Audiobook sales in 2025 rose 9%, to $2.43 billion, from 2024, and publishers reported more than 750,000 active titles, a 43% increase over the previous year, according to the Audio Publishers Association Sales Survey.
In related news, the Audio Publishers Association 2026 Consumer Survey found that 58% of Americans age 18+--an estimated 157 million people--have listened to an audiobook, and among audiobook listeners, 63% listened in the last year and 35% in the last month.
The Sales Survey was conducted by Toluna, and the Consumer Survey was done by Edison Research, which conducted an online survey of 1,706 spoken-word audio listeners ages 18 and older.
Among other findings, the Consumer Survey determined that audiobook listeners averaged 3.8 audiobooks in the last year, and 26% listened to four or more titles in the last year. Some 45% of listeners have listened to an audiobook on YouTube, up from 35% in 2024 (many of those titles are pirated from legitimate copyright holders).
The fastest growing genres in 2025 in audiobooks were humor, general fiction, and children's--including YA--with general fiction accounting for the largest share of revenue (27%). Science fiction/fantasy, romance, and mysteries/thrillers/suspense made up the remaining top genres by revenue.
Sales revenue from audio-first publications has increased 50% in 2025, to $136 million. The share of audio-first publications also increased slightly, accounting for 6% of the total net revenue in 2025.
Among those who listened in the last year, many used multiple sources: 49% purchased directly from websites or apps, 48% listened via a subscription service, 46% borrowed through a digital library app, and 42% used credits from a dedicated audiobook service.
The consumption and number of AI-narrated audiobooks published has increased in 2025, though willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year. Only 16% of audiobook listeners have listened to an AI-voiced audiobook, and AI sales revenue amounted to just .03% in 2025.