60 Podcast Statistics: Trends, Listening Habits, and More [2024]

Podcasts have become a vital part of many people’s online lives. People tune in for various reasons: from something serious like news, informative discussions, or learning languages, to something more light-hearted like entertainment, self-help tips, or even classic relationship advice. This opens a wide range of opportunities for marketers, business owners, and even content creators out there!

Here, we will present you 60 podcast statistics you need to know in this day and age, so you will understand the role of podcasts in your marketing strategies.

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Podcast Industry Growth and Impact Statistics

The era of podcasts is on the way! And when we say that podcasts are a rising trend and they still have plenty of room to grow, it is factual and supported by statistics. Let’s look at some of them to understand the growth and impact of this industry.

1. There was more than a 20% increase in the number of podcast listeners from the year 2019 to 2020. (Backlinko, 2024)
2. In the last year (2023), the total number of podcast listeners globally was over 464 million people. (Backlinko, 2024)
3. This year (2024), the number of listeners is projected to be over 504 million people worldwide. (Backlinko, 2024)
4. According to Statista, there are 100 million people who listen or listened to a podcast on a monthly basis, and this is the number in the United States alone. (Statista, 2024)
5. According to Apple Podcast, there are currently more than 455,000 podcasts that are still active, as of January 2024. (The Podcast Host, 2024)
6. The podcast industry, already an over twenty-three billion dollar industry in 2023, is projected to surpass one hundred billion dollars by 2030. (Backlinko, 2024)
7. The global audiobook market, valued at 4.2 billion dollars in 2021, is projected to grow at an annual rate of 26% from 2022 to 2030. (Grand View Research, n.d.)
8. Another trend that should be kept an eye on is the advent of AI in the podcast industry, as AI-powered podcasts saw a 500% growth in 2022. (Backlinko, 2024)
9. According to the study on podcasters and listeners, what they found is that 84% of podcasters and 57% of podcast listeners believe that AI-powered tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Canva, etc.) can improve the quality of podcast content. (Acast, 2023)
10. The study also shows that 85% of podcast listeners believe that it’s ethical for creators to utilize AI in creating podcasts. (Acast, 2023)

Podcast Listener Demographics Statistics

No matter how trendy and wide-range podcasts are nowadays, we can’t deny that the demographics of listeners still matter in marketers’ and business owners’ eyes. This is why we are going to dive into the insights regarding age, gender, location, income levels, or even the device they prefer. Let’s check out.

1. As expected, English is the most popular language in podcasts. Of all podcasts out there, around 1.97 million were in English. Spanish comes in second with about 365,000 podcasts. (Listen Notes, 2024)
2. Podcasts lean slightly more towards women, with a listener ratio of 48% female to 43% male. (Backlinko, 2024)
3. When looking at the percentage of podcast listeners per total internet user, the country that has the highest percentage is the United States, at 40%. (Backlinko, 2024)
4. In the US, as of early 2023, 75% of people aged 12 and older listened to online audio in the past month, with 70% having listened in the past week. (Pew Research Center, 2023)
5. Among American podcast listeners, the 12-34 age group makes up the largest portion, at 66%. (Backlinko, 2024)
6. While the US holds the highest rank, the next two countries with the largest number of monthly listeners are Sweden at 34.6% and Norway at 34.2%. (Backlinko, 2024)
7. However, when it comes to the countries that show the highest percentage in the increase of listeners number, it goes to Chile which saw 84% growth. (Backlinko, 2024)
8. The study from the other side of the world also shows that podcasts are highly popular in South Korea, as 49% of respondents admitted that they had listened to a podcast at least once in the last month. (Statista, 2023)
9. When surveyed podcast listeners aged 35-54, this group has the potential to be the fastest-growing group and around 43% of them had listened to at least one episode in the last 30 days. (Backlinko, 2024)
10. When surveyed podcast listeners aged 55 and more, over 25% of them admitted that they listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. (Backlinko, 2024)

Podcast Listening Habits Statistics

Given the widespread popularity of podcasts across various demographics, it’s natural that each listener has their own listening habits – whether it’s the preferred platform, the preferred device, listening duration, listening frequency, and also reasons behind their podcast listening. Statistics can provide answers to all these questions, so what are we waiting for then?

1. The average podcast listener spends a whopping 7 hours per week on their favorite podcast applications. (Backlinko, 2024)
2. When it comes to the time of the day in which people listen to podcasts the most, the percentage peaks in the morning. (Backlinko, 2024)
3. The number of podcast listeners who prefer to listen on smartphones is significantly higher than other options, with 73% of users choosing smartphones as their go-to device. (Backlinko, 2024)
4. Following smartphones, laptops, and a desktop computer is the next choice, but the percentage is only 13%. (Backlinko, 2024)
5. Interestingly, nearly 60% of people multitask while podcasting, enjoying their shows alongside other activities. (Backlinko, 2024)
6. Surprisingly, almost half (48%) of American podcast listeners admit they don’t always finish episodes, leaving only 52% who listen all the way through. (TrueList, 2024)
7. Still, 41% of them listen to most of the podcasts, and only 2% turn them off right from the beginning. (TrueList, 2024)
8. The study shows that 59% of podcast listeners consume this kind of media at home. (Backlinko, 2024)
9. On the other hand, 32% of podcast listeners tune in to the episodes while they are driving or traveling. (Backlinko, 2024)
10. Another study also saw the rise of in-car podcast listening, as approximately 32% of 18-year-old individuals do in-car podcast listening on a monthly basis. (ExplodingTopics, 2024)
11. Spotify takes the crown as the most popular podcast platform, but its users favor streaming over downloading, with only 8.9% opting to download. (Backlinko, 2024)
12. In contrast, of all podcast downloads, over 70% of them occurred on the Apple Podcasts platform. (Backlinko, 2024)
13. In the United States, 74% of podcast listeners stated that they listen to podcasts because they want to learn new things. (TrueList, 2024)
14. Apart from learning new things, 71% of listeners tune in to podcasts for the sake of entertainment; 60% of them want to keep updated with trending topics; 51% of them want to relax. (TrueList, 2024)
15. The quality of podcasts really matters as 51.1% of listeners prefer to listen to podcasts with professional audio quality. (TrueList, 2024)

Podcast Content Trends Statistics

Just like other media formats, podcasts have their own unique trends. Podcast listeners have the genres they love and the episode length they like. Let’s take a look at some of the key insights you should know!

1. As we know most podcast listeners have busy schedules and not much attention span, it seems like the most popular episode length is between 20-40 minutes. (Backlinko, 2024)
2. Podcast listeners typically subscribe to around 6 shows in a given week. (Podcast Insights, 2021) 
3. While the average listener consumes 9 podcasts weekly, a significant 19% devour 11 or more episodes every week. (The Podcast Host, 2024)
4. Around 40% of podcast listeners explore new content through the in-app search bars. (Backlinko, 2024)
5. In the podcast market, Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the two with the highest share in the number of listeners, at 33.7% and 27.6%, respectively. (Backlinko, 2024)
6. As of January 2023, Spotify has a list of almost 5 million podcast titles on their platform, while Apple Podcasts has 2.5 million. (Backlinko, 2024)
7. 34% of US adults who have engaged with podcasts in the last year consistently tune in to podcasts regarding true crime stories. (Backlinko, 2024)
8. Opposite to what people may have expected, female podcast listeners are almost twice as likely to listen to true crime podcasts than male podcast listeners. (Backlinko, 2024)
9. As mentioned most people tune in to podcasts to learn new things, a study also shows that two-thirds of podcast listeners come here for news discussion and they also expect accuracy. (Pew Research Center, 2023)
10. The most popular podcast show, The Joe Rogan Experience, is also the highest-earning podcast in 2019 as it has earned more than 30 million dollars. (TrueList, 2024)

Video Podcast Statistics

Gone are the days when podcasts were solely audio experiences. The trend of video podcasts is on the rise. For marketers and business owners, video podcasts could be a smart investment. Let’s delve into the reasons why.

1. According to a survey among US podcast listeners, 32% of them prefer video-based podcasts to audio-only podcasts. (Backlinko, 2024)
2. A recent study reveals that 17% of podcast hosts are embracing the trend, of recording episodes in both audio and video. (Backlinko, 2024)
3. The Podcast Index saw a surge in video podcasts, with their numbers jumping from 39,000 in 2022 to approximately 50,000 in 2023. (Backlinko, 2024)
4. By the end of 2022, video was projected to make up for 82% of all internet traffic. (Cisco Annual Internet Report, 2020)
5. Video marketing boasts a positive ROI, with 70% of marketers reporting success compared to other media. (RSS, 2023)

Podcast Advertising and Monetization Statistics

Now we understand that people really pay attention to a media form like podcasts, but you might still have no idea what the trends on podcast advertising, as well as the monetization and sponsorship opportunities, are like. Before we go, let’s look at some of the data in a range of studies.

1. According to the study, more than half of marketers nowadays already turn to podcasts as one of the strategies to reach their target audience. (Backlinko, 2024)
2. Nearly 70% of people agreed that podcast advertisements increased their awareness of new products or services. (Podcast Insights, 2021)
3. More than half of podcast listeners stateside (55.6%) have bought something after they heard it advertised on a podcast. (TrueList, 2024)
4. In 2021, podcasts became a billion-dollar industry. On top of that, in 2023, podcasts were projected to reach the mark of $2.3 billion – the number in the United States alone and counted as almost a 25% increase in revenue compared to the previous year. (Oberlo, 2024)
5. In 2024, experts estimated that the advertising revenue in the podcast industry will hit the $4 billion mark. (Backlinko, 2024)
6. In 2022, while the overall digital advertising market grew by 12%, podcast advertising revenue grew by 26%. (Backlinko, 2024)
7. Advertisements read by podcast hosts accounted for 55% of the total podcast ad revenue. (Backlinko, 2024)
8. On the other hand, advertisements professionally produced by brands or agencies make up only 3% of the total podcast ad revenue. (Backlinko, 2024)
9. Companies of all sizes are recognizing the value of podcasts as a lucrative platform for promotion. In 2019, Health & Wellness brands led in advertising revenue, accounting for 22% of the total, followed by Home and Appliance brands at 19%, and Food & Beverage brands at 13%. (TrueList, 2024)
10. According to the IAB’s US Podcast Advertising Report, approximately 70% of advertising revenue comes from podcasts that have new episodes bi-weekly or even weekly. (IAB, 2023)

Podcasting Forward

We have discussed key trends in the podcast industry and also have covered many aspects of the data – from general stuff like the growth and size of the industry to audience behaviors and preferences to marketing trends and the revenue made by podcast advertisement. While we are confident that these statistics are helpful for podcasters, listeners, business owners, and marketers, we know that it is not the only thing that matters.

Data and insights are one thing, but execution is also a major challenge. This is where many businesses might need some help from digital tools, and Mandala AI can make sure you are in good hands. 

Mandala AI is a powerful analytics tool that can dive deep into marketing insights, conduct social listening, and provide detailed analysis of trends, competitors, and so on. Add Mandala AI to be a part of your team, and you won’t regret it!