By Aijaz Alam
How much is spent on digital advertising in the US?
US internet advertising revenue was $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% from $258.6 billion in 2024, according to the IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report released on 16 April 2026. Social media ads brought in $117.7 billion, just above search at $114.2 billion. Social grew 32.6%, search 11%.
- $294.6BUS internet ad revenueIAB/PwC, 2025, up 13.9%
- $117.7BSocial media ad revenueIAB/PwC, 2025, up 32.6%
- $114.2BSearch ad revenueIAB/PwC, 2025, up 11%
- $78BDigital video ad revenue, including CTVIAB/PwC, 2025, up 25.4%
- $162.4BBought programmaticallyIAB/PwC, 2025, up 20.5%
- $63.4BCommerce media, such as retailer adsIAB/PwC, 2025, up 18%
The numbers
The full breakdown
US internet ad revenue by format, 2025
| Format | 2025 revenue | Growth from 2024 | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media | $117.7B | +32.6% | 40.0% |
| Search | $114.2B | +11% | 38.8% |
| Display | $81.6B | +9.8% | 27.7% |
| Digital video | $78B | +25.4% | 26.5% |
| Commerce media | $63.4B | +18% | 21.5% |
| Podcast | $2.9B | +17.6% | 1% |
Formats overlap. Social video counts in both social and digital video, so the rows add up to more than the $294.6B total. Search includes AI search. Do not draw this as a pie.
Revenue by format and buying method, 2024 and 2025
| Format or method | 2024 | 2025 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programmatic (automated buying) | $134.8B | $162.4B | +20.5% |
| Social media | $88.8B | $117.7B | +32.6% |
| Search | $102.9B | $114.2B | +11% |
| Display | $74.3B | $81.6B | +9.8% |
| Digital video | $62.1B | $78B | +25.4% |
| Creator advertising | Not reported | $37B | Faster than the market |
2024 values are from the FY2024 IAB/PwC report (April 2025). Programmatic is a way of buying, not a format, and overlaps all formats. In 2024 search grew 15.9%, social 36.7% and video 19.2%. IAB projects creator spend of $44B in 2026.
How concentrated digital ad revenue is worldwide
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Share of global digital ad revenue captured by five platforms | over 70% | 2024 |
UNCTAD gives this share without naming the platforms or a year for the data; 2024 is the year it was published. It is a global share, not a US dollar figure.
Over time
US internet ad revenue, every year since 2016
| Year | Revenue | Change from prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $72.6B | +21.8% |
| 2017 | $88.3B | +21.4% |
| 2018 | $107.5B | +21.8% |
| 2019 | $124.6B | +15.9% |
| 2020 | $139.8B | +12.2% |
| 2021 | $189.3B | +35.4% |
| 2022 | $209.7B | +11% |
| 2023 | $225.0B | +7% |
| 2024 | $258.6B | +14.9% |
| 2025 | $294.6B | +13.9% |
Revenue as restated in later reports. Growth is as each year's report first stated it, so it can differ slightly from the restated values (2016 was first reported as $72.5B and 2017 as $88.0B; the FY2018 report restated 2017 to include podcast revenue).
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| $294.6B | 2025 | IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report | Revenue reported by US ad sellers plus public company data; all formats, counted once |
| $78B | 2025 | IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report | Revenue reported by ad sellers; includes CTV, social video, online video and short-form video |
| over $80B | 2026 projection | IAB with Guideline and Advertiser Perceptions | Agency billing data plus a buyer survey; growth of 11% implies a 2025 base below $78B, so the two methods differ |
| $53.7B | 2024 | IAB/PwC FY2024 report, retail media networks | A narrower label than 2025 commerce media ($63.4B), so the change between them is not growth |
| over 70% | 2024 | UNCTAD | Global share of digital ad revenue held by five platforms; not a US total |
Most US digital ad totals you will see fall into two groups. IAB/PwC counts revenue that companies selling ads in the US report to PwC, adds public company data, and does not audit it. It is the longest-running US series, back to 1996. Media-buying agencies and forecasters model spend from their own billing data instead, and some count only pure-play digital companies, so their totals come out different even for the same year. Even inside IAB the methods differ: its 2026 video forecast uses agency billing and a buyer survey, which is why it implies a smaller 2025 video base than the $78 billion in the revenue report. Labels change too. The 2024 report counted $53.7 billion of retail media; the 2025 report counts a wider commerce media group. Finally, format totals overlap, so adding social, search, display and video gives far more than $294.6 billion.
What it means
How to use these numbers
About $294.6 billion went into US online ads in 2025, and the total has grown near 14% two years in a row. The second of those years had no election or Olympics to lift it, so the move of ad money online has not slowed.
For a small business, the format table is the useful part. Social media grew 32.6% and video 25.4%, while search grew 11% and display 9.8%. That does not mean search stopped working. It means competition for attention is rising fastest on social feeds and video, so costs there may rise faster too. Compare your own channel mix with this one, but follow where your customers are, not the market average.
Commerce media, at $63.4 billion, matters if you sell through big retailers: their ad slots are now a channel of their own.
For marketers and journalists, quote $294.6 billion as US internet ad revenue for 2025 from IAB/PwC. Say it is seller-reported and not audited. Never add the format rows together.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), compiled by PwC: Internet Advertising Revenue Report, full year 2025
- Sample
- US only. Revenue reported to PwC by companies that sell ads online, plus public company data. PwC does not audit the figures.
- Definition
- Money that websites, apps, platforms, ad networks and email providers earn from selling ads in the US. Formats overlap.
- Released
- 16 April 2026 (press release; the full report needs a free login)
- Checked at source
- 23 October 2026, on iab.com
- Next release
- Full-year 2026 report, expected April 2027
- Last changed
- 30 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report; IAB Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Industry body
- UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Research
Change log
- 23 Oct 2026Wording corrected to match the source: social is close to, not clearly ahead of, search.
- 16 Apr 2026$294.6B FY2025 report: $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9%.
- 17 Apr 2025$258.6B FY2024 report: $258.6 billion in 2024, up 14.9%.
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FAQ
More questions people ask
Is social media advertising bigger than search in the US now?
Close. In 2025 social media ads brought in $117.7 billion against $114.2 billion for search. The formats overlap, and IAB still says search holds the largest share of revenue dollars.
Why do the formats add up to more than $294.6 billion?
One ad can count in more than one format. Social video, for example, counts in both social media and digital video. Only the $294.6 billion total counts each dollar once.
How much of US digital advertising is bought programmatically?
$162.4 billion in 2025, up 20.5% from $134.8 billion. Programmatic is a way of buying ads through automated systems, so it overlaps every format.
How fast has US digital ad revenue grown over ten years?
From $72.6 billion in 2016 to $294.6 billion in 2025, about four times as much. The fastest year was 2021, up 35%.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)). Free to cite with a link to this page.