ABC Q3 2025 Magazines: Custom the star of the show
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) circulation for July to September 2025 (Quarter 3) has been released for magazines with the Custom category continuing its good run from Q2 2025, but the Business to Business category has faltered this quarter.
20 Nov 2025
Custom magazines are the star of the ABC Q3 2025 for magazines (Lesley Svenson @ Bizcommunity)
Consumer magazines
A number of publications in this category had double-figure increases on the previous quarter. This, together with numerous publications showing single-figure increases, was enough to limit the total decline on the previous quarter to 0.4%.
The category was also able to contain the decline on the prior year to 3.5%.
Standouts include Fast Company, Conde Nast House & Garden, Joburg Style, Your Pregnancy and Baby, SA Rugby, and Glamour as well as newcomers from Q2 2025, Women’s Health and Men’s Health.
However, Q2 2025 newcomer Farm.co.za decline on the previous quarter.
Farmer's Weekly continued its increases from Q2 2025.
| Publication | |||||
| Jewish Life | Mtly | 8,385 | 8,385 | -0.6% | -0.5% |
| Val de Vie Magazine | 2xA | 13,648 | 14,648 | No Issue | 4.7% |
| Business and News | |||||
| BusinessBrief | AltM | 0 | No Issue | ||
| Fast Company | Q | 2,987 | 4,258 | 112.2% | No Issue |
| Financial Mail | Wkly, Th | 2,851 | 17,552 | 0.9% | -2.7% |
| Forbes Africa | AltM | 3,996 | 11,516 | -3.4% | 5.9% |
| SA Real Estate Investor Magazine | Mtly | 15,651 | 15,651 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| The Big Issue Magazine | 11xA | 0 | Resigned | ||
| Conservation and Wildlife | |||||
| African Birdlife | AltM | 548 | 6,332 | 6.6% | -15.4% |
| Family Interest | |||||
| Huisgenoot | Wkly, Th | 2,944 | 66,793 | -4.2% | -12.2% |
| Plus 50 | 6xA | 250 | 3,937 | 2.5% | -12.4% |
| You | Wkly, Th | 2,638 | 31,620 | -6.0% | -11.2% |
| Farming | |||||
| Farm.co.za | AltM | 8,050 | 8,050 | -1.3% | New Member |
| Farmer's Weekly | Wkly, Fr | 2,494 | 7,902 | 20.9% | 44.8% |
| Grond tot Mond | Q | 24,394 | 24,394 | 0.5% | 5.4% |
| Landbouweekblad | F | 192 | 11,611 | -0.6% | -12.7% |
| Marktoe! | Mtly | 13,918 | 13,918 | -5.0% | 4.6% |
| Health & Wellbeing | |||||
| Grow to Eat | 3xA | 0 | No Issue | No Issue | |
| Home | |||||
| Conde Nast House & Garden | 6xA | 4,296 | 8,471 | 27.4% | -9.6% |
| Essential Flavours | Q | 6,920 | 8,461 | 5.4% | 22.6% |
| Food&Home Magazine | Q | 4,643 | 14,748 | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| Lose It, | 6xA | 0 | Discontinued | No Issue | |
| SA Home Owner | 11xA | 3,791 | 14,362 | -2.9% | 1.1% |
| Sarie Kos / Food | Q | 0 | No Issue | ||
| The Gardener / Die Tuinier | Mtly | 4,820 | 29,525 | 9.0% | 3.9% |
| Tuis Home | 8xA | 1,550 | 46,311 | -12.4% | -18.1% |
| Visi | 6xA | 1,431 | 8,912 | 6.1% | -6.3% |
| Leisure | |||||
| Joburg Style | 3xA | 11,400 | 11,400 | 28.1% | New Member |
| Wanted | Mtly | 15,325 | 15,325 | 0.0% | New Member |
| YourLuxury Africa | Mtly | 19,756 | 19,756 | -0.2% | 0.6% |
| YourLuxury Africa - Annual | Ann | 22,650 | 23,066 | New Member | |
| Male | |||||
| GQ | 6xA | 2,899 | 4,434 | 16.5% | 5.0% |
| Men's Health.. | AltM | 2,756 | 11,294 | 11.8% | New Member |
| Motoring | |||||
| Car | Mtly | 4,322 | 23,965 | 0.0% | -23.1% |
| Driven Magazine | Mtly | 6,141 | 6,141 | 2.5% | -7.8% |
| Parenting | |||||
| Baba & Kleuter | Q | 205 | 11,217 | No Issue | -1.8% |
| Baby's and Beyond | Q | 12,959 | 13,508 | 1.4% | 1.7% |
| Your Pregnancy and Baby | AltM | 1,247 | 5,977 | 20.9% | 12.7% |
| Sport and Hobby | |||||
| Compleat Golfer | Mtly | 0 | No Issue | ||
| Kickoff Magazine | Mtly | 10,733 | 20,972 | New Member | |
| SA Rugby | Mtly | 1,306 | 3,370 | 20.8% | -26.0% |
| Travel, Tourism & Hospitality | |||||
| Cape Etc | 3xA | 1,211 | 1,825 | -75.2% | -75.9% |
| Getaway | Mtly | 1,707 | 7,978 | 1.6% | -22.1% |
| go! Drive & Camp and Weg! Ry & Sleep | AltM | 25 | 20,756 | -11.5% | -3.8% |
| Inbound SA | Mtly | 9,946 | 9,946 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Weg / Go Platteland | Q | 120 | 10,534 | -32.0% | -24.3% |
| Weg/Go | AltM | 367 | 30,160 | -12.2% | -22.9% |
| Woman's General | |||||
| BONA Magazine | Mtly | 1,131 | 8,075 | -26.9% | -21.1% |
| Fairlady | AltM | 1,375 | 21,903 | -10.8% | -18.9% |
| Garden & Home Magazine | Mtly | 506 | 10,813 | No Issue | 10.0% |
| Glamour, | 6xA | 5,079 | 6,726 | 22.3% | -45.2% |
| Ignited Woman, | AltM | 0 | 1,255 | New Member | |
| Kuier | F | 1,178 | 31,931 | -6.9% | -19.8% |
| Rooi Rose Magazine, | Mtly | 6,224 | 24,449 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| Sarie | AltM | 665 | 47,089 | -0.2% | -16.9% |
| True Love | Q | 109 | 5,767 | -15.7% | -47.6% |
| Women & Home Magazine | Mtly | 5,879 | 19,238 | -1.2% | -1.5% |
| Women's Health.. | AltM | 3,537 | 11,550 | 12.3% | New Member |
| Woman's Special | |||||
| Bruidsgids | Ann | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Wedding Guide | Ann | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Total | 281,155 | 817,777 | -0.4% | -3.5% | |
B2B magazines
In a complete turnaround from its excellent increases in Q2 2025, this category had declined in total on the previous quarter and prior year.
With Fire Protection the only publication in double figures, the handful of increases on the previous quarter, were all in single figures.
| Agricultural | |||||
| Publication | Frequency | Free circulation | Total circulation | % change quarter | % change year |
| OVK Nuus/News | 4xA | 4,800 | 4,800 | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| SA Graan / Grain | Mtly | 16,474 | 16,474 | -20.1% | -18.2% |
| Stockfarm | Mtly | 0 | Resigned | ||
| Veeplaas | Mtly | 0 | Resigned | ||
| Wineland | Mtly | 2,868 | 2,914 | 0.5% | -7.6% |
| Architecture | |||||
| Floors in Africa, | 7xA | 11,496 | 11,496 | -4.8% | -10.1% |
| Leading Architect & Design | 6xA | 5,156 | 5,160 | -2.3% | -0.9% |
| To Build | 4xA | 8,179 | 9,745 | -1.0% | -0.4% |
| Walls & Roofs in Africa, | 7xA | 11,496 | 11,496 | -4.8% | -10.1% |
| Automotive | |||||
| SA Treads | Q | 4,032 | 4,032 | No Issue | 12.3% |
| Civil Construction | |||||
| Civil Engineering.; | Mtly | 15,151 | 15,159 | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| Construction World | Mtly | 13,050 | 13,050 | -21.5% | -23.5% |
| IMIESA | 10xA | 10,652 | 10,652 | -0.2% | -1.4% |
| Spec Handbooks | Ann | 0 | No Issue | ||
| Communications | |||||
| Future SA | 4xA | 7,948 | 8,474 | No Issue | 2.4% |
| Service | Q | 4,964 | 4,964 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Electrical Engineering | |||||
| Electricity & Control | Mtly | 7,638 | 7,638 | -24.6% | -27.4% |
| ESI Africa | 2xA | 0 | No Issue | ||
| Sparks Electrical News | Mtly | 10,993 | 10,993 | -23.8% | -26.0% |
| Engineering - Other | |||||
| Capital Equipment News | Mtly | 8,313 | 8,313 | -30.6% | -38.3% |
| Dataweek | Mtly | 2,712 | 2,712 | -2.1% | -3.2% |
| Go2Energy Technical Journal, | 2xA | 0 | No Issue | ||
| MechChem Africa | AltM | 8,569 | 8,569 | -19.9% | -23.0% |
| Motion Control | Q | 1,559 | 1,559 | -7.3% | -7.4% |
| Plumbing Africa | Mtly | 10,510 | 10,535 | -3.1% | -13.5% |
| Refrigeration and Airconditioning | Mtly | 6,330 | 6,340 | 7.5% | -10.7% |
| SA Instrumentation & Control | Mtly | 3,409 | 3,409 | -4.6% | -14.1% |
| Water & Sanitation Africa | 6xA | 8,417 | 8,417 | 3.2% | 4.8% |
| Health and Wellbeing | |||||
| Fire Protection | Q | 2,537 | 2,537 | 20.5% | 198.5% |
| Medical Chronicle | 11xA | 35,322 | 35,322 | -2.2% | 9.1% |
| MIMS | Mtly | 0 | Resigned | ||
| Modern Medicine Magazine | 6xA | 3,352 | 3,805 | 4.1% | -10.7% |
| SMART Security Solutions | 8xA | 2,576 | 2,576 | -38.0% | -35.6% |
| South African Pharmaceutical & Cosmetic Review | 11xA | 2,652 | 2,655 | -0.8% | -8.8% |
| The Specialist Forum Journal | 11xA | 31,190 | 31,190 | 4.3% | 8.5% |
| Industry | |||||
| Analytical Reporter | 6xA | 4,259 | 4,259 | -4.3% | -13.1% |
| Cold Link Africa | 8xA | 3,813 | 3,817 | 4.2% | -6.1% |
| Eastern Cape Business | Ann | 0 | No Issue | No Issue | |
| KwaZulu Natal Business | Ann | 0 | No Issue | No Issue | |
| Lighting in Design | Q | 0 | Ceased Publishing | ||
| Northern Cape Business | Ann | 0 | No Issue | No Issue | |
| Opportunity (Exploring Business Prospects in SA) | Q | 4,957 | 4,957 | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| South African Food Review | 11xA | 3,141 | 3,150 | -2.7% | -5.7% |
| The Journal of African Business | Q | 4,964 | 4,964 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Information and Computer Technology | |||||
| Brainstorm | 11xA | 3,967 | 7,505 | -0.5% | -8.9% |
| Management | |||||
| African Decisions | Q | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Black Business Quarterly | Q | 33,271 | 33,301 | 0.6% | 7.2% |
| Blue Chip, | Q | 7,259 | 7,259 | -2.7% | -2.7% |
| Business Day Earth | Ann | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Business Day Empowerment | Ann | 0 | Terminated | ||
| ESG - Future of Sustainabilty | Ann | 16,517 | 16,517 | 2.8% | 1620.5% |
| FA News | AltM | 2,750 | 2,892 | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| Leadership | Mtly | 35,887 | 36,011 | -0.2% | 10.5% |
| Money Marketing | Mtly | 6,201 | 6,201 | -0.7% | 5.1% |
| Public Sector Leaders, | Mtly | 15,536 | 15,536 | 9.1% | 818.7% |
| South African Business Intergrator | Q | 9,698 | 9,751 | -1.0% | -0.8% |
| Top 500 : South Africa's Best Managed Companies | Ann | 18,527 | 18,527 | 3.3% | 3816.9% |
| Top Women Leaders, | Ann | 15,913 | 15,913 | -13.9% | Changed Sector |
| Mining & Quarrying | |||||
| African Mines Handbook | Ann | 0 | No Issue | ||
| African Mining Inc. Mining Mirror | Mtly | 21,418 | 21,458 | -1.0% | -13.3% |
| Earthbroker | Mtly | 0 | Suspended | ||
| Engineering News & Mining Weekly | Wkly, Fr | 20,259 | 22,430 | 4.6% | 31.6% |
| Mining Review Africa. | 6xA | 4,670 | 4,670 | -1.6% | -2.5% |
| Modern Mining | Mtly | 8,729 | 8,729 | -14.1% | -15.4% |
| Modern Quarrying | Q | 3,927 | 3,927 | -43.4% | -45.9% |
| Retail | |||||
| DIY And Industrial Trade News | Mtly | 7,697 | 7,697 | -5.6% | -10.9% |
| Pharmacy Magazine (former Frontshop) | 11xA | 23,799 | 23,799 | 1.3% | 21.8% |
| Supermarket & Retailer | Mtly | 21,370 | 21,370 | -1.0% | 15.3% |
| Transport and Logistics | |||||
| Freight News Features | Mtly | 5,194 | 5,338 | -0.9% | 5.2% |
| Total | 566,068 | 574,964 | -6.7% | -3.2% | |
Custom magazines
The custom category continued its good performance from Q2, which saw a total increase on the previous quarter and prior year, with increases of over one percent on the previous quarter and nearly 17% on the prior year in Q3 2025.
Sea Rescue had an impressive double-digit increase, but the category’s consistent single-digit increases is what led to its positive results.
| Farming | |||||
| Publication | Frequency | Free circulation | Total circulation | % change quarter | % change year |
| Dairy Mail, The | Mtly | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Wolboer / Wool Farmer | AltM | 0 | Terminated | ||
| Health & Wellbeing | |||||
| SA Pharmaceutical Journal | 10xA | 0 | No Issues | ||
| South African Medical Journal | Mtly | 12,118 | 12,118 | 2.4% | 0.8% |
| Home | |||||
| Living Space | Mtly | 0 | 32,812 | -16.0% | -13.2% |
| My Kitchen | Mtly | 4,843 | 114,754 | 3.6% | 30.1% |
| Industry Specific | |||||
| J S E | Q | 11,795 | 12,756 | -13.8% | -13.4% |
| Sea Rescue | 3xA | 18,170 | 18,170 | 32.8% | -7.2% |
| Servamus | Mtly | 65 | 5,411 | -1.8% | -11.1% |
| The Journal of the SAIMM | Mtly | 2,519 | 2,519 | 6.3% | 21.9% |
| In-flight | |||||
| In Flight Magazine | Mtly | 70,089 | 70,089 | -19.5% | 26.9% |
| Leisure | |||||
| Lush Fine Living | Q | 0 | New Member | ||
| Private Edition | 4xA | 9,972 | 9,972 | -0.5% | -0.2% |
| Male | |||||
| Man | Mtly | 3,300 | 84,153 | -1.0% | 23.1% |
| Tech | Mtly | 0 | Discontinued | ||
| Professional | |||||
| Accountancy SA | Mtly | 66,921 | 66,921 | 0.0% | -0.5% |
| De Rebus | 11xA | 59,165 | 59,169 | 0.1% | -0.9% |
| Retail | |||||
| Club Magazine | Mtly | 6,936 | 296,036 | 2.2% | 25.6% |
| Jet Club | 7xA | 17,000 | 332,005 | 8.5% | 37.2% |
| Sport and Hobby | |||||
| Game & Hunt/Wild & Jag | Mtly | 65,064 | 65,448 | 0.1% | -2.0% |
| SoccerClub | Mtly | 4,799 | 73,036 | 3.0% | 40.4% |
| SportsClub | Mtly | 2,985 | 113,036 | 0.5% | 17.7% |
| Wildland Magazine | Mtly | 74,917 | 74,917 | -0.1% | -12.4% |
| Travel, Tourism & Hospitality | |||||
| Premier | Mtly | 6,989 | 6,989 | -5.2% | -9.3% |
| Rove SA | Q | 12,222 | 13,100 | -1.5% | 1.3% |
| Woman's General | |||||
| Balanced Life | Mtly | 3,482 | 59,568 | 7.1% | 29.1% |
| Youth | |||||
| ClubX | Mtly | 6,000 | 129,827 | 3.0% | 21.8% |
| Kids Super Club | Mtly | 3,105 | 100,014 | 5.9% | 32.8% |
| Total | 462,456 | 1,752,820 | 1.1% | 16.7% | |
Free magazines
Free magazines had a total decrease on the previous quarter but this decrease was under one percent. Most decreases were incremental or 0% but there was one decrease in double figures.
The category had an increase on the prior year of over four percent in this quarter.
| Publication | Frequency | Total circulation | % change quarter | % change year |
| Botswana Advertiser | F | 99,965 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Get It (Ballito to Umhlanga | Mtly | 11,975 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Get It (Bloemfontein | Mtly | 6,890 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Get It (Highway | Mtly | 11,883 | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Get It (Jo'burg South | Mtly | 11,750 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Get It (Jo'burg West | Mtly | 10,676 | 0.7% | -1.9% |
| Get It (Lowveld | Mtly | 6,400 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Get It (Northern Suburbs Joburg | Mtly | 11,866 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Get It (Pretoria | Mtly | 11,689 | -1.0% | 0.2% |
| Umbele Magazine | 6xA | 7,839 | -17.5% | |
| Total | 190,933 | -0.8% | 4.2% |
Tables by Andre Rademan © Bizcommunity
About Danette Breitenbach
Danette Breitenbach is a marketing & media editor at Bizcommunity.com. Previously she freelanced in the marketing and media sector, including for Bizcommunity. She was editor and publisher of AdVantage, the publication that served the marketing, media and advertising industry in southern Africa. She has worked extensively in print media, mainly B2B. She has a Masters in Financial Journalism from Wits.
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