The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on different distances and on different locations are held. Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the skater who has the most points on a given distance at the end of the series is the winner. Initially not very popular with skaters nor spectators, the World Cup has gradually become more and more popular, and this was due to the creation of the World Single Distance Championships. The results of the separate distances in the World Cup ranking are the main qualifying method for the World Single Distance Championships.

The number of races per season per distance varies, but it is usually between five and ten. Ten World Cup titles are awarded every season, five for men (the 500 m, the 1000 m, the 1500 m, the combined 5000 m / 10000 m, and the team pursuit), and five for women (the 500 m, the 1000 m, the 1500 m, the combined 3000 m / 5000 m, and the team pursuit).

The team pursuit was added to the World Cup in the 2005–06 season. Between the seasons 2003–04 and 2008–09, the 100 m was also contested for men and women, but this category is now defunct.

The mass start was re-introduced for both women and men in the World Cup in Astana in 2011.

The skaters with the highest number of individual World Cup victories as of 19 February 2023. Active skaters in bold.

Men

More information Pos, Athlete ...

Pos	Athlete	100 m	500 m	1000 m	1500 m	5000 m	10000 m	Mass start	Total wins
1	Jeremy Wotherspoon		49	18					67
2	Shani Davis			40	18				58
3	Uwe-Jens Mey		36	12					48
4	Dan Jansen		32	14					46
5	Sven Kramer				3	34	5		42
6	Pavel Kulizhnikov		24	12					36
7	Hiroyasu Shimizu	1	34						35
8	Igor Zhelezovsky		4	24	2				30
	Ådne Søndrål		1	11	18				30
10	Rintje Ritsma				11	17	1		29

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Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com^[3]

Women

More information Pos, Athlete ...

Pos	Athlete	100 m	500 m	1000 m	1500 m	3000 m	5000 m	Mass start	Total wins
1	Gunda Niemann			2	39	42	15		98
2	Bonnie Blair		39	27	3				69
3	Jenny Wolf	12	49						61
4	Anni Friesinger			19	26	10	1		56
5	Martina Sáblíková				1	35	14	2	52
6	Lee Sang-hwa	1	36						37
7	Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt		17	19					36
	Ireen Wüst			4	26	6			36
9	Nao Kodaira		28	6					34
	Catriona Le May Doan	1	27	6					34
	Heather Richardson Bergsma		6	21	7				34

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Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com^[4]

All-time medal count

More information Rank, Nation ...

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Netherlands	556	615	613	1784
2	United States	347	281	246	874
3	Germany	331	268	234	833
4	Japan	269	283	307	859
5	Canada	243	243	244	730
6	Russia	162	172	210	544
7	East Germany	121	78	65	264
8	Norway	111	119	119	349
9	South Korea	108	133	134	375
10	China	90	98	74	262
11	Czech Republic	61	29	24	114
12	Italy	29	33	59	121
13	Austria	28	37	45	110
14	Soviet Union	23	22	34	79
15	Finland	16	19	25	60
16	Belarus	14	22	9	45
17	Sweden	10	22	14	46
18	Belgium	10	13	16	39
19	Poland	9	24	38	71
20	CIS	5	1	1	7
21	Kazakhstan	3	5	0	8
22	France	2	4	4	10
23	New Zealand	2	0	6	8
24	West Germany	0	5	5	10
25	Latvia	0	3	0	3
26	Switzerland	0	2	2	4
27	Denmark	0	1	0	1
28	Australia	0	0	1	1
	Romania	0	0	1	1
Totals (29 entries)		2550	2532	2530	7612

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• ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating
• Cup Ranking - Country Medal Table
• World Speed Skating Championships