a picture of the podcast industry that most likely reflects the global reality. When we add up our 18-country projections for this year, we get 383.7 million monthly listeners around the world, representing 18.7% of all internet users and a 15.5 percent growth over 2020.

Podcast Listeners Worldwide, Percentage change

According to conventional belief, the COVID-19 pandemic last year was a boom for podcast listening since people all across the world were trapped at home and had more time for digital engagement.

That seems to be accurate with 20.9 percent increase in monthly podcast listeners expected in 2020 across our 18 markets (although 2019 saw strong overall growth as well, at 22.6 percent ). However, growth is becoming increasingly disproportionate between countries.

Podcast Statistics in US (North America)

• In the United States, 40.0 percent of all internet users will listen to a podcast at least once per month by 2021.

• The United States will also have the most monthly podcast listeners, with 117.8 million, over 40 million more than the rest of Europe.

• For the first time in history, more than half of all digital audio listeners in the United States will also be podcast listeners this year.

• In 2021, 35.2 percent of Americans will listen to a podcast at least once a month. As recently as 2015, that figure was 14.3 percent.

US Podcast Listeners, Percentage change

Podcast Statistics in Europe

• Germany will have an estimated total of 18.9 million podcast listeners in 2022

• United Kingdom (UK) will have an estimated total of 18.0 million podcast listeners in 2022

• Spain is far ahead of the other major European markets for podcast penetration rate, including the United Kingdom (27.9%), Italy (25.0%), Germany (24.4%), and France (24.4%). (22.9%).

• Spain’s strong adoption rate is at least partly due to the fact that its listeners have access to all Spanish-language podcast content produced in Latin America, which is continually expanding.

• Sweden and Norway, behind only the United States, will have the second and third highest podcast penetration rates in the world this year. They will be closely followed by Denmark and Finland.

Podcast Listeners in Europe, Selected countries

• When we add up our nine country projections for Europe, we get a total of 76.6 million monthly podcast listeners in 2021. This represents a 13.5 percent increase from 2020.

• This European cohort grew its listenership by 21.7 percent year over year during the peak of the pandemic.

Podcast Listeners in Europe, Percentage change

• Europe’s growth will lag the global average moving forward to 2025 because Several of Europe’s main markets are unable to access audio content in English.

Podcast Statistics in Asia-Pacific (Excluding Australia)

• The Asia-Pacific countries we forecast, with the exception of Australia, have by far the lowest rates of podcast listening.

• Only 8.7% of Chinese internet users will listen to podcasts on a monthly basis this year.

• These rates will be only 11.8 percent and 12.2 percent in Japan and South Korea, respectively.

• These three countries are at the very bottom of the worldwide ranking.

Podcast Listeners, Latin America, Asia-Pacific vs Europe

However, the situation in these three marketplaces will differ in the future. In the coming years, China is predicted to have exceptional growth rates for podcast listening, although growth in Japan and South Korea will be average, despite their low starting points.

According to the Reuters Institute, 40% of non-podcast listeners in Japan had no idea what podcasts were. Only 54.7 percent of internet users in Japan will utilize digital audio this year, according to our forecasts, the lowest rate of any of the nations in our sample.

It’s worth mentioning that many Asia-Pacific countries have non-music digital audio options, such as livestreaming, instructional programming, and audiobooks, which are sometimes quite popular. These services, though, are mostly in media that we wouldn’t consider podcasts.

The situation in Latin America is quite different. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina have all adopted podcasts at similar rates as their European counterparts. This year, around a quarter of internet users in Brazil (24.5%) and Mexico (25.8%) will listen to monthly podcasts, while Argentina’s rate will lag somewhat. Their figures are comparable to those of France and Germany (22.9 percent and 24.4 percent , respectively).

Digital audio is very popular among Brazil’s online population. Internet users in that country are more likely than those in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and even the United Kingdom to listen to digital audio on a monthly basis. This opens up a lot of possibilities for podcast uptake.

This year, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina will together account for 67.2 million monthly podcast listeners, nearly matching our European total of 76.6 million.

Podcast Statistics in China

China will eventually overtake the United States in terms of podcast listeners, but its content will be different.

Podcast Listeners In China, Percentage change

• China will eventually overtake the United States in terms of podcast listeners, but its content will be different.

Although China’s digital audio producers and consumers were late to the game, the domestic podcast sector has just begun to gather traction. Despite having one of the lowest rate of podcast adoption, China’s overall monthly listenership is fast increasing. And, with 72.9 percent of the country’s internet users listening to digital audio on a monthly basis this year, there’s a vast potential audience waiting to be cultivated.

• China will have the biggest podcast listenership in the world by the end of 2024, because to its vast magnitude and rapid rate of expansion.

• However, its penetration rate will remain exceedingly low.

• Even by 2024, only 13.8 percent of Chinese internet users, or 10.2 percent of the whole population, will be monthly podcast listeners. By that time, 40.0 percent of the US population will have been monthly podcast listeners.

Unfortunately, China’s podcast prospects are hampered by the country’s restrictions on free speech. News and politics are listed as one of the top podcast categories in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to YouGov data from November 2020. The fact that many people in these countries acquire their news through podcasts indicates that podcast listening has become ingrained in their culture.

Podcasters in China will have to navigate highly regulated news and information ecosystem, and the news category is unlikely to succeed in the country. Politics and social commentary are likewise heavily restricted in China, thereby eliminating at least two popular podcast genres in other markets.

Many English-speaking or English-proficient countries around the world, on the other hand, score extremely well in terms of national press freedom and freedom of speech, with the Nordic countries consistently ranking near the top.

• This type of culture is suited to podcasting, as our projections for podcast uptake in those nations show.

• Given China’s unique conditions, the country’s podcast business will likely focus on a smaller number of topics (comedy, music, lifestyle, etc.) and be fueled by fewer risk-averse amateur artists.

Many of China’s most popular podcasts have so far revolved around hobbies, life guidance, travel, and pet care.

Podcast Statistics in Latin America

• Brazil will have the world’s second-fastest growth rate in 2022, while Argentina will have the third-fastest.

• Mexico will also see a respectable growth of 13.6 percent.

Podcast Listener growth in Latin America vs Europe

In comparison to some of the other main Latin American markets, Mexico has a comparatively significant English-speaking population, which allows for a larger range of podcast listenership.

For the next three years, we expect all three Latin American countries to grow their monthly podcast listenership faster than both Europe and North America’s average growth rates. Argentina, on the other hand, will continue to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of podcast adoption.

Spotify Podcast Statistics

Spotify as currently has 3.2 million podcasts as of December 2021.

In the United States, Spotify is still growing its podcast audience, whereas Apple Podcasts has essentially plateaued. Spotify will have narrowly surpassed Apple in that category by end of 2021. The Swedish streaming service will have 28.2 million monthly podcast listeners, a razor-thin lead over Apple’s 28.0 million, which will widen in the coming years.

By 2024, 43.6 million internet users in the US will use Spotify to listen to Podcasts

US Spotify Podcast Listeners

Spotify Podcast Ad Revenues

Spotify is projecting grow their podcast ad revenues by 49.3% in 2023 at a total of 286.5M. It is undoubtedly one of the biggest growth channels for the company.

Spotify Podcast Ad Revenues

Apple Podcast Statistics

Apple Podcast is experiencing stagnating growth. They would likely hover around 29.4M listeners until 2026 assuming no major efforts to improve this.

Apple Podcast Listeners

Podcast Advertising Statistics

Podacst advertising revenue is expected to reach 3.2B by 2026 from 1.73B in 2022. Podcast would take up 36.20% of audio ad spending and 0.85% of total digital spending.

Metric	Region	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Podcast ad spending	US	$1.3B	$1.7B	$2.1B	$2.5B	$2.9B	$3.2B
% change	US	55.09%	28.64%	27.20%	16.37%	14.10%	12.95%
% of digital audio services ad spending	US	23.60%	27.40%	31.80%	34.20%	36.20%	38.00%
% of total digital display ad spending	US	1.13%	1.20%	1.33%	1.36%	1.42%	1.50%
% of total digital ad spending	US	0.64%	0.69%	0.77%	0.81%	0.85%	0.91%

US Podcast Ad Spending

Is Podcast Advertising Effective?

Podcast ads are the most memorable, according to the Super Listeners 2021 survey, with 86% of respondents recalling seeing or hearing one. Websites have 79%, while social media has 80%.

Podcast listeners also scored well in terms of ad engagement and reaction, with 76% reporting they’ve taken action after hearing a podcast ad, which may include visiting a website, purchasing something, or signing up for a subscription.

Only 12% of regular podcast listeners claimed they always ignore commercials, according to a recent poll. In fact, 33% of those polled claimed they “never or rarely” skip commercials, while 38% said they “just occasionally” do so.

Since 2019, there’s been a growing acknowledgment that podcast is one of the best ways to capture audiences’ attention.

Podcast Advertising Reach

Audiences are also more willing to consider products and services after learning about them through podcasts.

What’s surprising is that Podcast is rated as a more trustworthy source than social media and websites.

Podcast Ad Effectiveness

One of the key reasons for Podcast advertising effectiveness is because of its immersive experience. There are no distractions within a podcast. When someone tunes into a podcast show, they have the person’s attention.

Compare that with social media where it’s mindless scrolling and full of distracting headlines. Yes, the reach on social media is likely better, but podcast commands more attention and audience affinity.

Audiences report that typical channels like Television and Social Media have way too many ads. This decreases effectiveness. A big contribution to this overwhelming sense of ads is also due to low-quality ads on mainstream channels.

Is Podcast Ads Saturated?

Podcast statistics: frequently asked questions

How we built this page, and every source

We started from every statistic in The B2B House guide and every claim that other sites link to it for (we checked its backlinks one by one). For each, we looked for the newest figure from the original publisher first: Edison Research at SSRS, Pew Research Center, the IAB, YouTube, Spotify and Apple's own newsrooms, Triton Digital, the Reuters Institute and Buzzsprout's platform data. We opened each source page between 13 and 14 November 2026 and copied the figure from it. Where only a press summary was available we name the outlet. Where there is no update we say so and keep the old figure with its date. Kiin's own advertising figures come from the Kiin Labs panel, described in the video benchmarks method note. Corrections: [email protected].

1. Edison Research at SSRS, The Infinite Dial 2026, 12 Mar 2026
2. Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2025 (press release)
3. Edison Research at SSRS, The Podcast Consumer 2026, 4 Jun 2026
4. Edison, The Number 1 Podcast Platform (Q3 2026), 7 Oct 2026
5. Edison, Crime Pays? (True Crime passes Comedy), 2 Sep 2026
6. Edison, The Podcasts Standing on Business, 22 Jul 2026
7. Edison, The Top 50 Podcasts in the US for Q2 2026
8. Edison, YouTube Surpasses Spotify as UK's Preferred Podcast Platform, 8 Jul 2026
9. Edison, The UK Podcast Consumer 2026
10. Edison, The UK Podcast Consumer 2025, 8 Aug 2025
11. Net Influencer, Edison Podcast Metrics Q4 2025 platform shares, 16 Mar 2026
12. Tubefilter, Infinite Dial 2026 coverage (55+ growth), 20 Mar 2026
13. National Public Media, Infinite Dial 2026 analysis
14. Pew Research Center, Podcasts and News Fact Sheet, 25 Sep 2025
15. YouTube Official Blog, 1 billion monthly podcast users, 26 Feb 2025
16. YouTube Official Blog, How podcasts took over the living room in 2025, 18 Dec 2025
17. Spotify, About Spotify (company info)
18. Spotify Newsroom, Investor Day podcast updates, 21 May 2026
19. Spotify Newsroom, Partner Program updates, 7 Jan 2026
20. Spotify Newsroom, Partner Program in the Nordics, 13 Nov 2025
21. Spotify Newsroom, Netflix partnership, 14 Oct 2025
22. Spotify Newsroom, $100 million payout, 28 Apr 2025
23. Apple Newsroom, A new video podcast experience on Apple Podcasts, 16 Feb 2026
24. MIDiA Research, Podcast market shares 2025 (via Podnews), 15 Oct 2026
25. IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report, Full Year 2025, 16 Apr 2026
26. Radio Ink, IAB: digital audio grew 10% in 2025
27. IAB, U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study, 9 May 2024
28. Reuters Institute, The changing shape and new economics of news podcasting, 7 May 2026
29. Sounds Profitable, The Advertising Landscape: Trust and Attention, Jun 2025
30. Triton Digital, Canadian Podcast Report 2026, 16 Jun 2026
31. Mediaweek, Infinite Dial Australia 2026, 16 Jun 2026
32. Buzzsprout, Podcast industry statistics (October 2026)
33. Kiin Labs, LinkedIn Video Ads Benchmarks 2026, LinkedIn Ads benchmarks and Report No. 4, cost per demo