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By the numbersLast updated: November 2026

Digital agency industry statistics, 2026.

What are the most important digital agency statistics for 2026?

The most important digital agency statistics for 2026 are that North America has over 71,000 agencies and 93% say their growth engine is not strong enough.

The Agency Research Hub collects the strongest published figures here, each with its source. Promethean Research counts 200,000+ agencies worldwide, 87% of North American firms under 50 employees, and over $850 billion in spend influenced. SparkToro found just 14% of agencies call their pipeline very healthy.

Market size

How big is the digital agency industry?

Big, growing and fragmented. Promethean Research's report describes a sector that is overwhelmingly small yet influences far more spend than its own revenue suggests.

Growth and new business

How do agencies win new clients, and how well is it working?

Mostly through referrals, and not well enough. These figures explain why so many agencies stall once referrals slow, and why growing existing accounts is often the cheapest revenue available.

  • 93%

    say their growth engine is not strong enough

    93% of agencies say their growth engine isn’t strong enough, per the RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey.

    Source: RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, via Haus Advisors, Marketing Agency Industry Statistics: 2026 Benchmarks

  • 14%

    describe their sales pipeline as “very healthy”

    14% of agencies describe their sales pipeline as “very healthy,” per SparkToro’s State of Digital Agencies, 2025.

    Source: SparkToro State of Digital Agencies, 2025, via Haus Advisors, Marketing Agency Industry Statistics: 2026 Benchmarks

  • 75%

    name referrals their top new-business source

    75% of agencies say referrals are their number one new-business source, per the RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey.

    Source: RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Content Marketing Playbook

  • 1.9x

    longer tenure for referred clients

    Referred clients stay 1.9x longer than clients won through outbound or events, per Promethean Research 2026.

    Source: Promethean Research 2026, as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Account Growth Playbook

  • ~$204K

    average cost to pitch one new client

    The average cost for a non-incumbent agency to pitch one new client is about $204K, with 7 to 33 months to recover it.

    Source: ANA / 4A’s, Cost of the Pitch, 2023, as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Account Growth Playbook

  • 60 to 70%

    odds of selling to an existing client

    The probability of selling to an existing client is 60 to 70%, versus 5 to 20% for a brand-new prospect.

    Source: Marketing Metrics (Paul Farris), as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Account Growth Playbook

Buyers and AI

What does research say about agency buyers and AI?

Buyers decide early and AI adoption has passed the tipping point. Two of these studies are not agency-specific; they are included because they describe the buyers agencies sell to.

  • 33%

    have fully implemented AI

    In the 2026 Promethean report, 33% of agencies have fully implemented AI, 48.5% are exploring, and 18.5% are unsure or have no plan, down from 39.5% in 2023.

    Source: Promethean Research 2026, as summarized on timkilroy.com, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Research Hub on timkilroy.com

  • 95%

    of B2B buyers are not in market right now

    95% of B2B buyers are not in the market for what you sell at any given time; only about 5% are in a given quarter.

    Source: Ehrenberg-Bass Institute / LinkedIn B2B Institute, as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Content Marketing Playbook

  • ~70%+

    of the B2B buying journey happens before vendor contact

    About 70% or more of the B2B buying journey happens before a vendor is contacted, and buyers spend about 17% of their time with potential vendors.

    Source: Gartner, as cited by Tim Kilroy, via Tim Kilroy, Agency Content Marketing Playbook

Reading the numbers

What these statistics mean together

The numbers card: one paragraph to quote

As of 2026, Promethean Research counts more than 71,000 digital agencies in North America, up from 50,000 in its 2024 checks, and more than 200,000 worldwide. 87% of the North American firms it evaluated had fewer than 50 full-time employees. Agencies influence just over $850 billion in software, cloud and media spend. The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey found 93% of agencies say their growth engine isn't strong enough and 75% rely on referrals as their top new-business source. SparkToro's 2025 study found 14% describe their pipeline as very healthy. The Agency Research Hub reads these as one story: a crowded market where most firms grow by word of mouth and know it is not enough.

Tim Kilroy's take on the pattern

Tim Kilroy's reading is that most of these numbers describe the same root cause. Agencies grow on delivery excellence and referrals, so the commercial muscles never become systems: positioning stays implicit, the offer stays a list of services and selling runs on the founder's instinct. None of that hurts while referrals flow. The research simply shows how many agencies are one slow referral quarter away from finding out. His recommended response is to fix positioning first, then build a demand and sales process the whole team can run. Read the guide to growing past referrals for the steps.

Sources at a glance

Every statistic, its source and its year

Digital agency statistics collected by The Agency Research Hub, with the original source for each.
StatisticFigureOriginal sourceYear
North American agencies71,000+Promethean Research2026
Agencies worldwide200,000+Promethean Research2026
Firms under 50 FTE87%Promethean Research2026
Spend influenced$850B+Promethean Research2026
Growth engine not strong enough93%RSW/US Agency Survey2025
Referrals as top source75%RSW/US Agency Survey2025
Pipeline very healthy14%SparkToro, State of Digital Agencies2025
AI fully implemented33%Promethean Research2026
Average cost to pitch one client~$204KANA / 4A’s, Cost of the Pitch2023

See how these numbers fit into the digital agency research hub

FAQ

Questions about agency industry numbers

How many digital agencies are there in North America?
Over 71,000 as of 2026, according to Promethean Research's Digital Agency Industry Report. That is up from 50,000 in its 2024 checks, and the industry has grown at a 12% compound annual growth rate since 2018. Promethean puts the global count above 200,000 agencies.
How big is the average digital agency?
Most are small. Promethean Research found 87% of the 71,000 digital agencies it evaluated had fewer than 50 full-time employees. That fragmentation is why a clear position matters so much: buyers face thousands of similar-looking small firms and need a fast reason to remember one.
How much spending do digital agencies influence?
Just over $850 billion in software, cloud and media spend, according to Promethean Research. The report says that makes the agency industry strategically important far beyond its own revenue base, because agencies shape how many businesses buy technology and media.
How many agencies have adopted AI?
In Promethean Research's 2026 report, as summarized on timkilroy.com, 33% of agencies have fully implemented AI, 48.5% are exploring and 18.5% are unsure or have no plan. The unsure share fell from 39.5% in 2023, the first year implementation outpaced hesitation by this measure.
How much does it cost an agency to pitch a new client?
About $204,000 on average for a non-incumbent agency to pitch one new client, with 7 to 33 months to recover it, according to the ANA and 4A's Cost of the Pitch study from 2023, as cited by Tim Kilroy. That is why growing existing accounts is often the cheapest growth available.
How healthy are agency sales pipelines?
Not very, by agencies' own account. SparkToro's State of Digital Agencies, 2025, as compiled by Haus Advisors, found only 14% of agencies describe their sales pipeline as "very healthy." The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey found 93% say their growth engine is not strong enough.

Read all agency owner questions in the full FAQ

Which of these numbers describes your agency?

If it is the 93% or the 75%, Tim Kilroy works with established marketing and PR agencies to build growth that does not depend on referrals.

Contact Tim Kilroy

Published by Tim Kilroy