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Audio Streaming Ad-Supported MAU Growth

Audio Streaming Ad-Supported MAU Growth measures the year-over-year change in Ad-Supported MAUs.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 23, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 23, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
15 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Audio Streaming Subscription Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. The 51 million increase is an audience change, not an ad-sales change
  2. Free-user growth outpaced paid-subscriber growth
  3. Monetization can lag audience expansion
  4. Part of the Audio Streaming Subscription Economics
  5. See It in Company Research
  6. Continue Research

Audio Streaming Ad-Supported MAU Growth measures the net year-over-year expansion of the active free-user base.

Spotify reported 12% Ad-Supported MAU growth at December 31, 2025, increasing from 425 million to 476 million users.

The 51 million increase is an audience change, not an ad-sales change

The ending Ad-Supported MAU base increased by 51 million.

That figure does not measure impressions sold, advertiser demand, or revenue per active user. It is a user-scale metric whose economic value depends on later monetization.

Free-user growth outpaced paid-subscriber growth

Ad-Supported MAUs grew 12%, compared with 10% growth in Premium Subscribers.

That difference can affect mix within the overall audience and matters when evaluating conversion opportunities, advertising inventory, and the balance between free and paid engagement.

Monetization can lag audience expansion

Spotify's free-user base grew while Ad-Supported revenue declined 1% in 2025.

Read Ad-Supported MAU growth with ad revenue growth and gross margin to distinguish audience acquisition from actual advertising economics.

Primary source: Spotify 2025 Form 20-F.

Part of the Audio Streaming Subscription Economics

Connect audience scale, paid subscribers, ARPU, Premium and ad-supported revenue, and segment gross margins to understand audio-streaming growth, monetization, and content-cost economics.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Audience scale and paid conversionCurrent relationship
    Monthly Active Users show the total engaged audience, while Premium Subscribers and Ad-Supported MAUs split that audience into paid and free-service participation under Spotify's issuer-defined methodology. Their growth rates show whether audience expansion is occurring through paid subscriptions, ad-supported usage, or both.
    Ad-Supported MAU GrowthCurrent conceptAd-Supported MAUsMAU GrowthMonthly Active UsersPremium Subscriber GrowthPremium Subscribers
  • Premium and ad-supported monetization
    Premium ARPU connects paid-user scale to subscription monetization, while Premium and Ad-Supported revenue and their growth rates show how the two services translate audience into revenue. Foreign exchange, pricing, plan mix, advertising CPMs, impressions sold, and sales-channel mix can cause revenue growth to diverge from user growth.
    Ad-Supported RevenueAd-Supported Revenue GrowthPremium ARPUPremium ARPU ChangePremium RevenuePremium Revenue Growth
  • Content-cost and gross-margin economics
    Premium and Ad-Supported gross margins show the economics of each service after royalties, content, podcast, audiobook, payment-processing, streaming-delivery, and related costs, while consolidated gross margin combines both services. Segment margin changes can differ materially because the underlying revenue and cost drivers are different.
    Ad-Supported Gross MarginConsolidated Gross MarginPremium Gross Margin

See It in Company Research

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Compare free-audience growth

Compare growth in active ad-supported users with ad revenue growth, paid conversion, and monetization per audience.

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