Soundcloud Statistics 2026: Growth, Users, Revenue

SoundCloud remains one of the most dynamic music streaming platforms in the digital audio ecosystem. Since its founding in 2007, it has evolved from an indie creator hub into a global service with hundreds of millions of users, offering both free and premium experiences for listeners and creators alike. SoundCloud’s open upload model supports emerging artists, remix culture, and niche genres that often go unnoticed on other platforms, making it a creative engine for independent music growth.

In the music industry, labels and managers analyze SoundCloud trends to scout talent, while brands tap its vast listener base for targeted audio campaigns. Explore the sections below to understand the latest SoundCloud Statistics and what they mean for artists, fans, and industry watchers.

Editor’s Choice

SoundCloud boasts over 140 million registered users as of 2023, reflecting steady expansion.
The platform generated €288 million in revenue in 2023, its highest recorded revenue to date.
More than 40 million creators have accounts on SoundCloud, highlighting its producer-first focus.
SoundCloud hosts an estimated 375+ million tracks, making it among the largest open music catalogs online.
The U.S. accounts for roughly 27% of total web traffic, the largest national share.
Gen Z listeners dominate, with large shares in the 18–24 and 25–34 brackets, showing strong youth engagement.
Mobile usage for SoundCloud activity surpasses 70% of total engagement, affirming its mobile-first audience.
Average session duration on the platform is on the rise, indicating better listener retention.

Recent Developments

In early 2025, SoundCloud released new Buzzing Playlists features to boost artist discovery and fan engagement.
Data from 2025 shows artists gaining significant follower increases, especially in electronic and dance genres.
The platform continues to refine creator monetization tools, helping artists earn through engagement.
SoundCloud’s algorithm now rewards consistent uploads and engagement metrics, not just play count.
Enhanced analytics dashboards launched in 2025 help artists tailor releases and track listener behavior.
The platform expanded personalized content feeds to better surface emerging talent.
Updates targeted fan experience improvements, such as easier music discovery and playlist creation tools.
Partnerships with social platforms have increased cross-platform sharing and discovery possibilities.

Overview of the SoundCloud Platform

Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
The platform operates in 190+ countries and territories worldwide.
SoundCloud supports audio uploads, sharing, discovery, and monetization for both creators and listeners.
Users can access SoundCloud on mobile, desktop, and select connected devices.
Both free and paid plans are available, balancing accessibility with advanced features.
SoundCloud’s open model makes it a hub for non‑traditional and emerging music.
Integrated analytics help creators track plays, location data, and demographics.
The platform also supports community engagement tools like likes, comments, and reposts.

Global Music Streaming Market Growth Outlook

The global music streaming market is anticipated to expand to $67.87 billion by 2029, highlighting strong long-term growth potential.
In 2025, the market size is projected to reach $37.18 billion, indicating consistent year-over-year growth.
The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.2%, fueled by rising smartphone adoption and increased digital media consumption.
By 2026, the industry is forecasted to cross the $40 billion threshold, maintaining its positive growth momentum.

Key Statistics on SoundCloud

SoundCloud had 140 million registered users in 2023.
Over 40 million creators are active on the platform.
The total catalog exceeds 375 million tracks.
Revenue in 2023 reached €288 million, its peak to date.
Estimated monthly active listeners reached around 76 million in 2025.
Premium accounts numbered approximately 18 million in 2025.
Average session duration in 2025 increased to about 35 minutes per user.
Mobile usage accounted for ~72% of total activity.
Year‑over‑year global user base growth in 2025 was roughly 8.4%.

Monthly Active Users on SoundCloud

As of Q2 2025, SoundCloud had around 76 million monthly active listeners.
Mobile accounts for a majority of monthly usage, surpassing 70% share.
Paid subscriber count increased from 15.9 million in 2024 to 18 million in 2025.
13% of users engage with SoundCloud daily.
Southeast Asia saw a listener growth of 13.2% in 2025.
Listener engagement spikes 21% on weekends versus weekdays.
22+ million listeners use the Discover tab weekly.
Average session durations grew year‑over‑year, reflecting stronger engagement trends.

Most Widely Used Music Streaming Platforms in Great Britain

Spotify stands as the leading platform, used by 31% of all GB adults, with usage peaking at 54% among those aged 18–34.
YouTube ranks as the second-most popular service, recording 19% overall usage, and is most favored by 18–34 year olds at 25%.
Amazon Prime Music records 17% total usage, with its highest adoption seen in the 35–54 age group at 23%.
Apple Music is used by 7% of all adults, led by 10% usage within the 18–34 demographic.
Amazon Music Unlimited shows a modest adoption rate of 5% overall, rising to 8% among 35–54 year olds.
SoundCloud is the least utilized platform, with just 3% overall usage, and only 1% adoption among those aged 55+.

Most Popular Music Platforms Among Britons — Reference: Digital Music News

Registered Accounts on SoundCloud

SoundCloud reported 140 million registered users in 2023.
Registered user numbers dipped to around 132 million in 2024 before rebounding.
Registered accounts grew steadily from 55 million in 2012 to 140 million in 2023.
It once peaked at 150 million in 2015 before cleanup efforts reduced inactive accounts.
Creator account growth outpaced overall user growth in recent years.
Registered accounts span 190 countries, emphasizing global reach.
Emerging markets contributed strongly to recent registration growth.
Music creators represent a significant share of registered account activity.

Listener Trends Across SoundCloud

As of Q2 2025, SoundCloud hosts about 76 million monthly active listeners, showing steady engagement.
An estimated 25% of users fall within the 18–24 age group, reinforcing strong youth appeal.
Roughly 13% of all users engage with the platform daily.
Listener growth in regions like Southeast Asia climbed by ~13.2% in 2025, highlighting global expansion.
On average, users now spend about 51 minutes per session monthly, indicating deep listening habits.
Around 43% of listeners interact with playlists or reposted tracks weekly, showing community engagement.
Weekend engagement surpasses weekday listening by approximately 20%, reflecting leisure-time trends.
Viral tracks and collaborations drove over 9 billion plays in early 2025.
A consistent mobile-first audience contributes to higher engagement and repeat visits.

Creator Insights from SoundCloud

SoundCloud supported more than 40 million music creators globally in 2025.
Around 48% of artists receive monthly plays, reflecting a broad creator reach.
Independent artists like British producer Josh Baker saw follower growth exceeding 170% year‑over‑year.
Electronic music producers dominated trending creator lists, with 41 of 50 top artists in that genre.
Tools like SoundCloud for Artists enhance metrics visibility and can increase engagement.
Creators leveraging social media snippets often spike their play counts significantly.
Fan‑powered royalties now play a major role in how artists earn from plays.
Some creators earn approximately $2.50 to $4.00 per 1,000 plays, depending on engagement quality.
Distribution and collaboration tools introduced in 2025 expanded monetization opportunities.

SoundCloud User Distribution by Country

The United States dominates SoundCloud usage with 28% of the platform’s total user base, firmly establishing it as the largest market worldwide.
The United Kingdom contributes 5.5%, indicating strong user engagement across English-speaking Europe.
Germany ranks next at 5%, underscoring a robust listener base within Central Europe.
France represents 3.3% of users, reflecting moderate popularity among French audiences.
Canada accounts for a 3.2% share, further strengthening North America’s dominant presence on the platform.
A substantial 55% of SoundCloud’s total traffic originates from other countries, highlighting its extensive global reach.

Total Track Count on SoundCloud

SoundCloud hosts over 375 million tracks as of mid-2025, the largest music catalog globally.
Over 40 million creators actively upload content to the platform in 2025.
14 million new tracks are uploaded monthly, fueling rapid catalog expansion.
Platform sees an average of 460,000 daily uploads, peaking midweek.
71% of new uploads come from indie artists and unsigned musicians.
51% of tracks are original compositions; the rest are remixes, podcasts, and DJ sets.
Catalog grew 8.4% year-over-year from 2024 to 2025.
Hip-hop/Rap accounts for 32% of all plays, leading genres in 2025.
EDM and Pop follow with 21% and 17% of total streams, respectively.
Over 89,000 uploads from first-time creators occur weekly.

Streaming Volume via SoundCloud

In the first half of 2025, SoundCloud saw over 9 billion total plays across its platform.
Streaming growth was driven by viral tracks and cross‑regional collaborations.
Play count increases correlated with enhanced playlist discovery features.
Genres like electronic and hip‑hop consistently logged the highest play volumes.
A significant share of streams came from mobile listeners, reflecting listening habits.
Newly released tracks often see a 10–30% play volume boost in their first weeks.
Audience interaction (likes, reposts) closely tracks with higher stream counts.
Emerging regional markets contributed to overall streaming diversity and reach.

Time Spent Listening on SoundCloud

Average monthly listening sessions reached ~51 minutes per user in 2025.
Session duration climbed from ~35 minutes in 2024, showing stronger retention.
Weekend listening tends to be 20% higher than weekdays.
Listeners exploring playlists or reposts engaged for longer sessions by 30%.
Discover tab usage boosted session time by 25%.
Mobile sessions averaged 15-25 minutes, longer than desktop.
Young adults (18–24) displayed the highest average session lengths at 69% of users.
Average time spent correlates with personalization features, up 67% retention.
Repeat visits within a month rose steadily to 35% year-over-year.

Revenue Statistics from SoundCloud

SoundCloud reported €288 million in revenue in 2023, the highest in its history.
The estimated 2024 revenue rose to about €312 million, up from 2023.
Revenue reflects a mix of ads, subscriptions, and creator monetization.
The platform was valued at roughly $1 billion in early 2025.
Growth from 2021 to 2023 shows revenue climbed from €231M to €288M.
Creator monetization tools introduced in 2024–25 expanded revenue streams.
SoundCloud’s revenue per employee was estimated at ~$207,350.
Independent payouts and fan‑powered royalties are increasingly material to creator income.
Revenue growth outpaced many legacy digital music competitors due to creator focus.

Subscription Trends in SoundCloud

Premium subscriptions reached around 18 million users in 2025.
Paid subscriber counts rose from ~15.9M in 2024 to 18M in 2025.
Subscription engagement contributes to fan‑powered royalties.
Premium account holders tend to stream longer sessions than free users.
Emerging markets saw higher subscription uptake rates in 2025.
Subscription revenue now represents a significant portion of total revenue growth.
Artists monetizing through subscriptions saw more stable income streams.
New subscription tiers (e.g., Next Pro) boosted advanced features for creators.
Subscription trends reflect growing loyalty and paid engagement on the platform.

Free vs Premium Plans on SoundCloud

SoundCloud premium subscriptions reached ~18 million users in 2025, up 13% from 15.9 million in 2024.
Free users comprise ~88% of the 180 million total user base, driving most platform discovery.
Pro plan subscribers gain 400% more listens on average via algorithm boosts and featured playlists.
Premium accounts contribute 40% of $485 million total revenue in 2025, with Pro plans at $97 million.
Free-tier users generate only 7% of overall engagement, despite the majority of uploads.
63.5% of SoundCloud listeners aged 18–34, fueling the strongest subscription growth in this demographic.
Artist Pro users see 23% higher exposure from prioritized algorithm visibility.
340,000 creators earned via fan-powered royalties in 2025, exceeding older models.
Next Pro (Unlimited) is chosen by 62% of paying creators for advanced promotional tools.
Premium sessions average 35 minutes, 21% longer than free user averages on peak days.

Market Share Held by SoundCloud

Music streaming overall is dominated by larger services, but SoundCloud holds a unique niche among user‑generated and independent content.
According to global music streaming data, Spotify alone had ~31.7% market share of total streaming platforms in 2024.
SoundCloud’s specific share of global streaming revenue is smaller but culturally significant because of its open upload model.
In the US, streaming makes up 84% of industry revenues, where SoundCloud contributes alongside heavyweights like Spotify and Apple Music.
About 1 in 10 online adults worldwide say they use SoundCloud monthly, roughly on par with Spotify in some regions.
SoundCloud’s distinctive market value was recently estimated at $1 billion.
The platform’s influence in emerging audio markets often outpaces its share of mainstream revenue.
It remains one of the top-recognized music platforms globally, especially among younger demographics.

User Demographics by Age on SoundCloud

Around 31.5% of SoundCloud users are aged 18–24.
32.5% fall in the 25–34 age group, the largest segment.
16.3% of users are between 35–44 years old.
Users aged 45–54 represent 9.8% of the audience.
55–64 year olds account for 6% of SoundCloud listeners.
Only 3.9% of users are 65 or older.
Combined, 18–34-year-olds comprise over 63% of users.
25% of users are in the 18–24 bracket per recent plays data.

User Demographics by Gender on SoundCloud

~63.8% of SoundCloud’s online audience is male, compared to about 36.2% female visitors.
This male‑leaning engagement has held steady in recent years, according to web traffic analytics.
Female listeners remain a significant minority, often concentrated in the pop and R&B segment engagement.
Gender skew differs regionally and by genre, with some music styles showing more balanced engagement.
Creators of all genders use the platform to reach niche audiences and grow fan bases.
Gender data is part of the insights SoundCloud provides creators about listener behavior.
Marketing and branding efforts often account for this gender distribution when designing campaigns.
Continued platform evolution aims to broaden appeal across demographic groups.

Device Usage Trends for SoundCloud

Mobile devices are the dominant access point for listeners, reflecting broader streaming trends.
Desktop and tablet usage still contribute for producers and longer listening sessions.
Smart devices, including connected speakers, fuel on‑the‑go engagement.
Mobile usage correlates with higher session lengths and discovery behaviors.
In‑car audio systems continue to grow as touchpoints for streaming.
Wearables and smart watches increase casual listening throughout the day.
Podcasts and longer audio formats also see higher mobile uptake.
App updates focus on seamless multi‑device continuity for users.

Top Artists and Tracks on SoundCloud

Future leads SoundCloud with 10.561 million followers.
JIMIN of BTS‘s 약속 tops tracks with 333.9 million plays.
XXXTENTACION‘s Fuck Love has 330.5 million plays.
Lil Uzi Vert‘s XO TOUR Llif3 garnered 267.7 million plays.
SoundCloud hosts 375+ million tracks and 76 million monthly users.
Juice WRLD‘s Lucid Dreams achieved 262.2 million plays.
Platform sees 110,000+ daily uploads from independent artists.
Josh Baker grew followers by 178% in 2025.
SoundCloud paid artists $80M+ in 2025 payouts.
35 million+ premium subscribers boost engagement metrics.

Future Outlook for SoundCloud

Global music streaming market to reach USD 108.39 billion by 2030, growing at 14.9% CAGR from 2025-2030.
SoundCloud’s user base expanded to 180 million globally in 2025, with 40 million creators.
The music streaming sector is projected to hit USD 176.84 billion by 2033 at 19.4% CAGR.
Emerging markets to drive 75% of paid streaming subscriber growth by 2035.
SoundCloud revenue surged to $485 million in 2025, up 12% YoY.
Paid subscribers on SoundCloud grew to 18 million in 2025 from 15.9 million.
The audio streaming market is expected to expand to $89 billion by 2030 at 14% CAGR.
Paid streaming revenues in emerging markets are forecast at 16% CAGR through 2030.
SoundCloud monetization averages $0.0025–$0.004 per stream for creators.
375 million tracks hosted on SoundCloud, the largest music catalog worldwide.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many registered users does SoundCloud have?

SoundCloud has about 140 million registered users, reflecting long‑term user base growth.

What annual revenue did SoundCloud generate recently?

SoundCloud generated €288 million in revenue in 2023, its highest recorded annual revenue.

How many creators are on SoundCloud?

Over 40 million music creators are using SoundCloud to upload and share content.

How many monthly active listeners does SoundCloud have?

As of mid‑2025, SoundCloud reports about 76 million monthly active listeners globally.

Conclusion

SoundCloud’s landscape combines strong engagement, diverse users, and evolving monetization pathways. The platform continues to be a global hub for creators and listeners, with young audiences driving growth and unique content discovery. While competition in the streaming market remains intense, SoundCloud’s flexibility, through its free tier, premium plans, and creator tools, positions it well for future expansion.

Insights from demographics, traffic distribution, and device trends demonstrate sustained relevance in an era where digital audio consumption continues to rise. As you explore these statistics further, you’ll see SoundCloud not just as another streaming service, but as a cultural ecosystem that shapes independent music today and tomorrow.