Podcast Statistics 2026: Key Facts and Figures from 4.8 Million Podcasts
This page collects the headline numbers from CastFox Research's 2026 reports. There are about 4.8 million podcasts in the CastFox index, but only 11.1% published an episode in 2026, roughly 530,000 active shows. The typical active show publishes weekly and its episodes run about 35 minutes. 41% of episodes feature a guest, 4.8% are about AI, and the most widespread podcast sponsor of the year is Quince. Every figure links to the report that explains how it was measured.
Key findings
- About 4.8 million podcasts exist in the CastFox index, but only 11.1% released an episode in 2026 and 6.8% in the last 90 days.
- 52.8% of all podcasts have six episodes or fewer; 22.8% stopped after one. Only 6.9% reach 100 episodes.
- The typical podcast episode runs 35 minutes (median per show), and the typical active show publishes every 7 days.
- 41% of English-language episodes feature a guest; 4.8% have AI as a topic.
- Quince is the most widespread podcast sponsor of 2026 (327 publishers), ahead of Shopify and BetterHelp.
How many podcasts are there, and how many are active?
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Podcasts in the CastFox index | About 4.8 million feeds | Publishing frequency report |
| Published an episode in 2026 | 11.1% (about 530,000 shows) | Publishing frequency report |
| Published in the 90 days to Sep 30, 2026 | 6.8% | Publishing frequency report |
| Published since the start of 2025 | 17.6% | Publishing frequency report |
| Podcasts with only one episode | 22.8% | Publishing frequency report |
| Podcasts with six episodes or fewer | 52.8% | Publishing frequency report |
| Podcasts with 100+ episodes | 6.9% | Publishing frequency report |
| Median episodes per podcast | 6 | Publishing frequency report |
| Active shows less than a year old | 43.4% | Publishing frequency report |
Directory counts overstate the medium. Most feeds in any podcast directory are abandoned; the working podcast ecosystem in 2026 is roughly half a million shows, and they skew young. Full method and caveats in the publishing frequency report.
Episode length and publishing frequency
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median episode length (per show) | 35.1 minutes | Episode length report |
| Mean episode length | 42.7 minutes | Episode length report |
| Middle 50% of shows | 18–56 minutes | Episode length report |
| Shows with episodes under 30 minutes | 42.6% | Episode length report |
| Shows with episodes of 60+ minutes | 21% | Episode length report |
| Longest genre | TV & Film, 58.5 min | Episode length report |
| Shortest genre | Kids & Family, 24.2 min | Episode length report |
| Median days between episodes (active shows) | 7 | Publishing frequency report |
| Active shows publishing weekly | 41.5% | Publishing frequency report |
| Active shows publishing at least weekly | 60% | Publishing frequency report |
| Active shows publishing daily | 10.4% | Publishing frequency report |
| Active shows publishing monthly or less | 19.5% | Publishing frequency report |
Podcast guests
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Episodes with at least one guest | 40.5% | Guest statistics report |
| Genre with most guests | Science, 62.6% of episodes | Guest statistics report |
| Genre with fewest guests | Fiction, 10.3% of episodes | Guest statistics report |
| Guests per guest episode | 1.28 | Guest statistics report |
| Guest episodes with 2+ guests | 17.1% | Guest statistics report |
| Most-booked guest of 2026 | Eric Ries, 70 shows | Guest statistics report |
Podcast sponsors and advertising
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Most widespread sponsor | Quince, 327 publishers / 459 shows | Sponsors report |
| Top 3 sponsors | Quince, Shopify, BetterHelp | Sponsors report |
| Distinct sponsor names detected | 26,623 | Sponsors report |
| Brands advertising with 10+ publishers | 374 | Sponsors report |
| Brands per sponsored episode | 1.85 | Sponsors report |
| Sponsored episodes with 2+ brands | 37.9% | Sponsors report |
| Largest sponsor category (top 50) | Health & wellness, 13 brands | Sponsors report |
| Most widespread AI advertiser | Anthropic (Claude), 38 publishers | AI on podcasts report |
AI on podcasts
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Episodes with AI as a topic | 4.8% | AI on podcasts report |
| Technology episodes about AI | 48% | AI on podcasts report |
| Business episodes about AI | 17.1% | AI on podcasts report |
| Episodes tagged "AI agents" | 0.16% | AI on podcasts report |
| Most-mentioned AI company | OpenAI, 3,219 shows | AI on podcasts report |
| Most-mentioned AI product | ChatGPT, 1,954 shows | AI on podcasts report |
Podcast statistics by genre
| Genre | Median episode length | Days between episodes | Episodes with a guest | Episodes about AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TV & Film | 58.5 min | 8.2 | 38.2% | 0.3% |
| Music | 58 min | 11.1 | 41.8% | 1.3% |
| Leisure | 53.4 min | 8.5 | 39.4% | 1% |
| Comedy | 50.8 min | 7 | 33.1% | 2% |
| Sports | 47.4 min | 7 | 40.8% | 0.1% |
| Arts | 43.2 min | 7.5 | 57.5% | 2.4% |
| True Crime | 40.9 min | – | – | – |
| History | 39.6 min | – | – | – |
| Society & Culture | 35.6 min | 7.4 | 45.3% | 3.2% |
| Religion & Spirituality | 34 min | 7 | 25.8% | 0.4% |
| Science | 33.4 min | 14 | 62.6% | 3.7% |
| Fiction | 30.9 min | – | 10.3% | 2.4% |
| Government | 30.8 min | – | – | – |
| Technology | 30.1 min | 11.4 | 51.3% | 48% |
| Health & Fitness | 29.6 min | 8.5 | 43.7% | 1.4% |
| Business | 29 min | 9.5 | 59.8% | 17.1% |
| News | 26.8 min | 7 | 40.3% | 7% |
| Education | 24.6 min | 8.1 | 37.6% | 3.1% |
| Kids & Family | 24.2 min | 7.2 | 33.4% | 1% |
Genre is the strongest single predictor of how a podcast is made. Use the row for your genre as the benchmark, and follow the genre link for the best shows in it, ranked by data. Dashes mark genres with too few shows in a report's sample.
Methodology
Each figure on this page is taken directly from one of five CastFox Research reports and links to it. The reports share a common base: random samples of the CastFox index (about 4.8 million podcast feeds and the episodes CastFox stores and transcribes), restricted to January 1 – September 30, 2026 unless stated. Activity and episode counts come from the publishing frequency report (100,000 sampled feeds); episode length from the episode length report (211,677 episodes, 58,886 shows); guest and AI figures from transcript-based samples of 30,049 and 29,915 English-language episodes; sponsor figures from 236,915 sponsor reads detected in transcripts. Each report's page describes its sampling, cleaning and limits in full. Figures are refreshed when the underlying report is refreshed; the "Updated" date above reflects the latest change.
Cite this data
This data is free to use under CC BY 4.0. Please credit CastFox Research and link to this page.
CastFox Research (2026). Podcast Statistics 2026: Key Facts and Figures from 4.8 Million Podcasts. CastFox. https://www.castfox.net/research/podcast-statistics-2026
Download the full tables (CSV)
Journalists: for a custom cut of the data (a specific genre, country or show list), contact [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
How many podcasts are there in 2026?
The CastFox index holds about 4.8 million podcast feeds, but only 11.1% of them (roughly 530,000 shows) published an episode in 2026. Counts of "all podcasts" mostly measure abandoned feeds.
How many podcasts are active?
About 530,000 podcasts published at least one episode in 2026, and 6.8% of all feeds published in the 90 days to September 30, 2026.
What is the average podcast episode length?
The typical podcast episode runs 35 minutes (median per show) in 2026; the mean is 43 minutes. Half of shows fall between 18 and 56 minutes.
How often do podcasts publish?
Weekly. The median active podcast publishes every 7 days; 60% publish at least weekly and 10.4% daily.
What percentage of podcasts fail?
22.8% of podcasts never publish a second episode and 52.8% stop at six or fewer. Only 6.9% reach 100 episodes.
Can I use these statistics?
Yes. All CastFox Research data is free to use under CC BY 4.0. Please credit "CastFox Research" and link to the report the figure comes from, or to this page.