Spotify Surpasses 760 Million Monthly Active Users in Q1 2026

Spotify said it surpassed 760 million monthly active users in its first quarter 2026 earnings release. The company also said the quarter landed in line with or ahead of expectations across key metrics, with gross margin reaching its second-highest level to date.

Alex Norström on user growth

Alex Norström said, "We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike." That puts the latest quarter on a clear growth path: Spotify is still adding scale, and it is doing it while keeping existing listeners active enough to matter in the metrics that drive revenue quality.

Norström also said, "Since the global rollout of our more personalized free experience, users in key markets like the US are listening and watching more days per month." In practical terms, that is the kind of behavior shift Spotify wants most from its free tier, because more days per month create more opportunities to move listeners deeper into the service.

Gustav Söderström on scale

Gustav Söderström said, "We’re well positioned because of our large, engaged user base, deep creator relationships, and years of investment in personalization and infrastructure at scale." He added, "We see significant room to grow across users, formats and engagement and to expand what Spotify is and can become over time."

Spotify said in Q1 2026 that it offered listeners more ways to discover and connect with the music, podcasts, and audiobooks they love, while also supporting creators, artists, authors and partners with more tools to grow on Spotify. That combination points to a platform still trying to widen its funnel without losing the margin discipline that produced the company’s second-highest gross margin to date.

Margin and momentum

The friction point is obvious inside the release: Spotify is talking about audience expansion and margin improvement at the same time. Those goals do not always travel together, which is why the company’s note that Q1 2026 results were in line with or ahead of expectations across all key metrics reads as more than boilerplate.

Norström said, "All that reinforces our confidence in sustained user and subscriber growth, low churn, and continued progress on revenue and margin." For investors and listeners alike, the immediate read is simple: Spotify is not just chasing more users, it is showing it can grow those users while keeping the business moving in the same direction.