The arts festival, the biggest in the world, closed last night after 42,096 performances of 2695 shows, with 1,857,202 tickets issued for shows, events and exhibitions in 279 venues across the city.
The capital's other festivals also recorded excellent figures, with the Edinburgh International Festival, which runs for another week, boasting an 8% year-on-year rise.
Kath Mainland, the chief executive of the Fringe, said she was delighted despite the slight fall in the festival's ticket sales.
She said: "The Fringe has shown its resilience in responding so positively to the unique challenges of 2012.
"The loyal and enthusiastic audience has once again been treated to the most amazing cultural experience and has been both entertained and challenged again and again by a programme of spectacular work across all art forms and from all around the world.
"This year, more performers and artists have come to the Fringe than ever before, with an estimated 22,457 performers from 47 different countries calling this stunning city home for the past month."
This year's Fringe, although bigger than ever, had several challenges to overcome.
The dramatic storylines of the London Olympics grabbed the public's attention and resulted in a slow start, although a late surge brought figures closer to last year's total.
The ongoing recession is also a factor, though it may have been balanced by the number of people who chose "staycations", or holidays in Scotland, instead of travelling abroad.
The figure only includes ticketed events, either free or paid for, and not the "Free Fringe" events run in the two main Free Fringe festivals, the PBH Free Fringe and the Laughing Horse Free Fringe.
Alex Petty, who runs the Laughing Horse Free Fringe Festival, estimated that around 240,000 people attended free shows at his festival this year, around the same number as last year.
Last year, the Fringe sold a record 1,877,119 tickets, up 2.57% on 2010, although last year's festival did not feature the Assembly Rooms on George Street, which returned to the Fringe after a year-long absence, or The Famous Spiegeltent on George Square.
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh International Festival, which has a week to run, is reporting an 8% increase in ticket sales compared to this time last year.
Jonathan Mills, the EIF director, said: "We've had wonderful reactions to our shows this year, with standing ovations and artists performing many encores.
"Our theatres and concert halls have been exciting places to share in the collective experience of watching some of the world's most exciting and innovative directors, companies and musicians."
He added: "The effect of the Olympics may be being seen now, it is difficult to determine among the many factors which influence audiences.
"Certainly, the opportunity around the Olympics has enabled the International Festival, and many of Edinburgh's summer Festivals, to offer something more this year with the support of funders including the City of Edinburgh Council, Event Scotland, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government collaborating to ensure our programmes had the largest possible impact in a year when the world's eyes are on the UK.
"I believe the benefits of this increased profile and reach will show themselves for years into the future."
Organisers of the Edinburgh International Book Festival said it had an "exceptionally successful" August, with 225,000 visits to Charlotte Square, the most in its history.
Ticket sales, organisers said, are up 3% on last year, with book sales at its book shop "steady".
Nick Barley, director of the festival, said: "We are obviously delighted with the number of visitors that have come to Charlotte Square Gardens this August.
"I think it's important to look beyond the statistics and acknowledge the overall impact of the book festival, and indeed all the Festivals. Festivals are not all about the numbers, but about the events, the conversations and, to employ an overused word, the legacy."
