Despite the digital revolution, magazines continue to hold their ground in Australia. According to the Roy Morgan Australian Readership report for the 12 months to September 2024, over 14 million Australians aged 14 and above (65.6% of the population) still engage with magazines, either in print or online via the web or an app.

The report reveals an increase in print readership for six magazine categories compared to the previous year, led by Home & Garden and General Interest categories. The most widely read magazine category is Food & Entertainment Magazines, boasting a readership of 7,408,000. Following closely is the Home & Garden Magazines category, which saw a 0.8% increase in its print readership from the previous year, reaching a total category print readership of 4,286,000.

General Interest Magazines also experienced growth, with an increase of 1.8% to 4,158,000. Australia’s most widely read paid magazine is Better Homes and Gardens, with a print readership of 1,825,000.

Australia’s two most widely read free magazines are Coles magazine and Fresh Ideas, with print readerships of 5,346,000 and 4,767,000 respectively. A total of eleven of the top 25 most widely read magazines increased their readership over the last year.

The five most read categories of magazines by print readership are Food & Entertainment, Home & Garden, General Interest, Mass Women’s, and Business, Financial & Airline. The Business, Financial & Airline magazines category saw an 8% increase in print readership to 1,418,000 (6.3% of the population) over the last year.

There was also growth in several smaller magazine categories, with the Motoring, Sports and Motoring categories all increasing their print readership in the 12 months to September 2024.