Podcast advertising has become a measurable U.S. audio channel spanning broad reach, sustained listening time, host-led influence and multiple buying formats. The statistics below distinguish survey estimates, market-sizing estimates, forecasts, platform benchmarks and self-reported outcomes by period and population.
Key Podcast Advertising Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, 67% of Americans age 12+ had ever listened to a podcast in the United States, according to an Edison Research survey estimate.
- In 2024, 47% of Americans age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last month in the United States.
- In 2024, 34% of Americans age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last week in the United States.
- In 2024, an estimated 135 million Americans age 12+ were monthly podcast listeners in the United States.
- In 2024, an estimated 98 million Americans age 12+ were weekly podcast listeners in the United States.
- In 2024, monthly podcast reach increased 12% year over year among Americans age 12+.
- In 2024, weekly podcast reach increased 10% year over year among Americans age 12+.
- In the first quarter of 2024, podcasts represented 11% of U.S. audio listening time among people age 13+.
- In 2024, weekly U.S. podcast listeners spent an average of 7 hours 43 minutes per week with podcasts.
- In 2023, U.S. podcast advertising revenue reached an estimated $1.9 billion.
- For 2024, U.S. podcast advertising revenue was forecast to grow 12%.
- By 2026, U.S. podcast advertising revenue was forecast to approach $2.6 billion.
- Acast’s planning benchmark lists $15-$30 CPM for pre-recorded ads up to 60 seconds.
- Acast’s planning benchmark lists $25-$40 CPM for typical host-read sponsorships.
- In the Q2 2022-Q1 2023 measurement period, 46% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners age 18+ said they had purchased after hearing a podcast ad.
- In 2024, 56% of monthly U.S. podcast listeners age 18+ lived in households earning at least $75,000, compared with 48% of U.S. adults.
Contents
- Key Podcast Advertising Statistics
- Podcast Advertising Market Size and Growth
- Podcast Audience Reach and Scale
- Podcast Listening Time and Demographic Reach
- Podcast Listener Composition and Consumer Characteristics
- Podcast Advertising Costs, Formats and Placement
- Podcast Ad Response, Trust and Campaign Outcomes
Podcast Advertising Market Size and Growth
The U.S. podcast advertising market reached an estimated $1.9 billion in 2023, although this is an IAB/PwC market-sizing estimate rather than audited revenue for every seller. The same IAB release described 2023 growth as slower than the double-digit rates of earlier years.
| U.S. podcast advertising measure | Period | Figure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2023 | $1.9 billion | Estimate |
| Year-over-year growth | 2023 | 5% | Estimate |
| Forecast growth | 2024 | 12% | Forecast published May 2024 |
| Forecast revenue | 2024 | More than $2 billion | Forecast |
| Forecast revenue | 2026 | Approaching $2.6 billion | Forecast |
Source: Podcast Revenue Growth Slowed in 2023, Will Return to Double-Digit Growth in 2024, According to IAB’s U.S. Podcast Advertising Study. The 2024 and 2026 values are forecasts available in May 2024, not subsequently observed totals.
Genre and advertiser-category figures show where activity was changing within that market. Comedy’s share of podcast advertising revenue increased by 4 percentage points from 2021 to 2023, and comedy attracted nearly 300 new advertisers in the fourth quarter of 2023.
- Sports represented 13% of U.S. podcast advertising revenue in 2023, down from 15% in 2022.
- Consumer packaged goods podcast advertising revenue increased 4% in 2023 compared with 2022.
- Retail podcast advertising revenue increased 5% in 2023 compared with 2022.
These figures are IAB/PwC estimates or category counts for the United States, not a global market total. They describe market direction and composition, not the return generated by any individual campaign.
Podcast Audience Reach and Scale
Edison Research’s 2024 U.S. estimates show a large difference between having ever tried podcasts and listening recently. Among Americans age 12+, 67% had ever listened, while 47% listened in the last month and 34% listened in the last week.
| Audience measure | U.S. population | 2024 estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Ever listened to a podcast | Age 12+ | 67% |
| Listened in the last month | Age 12+ | 47% |
| Listened in the last week | Age 12+ | 34% |
| Estimated monthly listeners | Age 12+ | 135 million |
| Estimated weekly listeners | Age 12+ | 98 million |
Sources: The Podcast Consumer 2024 and Listening to Podcasts and Online Audio Hit New All-Time Highs: The Infinite Dial 2024. The people counts are population estimates derived from survey percentages, not audited download counts.
Monthly podcast reach increased 12% year over year in 2024, while weekly reach increased 10%. For broader audio planning, 76% of Americans age 12+ listened to online audio in the last month, an estimated 218 million people, but online audio includes more than podcasts.
In the car, 32% of U.S. adults age 18+ who drove or rode in a car during the prior month said they listened to podcasts in their primary car. The comparable figure for currently ever listening to radio in that primary car was 70%, so the measures should not be treated as equivalent podcast and radio reach.
Podcast Listening Time and Demographic Reach
Podcasts accounted for 11% of U.S. audio listening time in the first quarter of 2024 among people age 13+, compared with 2% in 2014. When the denominator is limited to ad-supported audio sources, podcasts represented 20% of listening time in Q1 2024.
Weekly listeners reported substantial recurring exposure. In 2024, average weekly podcast listening was 7 hours 43 minutes among U.S. weekly listeners age 12+.
| Weekly listener group | Average podcast listening in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Age 12+ | 7 hours 43 minutes |
| Age 12-34 | 7 hours 35 minutes |
| Age 35-54 | 7 hours 44 minutes |
| Age 55+ | 8 hours 1 minute |
Source: The Podcast Consumer 2024. These are self-reported listening estimates, and the Share of Ear percentages use different denominators for all audio and ad-supported audio.
Age-specific reach was highest among younger and middle-aged Americans in the Edison 2024 estimates. Among Americans age 12-34, 59% were monthly listeners and 43% were weekly listeners; among those age 35-54, the figures were 55% and 41%.
Among Americans age 55+, 27% were monthly podcast listeners and 21% were weekly listeners in 2024. This still represents meaningful participation, while demonstrating why age definition matters when interpreting an overall reach figure.
Podcast Listener Composition and Consumer Characteristics
Podcast reach is not evenly distributed across every audience characteristic. In 2024, 45% of U.S. women age 12+ were monthly podcast listeners and 32% were weekly listeners.
- 48% of Black Americans age 12+ listened to podcasts monthly in 2024.
- 43% of Latino Americans age 12+ listened to podcasts monthly in 2024.
- 51% of monthly podcast listeners age 18+ were college educated, compared with 44% of the U.S. adult population.
- 63% of monthly podcast listeners age 18+ were employed full- or part-time, compared with 52% of U.S. adults.
- 56% of monthly podcast listeners age 18+ lived in households earning at least $75,000, compared with 48% of U.S. adults.
Source: The Podcast Consumer 2024. The education comparison excludes respondents without a response, and the income comparison includes respondents who gave an answer.
The Edison study also measured podcast-related interactions among U.S. Latino weekly listeners. These are ever-interaction measures, not current conversion rates or causal campaign results.
- 35% had signed up for a newsletter from a podcast.
- 31% had purchased branded merchandise from a podcast.
- 22% had attended a podcast virtual event.
- 21% had donated or given money to a podcast.
- 18% had attended an in-person podcast event.
These participation measures help distinguish audience engagement from simple exposure. They do not establish that advertising caused any of the reported actions.
Podcast Advertising Costs, Formats and Placement
Podcast pricing is commonly expressed as CPM, or U.S. dollars per thousand listens. Acast’s published planning guidance gives useful format-specific benchmarks, but these are marketplace estimates rather than universal clearing prices.
| Acast planning benchmark | Typical CPM or format detail |
|---|---|
| Pre-recorded ad up to 60 seconds | $15-$30 CPM |
| Host-read sponsorship | $25-$40 CPM |
| Business and finance podcasts | $40 or more CPM |
| Basic country-targeted network campaign | Around $15 CPM |
Source: How Much Does Podcast Advertising Cost? Complete Guide to Podcast Advertising Rates. The benchmark varies by show, audience and targeting; added targeting can raise CPM.
Acast describes pre-recorded ads as typically 15-30 seconds long. Host-read sponsorships are typically 60 seconds, although they can run for a couple of minutes, reflecting a different creative and delivery model.
Placement rules also affect what an advertiser is buying. Acast says pre-roll can be moved up to 25% into an episode, mid-roll inventory can be placed in episodes at least 10 minutes long, and post-roll can be moved up to 50% from the end of an episode.
Those placement figures are Acast platform guidance, not measures of listener completion or attention. They should therefore be used to describe inventory rules rather than to infer performance.
Podcast Ad Response, Trust and Campaign Outcomes
Edison Research reported that 46% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners age 18+ said they had purchased a product or service after hearing a podcast ad during the Q2 2022-Q1 2023 measurement period. In the earlier Q3 2019-Q1 2020 measurement period, the comparable self-reported figure was 34%.
Source: The Podcast Consumer 2024. The periods used different field periods and samples, and the responses do not prove causal lift.
Acast’s guide summarizes an Acast/Nielsen finding that 63% of surveyed respondents considered podcast hosts they listened to trustworthy, while 80% trusted recommendations from hosts they currently listened to. The opened guide does not state the study period or expose the full design, and trust does not equal purchase or incremental sales.
The same Acast guide summarizes an Acast-Dentsu study reporting 4.9x long-term return on ad spend for podcast advertising, compared with 3.7x average ROAS across media. These are study or case-summary benchmarks, not universal returns for podcast advertising.
Taken together, the outcome figures cover different concepts: self-reported post-ad purchase, trust in a host, and reported ROAS. They should remain labeled separately when used in planning, measurement or comparisons.