Podcast Advertising Examples - Featured Ad Reads
What type of podcast ads makes the most sense for me?
| Criteria | Best Podcast Ad Format |
| I want to control which shows run my ad? | Host-Read (Baked-In or Dynamic) |
| I want something more tangible, like the ability to find my 30 or 60 seconds of ad real estate I purchased within that specific podcast episode? | Host-Read (Baked-In) |
| I want to geo target my ad based on a certain region, state, city, zip code, DMA? | Programmatic |
| I need to reach a certain type of audience based on demographics? | Host-Read (Baked-In or Dynamic) or Programmatic |
| I want to reach a certain type of audience based on behavioral segments or psychographics? Looking to buy a car? Just purchased a new home? Just had a baby? Just got married? | Programmatic |
| I'm an ad buyer that wants the most bang for my buck and like a little extra value? | Host-Read (Baked-In) |
| I want the biggest return on my investment | Data shows Programmatic |
Podcast Advertising Rates
Pricing of podcast ads simply comes down to the amount of downloads/impressions the podcast receives in the first 30 days and the CPM rate. What does CPM mean? CPM stands for Cost Per Mille (latin for 1,000) or in our case the cost you pay per 1,000 downloads (listens) of your podcast.
The overall average rate for baked-in podcast host read ads are:
60 second spots: $25-28 CPM
30 second spots: $21-24 CPM
60 second spots: $25-28 CPM
30 second spots: $21-24 CPM
To see more detailed CPM pricing captured over time, please visit our podcast rates page.
To calculate how much you can charge for your ad spots, here's the quick equation:
Cost = Reach * CPM / 1000
Or you can always use our calculator tool.
Cost = Reach * CPM / 1000
Or you can always use our calculator tool.
Now when you expand outside of baked-in host read ads, CPMs can vary. We've put together this table to help you better understand CPM rates across many different types of podcast ad units.
| Podcast Ad Unit | Cost (CPMs) | Description | Placement | Targeting Capabilities |
| Baked-In Host Read | $25-$40 | 30 or 60 Second Host-Read. Ad stays in that particular episode forever. | Pre or mid-roll spot on NEW episode | Target a specific podcast and episode |
| Dynamic Episodic | $20-$25 | 30 or 60 Second Host-Read or Pre-Produced Ad. Ad is dynamically inserted into the new episode. | Pre or mid-roll spot on NEW episode | Target a specific podcast and episode |
| Dynamic Catalog | $15-$20 | 30 or 60 Second Host-Read or Pre-Produced Ad. Ad is dynamically inserted into any episode within the entire catalog. | Pre or mid-roll spot on ANY episode in catalog | Target specific podcasts, time frame, or genre/category of shows |
| Programmatic | $12-$15 | 30 or 60 Second Pre-Produced Ad. Ad is programmatically delivered in many different podcasts. | Pre or mid-roll spot on ANY episode | Target GEO (City, State, Zip, DMA, Lat/Long, POI) demographics, behavioral, time frames, etc |
Then we went a step further on the second table to show CPM rates broken down by podcast genre/category. Note these are only for baked-in host read ads.
| Podcast Category | CPM Rate |
| Business | $30 |
| Health & Fitness | $27 |
| Technology | $26 |
| Education | $26 |
| Fiction | $24 |
| Science | $23 |
| Comedy | $23 |
| Society & Culture | $23 |
| Games | $22 |
| Leisure | $22 |