Podcasting Is Close to a Billion Listeners Worldwide, and YouTube Leads in Almost Every Market

Most podcast statistics you will see come from the United States. A new global report from MIDiA Research gives a wider view, and it makes one thing clear: the world's biggest podcast platform is not a podcast app.

The Global Picture

In its report "Podcast market shares 2025", MIDiA Research counts 965.4 million gross users across podcast platforms in the fourth quarter of 2025. Total users grew by more than 60 million between 2024 and 2025, and monthly active podcast accounts are up 184% since 2020. Podnews summarised the finding as podcasting having almost a billion listeners worldwide. "Gross users" counts accounts per platform, so someone using two platforms may be counted twice, and the figure should be read as the size of the market rather than a count of unique people.

Who Leads, and Where

The platform rankings are the most useful part for anyone planning distribution:

• YouTube: largest, with a 32% market share. It grew from 281.2 million users in 2024 to 308.2 million in 2025, adding 27.0 million.
• Ximalaya FM: second, with a 29.2% share. Its users are almost entirely in China.
• Spotify: third, and together with YouTube it holds 50.0% of the market. It added 10.8 million users in 2025.
• Apple Podcasts: fourth globally and third excluding China. It added 2.0 million users.

YouTube holds a 32% share of global podcast platform users and added 27.0 million in 2025.

Outside China, YouTube leads in almost every territory. In Latin America it holds more than half of the market. Spotify has a stronghold in the Nordics. MIDiA also notes that audio-only services such as Audible, BBC Sounds and NPR are at a structural disadvantage compared with multi-purpose platforms.

Read more: how podcast discovery really works in 2026.

What It Means for Your Show

These figures describe platforms, not your audience, so check them against your own analytics. They do support a few clear decisions.

1. Treat YouTube as a core platform.

If you publish to a global audience, YouTube is probably where a large share of them already listen. We explained the shift in why YouTube is quietly becoming a podcast's front door.

2. Look at your country mix.

Platform strength varies by region. A show aimed at Latin America should lean harder on YouTube, and one aimed at the Nordics should not ignore Spotify.

3. Do not drop audio.

The data describes where users are, not where they prefer to listen. A show that works well in both formats serves the widest audience. Our look at whether adding video pays off covers the economics.

4. Do not rely on one platform.

A leading position can change. Keep your feed, website and mailing list in your own hands.

If you want to plan a distribution strategy for an international audience, speak to the Poddster team.