"Do podcasts cost money?" is actually two questions packed into one. Are you asking what it costs to listen? Or what it costs to run one? The answer to the first is basically nothing. The answer to the second depends heavily on how serious you are, and what serious looks like for your brand.

This guide breaks down every layer: listener costs, production costs, advertising costs, and the real math behind DIY vs. hiring a team. If you are a B2B brand evaluating podcast as a channel, this is the number-by-number breakdown you have been looking for.

Do You Have to Pay to Listen to Podcasts?

No. The overwhelming majority of podcast content is free. Platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify distribute episodes at no charge. You do not need a subscription, account, or credit card to hit play on almost any show you can find.

A few nuances worth knowing:

• Spotify Premium ($9.99–$13.99/mo) removes music ads but does not remove podcast ads unless a specific show has opted into Spotify's ad-free tier.
• Apple Podcasts Subscriptions let creators gate bonus content, typically priced at $3–$10/mo per show.
• Patreon is another route creators use to offer ad-free feeds, early access, or bonus episodes, again at a per-creator cost.

These paid tiers exist, but they are entirely creator-optional. For most listeners, podcasting is and will remain free. If you came here wondering "do you have to pay for podcasts" before committing to it as a marketing channel: you do not. And neither do your listeners.

What Does It Cost to Start a Podcast?

Here is where it gets more interesting. Production costs span a wide range depending on how polished you want the show to be and how much time you want to spend on it.

Gear and tooling basics

Cost tiers at a glance

If you are planning to launch a B2B podcast and want it to represent your brand well, "hobbyist" tier usually is not where you want to land. Mid-level or professional quality signals credibility from the first episode.

Podcast Advertising Costs for Brands

If your question is about buying ads on someone else's podcast, the industry runs on a CPM model: cost per thousand listeners. Here is how the rates break down by placement type:

A few things to know before you set a budget:

• Host-read ads outperform producer-read ads by 31% in purchase rate. The conversational, personal delivery is what makes podcast advertising click.
• Smaller shows typically charge $25–$75 per spot. Mid-size shows run $100–$500. Larger network minimums often start at $5,000–$10,000 per campaign.
• B2B audiences command a premium. If you are targeting business decision-makers, expect to pay $40–$70 CPM rather than the generic $15–$25 range.

Podcast Ads vs. Radio Ads: The Cost Comparison

If you have ever priced radio advertising, you know it adds up fast. Here is how the two channels stack up:

The numbers alone make a case for podcasting. But the real difference is engagement quality. A commuter half-listening to drive-time radio is in a very different headspace than a founder who subscribed to a B2B strategy show and pressed play intentionally.

IAB data backs this up at scale: podcast ad spend surpassed streaming and radio in year-over-year ad growth at 32.8% for the first five months of 2025. US podcast ad spend is projected to hit $2.56 billion in 2026. Globally, the number reaches $5.5 billion.

Brands That Sponsor Podcasts

One of the fastest ways to validate a channel is to look at who else is already spending there. On the consumer side, the biggest podcast spenders in 2025 include Amazon ($5.77M/mo), Shopify ($4.66M/mo), and T-Mobile ($3.39M/mo).

But the B2B side is where things get interesting for most of our clients. Active B2B and SaaS categories by number of podcast sponsors:

Names you will recognize in the B2B sponsor space: Salesforce, Anthropic, Vercel, J.P. Morgan Payments. These are not brands that waste budget. They sponsor podcasts because niche, intent-driven audiences convert.

The Real Cost of a Professional B2B Podcast

Here is the table most people avoid building:

DIY looks like the cheap option. But it is not. At a $200/hr marketing manager rate, running a podcast yourself takes $3,000–$4,000/month in opportunity cost. That math flips fast once you factor in what that same person could be doing instead.

According to the 2025 Independent Podcaster Survey, DIY podcasters spend 4–8 hours per episode on average. 21% spend more than 9 hours per episode. That is production time that is not going toward sales, strategy, or client work.

Agency production at $1,500–$5,000/mo often competes favorably against the real cost of doing it yourself. Add better audio quality, a consistent publishing schedule, and a show that does not stall after episode six, and the ROI math gets even clearer.

For a deeper look at how to grow the show once it is live, the B2B podcast promotion guide covers the full distribution side.

The Bottom Line

Do podcasts cost money? Here is the short version:

• Listening: Free for almost everyone.
• Starting one: $100–$5,000+ upfront, $50–$500/mo ongoing for DIY.
• Professional B2B production: $1,500–$15,000/mo depending on your support model.
• Advertising on someone else's show: $15–$70 CPM depending on niche and format.
• Doing it yourself: Often more expensive than hiring a team, once your time is in the equation.

Podcast is one of the highest-trust, most cost-efficient channels available for B2B brands right now. The brands winning with it are not spending the least. They are spending strategically and running shows that actually get listened to.

If you want to know what the right budget looks like for your business, we can map that out together.

Schedule a Call to talk through what a professional B2B podcast could cost (and return) for your brand.

Or if you want a starting point first, grab your Free Podcasting Plan and see exactly what it would take to launch a show worth listening to.