What are the Top 10 highest grossing tours of all time?

11 October 2023, 09:13

Taylor Swift announces The Eras Tour concert film with trailer

By Sam Prance

Here are all the highest grossing tours of all time - but do they include Beyoncé, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift?

Every year has its fair share of iconic tours but what are the top 10 highest grossing tours ever? Did your fave make the cut?

In 2023 alone, we've seen huge artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran put on some of the biggest tours of their careers to date. How much have they grossed though and how do they compare to tours by legends like Madonna, Elton John and The Rolling Stones? Who ranks among the top 10 highest grossing tours of all time?

We've put together a full breakdown of the 10 highest grossing tours in music history. We've also included details like how many shows they did and how much they've made on average per show.

Bookmark this page and we'll update it as and when new artists enter the ranking. Is Beyoncé part of it? What about Taylor Swift? Here's what we know.

How much did Taylor Swift make on The Eras Tour?

Before we get into the top 10, it's worth mentioning that Taylor Swift is yet to reveal any data for her ongoing Eras Tour. With 146 sold out stadium dates with recording breaking attendance figures at almost every date, it seems all but certain that Taylor will enter the top 10 highest grossing tours of all time by the time that the tour ends.

10) How much did Coldplay make on the A Head Full of Dreams Tour?

Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams Tour - $523,033,675

When Coldplay went on tour in 2016 and 2017 in support of their seventh studio album A Head Full of Dreams, they sold out stadiums all around the world. Over the course of 114 shows, the band had an average gross of $4,588,015 per show and it isn't even their highest grossing tour to date.

9) How much did The Rolling Stones make on the No Filter Tour?

The Rolling Stones - No Filter Tour - $546,500,000

With just 58 shows, The Rolling Stones' No Filter Tour truly made history when it became one of the top 10 highest grossing tours of time. The band only performed in Europe and North America between 2017 and 2021 but still grossed an amazing $546,500,000 with a huge average gross of $9,422,414 per show.

8) How much did The Rolling Stones make on the A Bigger Bang Tour?

The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang Tour - $558,255,524

As it stands, The Rolling Stones' highest grossing tour is their 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang Tour. Together Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts performed 146 shows with an average gross of $3,876,774 per show. The tour setlist included all of The Rolling Stones biggest hits alongside tracks from their A Bigger Bang album.

7) How much did Guns N' Roses make on the Not in This Lifetime... Tour?

Guns N' Roses - Not in This Lifetime Tour - $584,200,000

Beating The Rolling Stones are Guns N' Roses with their Not in This Lifetime... Tour. Featuring many of their most beloved songs, the tour ran for 158 shows between 2016 and 2019 and it had an average gross of $3,697,468 per show.

6) How much did Beyoncé make on the Renaissance World Tour?

Beyoncé - Renaissance World Tour - $592,388,129

Beyoncé grossed a huge total of $592,388,129 across all 56 Renaissance World Tour shows. This makes it the sixth highest grossing tour ever with a record-breaking average gross of $10,578,359 per show. Beyoncé has doubled the record she set with the Formation World Tour as the highest grossing tour of all time by a Black artist.

READ MORE: Beyoncé Renaissance Tour setlist: Every song Beyoncé plays on the Renaissance World Tour

5) How much did Harry Styles make on the Love On Tour?

Harry Styles - Love On Tour - $617,300,000

Harry Styles's Love On Tour is one of the most recent additions to the highest grossing tours of all time list and it's one of the only tours on the list that started out as an arena tour before expanding to stadiums due to overwhelming demand. Between 2021 and 2023, Harry performed 169 shows with an average gross of $3,652,663 per show.

4) How much did Coldplay make on the Music of the Spheres World Tour?

Coldplay - Music of the Spheres World Tour - $617,822,656

Coldplay are currently yet to finish their Music of The Spheres World Tour so this position is far from fixed. For the moment, the band has reported data for 107 shows out of 165 with an average gross of $5,774,044. With concerts until September 2024, it's possible that it will become the first tour to gross over $1 billion but Taylor Swift may outgross them.

3) How much did U2 make with their U2 360° Tour?

U2 - U2 360° Tour - $736,421,586

U2 currently sit at number 3 on the list with their infamous U2 360° Tour. Held between 2009 and 2011, it was the highest grossing tour of all time for almost a decade. Together with his band, Bono sold out 110 shows with an average gross of $6,694,742 per show. The tour was in support of U2's 12th studio album No Line on the Horizon.

2) How much did Ed Sheeran make on the ÷ Tour?

Ed Sheeran - ÷ Tour - $776,200,000

Like Harry Styles' Love On Tour, Ed Sheeran's ÷ Tour initially took place in arenas. However, the ÷ era was so big that it was not long before Ed was selling out stadiums in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa. Over the course of three years, Ed performed 255 concerts with an average gross of $3,043,922 per show.

1) How much did Elton John make on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour?

Elton John - Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour - $939,100,000

In first place is Elton John's historic Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which ran from 2018 to 2023. The show acted as the ultimate greatest hits tour featuring all of Elton's most famous songs alongside his recent hits with Dua Lipa and Britney Spears. Over the course of the tour, Elton did 330 shows with an average gross of $2,845,758 per show.

Will Elton add another leg to the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour? Will Taylor and Coldplay beat him? Only time will tell.

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