Continuous Glucose Monitoring: How OTC Sensors Widen a USD 12.5 Billion Market
Updated: 4 days ago
Executive summary. Continuous glucose monitors began as prescription devices for people with type 1 diabetes who needed to avoid dangerous highs and lows. Over the last decade they have become one of the most successful medical technologies of the century: small sensors worn on the arm that send readings to a phone every few minutes. Now the market is widening again, to people with type 2 diabetes who do not use insulin, to pre-diabetes and to health-conscious consumers buying sensors without a prescription. Strategic Revenue Insights projects the global continuous glucose monitoring market to reach approximately USD 12.5 billion by 2033, growing at a 10.8 percent compound annual growth rate from 2025. The rising prevalence of diabetes, demand for real-time monitoring, technology advances and reimbursement are driving it. This article sets out five lessons from the device makers, digital health companies and care providers moving first, with takeaways for strategy, product, operations, channels and revenue.
The structure of the market shows where value is moving. Strategic Revenue Insights' Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market research finds that sensors are both the largest and the fastest growing component, that hospitals are the largest end user while homecare settings are the fastest growing, that diabetes management is the largest application while research is the fastest growing, and that adults are the largest age group while paediatric use is the fastest growing. North America is the largest region and Asia Pacific is the fastest growing, at a 12.3 percent rate. The research names high system cost, regulatory hurdles and competitive price pressure as challenges, and estimates that Dexcom leads with a 25 percent share, followed by Medtronic at 20 percent and Abbott at 18 percent, alongside Senseonics, Roche Diabetes Care, Insulet, Ascensia Diabetes Care, Ypsomed and others.
The leaders' results show strong growth and a new consumer channel. Dexcom reported 2025 revenue of about USD 4.66 billion, up roughly 16 percent, and guided to USD 5.16 billion to USD 5.25 billion for 2026, according to its results and earnings call. Its over-the-counter sensor, Stelo, passed USD 100 million in revenue in its first twelve months after launch, Dexcom said in its third-quarter 2025 filing, and generated around USD 130 million in 2025.
Why the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market Is Entering a New Phase
Three structural forces are converging.
Coverage has expanded beyond insulin users. Clinical guidelines and payers have moved toward recommending continuous monitoring for more people with type 2 diabetes. SRI's research names regulatory approvals and favourable reimbursement as drivers.
Over-the-counter sensors have opened a consumer market. Non-prescription sensors let people with pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes not on insulin and health-conscious users see how food, exercise and sleep affect glucose. SRI's research lists preventive healthcare and self-monitoring as an opportunity.
Glucose has become a digital health signal. Sensors now connect to phones, smartwatches, insulin pumps and coaching apps, turning raw readings into personalised advice. SRI's research lists integration with digital health platforms and mobile apps as an opportunity.
These forces explain SRI's forecast of steady double-digit growth to 2033, with value concentrating in sensors, homecare and Asia Pacific.
Five Lessons From the Companies Moving First
The device makers and health companies turning these forces into advantage share a recognisable pattern. We have distilled it into five lessons, each followed by a takeaway for a specific leadership function.
Lesson 1: Segment the Market by Need, Not Just Diagnosis
The continuous glucose monitoring market used to have one customer: an insulin user with a prescription. Today it has at least three: intensive insulin users who need alarms and pump integration, people with type 2 diabetes not on insulin who need simpler guidance, and consumers interested in metabolic health who want insight without a prescription.
The companies moving first design different products, prices and experiences for each group, from integrated pump systems to simple over-the-counter sensors with coaching apps. The rise of metabolic health consumers mirrors the shift described in how the GLP-1 consumer is resetting meal replacement.
"A glucose sensor used to be a medical alarm. For millions of new users it is now a feedback loop on what they eat."
Takeaway on strategy. Build separate offers for intensive insulin users, type 2 patients and metabolic health consumers, each with its own product, price and channel.
Lesson 2: The Sensor Is the Platform
SRI's research identifies sensors as the largest and fastest growing component. Longer wear, smaller size, higher accuracy, no fingerstick calibration and fewer warm-up hours drive both clinical outcomes and user satisfaction. SRI's research also lists minimally invasive and non-invasive devices as an opportunity.
The companies moving first invest relentlessly in sensor engineering and manufacturing yield, because every improvement in wear time and accuracy lowers cost per day and improves the experience.
Takeaway on product. Prioritise sensor accuracy, wear time, size and manufacturing yield, and build software and integrations on top of a leading sensor.
Lesson 3: Software and Data Turn Readings Into Outcomes
A stream of glucose numbers only helps if users and clinicians know what to do with it. The companies moving first add trend alerts, meal and activity insights, AI-generated summaries and clinician dashboards, and integrate with insulin pumps for automated insulin delivery.
That software layer is also where care models are changing. Remote monitoring and AI-supported care, described in how agentic AI is changing the operating model of healthcare, increasingly rely on continuous data such as glucose.
"The sensor collects the number. The software decides whether anyone acts on it."
Takeaway on operations. Invest in insight software, clinician tools and pump and app integrations, and measure success by changes in time in range and user engagement.
Lesson 4: Build Pharmacy, Online and Employer Channels
SRI's research identifies homecare as the fastest growing end user. As sensors move beyond specialist clinics, they reach users through pharmacies, online stores, primary care, employers and health plans.
The companies moving first make over-the-counter products available online and in retail, partner with pharmacy benefit managers and health plans to widen coverage, and offer employer wellness programmes. Shifting care out of hospitals is a broader trend, covered in why ambulatory infusion centres are capturing the site-of-care shift.
Takeaway on channels. Expand pharmacy, online and employer channels, and work with health plans and pharmacy benefit managers to cover more type 2 patients.
Lesson 5: Asia Pacific Grows Fastest, Price Decides Access
SRI's research identifies North America as the largest region and Asia Pacific as the fastest growing, and lists the high cost of systems as a key challenge, especially in developing regions. With hundreds of millions of people living with diabetes in Asia, affordable sensors and local reimbursement are the keys to growth.
The capabilities that decide who captures this demand are specific:
Separate offers for insulin users, type 2 patients and consumers.
Leading sensor accuracy, wear time and manufacturing yield.
Insight software and pump and app integrations.
Pharmacy, online, employer and health plan channels.
Affordable products and reimbursement in emerging markets.
Companies evaluating these competitive dynamics in greater detail can use SRI's Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market analysis to assess component, end-user, application and age segments and the positioning of the leading device makers.
Takeaway on market development. Develop lower-cost sensors and local partnerships for Asia Pacific, and work with governments and insurers to expand reimbursement.
Where the Opportunity Is Concentrating
Value is moving toward sensors, homecare and consumer use.
By component, sensors are both the largest and the fastest growing segment.
By end user, hospitals are the largest segment while homecare settings are the fastest growing.
By application, diabetes management is the largest segment while research is the fastest growing.
By age group, adults are the largest segment while paediatric use is the fastest growing, and by geography North America leads while Asia Pacific grows fastest.
At the Horizon: What to Watch Over the Next Three Years
Type 2 coverage. Payer decisions on covering continuous monitoring for type 2 patients not on insulin will set the size of the next wave.
Over-the-counter adoption. Growth of non-prescription sensors will show how large the consumer metabolic health market becomes.
Price competition. New entrants and lower-cost sensors will test margins and widen access, especially in Asia Pacific.
"The next phase of continuous glucose monitoring will be won by the companies that make a sensor as easy to buy as a fitness tracker and as trusted as a medical device."
The Strategic Revenue Opportunity
For device makers, the task is to widen access while protecting accuracy and margins. For digital health companies, the opportunity is coaching and insight services built on glucose data. For payers and employers, the priority is preventing complications in type 2 and pre-diabetes. For investors, the signal is coverage decisions, over-the-counter growth and sensor cost.
Market intelligence turns these questions into decisions. Segment-level sizing shows where component, end-user and age demand is concentrating, competitive analysis shows how device makers are positioned, and regional analysis shows where diabetes prevalence and reimbursement will pull growth first. This is the path from market signals to strategic insight to revenue impact.
Takeaway on revenue. Treat the continuous glucose monitoring market as four revenue pools: prescription sensors for insulin users sold through reimbursement, type 2 programmes sold to payers, over-the-counter sensors sold to consumers, and software and coaching sold by subscription. Each needs its own pricing model.
The Next Leg: Preparing for the Journey Ahead
The defining shift in continuous glucose monitoring is that it is moving from a specialist diabetes device to a mainstream metabolic health tool. That changes who buys sensors, how they are sold and what software surrounds them. The companies moving first are not the ones with the most features; they are the ones segmenting by need, leading on sensors, turning data into outcomes, building new channels and widening access.
The next three years will decide which companies own the glucose data of hundreds of millions of people. Decision-makers should invest in sensors, software and channels and track coverage, over-the-counter adoption and price competition. Companies evaluating growth opportunities in this market can use Strategic Revenue Insights' Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market report to assess market size, competitive dynamics, regional opportunities and strategic growth priorities.
Sources: Strategic Revenue Insights, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market report (2026); Dexcom results and filings (2025 to 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the continuous glucose monitoring market?
Strategic Revenue Insights projects the global continuous glucose monitoring market to reach approximately USD 12.5 billion by 2033, growing at a 10.8 percent compound annual growth rate from 2025. North America is the largest region, while Asia Pacific is the fastest growing at 12.3 percent.
What is driving growth in continuous glucose monitoring?
The rising prevalence of diabetes, demand for real-time glucose monitoring, technology advances such as smartphone and wearable integration, and regulatory approvals and reimbursement are the main drivers. Over-the-counter sensors are also opening a new market among people without insulin prescriptions.
Which companies lead the continuous glucose monitoring market?
Strategic Revenue Insights estimates that Dexcom leads with a 25 percent share, followed by Medtronic at 20 percent and Abbott at 18 percent. Other key companies include Senseonics, Roche Diabetes Care, Insulet, Ascensia Diabetes Care and Ypsomed.
What are the main challenges for continuous glucose monitoring?
The main challenges are the high cost of systems, which limits adoption especially in developing regions, regulatory hurdles and strict approval processes, and competitive pressure that can lead to price wars and lower margins for device makers.
About the authors: This article was prepared by the Strategic Revenue Insights research team, which combines market intelligence, competitive analysis and strategic advisory for growth-stage, mid-market and enterprise organisations across the healthcare sector. Sector analyst: Kamrul Hasan, Research Manager. Our market estimates combine primary research (interviews, surveys and expert panels) with secondary data (industry reports, databases and public disclosures); read more about how Strategic Revenue Insights works. To discuss this market with our analysts, contact our team.
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