Pre-Rolls Outpace Flower as Top U.S. Cannabis Category by Unit Sales

LOS ANGELES – Pre-rolled Cannabis products became the leading category in the United States by the number of units sold in 2025, according to data released in the State of the Pre-Roll Market 2026 report from Custom Cones USA.

The category generated $3.6 billion in revenue and moved 383.2 million units last year, capturing 15.9% of the overall market. Unit sales rose 18.6% from 2024, while revenue increased 9.8%. By comparison, total U.S. Cannabis sales grew just 1.5% in the same period. The figures come from point-of-sale data tracked by the Cannabis analytics firm Headset across 15 states, supplemented by responses from more than 125 pre-roll operators.

The milestone ends years of flower holding the top spot in unit volume. Pre-rolls have more than doubled in revenue since 2021, adding market share in 14 of the 15 recreational markets tracked. Average price per unit fell to $9.31, down 6.6% year over year, as multi-pack formats and lower-cost options expanded.

Infused pre-rolls, which combine flower with concentrates, led revenue growth inside the category. They accounted for $1.68 billion, or 47% of pre-roll sales, and posted the strongest gains in both dollars and units. Hybrid single-strain products followed closely in volume, selling 175.6 million units. Multi-packs now make up 48.5% of all SKUs, with the popular 2.5-gram five-pack format alone contributing more than $600 million. Single one-gram pre-rolls still generated the highest dollar total among individual formats, at $1.44 billion.

Pricing ranged widely, from about $2 for basic value items to more than $38 for premium offerings. That spread allowed different business models to succeed. California-based Jeeter topped revenue charts with $253 million, emphasizing infused multi-packs at higher price points. Michigan-based Dragonfly Cannabis led in units moved, selling 22.6 million pre-rolls at an average of $1.34 each. House brands operated by vertically integrated companies posted the strongest margins, averaging 55%.

Millennials drove 43.9% of pre-roll revenue. Operator surveys indicated that potency, price, and brand ranked as the top purchase drivers, with many producers reporting streamlined production lines that require just one or two workers per shift.

The report also flags areas of underreported activity. Blunts generated closer to $148 million and 8.5 million units when product-level data is examined, far above the $16.3 million shown in standard category tracking. Premium filter tips remain tiny at 0.03% of sales but show signs of consumer interest in surveys.

Custom Cones USA projects pre-roll revenue between $3.8 billion and $4 billion in 2026, with longer-term growth reaching above $5.2 billion by 2030.