Podcast Growth Benchmarks: How Do You Compare?

Hey Reader

Ever feel like you're pouring your heart and soul into your podcast, but you’re not quite sure if you're actually… growing? You're logging in to your hosting platform every day to see the download numbers, but what story are they really telling you?

While downloads can feel like a great ego boost, they don't always tell the whole story.

Think of it this way: a download is like getting a notification from Amazon that the package you sent a friend was delivered. That's good information, but what you really want to know is if they opened it and actually liked what was inside.

For a true measure of growth, we want to look at engaged listeners, the people who are actively "opening the box" or pressing play on your episodes. This is the audience that's truly connecting with your content.

So, let's uncover the number that truly matters: your growth rate based on engaged listeners and the benchmark you should be aiming for.

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First Things First: Ditch the Vanity Metric

Before we do any math, let's agree on one thing. A download doesn't equal a fan; an engaged listener does.

These are the people who listen to a significant chunk of your episodes (think 20+ minutes or more than 40% on Apple Podcasts). They're the ones who are actually hearing your content, connecting with your guests, and are most likely to become part of your loyal community. When we measure growth, let's focus on the growth of this group.

On Apple Podcast, this data will be categorized under 'Engaged Listener'.

On Spotify, the closest thing is a 'Stream', which is 60 seconds or more, and this data is currently only visible when you download a CSV file.

To keep things simple, we'll use your Apple Podcast data for this experiment. You can log in here.

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The Formula: Your Month-on-Month Growth

I hate public math, so I have had to Google this myself (multiple times, as I often forget), but it's pretty straightforward and incredibly powerful.

Here’s how to calculate your growth rate using your engaged listeners:

Here is a calculator you can use to give you a quick answer.

Go ahead, plug in your numbers from last month and the month before. This percentage is your true growth indicator. It’s your show's pulse.

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So… How Does Your Growth Compare?

What does a "good" growth rate look like in the current podcasting landscape? And a quick heads-up, these numbers might surprise you.

The latest data from Jeremy Enns' 2024 Podcast Marketing Trends Report paints a picture of a "Split Reality," showing a wide gap between the average show and the typical show.

Let's look at the two most important numbers:

• Average Month-Over-Month Growth: 5.83%
• Median Month-Over-Month Growth: 0.11%

What this tells us is that while a handful of shows are experiencing exceptional growth and pulling the average way up, the typical (or median) podcast has struggled more heavily over the past year.

The data gets even more interesting when we break it down by the number of downloads an episode gets:

• Shows with over 10k downloads/ep experienced a monthly growth average of 5.89%.
• Shows with less than 1k downloads/ep grew by an average of 0.49% monthly.
• Shows in the middle (1k-10k downloads/ep) actually saw a slight monthly decline of -0.62%.

While the numbers for the typical show might seem low, the key takeaway here is encouraging: significant growth is still happening. The fact that some shows are growing so quickly proves it's absolutely possible to build momentum.

Knowing where you fit in this landscape is the first step to creating a strategy that helps you grow.

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What's the takeaway for you?

Don't be discouraged if your number looks more like the median than the average. Most of us live in the median world, and that's perfectly okay! It's the world of building a real, sustainable show brick by brick.

The story of podcasting today is one of two paths: steady, hard-won progress or rare, explosive breakthroughs. Both are valid. The existence of those high-growth outliers should be seen as motivation; it proves that for shows with the right strategy, phenomenal growth is absolutely possible.

Your goal shouldn't be to chase every other podcast; it's to be a better and bigger version of your show each month.

Keep creating, keep connecting, and keep measuring what truly matters.

Until next time!

Steve