- Qobuz’s mobile app audience reportedly grew by 202% (US) or 105% (UK), from 2024 to 2025.
- The music platform was ranked No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the US in media and entertainment.
- As a result, it has been recognized as a Digital 100 winner by data firm Similarweb.
As music lovers look to embrace analog more in 2026 (and competitor Spotify continues to take heat from ‘Slopify’ for the infestation of AI music on its site), Qobuz is apparently thriving, to the point that it’s been recognized as an annual Digital 100 winner by web analytics expert Similarweb for its massive growth. These awards present flowers to companies that showed the most significant digital growth in the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, India and Brazil.
The original high-resolution music streaming service and independently owned music download platform were ranked No. 3 among the fastest growing companies in media and entertainment in the UK and No. 2 in media and entertainment in the US.
Similarweb’s sixth annual Digital 100 report also claims that Qobuz grew its mobile app audience by 105% in the UK and 202% in the US from 2024 to 2025, according to independent company estimates.
And while ChatGPT took first place in many countries (again), it’s a big win for the exclusive French music site that prefers to do things its own way and strongly emphasizes human curation and passion, featuring expert-curated playlists and ‘Editor’s Picks’ for its recommended audio content.
Dan Mackta, CEO of Qobuz, said: “We are delighted to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing digital companies in both the UK and US in this year’s Similarweb Digital 100. Last year was a pivotal one for Qobuz, highlighted by the launch and strong adoption of Qobuz Connect, which has expanded the way our listeners enjoy high-resolution music across hi-fi devices.”
Qobuz: is it time to make the change?
Qobuz further established itself as the preferred service for audiophiles by adding high-resolution DSD and DXD downloads to its offering in October 2024. More recently, it announced a six-month artist podcast collaboration with independent music magazine, drowned in sound and added sensible and helpful initiatives like organizing their music catalog by label (rather than by a “sounds similar” algorithm) to help me find new bands I love. and helping Qobuz earn its place in my music-loving heart.
Does Qobuz care about praise? Well, the winners do not solicit or lobby for these prizes. Similarweb’s ranking is based on its own “rigorous analysis of billions of digital signals across more than 100 million businesses.” Digital 100 ranks web domains and mobile apps based on their performance over 12 months, compared to the previous 12 months.
I’m glad that Qobuz is gaining traction as a viable alternative music app to Spotify, because to me, there’s a much more human victory to celebrate here, too.
Spotify isn’t the only one facing accusations of pushing AI on its listeners: YouTube Music users feel it’s happening to them, too. And while Spotify seems to expect its loyal fans to turn a blind eye to ethical issues in music (see its recent attempt to win over Audible fans with a big audiobook update), Qobuz doubled down on its support for artists last year by publishing how much it actually pays per stream.
At just over 1.8 cents, this rate has not only been verified as the highest pay-per-stream rate in the industry, but Qobuz also claims it is “four times the industry average.”
And that’s before even touching on how former Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s reported investments in military AI company Helsing caused acts like Massive Attack to remove their entire catalog from the platform.
Is it time to make the change? The numbers suggest it is already happening. Smartphone owners are letting their devices do the talking.
The best music players for all budgets.
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