[FAQ]

I’ve been looking at my podcast stats in my hosting dashboard, and I see different numbers for “listeners” and for “downloads.” I’m a bit confused about what each of these metrics actually represents.

Could someone provide a clear explanation of the difference between the two terms in 2025? I’m trying to figure out which metric is more important for understanding the actual size of my audience.

Trying to get a better handle on my data. Thanks for any clarification!

[Jeff Bullas]

Understanding the distinction between “listeners” and “downloads” is crucial for accurately interpreting your podcast’s performance, as they measure two different, though related, aspects of your audience.

First, a “download” is a technical metric. A download is counted each time your MP3 episode file is requested from your podcast host’s server. This request happens whether someone is streaming the episode in real-time or saving it to their device to listen to offline. Because one person can download the same episode on their phone, their work computer, and their tablet, a single person can be responsible for multiple downloads of a single episode. Therefore, “downloads” measures the total distribution or demand for your content files, not necessarily the number of people listening.

Second, a “listener,” which is often referred to as a “unique listener,” is an estimation of a single person. Podcast platforms and hosting services attempt to calculate this by identifying a unique device, IP address, or user agent over a specific period, such as a week or a month. The goal of this metric is to count an individual person only once during that timeframe, regardless of how many episodes they download or how many different devices they use. This metric gives you a much closer approximation of your actual audience size.

A simple way to think about it is this: if one person buys three copies of the same newspaper during the week, that represents three “downloads” or sales of that paper. However, it is still only one “listener” or reader. For this reason, your number of downloads will almost always be higher than your number of unique listeners.

Both metrics are valuable. Downloads have been the long-standing industry standard and are often used when calculating advertising rates, as CPM stands for Cost Per Mille, or thousand downloads. It shows the overall volume of content being consumed. Listeners, on the other hand, gives you a more realistic picture of the size of your unique community or audience base.

Some platforms like Spotify, which operate as a more closed ecosystem, have moved towards focusing on their own metrics like “listeners” and “streams” (with a stream often defined as a listen of over 60 seconds) because they can track individual user accounts with greater accuracy than the traditional open RSS system allows.

In summary, downloads count how many times your episode files are requested, while listeners attempt to count the number of unique people who are doing the downloading. Downloads measure content volume, whereas listeners measure audience size. You need to look at both for a complete picture of your podcast’s performance.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Author]

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