If you’re a podcaster or you’re planning to venture into podcasting in 2023, below are some of the most interesting and eye-opening statistics that will reveal to you what’s happening in the industry.
With the latest podcast growth statistics here, you will decide if it’s something you want to go into and how to position yourself in the industry.
Let’s get started!
A humble request: I spent enough time and resources to research and collect (& keep them updated) these latest digital marketing stats for you. I would appreciate if you could link back to this page when using an Instagram fact in your work. Cheers! ~ Swadhin Agrawal
Quick navigation (jump to the section)
- Podcast usage statistics
- Podcast growth statistics
- Podcast advertising statistics
- Podcast demographics statistics
- Podcast listener behaviors statistics
- Where do people listen to podcasts statistics
- Global podcast statistics
- Podcasters earners statistics
- Conclusion
Podcast usage statistics 2023
1. There are over 299 million listeners who use Spotify to discover podcasts. Also, the number of Spotify listeners has doubled from 2019.
2. Apple podcasts feature more than 500,000 podcast channels that include content in over 100 languages.
3. 65% of podcasts listeners prefer portable devices like smartPhone or tablets to listen to their favourite podcast channel.
4. The most common for people to listen to podcast episodes is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
5. Top four podcast genres in the US are comedy (22%), news (21%), true crime (18%), & sports (17%).
6. 49% of the U.S podcast listeners listen to episodes while walking around.
7. Top two reasons U.S people listen to podcasts are to ‘learn new things (74%)’ and ‘to be entertained (71%).’
8. The Apple podcast platform has crossed 50 billion all-time downloads, more than any other platform.
9. 31% of the podcast episodes are between 20 and 40 minutes.
10. Apple iPhone, with 61% share, is the most used device used to listen to podcast episodes
11. 34% of Spotify’s monthly active users are from the European continent. North America and Latin America come second and third with a share of 24% and 22% respectively.
12. Total revenue of Spotify in the first quarter of 2021 is €2147 million.
13. Number of active monthly podcasts listeners on Apple and Spotify are 28 million and 28.2 million, respectively.
14. 20-40 minutes is the most common length of podcast episodes.
15. 40% of global podcasts publish a new episode every 8-14 days.
Featured article: Affiliate marketing statistics [updated]
Podcast growth statistics 2023
1. Apple Podcasts currently features over 500,000 active podcasts, with content in over 100 languages.
2. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of individuals that listen to a podcast at least once per week increased by 17%.
3. 70% of the US population now knows what a podcast is, compared to 64% in 2018.
4. In 2018, monthly podcast listeners in the US grew from 24% to 26% year over year.
5. The number of people who listened to podcasts at work in the United States doubled between 2018 and 2019.
6. By the end of 2019, the number of podcasts on the web skyrocketed to 800,000 (Podcast Insights).
7. As of writing, there are currently 850,000 active podcasts and more than 30 million podcast episodes available on the internet.
8. 57% of consumers above 12 years of age in the United States listen to podcasts.
9. 57% of the overall US population has turned into a podcast at least once, up from the 55% confirmed in 2020.
10. Spotify has over 2.2 million podcast channels.
Podcast advertising statistics 2023
1. Podcast ad spending is projected to reach $2.74 billion this year in 2020.
2. 54% of podcast listeners say they are more likely to patronize the brands they hear advertised on podcasts shows.
3. In 2018, 17% of digital marketers were actively planning to add podcasting to their marketing strategy.
4. The most popular delivery method in 2018 was Baked-in ads, having up to 51.2% of the market share.
5. The average podcast ad slot costs anywhere from $10 to $50, with extra premium charges for shows that have high listenership.
6. Podcast advertising revenue is expected to pass $1 billion by 2021.
7. In 2018, the total podcasting market revenue estimate increased by 53%.
8. Premade edited in-podcast ads generated 51% of placements in late 2018. At the same time, dynamic ads went from generating 44% of ad placements in 2017 to 48% in 2018.
9. Over 38% of podcast advertisements are bought and sold per quarter.
10. About 86% of podcast hosts charge for ads on cost-per-mile pricing.
Podcast demographics statistics 2023
1. One-third of millennials listen to podcasts regularly.
2. The highest podcast listenership growth in the past year has come from people in the 12-to-24 age group.
3. Men made up to 56% of podcast listeners.
4. Roughly 34% of people earning $50,000 to $75,000 per year, and 32% of those earning $75,000 to $100,000 per year listen to podcasts daily, more than other income levels.
5. About 51% of individuals over the age range of 12 in the United States have listened to a podcast show at least once.
6. Roughly 24% of women and 27% of men listened to podcasts in 2018.
7. Half of every home in the US (over 60 million households) are podcast fans.
8. 75% of the United States population are familiar with the “podcasting” concept – a 5% increase from 2019.
9. 45% of people that listen to podcasts monthly have a household income of more than $75K, compared to 35% for the total population.
10. Up to 58% of the South Korean population listens to podcasts monthly.
11. 27% of people that listen to podcasts in the US have a 4-year college degree, compared to 19% for US pop.
12. 57% of podcasts listeners are white, 13% are African-American, 16% are Hispanic / Latino, and 4% are Asian.
Podcast listener behaviours statistics 2023
1. 80% of podcast listeners stay tuned in for all (or most) of each podcast episode they listen to.
2. 22% of podcast listeners listen at least weekly, while 32% listen monthly.
3. Over 50% of millennials listen to educational podcast shows.
4. Podcast listeners are active on every social media platform – 94% are active on at least one, compared to 81% for the entire population.
5. NPR states that up to 75% of its podcast listeners will take action or respond after hearing sponsored content.
6. 62% of podcast listeners are more likely to share podcasts with their friends if they could share a highlight or one short segment of the episode rather than a complete episode.
7. The most popular podcasting genre is ‘comedy,’ followed by education and news.
8. Only 42% of the generations older than millennials will listen to a 26 minutes (or longer) podcast, vs. 52% of Millennials and 60% of Gen Z.
9. People that listen to podcasts are more likely to subscribe to Amazon Prime or Netflix and less likely to be exposed to TV advertising.
10. Podcasts are the number one source of audio by the time of consumption among listeners.
11. 22% of podcast listeners tune in from their car, while 49% listen at home.
Relevant read: Top SEO statistics
Where do people listen to podcasts statistics
1. 65% of podcast listeners listen with portable devices such as tablets and smartphones.
2. 59% of people say they spend more time listening to podcasts than being on social media.
3. 90% of podcast listeners say they listen from home.
4. 52% of people listen to podcasts while driving, 46% while travelling, 40% while running, biking, or walking, 37% while commuting in public transport, 32% while walking out.
5. 43% of podcast listeners use Android, while 52% are on iOS.
6. 33.2% of people say they have listened to a podcast via a smart speaker.
7. Podcast listening on a computer increased to 31%, from the initial 29%. While smartphone listening increased from 71% to 69%.
Global podcast statistics
1. The highest growing countries in the world for podcasting are Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, and China as of Aug 2021.
2. South Korea has the highest percentage of people who have listened to a podcast in the past month, leading the world with 53%.
3. Podcast listening is estimated to grow to 132 million people in the United States by 2023.
4. On average, 12% of the adult population in the UK listens to a podcast show per week.
5. 87% of Australians from 12 years old and above say they are familiar with the term “podcasting.”
6. By 2021, podcast advertising revenues are estimated to exceed $1 billion in the United States.
7. More than 57% of all US consumers over 12 years of age listen to podcasts.
8. 32% of Americans say they listen to podcasts every month.
9. Apple, Spotify, and Sticher are the most popular podcast platforms in the US.
Podcasters earners statistics
1. 99% of all podcast shows are not profitable.
2. In the Ask Pat podcast show, Pat Flynn has sponsorships that get him around $3,000 per episode.
3. Joe Rogan makes an estimated $30 million per year from his podcasts.
4. The Jordan Harbinger Show makes roughly upwards of $2 million per year.
5. In 2017, Gimlet reportedly generated $15 million in revenue from their StartUp and Reply All podcast shows.
6. John Lee Dumas makes up to 7 figures per year from his podcast show.
7. This American Life/Serial makes $2.6 million, The New York Times makes $4.4 million, and Wondery makes $77.8 million per year.
8. In 2018, Spotify reportedly gave Amy Schumer $1 million to create a podcast for them.
9. The NPR podcasts have the highest ‘unique monthly listeners’ in the United States at 23.75 million.
Conclusion
With the podcast statistics listed here, you’re undoubtedly fortified with the most vital stats you will ever need to launch your podcast.
The podcasting industry is a huge one, and there is apparently room for everyone. As a marketer, podcasting can be a great tool to create solid brand awareness for your products and services and connect with your audience on a different level.
This post on podcasts statistics should be enough to inspire you to get started immediately.