Key figures from the graphic
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (2023 to 24) is first at $2.08 billion from 149 shows.
- Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour is second at $1.15 billion and U2’s 360° Tour third at $1.03 billion. These are the only three above $1 billion.
- Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road played the most shows, 330, and ranks fourth at $972 million.
- Coldplay is the only act with two tours in the top 10.
- All figures are from the graphic by Lemonly, which adjusts gross revenue for inflation to November 2024 and cites Billboard, Variety and The New York Times.
Highest grossing tours of all time in text
The graphic is titled “Top-selling concert tours”, subtitled “Top 10 highest-grossing concert tours of all time”. Each tour is drawn as a microphone whose length shows its gross, with a ticket icon giving the number of shows (legend: “= Number of shows”). The last column below is not on the graphic. It is the unadjusted gross from Lemonly’s published source data [2].
| Rank | Artist | Tour | Years | Shows | Gross, adjusted for inflation (graphic) | Gross at the time (Lemonly source data) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | 2023 to 24 | 149 | $2.08B | $2,077,618,725 |
| 2 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres Tour | 2022 to 25 | 175 | $1.15B | $1,145,056,215 |
| 3 | U2 | 360° Tour | 2009 to 11 | 110 | $1.03B | $736,421,586 |
| 4 | Elton John | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 2018 to 23 | 330 | $972M | $939,100,000 |
| 5 | Ed Sheeran | Divide Tour | 2017 to 19 | 255 | $957M | $776,200,000 |
| 6 | The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | 2005 to 07 | 144 | $849M | $558,255,524 |
| 7 | Guns N’ Roses | Not In This Lifetime… Tour | 2016 to 19 | 158 | $721M | $584,200,000 |
| 8 | Coldplay | A Head Full of Dreams Tour | 2016 to 17 | 149 | $673M | $523,033,675 |
| 9 | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | 2008 to 10 | 165 | $639.4M | $441,900,000 |
| 10 | Harry Styles | Love On Tour | 2021 to 23 | 169 | $639.1M | $617,325,000 |
Footnotes on the graphic: “Gross revenue adjusted for inflation (Nov 2024)”, “Full data available at lemonly.com/top-tours” and “Sources: Billboard, Variety, The New York Times”. The illustration on the right shows a performer in a sequined bodysuit with a gold guitar, and the corner badge reads “created by Lemonly”.
Why the order changes with inflation
Lemonly ranks the tours by gross revenue adjusted to November 2024 prices, using the consumer price index for the year each tour ended [2]. That lifts older tours. U2’s 360° Tour took $736 million at the time and $1.03 billion in 2024 money, which moves it above Elton John, Ed Sheeran and later tours [2].
Ranked by unadjusted gross, as Lemonly’s own text version lists them, Guns N’ Roses ($584 million) sits above The Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang ($558 million) [1]. Adjusted for inflation, the order swaps: $849 million for the Stones against $721 million for Guns N’ Roses [2].
Gross per show varies widely. Lemonly’s data puts the Eras Tour at about $13.9 million a show and Elton John’s farewell tour at about $2.9 million a show, adjusted [2].
Notes on this infographic
- Coldplay, A Head Full of Dreams. The graphic shows 149 shows. Lemonly’s source data and its text version both give 114 [1][2].
- AC/DC, Black Ice. The graphic and Lemonly’s source data give 165 shows; Lemonly’s text version says 167 [1][2].
- Eras Tour. Lemonly’s text version rounds the gross to $2.0 billion; the graphic says $2.08 billion and the source data $2,077,618,725 [1][2]. Wikipedia says the tour ended in December 2024 with $2.07 billion, the first tour to reach $2 billion [3].
- Ongoing tour. Lemonly marks Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour (2022 to 25) as ongoing when the data was compiled, so its final total is not the figure shown [2].
- Data date. Grosses and the inflation adjustment are as of November 2024. Tours since then are not included.
Questions about the highest grossing tours
What is the highest grossing tour of all time?
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Wikipedia records that it finished in December 2024 with $2.07 billion, the first tour to pass $2 billion [3]. On this graphic it is $2.08 billion adjusted to November 2024 prices.
Is Coldplay’s tour bigger than Taylor Swift’s?
By number of shows, yes on this graphic: 175 for Music of the Spheres against 149 for the Eras Tour. By gross, no: $1.15 billion against $2.08 billion. Wikipedia notes that Coldplay’s tour was the first to officially report $1 billion, in August 2024, although Pollstar estimated the Eras Tour reached it first in 2023 [3].
Which concert tour has played the most shows?
Among the top 10 highest grossing tours, Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road (2018 to 23) played the most shows, 330. It ranks fourth at $972 million adjusted for inflation. Ed Sheeran's Divide Tour is next with 255 shows. Lemonly's data puts Elton John's tour at about $2.9 million a show, against about $13.9 million a show for the Eras Tour [2].
How much did U2's 360° Tour gross adjusted for inflation?
U2's 360° Tour (2009 to 11) grossed $1.03 billion adjusted to November 2024 prices, third on the list. It took $736 million at the time [2]. Lemonly adjusts each tour using the consumer price index for the year it ended, which lifts older tours and moves U2 above Elton John, Ed Sheeran and later tours [2].
Sources
- Lemonly, Top 10 Highest-Grossing Concert Tours of All Time, the original post for this graphic.
- Lemonly, source data spreadsheet linked from the original post.
- Wikipedia, List of highest-grossing concert tours.
- Lemonly, lemonly.com, maker of the graphic.
Last reviewed 29 October 2026
