Soundcloud Statistics 2026: What the Data Reveals Now

SoundCloud remains one of the most recognized platforms for independent audio streaming. Over the past year, it has continued to expand its user base, creator tools, and global footprint while adjusting its features to meet evolving industry demands. From emerging producers using SoundCloud to launch careers to established artists distributing exclusive tracks, this platform plays a unique role in the music ecosystem. In this article, we’ll explore the latest statistics and trends shaping SoundCloud’s growth and influence across users, creators, and overall market dynamics.

Editor’s Choice

• 180 million total users on SoundCloud globally in 2025.
• 76 million monthly active listeners as of mid‑2025.
• 40 million+ active creators publishing content on the platform.
• 375 million tracks hosted on SoundCloud by late 2025.
• 28% of monthly users come from the United States.
• 52% of listening now happens on mobile devices.
• 12% YoY revenue growth reported in 2025.

Recent Developments

• SoundCloud launched the first Music Intelligence Report highlighting trends in discovery and listening habits in 2025.
• Expanded availability into Mexico to grow its Latin American presence.
• New artist subscription and distribution tools have been released for creators to earn more.
• CloudWear’s limited‑edition merch drop showcased a push into branding and fan engagement.
• SoundCloud added more social features, including “Liked By” indicators to boost engagement.
• Partnership with TikTok for shared playlists and discovery.
• CEO communications clarified the new terms of use to improve transparency.
• Ongoing platform feature updates will be released throughout 2025 monthly.

Total SoundCloud Users Worldwide

• In 2025, SoundCloud reached 180 million users worldwide.
• This reflects 8.4% YoY growth from the previous year.
• 140 million registered users were reported in the earlier 2024 data.
• User totals peaked around 150 million before platform cleanup efforts reduced inactive accounts.
• Over the past decade, users climbed from 55 million in 2012 to 140 million by 2023.
• SoundCloud availability spans 190+ countries and regions worldwide.
• The United States remains the largest single national audience (28%).
• Growth in emerging markets has steadily contributed to global user expansion.

User Penetration and Market Share by Region

• SoundCloud garners 27% of its total traffic from the US, marking strong penetration in this key market.​
• The UK contributes 6%, Germany 5%, and France 3% to the global traffic share.​
• The US accounts for 42.26 million visits, representing over 21% of total site traffic.​
• Europe shows steady adoption with the UK, Germany, and France combining for 14% of users.​
• Mexico’s launch in 2025 enables localized subscriptions and artist monetization expansion.​
• India drives 3.11% of traffic with 6 million visits, signaling Asia’s growth potential.​
• Russia provides 5.21% or 10 million visits, highlighting emerging market interest.​
• Among 2,160 million global streamers, SoundCloud’s 140 million users hold a niche 6.5% share.​
• Independent artists ( 40 million ) dominate, with 48% receiving monthly plays versus mainstream.​
• Subscription revenue growth to €288 million in 2023 lags giants like Spotify‘s billions.​

Monthly and Daily Active Users

• 76 million monthly active listeners reported mid‑2025.
• Approximately 13% of users engage daily with the platform.
• Active user numbers are crucial for ad revenue and creator payouts.
• A significant portion of monthly listeners accesses from mobile devices.
• Reliable MAU figures help track platform engagement compared to larger rivals like Spotify.
• SoundCloud MAUs have increased despite the doldrums seen earlier in the decade.
• Peak listener growth aligns with expanded feature rollouts in 2024–2025.
• Daily engagement remains lower than larger services but is rising steadily.

Time Spent Listening and Session Duration

• Average listening session duration on SoundCloud hovers around 30–35 minutes per user per day.
• Mobile listeners spend 60% more time per session than desktop users.
• The most engaged listeners are in the 18–34 age group, accounting for the longest session durations.
• Peak listening times occur in the evening hours (7 PM–10 PM US local time) across core markets.
• Users who follow multiple creators average 2–3 sessions per day.
• Playlist engagement increases listen time by 25% compared with non‑playlist streams.
• Tracks promoted through curated playlists often receive longer cumulative session engagement.
• SoundCloud’s Buzzing Playlists feature was introduced to boost discovery and time spent listening.

User Demographics by Age, Gender, and Country

• The largest age cohort (32.5%) is 25–34 years old.
• Ages 18–24 make up 31.5% of users, underscoring youth engagement.
• 16.3% are 35–44, and smaller shares fall into older brackets.
• 28% of monthly users are in the US, a major national demographic driver.
• Strong representation also exists in European and Latin American markets.
• Gender breakdowns show slightly higher male engagement, though precise ratios vary by source.
• Regional trends indicate mobile access leads in younger demographics.
• Data suggests demographic shifts toward a broader global diversity of listeners.

Tracks and Audio Catalog Size

• By 2025, SoundCloud hosted an estimated 375 million+ tracks on the platform.
• This catalog includes uploads from 40 million+ active creators, showing sustained growth.
• On average, 14 million tracks are uploaded every month.
• The catalog size increased by 48% in two years, reflecting broader creator engagement.
• Independent genres, long‑tail, and niche tracks make up over half of the catalog.
• SoundCloud’s free upload structure supports artists without distributor barriers.
• Catalog expansion has accelerated as creators use the platform to test new sounds.
• The platform’s open upload model differentiates it from curated catalogs on Spotify or Apple Music.

SoundCloud Traffic Sources Breakdown

• Direct traffic dominates SoundCloud, accounting for 73.10% of total visits, highlighting strong brand recognition and high levels of repeat and app-based usage.
• Organic search is the second-largest traffic driver at 22.85%, showing SoundCloud’s strong search engine visibility and demand for music, artists, and tracks via Google and other search platforms.
• Referral traffic contributes 2.77%, indicating limited but consistent traffic coming from external websites, embeds, and partner platforms.
• Social media drives 1.17% of traffic, suggesting that while SoundCloud is widely shared, social platforms are not a primary discovery channel.
• Paid search traffic is minimal at just 0.04%, reflecting SoundCloud’s low reliance on paid advertising for user acquisition.
• Email (mail) traffic also stands at 0.04%, showing limited impact from email marketing campaigns on overall platform visits.
• Display advertising contributes only 0.02%, confirming that banner and display ads play a negligible role in SoundCloud’s traffic generation strategy.

Number of Active Creators and Growth Trends

• SoundCloud reports 40 million+ creators uploading content as of 2025.
• Creator accounts grew by about 8–12% year over year through 2024–2025.
• DIY and independent artists rely on SoundCloud for discovery and fan engagement.
• New creators (uploads <1 year old) represent 30–35% of all active profiles.
• The US accounts for a high share of creator activity, followed by Europe and Latin America.
• Genre‑specific upload spikes (e.g., hip‑hop, electronic) reflect trending music styles.
• SoundCloud’s tools for creators have increased retention of active uploaders.
• Collaborative uploads and remix culture further fuel creator growth.

Genres Distribution and Most‑Streamed Genres

• Rap & hip-hop accounts for 32% of all SoundCloud plays in 2025.​
• EDM comprises 21% of total streams on the platform.​
• Pop music represents 17% of global SoundCloud streams.​
• Hip-hop and R&B together dominate with 60% of US listens.​
• The Afrobeats genre grew by 48% year-over-year.​
• Lo-fi and chillhop make up 6.5% of total streams.​
• Niche subgenres like dark trap, synthwave, and hyperpop account for 4.3% of plays.​
• Latin music saw 22% listener growth, especially reggaeton.​
• Over 2,300 unique genre tags were used in 2025 uploads.​

Listener Engagement Per Track

• Tracks with playlist placements see 20–35% more engagement than independent uploads.
• Fan‑powered royalties encourage deeper listener interactions with specific tracks.
• Average track engagement (plays per listener) is higher among premium and active followers.
• Tracks in trending genres like hip‑hop and EDM receive the highest repeat streams.
• Engagement levels correlate with social features such as reposts and comments.
• Tracks that utilize metadata and tags see better discovery and sustained play counts.
• Listeners tend to engage longer with creators they follow personally.
• Early‑stage tracks with high engagement often see organic growth over time.

Playlist and Follower Statistics

• 43% of SoundCloud listeners engage with at least one playlist weekly.​
• 50% of new artist discoveries occur via programmed playlists on streaming services.​
  SoundCloud’s Buzzing Playlists feature highlights rising tracks across genres.
• Buzzing Playlists update weekly, featuring top fan-engaged tracks from Next Pro artists.​
• Average Next Pro artist sees 400% increase in listens via First Fans for Buzzing Playlists.​
  Followers on SoundCloud tend to engage more persistently with an artist’s catalog.
• Followers drive higher listener retention and persistent engagement with artist tracks.​
  Creator profiles with larger follower counts see better monetization outcomes.
• Top 5% of monetizing artists with large followers earned $110 million in 2025.​
• 340,000 creators monetized via fan-powered royalties tied to follower engagement.​
  Top playlists often combine curated and algorithmic elements for growth.
• Buzzing Playlists blend algorithmic recommendations with fan curation for track growth.​
  Playlist shares on social platforms boost inbound listening activity.
• 30 million shares occur monthly on SoundCloud, boosting playlist listening activity.​
  New playlists added monthly continue to expand engagement opportunities.
• 14 million tracks uploaded monthly fuel new playlist creation and engagement.​
  Followers per creator profile vary widely but correlate with increased listen time.
• 40 million creators average of varying followers, correlating with longer listen times.​
• Top artists like Future have 10 million followers, boosting catalog engagement.​

SoundCloud Revenue Growth Overview (2011–2023)

• SoundCloud’s annual revenue grew from just €4M in 2011 to €288M in 2023, highlighting a strong long-term monetization trajectory.
• Between 2011 and 2016, revenue increased gradually from €4M to €25M, reflecting early-stage platform expansion and limited monetization.
• A major inflection point occurred in 2017, when revenue surged to €81M, marking SoundCloud’s first large-scale commercial acceleration.
• Revenue continued climbing to €108M in 2018 and €116M in 2019, signaling improving subscription and advertising performance.
• In 2020, SoundCloud’s revenue jumped sharply to €194M, driven by increased digital audio consumption during the global streaming boom.
• The platform maintained momentum in 2021, generating €231M, reinforcing its post-pandemic growth stability.
• SoundCloud crossed the €250M milestone in 2022, reaching €268M in annual revenue.
• In 2023, SoundCloud recorded its highest revenue to date at €288M, underscoring sustained creator monetization and paid user growth.
• Overall, SoundCloud’s revenue expanded by more than 70× between 2011 and 2023, demonstrating a successful transition from a niche audio platform to a scalable music streaming business.

Advertising vs Subscription Revenue Breakdown

• In 2025, SoundCloud’s total revenue reached an estimated $485 million, growing 12% year over year.
• Subscription and creator monetization accounted for 58% of total revenue, showing paid services’ growing contribution.
• Advertising generated approximately $126 million in 2025, notably driven by audio ads.
• Audio ads now outperform many visual ad formats in listener engagement across free tiers.
• The average CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) for audio ads was about $8.75 in 2025.
• Around 72% of listening sessions in 2025 occurred on mobile, making mobile a key channel for ad delivery.
• SoundCloud’s subscription revenue (Pro/Plus/Next plans) grew 9% YOY, reflecting broader adoption.
• Monetization from developer tools and APIs saw 17% revenue growth, indicating demand for embedding and integrations.

Number of Paid Subscribers and ARPU

• The average revenue per user (ARPU) reached $6.31 in 2025 on SoundCloud.
• Paid subscription plans (including Pro, Next, and Next Plus) attracted millions of paying listeners and creators.
• Subscription tiers contributed to long‑term revenue stability beyond ad earnings.
• A larger share of subscription upgrades occurred on mobile devices, due to the ease of in‑app purchases.
• SoundCloud’s subscription monetization growth outpaced early‑decade trends.
• ARPU remains lower than major rivals (e.g., Spotify/Apple Music) but is improving with added features.
• Subscription growth is partly driven by expanded global availability and localized pricing.
• Paid user bases helped unlock enhanced monetization for creators globally.

SoundCloud vs Other Major Platforms

• As of Q2 2025, SoundCloud had 180 million global users and 76 million monthly active listeners, vs Spotify’s 713 million MAUs and 281 million Premium subscribers in Q3 2025.​
• Spotify generated about €15.67 billion (≈$17 billion) in 2024 revenue, while SoundCloud brought in an estimated $485 million in 2025, underscoring its far smaller niche scale.​
• SoundCloud hosts over 40 million active creators and sees 14 million+ tracks uploaded every month, far exceeding the open‑upload flexibility offered by Spotify or Apple Music’s tightly curated catalogs.​
• SoundCloud’s paid user base of about 18 million represents roughly 10% of total users, compared with Spotify’s 39% subscriber share (281 m of 713 m), indicating a weaker premium mix.​
• Apple Music has about 93 million subscribers globally, and YouTube Music counts roughly 125 million paying users via YouTube Premium, both surpassing SoundCloud’s 18 million paid base.​​
• YouTube accounts for 53.45% of SoundCloud’s social media referrals, ahead of Instagram (15.67%) and Facebook (12.8%), making it the leading traffic driver among social platforms.​
• Around 73.1% of SoundCloud visits come from direct sources and 22.85% from organic search, showing strong community loyalty despite a smaller overall reach than major DSPs.​
• SoundCloud users generated over 9 billion plays in the first half of 2025, with 25% of users aged 18–24, highlighting its role in early‑stage discovery among younger listeners.​
• The music streaming market shares by subscribers show Spotify at 36%, Apple Music 30.7%, Amazon Music 23.8%, and YouTube Music 6.8%, while SoundCloud sits outside this top‑tier group.​

Creator Monetization and Fan‑Powered Royalties

• In 2025, over 340,000 creators earned money via SoundCloud’s fan‑powered royalty model.
• The fan‑powered model paid out over $45 million directly to independent artists in 2025.
• Only 5% of artists accounted for 90% of total payouts, highlighting skewed earning distribution.
• SoundCloud’s fan‑powered model distributes revenue based on individual listener engagement, rather than pooled streams.
• Monetization rates range from approximately $0.0025 to $0.004 per stream, depending on listener type and location.
• Fan‑powered royalties emphasize direct fan engagement and monetization efficiency.
• SoundCloud for Artists allows creators to keep a significant share of subscription and ad revenues.
• Enhanced creator tools have improved access to earnings without third‑party distributors.

SoundCloud Traffic by Country and Top Referrers

• 28% of SoundCloud’s traffic comes from the United States, making it the largest single source.
• The United Kingdom contributes around 5.5%, bolstered by strong European engagement.
• Germany holds roughly 5% of the traffic share, reflecting Central Europe’s interest.
• France accounts for 3.3%, and Canada 3.2%, showcasing North America and EU appeal.
• A combined 55% of traffic originates outside these core markets, demonstrating global reach.
• Social referrals from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit play a major role in discovery.
• Mobile devices contribute the majority of traffic, especially in the US and Europe.
• Local playlists and genre curation help drive inbound country‑specific listening.

Top SoundCloud Artists: Explosive Growth vs Spotify

• Josh Baker leads by a wide margin, recording an extraordinary 66,199.9% growth in SoundCloud plays, compared to 18,506.8% growth in Spotify monthly listeners, highlighting massive platform-specific momentum.
• Club Angel shows strong SoundCloud dominance with 26,636.5% growth on SoundCloud, while Spotify growth remains relatively modest at 992.4%.
• Upper90 stands out as a Spotify-first breakout, posting 32,953.3% growth in Spotify monthly listeners, surpassing its already impressive 16,361.7% SoundCloud growth.
• Capochino achieved rapid traction on SoundCloud with 10,793.5% growth in plays, compared to 1,711.4% growth on Spotify, signaling stronger engagement on SoundCloud.
• Hostage Situation recorded steady expansion, delivering 3,083.0% SoundCloud growth alongside 948.6% growth in Spotify listeners.
• Mehyad experienced faster growth on Spotify, with 3,381.6% growth in monthly listeners, outpacing 930.0% growth on SoundCloud plays.
• MALUGI demonstrates Spotify-heavy acceleration, achieving 5,175.5% Spotify listener growth, compared to 866.2% growth on SoundCloud.
• Sherm followed a similar pattern, with 3,009.2% Spotify growth exceeding 747.8% growth on SoundCloud plays.
• KIRK shows nearly equal platform performance, recording 562.8% growth on SoundCloud and 567.2% growth on Spotify, indicating balanced cross-platform traction.
• FLY rounds out the list with moderate gains, posting 291.1% growth on SoundCloud versus 119.5% growth on Spotify.

Mobile App Downloads and Platform Usage

• By late 2025, SoundCloud’s mobile app had over 112 million downloads.
• 72% of user sessions occurred on mobile devices, making mobile the dominant platform.
• Android users accounted for approximately 39% of mobile usage share in 2025.
• iOS users engaged with playlists 18% more than Android listeners.
• Mobile uploads grew 28% year over year, as creators adopted in‑app studio tools.
• The mobile Discover tab drives 60% of new track engagement.
• Push notifications on mobile yield 24% higher click‑through rates than desktop emails.
• Mobile is now the preferred channel for subscription upgrades and in‑app purchases.

Future Forecasts for Users and Revenue

• The overall digital music market is projected to reach $53 billion by 2030, indicating long‑term platform opportunities.
• CAGR for digital music revenue between 2025-2030 is forecast at 7.9%, which may benefit SoundCloud’s monetization.
• Adoption of advanced features like fan‑powered royalties may grow the creator earnings share.
• More global markets (Asia, Africa) present future listener and creator growth potential.
• Mobile usage trends suggest a continued increase in session engagement and subscriptions.
• SoundCloud’s creator‑first model may attract niche talent and long‑tail audiences over time.
• Expanded partnerships and playlists might improve user retention and discovery.
• Forecasts emphasize monetization, diversification, and international expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Conclusion

SoundCloud remains a distinctive force in the music streaming ecosystem. It stands apart with its creator‑centric monetization, fan‑powered royalty payouts, and open upload structure that empowers emerging artists. While it operates at a smaller scale than giants like Spotify or Apple Music, SoundCloud’s continued mobile usage growth, subscription and revenue expansion, and genre‑driven engagement patterns affirm its relevance.

Looking ahead, the platform’s success will likely hinge on enhancing creator earnings, broadening global reach, and deepening user engagement through innovative tools and monetization pathways.