Plenty of people think that there are too many podcasts. But how many podcasts are actually active and producing new content? Listen Notes has the answers in their just-released data.
According to figures unveiled from September 2025, there are 605,122 active podcasts. The term “active podcasts” means that the shows have released at least one new episode since the calendar turned to 2025. That figure represents a 15,000-show increase compared to the prior month.
The move to more than 605,000 active shows surpasses the previous record of 595,514 active programs, which was set in 2020.
Additionally, the company says it has moved more than 18,000 shows to the “dead” category, which is a dramatic decrease compared to previous years. For instance, between 2020 and 2021, 157,000 shows were moved to that category.
To date, 3.6 million podcasts have been created worldwide, releasing a combined 185 million episodes. Of the 3.6 million shows created, 67% have been launched from the United States. In comparison, Brazil is the next largest podcast creator, with just over 200,000 shows launched from that country.
Listen Notes also reports that nearly 3,800 programs were deleted as they were detected as AI-generated shows in its database. That is a decrease from the nearly 4,200 podcasts that fit that bill during the prior month.
Anchor.fm continues to be the most popular podcast hosting service, with 55% of all shows being housed on the platform. Buzzsprout (7%) and Spreaker (4%) are the next closest competitors.
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