Podcast Platform Trends 2026: YouTube, Spotify and Apple Compared
TL;DR: Podcasts are now watched as well as heard: Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 found that 57% of Americans age 12+ have both listened to and watched a podcast. YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts play different roles. YouTube pairs podcasts with video and ad revenue sharing for eligible creators, Spotify reports 761 million monthly active users across its whole service (Q1 2026), and Apple Podcasts points new podcasters to hosting providers to get listed (Apple Podcasts for Creators). Your own analytics tell you which one matters most for your show.
Table of Contents
How the Platforms Compare
Rankings of "podcast market share" that circulate online often mix different measures: most-used platform among weekly listeners, share of downloads, share of listening time. Unless a ranking names its survey, population and question, treat it with caution. We couldn't match the platform-share figures we'd previously quoted to a primary source, so they're gone from this article.
What we can say from primary sources:
| Platform | What the company or survey publishes |
|---|---|
| Spotify | 761 million monthly active users and 293 million Premium subscribers, Q1 2026 |
| Spotify | 7 million podcast titles, per its company info page |
| YouTube | Revenue sharing from ads for creators in the YouTube Partner Program |
| All platforms (U.S.) | 57% of Americans age 12+ have both listened to and watched a podcast (Infinite Dial 2026) |
Note that Spotify's user figures cover the whole service, music included, not only podcast listeners.
YouTube
What It Offers Podcasters
Discovery: YouTube shows personalized recommendations on the homepage and in Up Next, without the viewer searching (How YouTube Works).
Monetization: Creators in the YouTube Partner Program get revenue sharing from ads served on their content, subject to eligibility rules.
For understanding how platform choice affects your analytics, see our guide on podcast analytics metrics that matter.
Spotify
Spotify lists over 100 million tracks, 7 million podcast titles and 700,000 audiobooks on its service (Spotify company info).
Spotify Figures
- 761 million monthly active users, up 12% year over year, and 293 million Premium subscribers, up 9%, in Q1 2026
- 7 million podcast titles on the platform, according to Spotify's company info page
What It Offers Podcasters
Creator tools: Spotify for Creators lets podcasters upload clips and video, manage comments and check analytics.
Monetization: Spotify for Creators describes the Spotify Partner Program as a source of income across audio and video.
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts is Apple's podcast app. Apple points new podcasters to hosting providers to get a show onto Apple Podcasts, so your show stays with the host and feed you control.
What It Offers Podcasters
- Open distribution: Because your show lives with your hosting provider, the same feed can reach other apps too
- Creator resources: Apple Podcasts for Creators covers submitting a show and tracking listener trends
Earlier versions of this article cited Apple catalog sizes and download shares. We couldn't confirm them from Apple or another primary source, so they're removed.
The Format Split
Audio and Video
Creator Implications
The platform split calls for a decision:
- Video-first creators: Prioritize YouTube, with horizontal episodes and vertical clips
- Audio-first creators: Keep RSS distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other apps
- Hybrid approach: Publish video to YouTube while keeping audio everywhere
Check your host's and each platform's analytics to see where your listeners actually are before you shift effort.
FAQ
Which podcast platform has the most users?
Platforms measure different things, so we don't rank them. Spotify reports monthly active users for its whole service in its earnings releases (Spotify Q1 2026 earnings); YouTube and Apple don't publish directly comparable podcast-only figures that we could confirm. The body links each primary source we could find.
Is YouTube or Spotify better for podcasts?
It depends on your goals. YouTube recommends videos without the viewer searching (How YouTube Works) and shares ad revenue with creators in its Partner Program (YouTube Help). Spotify provides its own creator and monetization tools (Spotify for Creators). You don't have to choose: we suggest publishing to both.
What happened to Apple Podcasts?
Apple Podcasts still takes new shows through Apple Podcasts Connect, and points creators to hosting providers that can get a show listed (Apple Podcasts for Creators). We couldn't find a primary source for its current share of listening, so we don't quote one.
Reach Listeners Everywhere
Multi-platform distribution means understanding your content across formats. A searchable archive helps you find the moments that work on YouTube, the segments that drive audio engagement, and the clips for social.
Get started with PodRewind to optimize your content for every platform.
Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash