Podcasting Is Not Saturated — It's Just Getting Started
If you think podcasting is overcrowded, think again.
Yes, there are millions of podcasts—but very few stay the course.
Let’s look at the numbers:
Growth is strong
Over 4.5 million podcasts exist as of mid‑2025.
But most aren't active: only ~3–4 million are still running.
Nearly 487,000 new shows launched in the last 3 months alone.
But most creators quit early
47% of podcasts never make it past episode 3.
90% fail to reach episode 20.
Only ~155,000 podcasts (≈4%) are consistently active with 10+ episodes and recent publishing.
That means your real competition isn’t the millions of podcasts—it’s the small group who stay consistent.
The audience is growing fast
In 2025, there are 584 million podcast listeners globally—up from 547 million last year.
In the U.S., 55% of adults (158M+) listen monthly.
That’s ~7% of the world’s 8.2 billion people—an audience that’s still expanding.
Monetization is scaling
Podcast ad revenue hit $4.46 billion globally in 2025.
The U.S. alone makes up $2.55 billion of that.
The takeaway
The podcasting space isn’t oversaturated—it’s under-persisted.
If you create consistently, you’re already in the top tier.
Stick with it, deliver value, and the upside is massive.