A 14-day trial for premium features. 55+ tools.
Free access for core features.
Backlinko readers get
access for 14 days. 55+ tools.
Written by Backlinko Team
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?
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.
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:
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.
Source: eMarketer
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:
Source: Edison Research
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:
Source: Cumulus Media
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:
Source: Cumulus Media
As of February 2026, Spotify has approximately 7 million podcast titles on its platform.
Source: Spotify
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:
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
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:
By gender:
Source: Edison Research, Edison Research
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:
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:
Source: eMarketer
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:
Source: Statista
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:
You’ll see the top podcast channels for the UK below:
And finally, the top podcast channels for Australia are here:
You can check out which Podcasts are the most popular in each country on Spotify’s podcast charts.
Source: Spotify
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:
Sources: Cumulus Media, Spotify
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!
Sources: eMarketer, Statista
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:
But if you don’t have many listeners yet, there are alternative methods to kickstart your earnings. These include:
Source: IAB
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.
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.
Backlinko is owned by Semrush. We’re still obsessed with bringing you world-class SEO insights, backed by hands-on experience. Unless otherwise noted, this content was written by either an employee or paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Get instant insights into strengths and weaknesses of your competitors or prospective customers with Semrush
Backlinko turns AI SEO into clear, actionable strategies with step-by-step frameworks and examples to help you rank in an AI-driven search world. Think less guessing, more visibility.
© 2026 Backlinko is a Trademark of Semrush Inc