A podcast equipment list for most new shows comes down to one microphone per voice, closed-back headphones, a way to record each voice on its own track and a room with plenty of soft surfaces. Two people at one table add an interface or recorder with enough inputs, remote guests need a way to record on their own end, and only a video show needs cameras and lights. Buy each piece to fix a problem you can actually hear in a test recording, not to complete somebody else's list.
Prices are left out on purpose: they change often and vary by country. The worksheet near the end lets you enter your own. Platform file specifications quoted below were read from the Apple, Spotify and YouTube help centers on 1 October 2026. If you also shoot photos or video for a subscription page, lighting and camera kit for that work lives in the creator photography equipment guide.
Start with the problem each item solves
Record a few minutes of yourself talking in the room you plan to use, then listen back on headphones. Most of what you hear wrong maps to one fix, and several fixes cost nothing.
| What you hear | Likely cause | Fix to try first |
|---|---|---|
| A hollow, boxy voice | Sound bouncing off bare walls and hard floors | Sit closer to the mic, add rugs, curtains or a full bookshelf |
| A constant hiss or hum underneath | Fans, air conditioning, fridges, or gain set too high | Switch noise sources off, use a directional mic close to your mouth |
| Pops on P and B sounds | Breath hitting the capsule directly | A foam windscreen or pop filter, and talking slightly across the mic |
| Thumps when someone touches the desk | Vibration travelling up a desk stand | A boom arm or shock mount that takes the mic off the table |
| Crunchy distortion on laughs | Input gain set so high that peaks clip | Lower the gain until your loudest moment stays clear of the top |
| Each host audible in the other's microphone | Mics too far from mouths, speakers leaking into mics | Close-up mics, headphones for everyone, a separate track per voice |
| A remote guest who sounds like a phone call | You recorded the compressed call, not their microphone | Record on the guest's side and sync the files afterwards |
Dynamic or condenser: where two microphone makers differ
The usual advice is to buy a dynamic microphone for an untreated room, and microphone makers do not fully agree on why. Shure's guide to choosing a podcasting microphone says condensers are more sensitive and capture more high-frequency detail, which in a home studio can mean more air-vent hiss and mouth noise, while dynamics tend to mask those irritations. It also recommends a cardioid pickup pattern and a shock mount, and it notes that hybrid designs offering both USB and XLR outputs exist.
LEWITT's untreated-room comparison level-matched a condenser and two dynamics at the same distance and reported no clear winner on background noise. Its explanation is that dynamics usually get placed much closer to the mouth, and closeness, not the capsule type, is what pushes the room down. Both makers agree on the part that matters for a buying decision: mic position and a directional pattern do more for a home recording than the label on the box.
- Lean dynamic if you move around while talking, share a room with a co-host, or cannot control outside noise.
- Consider a condenser if your room is quiet and soft, you stay still, and you want more detail in the voice.
- Choose USB when one person records straight into a computer; choose XLR when two or more mics need to run into one interface or recorder.
Setup tiers: solo, two in a room, remote and video
Each column is a complete working setup. Move right only when the show format needs it.
| Item | Solo at a desk | Two in one room | Remote guest | Video show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microphone | One USB mic, close to your mouth | One XLR mic per person, so voices stay separable | Your mic plus whatever the guest can borrow or buy | Mics positioned just out of frame or on visible arms |
| Connection | Straight into the computer | Interface or recorder with an input for every mic | A local recording on each end of the call | Recorder or interface feeding the edit, synced to camera files |
| Headphones | Closed-back pair to hear problems as they happen | A pair each, so nobody's speakers leak into a mic | Wired headphones for the guest to stop echo | Low-profile pairs if they will be on camera |
| Mounting | Boom arm or shock mount against desk thumps | An arm per mic so hosts can face each other | Any stable stand on the guest side | Arms that keep sightlines to the camera clear |
| Room | Soft furnishings behind and beside you | Hosts spaced apart, soft surfaces between them | A short room checklist sent to the guest | The same, plus a background you are happy to show |
| Picture | Not needed | Not needed | Optional webcam feed for a video edit | A camera per angle and a soft light source facing each host |
Before you commit to the video column, note that Apple's content guidelines expect a video episode to contain real footage such as live action, animation or screen recording, and they send episodes built mostly from still images or audio visualizers to the audio feed instead. A video column only pays off if you are prepared to film.
What the platforms ask of your exported files
Recording gear matters less than the file you export, because that file is what directories accept or reject. These targets come straight from the platforms:
| Target | Published guidance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apple RSS audio | MP3 or AAC, with AAC in an MP4 container preferred; at 44.1 or 48 kHz, mono 64 to 128 kbps and stereo 128 to 256 kbps | Apple audio requirements |
| Apple loudness | Around -16 LKFS, within 1 dB either way, with true peaks no higher than -1 dBFS, set before encoding | Apple loudness section |
| Spotify audio upload | MP3, M4A or WAV, mono or stereo; no size cap, though big files fail more often on shaky connections | Spotify audio uploads |
| Spotify video | MP4 with H.264, 1080p or higher, 16:9, 25 Mbit/s for a 1080p source, one audio track in AAC-LC; under 10 GB and 4 hours recommended | Spotify video specs |
| YouTube video | MP4, H.264 High Profile, AAC-LC audio at 48 kHz; about 8 Mbps for 1080p at standard frame rates and 384 kbps for stereo audio | YouTube encoding settings |
Spotify contradicts itself on video audio. Its video publishing article recommends AAC-LC at 192 kbps or higher and says there is no file size limit, while the full video spec page lists 128 kbps or higher and an upper size of 60 GB. Export at the higher bitrate and stay under the recommended file size, and both pages are satisfied. Apple's loudness target is worth hitting even if you never publish there, since a consistent level is what spares listeners from riding the volume button between shows.
Remote guests: record both ends locally
The quality of a remote interview is decided by what gets recorded on the guest's side. A video call compresses audio in real time, so the professional habit is a double-ender: each person records their own microphone, and the files are lined up in the edit. Apple's iPad local capture page describes a built-in version on iPadOS 26: join a FaceTime call, start Record from Control Center, and the iPad saves an MP4 with high-efficiency video and lossless FLAC audio, using an external USB microphone automatically if one is plugged in.
Browser-based recording services do the same job for guests on other devices. Spotify's recording and editing article names Riverside, Descript and Zoom for remote sessions and GarageBand, Audacity, Adobe Audition, Pro Tools and Ferrite for editing. Whatever you use, send the guest a short brief: wired headphones, notifications off, a soft room, and a short test before the real conversation. Keep the call recording running as a backup in case a local file fails.
Budget worksheet: fill in your own numbers
Copy this table into a spreadsheet. Fill the problem column from your test recording before you look at any shop, and leave a row blank if nothing you heard calls for it.
| Item | Problem it fixes for you | Needed at launch? | Your budget | Return deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microphone, one per voice | ||||
| Interface or recorder | ||||
| Headphones, one pair per person | ||||
| Arms, stands, shock mounts | ||||
| Windscreens and cables | ||||
| Soft furnishings or panels | ||||
| Remote recording service | ||||
| Editing software | ||||
| Cameras and lights, video only | ||||
| Backup drive or cloud storage |
- Spend on the room and mic placement first, since they cost least and affect everything recorded afterwards.
- Borrow before buying anything you are unsure about, and record a full practice episode with it.
- Write the retailer's return deadline next to each purchase and finish a test episode before that date.
- Buy video kit last, after an audio pilot proves the format works.
- Recheck the sheet when the format changes, such as adding a co-host or a camera.
When the kit is ready, the podcast launch checklist covers hosting and directory submission, and the guide to publishing a podcast on YouTube covers the video side. Streamers who also go live can compare this list with the streaming equipment checklist.
Limits of this checklist
No equipment was bench-tested for this page, and no specific model is recommended; the microphone discussion reports what two manufacturers publish, and manufacturers have products to sell. Platform specifications change without notice, so confirm the Apple, Spotify and YouTube pages linked above before a big export. Return windows, warranties and consumer rights differ by retailer and country, so read them before you buy. If your room has a serious noise problem, such as traffic or building works, an acoustics professional will diagnose it faster than any purchase.