Apple Podcast Statistics By Demographics and Facts
Updated · Jan 30, 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Apple Podcast Statistics: Apple Podcasts has emerged as a leading platform in the rapidly growing podcasting industry. With an estimated 504.9 million people expected to listen to podcasts globally by 2024, Apple remains a key player, boasting 28.5 million listeners in the United States as of 2022. This number is projected to grow to 29.2 million by 2025, despite fierce competition from platforms like Spotify.
Globally, there are over 4.3 million podcasts, and podcasting has seen a significant surge in popularity, with the U.S. audience alone growing from 75 million listeners in 2018 to an anticipated 164 million by 2024.
Apple’s podcast platform offers various features for creators, including free access to analytics, though selling paid subscriptions requires joining the Apple Podcasters Program, which costs USD 19.99 annually for U.S. users. These impressive statistics reflect Apple’s substantial role in shaping the future of podcasting.
Editor’s Choice
- As per Buzz Sprouts, the minimum age group of Apple Podcast users is between 35 to 54 years.
- Apple Podcast is the most popular podcast heard and available in the industry, with 37.4% of the market share.
- As per Podcast Industry Insights, in 2022, there were around 69,097,311 episodes published on the Apple podcasts.
- In 2022, Apple had 2,475,736 active members listening to podcasts.
- Globally, over 4.25 million podcasts are registered.
- Apple Podcast is home to about 2.6 million podcasts and over 87.6 million podcast episodes ready to be downloaded.
- South Korea has the biggest podcast market.
- In 2022, Brazil took the lead in podcast consumption, followed by Mexico and Sweden.
- An incredible 58% of adults have registered for monthly subscriptions to podcasts that show widespread content.
- Nearly 32% of the adults in the UK make podcasts a regular part of their monthly listening routine.
- In 2021, about 82 million people in the US had tuned in to Podcasts.
- The number is projected to climb much higher, reaching 100 million listeners by the end of 2024.
- Monthly listeners of Apple podcasts are 28.5 million.
- There are currently 460,080 active podcasts on Apple Podcasts as of October 2023.
- Apple Podcasts is stated to be the most popular application for podcast listeners.
- In October 2021, Spotify highlighted Apple with 31.2% more listeners, whereas Apple had 31.1%.
- 96% of the narrators prefer to showcase their shows on Apple Podcasts.
- As of April 2022, Apple has gained a leading position with 37.4% of podcast listeners. And Spotify had a downfall of 26.8%.
- There are 2,721,337 valid podcasts available on Apple Podcasts.
- A total of 98,877,054 episodes are available for download through podcast feeds.
- The count includes podcasts of all ages, even if they are no longer active.
- Some podcasts and episodes are no longer available due to limits on the number of episodes in feeds.
(Source: Podcast Industry Insights courtesy of Daniel J. Lewis.)
General Apple Podcast Statistics
- In 2022, Apple has a total of 2,475,736 active podcast subscribers.
- Around 110 different categories have been offered on the Apple Podcasts.
- As per the survey, in 2022, 65,097,311 episodes were published on the Apple Podcast.
- According to a survey by Verdict, Apple charges podcast creators almost $19.99 every year to access its Apple Podcaster Program.
- Apple establishes a new podcast every 90 days.
- In the past 30 days, more than 19,000 podcasts were published on Apple Podcast.
- Apple Podcasts has become the most crucial podcast-listening application. Apple iTunes is also very famous in the podcast created by Apple, which has a 1.3% share in the podcast industry with 37.4% of the market share.
- The top three podcast platforms that are highly used and recommended are YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
- Apple works on paid podcast content, so listeners can listen to podcasts after paying for the subscription.
- According to MacRumors, Apple also plans to launch a feature that allows subscribers to listen to podcasts while driving.
Apple Podcast Listenership Statistics
- 52% of the customers find a new podcast by starting a search on podcast directories.
- About 30% of the podcast listeners have subscribed to 6 -10 podcasts.
- As per Infinite Dial, the minimum number of podcast customers listen to 6 podcasts weekly, and 18% of the listeners attend more than 6.
- 63% of the podcast listeners have full-time employment, too.
- About 51% of the global podcast listeners are male, as opposed to 49% female.
- About every podcast reader globally has a 4-year college degree. Almost 27 of the listeners have studied a 4-year college degree at college, and 30% have grad school.
- About 45% of the podcast listeners have a household income of $75,000.
(Reference: bloggingwizard.com)
- 77% of podcast users click the podcast and listen to it as soon as possible.
(Reference: bloggingwizard.com)
- About 48% of all podcast listeners are between 12- 34 years. Almost 32% of the listeners are between 34 and 55 years old. And only 20% are over 55 years old.
(Reference: bloggingwizard.com)
Podcast Listeners Demographics
- About 63% of the United States population are 12+ years old and have 177 million accounts.
- About 50 Apple podcast listeners tune in to podcasts every month. In 2020, about 38% of the population had a slight increase.
- Since 2021, the 35-54 age bracket has grown more; 43% are now monthly listeners, which is 4%.
- Among all the podcast listeners, 47% are 12-34 years old. And 33% are between 35- 54 years old, and 20% are aged 55 and above.
Here’s the recent data for share of US podcast listeners by age:
| Year | Age 12-34 Share | Age 35-54 Share | Age 55+ Share | Average Share |
| 2019 | 42% | 36% | 17% | 32% |
| 2020 | 49% | 40% | 22% | 37% |
| 2021 | 56% | 39% | 26% | 40% |
| 2022 | 50% | 43% | 22% | 38% |
| 4-Year Average | 49% | 40% | 22% | 37% |
(Source: explodingtopics.com)
- Split by gender, the central podcast listeners are male, 53%, and female listeners, 46%.
Apple Podcasts Top-level Categories
- Education
60,599 active podcasts and 346,528 inactive podcasts. - Society and Culture
64,440 active podcasts and 340,494 inactive podcasts.
- Business
63,621 active podcasts and 223,602 inactive podcasts. - Religious and Spirituality
68,437 active podcasts and 176,148 inactive podcasts. - Arts
29,959 active podcasts and 248,970 inactive podcasts. - Comedy
23,811 active podcasts and 164,339 inactive podcasts. - Music
19,602 active podcasts and 97,649 inactive podcasts. - TV and Film
17,916 active podcasts and 63,888 inactive podcasts. - Kids and Family
10,724 active podcasts and 56,216 inactive podcasts.
These numbers represent the current state of Apple Podcasts in various top-level categories, showing both active and inactive podcasts. The “active” podcasts are still being updated, while “inactive” podcasts are no longer updated but remain listed.
Apple Podcast Key Statistics
- Apple Podcasts will be the second most popular listening application in 2024, with a total market share of 26.9%.
- Apple Podcasts added nine new categories: language learning, parenting, books, personal journals, documents, relationships, etc.
- There are about 71,131,238 episodes on the Apple Podcasts. Spirituality and Religion have many episodes per category, with 8.4 million.
- Culture and Society has the most significant number of episodes, with 3.8 million followers, lowed by business, with 3.4 million podcast episodes.
- Google Podcasts had just 3.6% of the podcast share download, and in 2024, iHeartRadio had a 6.2% market share.
- Apple Podcasts gain the attention of all age groups with 43%.
- “The Bill Simmons Podcast” is the most popular in 2024 with a sports podcast.
- Apple takes 30% of the subscription fee in the first year.
(Reference: statista.com)
- As per the survey done in February 2022, almost 32.5 million people in the U.S. have said they will podcast on Spotify in 2023. Spotify and Apple’s figures have been estimated to add up to 42.4 million and 29.2 million by 2025.
Podcast Advertising Statistics
- In 2023, the United States
- only had podcast advertising revenue estimated to surpass $2.3 billion.
- 50% of the Podcast listeners said they are more likely to purchase after hearing a Podcast advertisement.
Podcasting Marketing Statistics
- In 2021, the revenue generated by podcast advertisements crossed $1.3 billion.
- Since 2020, the revenue from podcasts has been around $458.
- 81% of podcast users say that they pay attention to podcast advertisements.
- 63% of the surveys state that people ignore TV commercials.
- As per Midroll, 60% of the users have bought a product they have heard about the podcast.
- Almost 72% of the podcast listening population have listened to particular podcasts.
- About 66% of the podcast listeners are millennials.
Smartphone Drive Podcast Usage
- Podcast listeners are more active on all the social media channels; about 94% are active on at least.
- Nearly 52% of bottled water households listen to podcasts.
- Podcast listeners follow companies and brands on social media.
- Podcast users subscribe more to Netflix or Amazon Prime.
- Podcast listeners usually have their smart speakers.
Conclusion
The growth of the podcast industry has naturally increased the number of podcasts. The COVID-19 pandemic 2020 has increased the podcasting space and also had an upward pre-pandemic ambit that has persisted. As people have much free time during the pandemic, many get addicted to podcast listening. The number of podcasts makes it easy to continue its growth in the future.
Despite being decades old, the podcast medium has seen continuous growth. Podcasting is the best way to connect with the audience and build brand awareness. Podcasting is most popular among the young generations and has become more popular.
Sources
Barry Elad is a tech enthusiast passionate about exploring various technology topics. He collects key statistics and facts to make tech easier to understand. Barry focuses on software and its benefits for everyday life. In his free time, he enjoys creating healthy recipes, practicing yoga, meditating, and walking in nature with his child. Barry's mission is to simplify complex tech information for everyone.
