Australian Magazine Readership: Mar 26 Roy Morgan Results

Roy Morgan’s latest Australian magazine readership results cover the 12 months to March 2026, with over 14.4 million Australians aged 14+, or 62.1% of the population, reading magazines in print or online via web or app. This article focuses on print readership results, with cross-platform audience results covered separately.

The print figures below use average issue readership, or AIR, which measures the number or percentage of Australians aged 14+ who read or look into an average issue of a publication.

For publishers, the release highlights print strength in major categories, growth in specialist segments, and the readership gap between free retail magazines and paid magazine brands.

Seven magazine categories reach more than one million Australians

Roy Morgan reports that seven magazine categories now have print readership of at least one million people.

The largest category is Food & Entertainment, with readership of 6,300,000 Australians, or 27.1% of the population. It is followed by Home & Garden, read by 3,972,000 Australians, and General Interest, read by 3,949,000 Australians.

Other categories above one million readers are Mass Women’s at 2,364,000, Business, Financial & Airline at 1,437,000, Health & Family at 1,231,000, and Motoring at 1,092,000.

This gives publishers and advertisers a clearer view of where print readership remains most visible at category level. Food & Entertainment, Home & Garden and General Interest continue to sit well ahead of the rest of the market by total print audience.

Free retail magazines lead total print readership

The largest individual print magazine audiences in the Roy Morgan table belong to free retail magazines.

Coles Magazine is listed with print readership of 4,437,000, ahead of Fresh Ideas from Woolworths on 4,084,000. Bunnings Magazine is the third most widely read free magazine, with print readership of 1,741,000.

Roy Morgan notes that a methodology revision in December 2024 means the figures for Coles Magazine and Fresh Ideas are not directly comparable year-on-year.

For publishers, the readership of these titles highlights the importance of retail environment, regular shopping behaviour and practical utility in driving magazine readership.

Three paid magazines reach more than one million readers

Roy Morgan identifies Better Homes and Gardens as Australia’s most widely read paid magazine, with print readership of 1,624,000.

It is followed by The Australian Women’s Weekly on 1,199,000, up 1.6% on a year ago, and National Geographic on 1,024,000.

The next three paid titles listed by Roy Morgan are House & Garden on 731,000, up 3.1%; Australian Geographic on 602,000, up 23.7%; and Woman’s Day on 586,000.

The paid magazine rankings show that substantial paid print audiences still exist, but the one-million-plus readership tier is concentrated among a small number of established magazine brands.

Home & Garden shows broad-based readership strength

Home & Garden is one of the most notable categories in the March 2026 release. Roy Morgan reports that the category is read by 3,972,000 Australians, or 17.1% of the population.

The category also shows broad-based title growth, with 11 of 13 magazines increasing readership year-on-year.

Within Home & Garden, Bunnings Magazine has readership of 1,741,000, while Better Homes and Gardens remains the most widely read paid title in the category at 1,624,000.

Other Home & Garden titles with readership growth include House & Garden up 3.1% to 731,000, Home Beautiful up 22.3% to 414,000, Country Style up 37% to 312,000, Vogue Living up 18.5% to 262,000, Organic Gardener up 31.9% to 199,000, Belle up 57.1% to 192,000, Grand Designs Australia up 20.5% to 176,000, Home Design up 43.8% to 146,000, Good Organic Gardening up 17.1% to 139,000, and Australian Country up 66.4% to 121,000.

For publishers, this is one of the more commercially useful parts of the release because the growth is spread across multiple titles rather than concentrated in a single brand.

Specialist interest categories record growth

Roy Morgan reports readership increases across several specialist magazine categories.

Motoring magazines increased by 19.1% to 1,092,000 readers, with all five magazines in the category increasing readership. Roy Morgan lists Street Machine at 374,000, Just Cars at 310,000, 4X4 Australia at 293,000, Wheels at 284,000, and Unique Cars at 261,000.

Sports magazines increased by 17.4% to 585,000 readers, with growth for Golf Australia and Australian Golf Digest.

Computing, Gaming & Info Tech magazines increased by 10.3% to 274,000. Men’s Lifestyle magazines more than doubled to 80,000, with Roy Morgan attributing the increase to Esquire Australia.

Health & Family magazines reached 1,231,000 readers, up 1.2%, while Women’s Lifestyle magazines increased by 25% to 503,000.

These category movements are useful for publishers with specialist-interest brands because they show measurable print audience growth in several enthusiast and lifestyle segments.

Business, Financial & Airline magazines remain a sizeable category

Business, Financial & Airline magazines are read by 1,437,000 Australians, up 4.7% on a year ago.

Within the category, Qantas Magazine increased by 10.6% to 580,000 readers, Forbes Australia increased by 29.8% to 371,000, and Money Magazine increased by 22.7% to 219,000.

For premium, business and advertiser-led publishers, this is an important part of the release. It shows continued print readership in a category that is often commercially attractive to advertisers.

Mass Women’s remains large, with mixed title movement

Mass Women’s magazines are read by 2,364,000 Australians, making the category the fourth-largest by print readership.

Several titles in the category remain among the most widely read magazines in Australia. Woman’s Day has readership of 586,000, Take 5 Bumper Monthly and That’s Life! Mega Monthly both have readership of 481,000, New Idea has readership of 460,000, Take 5 has readership of 401,000, and That’s Life! has readership of 378,000.

However, Roy Morgan’s data also shows year-on-year declines for several of these titles. Woman’s Day declined by 13.5%, New Idea by 4.9%, Take 5 by 6.0%, That’s Life! by 13.8%, That’s Life! Mega Monthly by 5.9%, and Take 5 Bumper Monthly by 1.6%.

For publishers, the Mass Women’s data is worth reading carefully. The category still delivers significant print audience reach, while the title-level movements show pressure across several major weekly and real-life brands.

Travel and premium lifestyle titles also stand out

Several travel and premium lifestyle titles recorded strong year-on-year readership growth.

Roy Morgan lists Australian Traveller up 59.6% to 229,000 and Vacations & Travel up 81.9% to 201,000. In premium and lifestyle publishing, Australian Gourmet Traveller increased by 43.2% to 333,000, T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine increased by 73.9% to 116,000, and Vogue Australia increased by 6.0% to 445,000.

These are title-level movements rather than category-wide conclusions, but they are still relevant for publishers operating in travel, luxury, lifestyle and premium advertising markets.

Around half of comparable top titles increased readership

Roy Morgan reports that 12 of the top 25 magazines increased readership over the last year.

Because Coles Magazine and Fresh Ideas had a methodology revision in December 2024, Roy Morgan treats only 23 of the top 25 as directly comparable year-on-year. On that basis, around half of the comparable top magazines increased their readership.

This is the most appropriate way to describe overall growth from the release. Roy Morgan does not provide one single overall growth rate for total magazine print readership.

Print and cross-platform readership should be read separately

Roy Morgan notes that the print readership estimates do not include additional Australians who read publications in digital form online, via web, mobile or app.

It also notes that cross-platform reach is greater than average issue reach because it includes additional readers and covers a four-week period rather than an average issue.

For publishers, this distinction matters. Print readership, digital readership and cross-platform reach are different measures and should not be blended when presenting audience performance to advertisers or internal stakeholders.

A separate post will look at Roy Morgan’s March 2026 cross-platform audience results, including magazine reach across print, web and app.

What publishers should take from the March 2026 data

The March 2026 Roy Morgan results give publishers several practical ways to read the print market.

The strongest individual print audiences are attached to everyday retail environments, led by Coles Magazine, Fresh Ideas and Bunnings Magazine. These titles benefit from regular customer behaviour, practical content and high-frequency distribution.

Home & Garden is one of the clearest category stories in the release. The category reaches 3,972,000 Australians, and 11 of its 13 measured titles increased readership year-on-year. That breadth matters for publishers because the growth appears across mainstream, premium, gardening, design and country lifestyle titles.

Paid magazine readership is concentrated among a small number of long-established brands. Better Homes and Gardens, The Australian Women’s Weekly and National Geographic are the only paid titles above one million readers, while several other paid titles recorded meaningful year-on-year growth.

Specialist categories also deserve attention. Motoring, Sports, Business, Financial & Airline, Health & Family, Women’s Lifestyle, Computing, Gaming & Info Tech, and Men’s Lifestyle all recorded readership increases. The common feature across these categories is a clear reader interest area that can be defined for advertisers, retailers and subscribers.

Mass Women’s remains one of the largest print categories, with 2,364,000 readers, but several major weekly and real-life titles declined year-on-year.

For publishers and advertisers, the March 2026 release is most useful as a category-by-category read. It shows where print continues to attract large audiences, where readership is growing, and where title-level movement needs closer attention.