Sponsoring a podcast usually costs a CPM, a price per thousand downloads that carry the ad, multiplied by the downloads each episode delivers and the number of placements bought. Smaller shows often quote a flat fee per episode instead, and performance deals pay per sale or sign-up. No platform publishes a standard price list, so the real figure comes from the show's own measured downloads, the format and position of the read, and any extras the sponsor wants, such as exclusivity or reuse of clips.
Four pricing models and who carries the risk
Pick the model before the number. Each one decides who absorbs the gap when an episode under- or over-delivers.
| Model | How the fee is set | Risk sits with | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPM | Delivered downloads divided by 1,000, times the agreed rate | Shared: the invoice follows delivery | Delivery is steady and your host measures it to a stated standard |
| Flat fee | A set amount per read, episode or flight | The sponsor, if downloads come in low | Audiences are small, uneven or unusually valuable to one buyer |
| CPA or affiliate | A payment per sale or sign-up, tracked by code or link | You, if listeners do not convert | The product sells online and tracking is reliable |
| Hybrid | A smaller flat fee plus a per-sale bonus | Split between both sides | A first test with a brand neither side knows yet |
Performance deals still need disclosure. The FTC's endorsement guide answers say commissions should be disclosed in the content as well as next to the link, so a CPA read gets the same spoken label as a paid one.
What counts as a delivered download
A CPM is only as good as the download behind it. The IAB Tech Lab Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines, at version 2.2, are the common rulebook for hosts that certify their stats. The guidelines document sets out the points that change an invoice:
- A request only counts as a download once enough of the file to play one minute of content has been delivered, not counting header data, or the whole file if the episode is shorter.
- Duplicates are removed within a 24-hour window, either a fixed calendar day or a rolling 24 hours, and a company certified under the guidelines must disclose which it uses.
- Unique downloads and listeners are matched on IP address plus user agent, after filtering known bots and servers.
- A baked-in ad counts as delivered when the part of the file containing it was downloaded; the guidelines give the example of an ad in the first 25% of an episode counting once 25% of the file has been downloaded.
- A dynamically inserted ad counts only when all of its bytes were downloaded, and no ad counts at all inside a download that fails the one-minute rule.
Platform dashboards measure something else. Spotify's analytics glossary counts a play from 30 seconds, and its Partner Program counts a stream from 60 seconds; Apple's listener analytics count a listener from any playback above zero seconds. None of those is an IAB download, so quote the host's download figure for CPM deals and label any platform number by name. Our media kit metric-source checklist maps each one.
CPM calculator worksheet
Work top to bottom and use your own figures only. Take D from your host over a fixed window, such as each episode's first 30 days, across your recent episodes, and write the window down because the sponsor will ask.
| Line | Formula or input | Your number |
|---|---|---|
| D: downloads per episode | Median or average of recent episodes within your stated window, from host stats | [ ] |
| P: placements per episode | Number of reads the sponsor buys in each episode | [ ] |
| E: episodes in the flight | Episodes carrying the read | [ ] |
| I: impressions | D × P × E | [ ] |
| C: CPM for this format | Your rate per thousand for this position and read type | [ ] |
| M: media fee | I ÷ 1,000 × C | [ ] |
| X: extras | Custom production, a video edition, social clips | [ ] |
| K: exclusivity and usage | Your add-on for keeping competitors out, and for the brand reusing the audio | [ ] |
| F: floor | The least that covers your hours for briefing, scripting, approvals, recording and reporting | [ ] |
| Q: quote | The higher of M + X + K and F | [ ] |
| Check: effective CPM | Q ÷ (I ÷ 1,000), so a flat fee can be compared with a CPM offer | [ ] |
The floor line matters most for smaller shows, where strict CPM math can produce a fee below the cost of making the read. For the general method behind hourly floors and add-ons, see how to calculate influencer rates.
Questions a sponsor will ask about your downloads
Experienced buyers test the D line before they discuss C. Have an answer ready for each of these, in writing, before you send a quote:
- Whose count is it? Name the host and whether it follows the IAB Tech Lab guidelines. If you do not know, ask the host; do not claim certification you have not seen.
- Over what window? Downloads within a fixed number of days of release are comparable across episodes; lifetime totals are not.
- Does the figure mix measures? For shows hosted on Spotify for Creators, Spotify's overview analytics offer a combined plays and downloads figure that adds plays on Spotify to RSS downloads elsewhere. That is two different measures added together, so give the sponsor the parts, not the sum, and agree which one the CPM applies to.
- How much is back catalog? Old episodes keep collecting downloads. If the read is inserted across the catalog, those downloads count; if it is baked into new episodes only, they do not.
- Where are the listeners? Country matters to many sponsors, especially when a product ships to only some markets, so pull the location split from your host or platform dashboards and date it.
Pricing the video edition separately
If the read also appears in a filmed version, the sponsor is buying a second audience measured in a different unit. YouTube counts views and watch time, Spotify's sponsorship analytics count impressions, audience reached and completion, and neither converts cleanly into downloads. Quote the video edition as its own line with its own basis, such as a flat add-on or a CPM on views within a stated window, rather than folding it into the audio CPM. The video copy also carries platform duties: YouTube's embedded sponsorship policy bars third-party ads in formats YouTube sells itself, such as pre-, mid- and post-roll video ads, while allowing paid placements and endorsements that follow its rules, so a host read is fine but a sponsor's produced spot dropped into the upload is not.
Pre-, mid- and post-roll, baked-in and dynamic
Position changes what a sponsor actually receives. Under the IAB rules a baked-in read only counts when the listener's download reaches it, so an early read is delivered in more downloads than a late one, and a post-roll is counted only in near-complete downloads. Price each position separately on your rate card rather than averaging them.
Insertion method changes how long the deal lasts. A baked-in read stays in the episode for good and keeps reaching people who find the episode later, which is value the sponsor gets after your measurement window closes; decide whether the fee covers that or whether later downloads are billed, and write it into the deal. A dynamically inserted read runs for the flight and then disappears, so the impressions are countable and the deal ends cleanly. Spotify's Sponsorships tool gives Partner Program members a middle path for video, letting them schedule a host-read segment with an end date, but it allows no more than two locations per episode and none in the first 30 seconds.
Where published rates come from
The platform-published figures we found each describe that company's own marketplace, not your direct deal. Write the source and date next to any figure you borrow:
- Acast's marketplace onboarding article, checked on 1 October 2026, says CPM rates there vary by advertiser and generally range between $5 and $50; Acast's standard creator terms then split net advertising revenue 50/50.
- Buzzsprout's ads help page says its promos for other podcasts pay between 0.7 and 1.4 US cents per monetized download.
- Spotify's Partner Program analytics show members an ads RPM, their average earnings per 1,000 ad impressions over 30 days after the 50% split. It is a useful floor for your own thinking, but Spotify calls the underlying figures estimates.
Many figures you find online come from agencies and ad marketplaces summarizing their own deals or rate cards. Before you use one, check its date, whether it means host-read or produced ads, and whether it describes the price an advertiser pays or the share a creator keeps.
Rate-card template
| Placement | Length and read | Price basis | Your price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-roll | [Length], host-read | CPM on downloads in the window | [ ] | Spoken label, code or URL in show notes |
| Mid-roll | [Length], host-read | CPM on downloads in the window | [ ] | One script approval round |
| Post-roll | [Length], host-read | Flat per episode | [ ] | Mention in show notes |
| Episode presenting sponsor | Pre-roll plus mid-roll | Flat per episode | [ ] | Category exclusivity for that episode |
| Video edition | Same read on YouTube or Spotify video | Add-on | [ ] | Platform disclosure settings switched on |
| Category exclusivity | Competitors excluded for [period] | Add-on | [ ] | Named competitor list |
| Clip reuse | Brand reposts audio or video of the read | Add-on per month | [ ] | Usage ends on a stated date |
| Make-good policy | Delivery below the agreed figure | Extra reads, not refunds | [ ] | Checked at the agreed day |
Our influencer rate card guide covers presenting add-ons across social platforms, and once the card exists, finding podcast sponsors explains who to send it to. Write each read with the podcast ad script template, and see how to monetize a podcast for routes that do not depend on selling ads.
Limitations of this worksheet
The worksheet turns your inputs into a quote; it cannot tell you what a sponsor will accept, and it contains no market rate of its own because no neutral, current source publishes one for direct host-read deals. Published marketplace figures describe those marketplaces on the date checked and may already have changed. Measurement differs between hosts that follow the IAB guidelines and those that do not, so two shows quoting the same download figure may not be delivering the same thing. Tax on sponsorship income, including GST or VAT on your invoice, depends on where you and the sponsor are based, so ask a registered tax agent or accountant.