How Much Money Do Podcasters Make? (& How Much Can You?)

70% of new podcasters in our podcast planner tool survey told us they want to make money from podcasting. 29% even said they wanted to make podcasting their main income stream.

If you can relate to that goal, you may ask: How much money do podcasters make?

Podcasting might seem like money for nothing, as Dire Straits once sang. It takes time and commitment to generate income from your podcast. But it is possible, and you can make good money from your podcast if you get the formula right.

How Much Do Celebrity Podcasters Make?

Let’s get this out of the way first. When you hear people talking money in podcasting, it’s often in eye-watering numbers. This is because it’s rare. The popular podcasters whose paychecks make the news do so because scarcity makes it newsworthy. 

For example: 

• Joe Rogan renewed his contract with Spotify in 2024 for $250 million. 
•  Tim Ferris charges $43,200 per episode sponsorship (as of this writing).
• Crime Junkie may make as much as 5.6 million per month from podcast sponsorships alone. 

Again, these numbers are rare among podcasters. And, these cases don’t account for income streams outside of their podcast. 

But what about the other podcasters who monetize their shows? How much money are they making? Let’s take a look at some examples before diving into exactly how they make it.

How Much Does An Average Podcaster Make?

Podcast celebrities aside, how much money can your average independent podcaster expect to make?

Well, the answer is “it depends”. But, based on our own experiences of well over a decade in the medium, here are some fictionalised but realistic case studies.

The Hobbyist – $60 per month

The hobbyist could be running a fiction podcast or creating content around their passion (think knitting, miniature painting, or retro video games).

In this example, our hobbyist’s enthusiasm is infectious, and they build a dedicated community around it. They use a site like Patreon for regular listener donations, release premium episodes behind a paywall, and sell the odd t-shirt, sticker, or mug.

After a couple of years of delivering consistently great value, they can cover their hosting costs and treat themselves to a pizza every now and then. 

How much does a hobbyist podcaster make?

• Crowdfunding $30 per month
• Premium content $20 per month
• Merch $10 per month

In this case, the podcaster is in it for intellectual and emotional stimulation, rather than profit. 

The Side Hustle – $240 per month

The side-gigger enjoys talking about their passion, too. But it’s more likely that their topic will address some sort of audience pain point. That could be anything from weight loss or fitness goals to learning a language or passing a particular type of exam.

This type of podcaster offers solutions for their listeners, approaching it with more of a business mindset. A consistent episode publishing schedule makes their show a good fit for advertisers and affiliate links. Plus, they’ve distilled their knowledge into an eBook, which is sold as a product.

Maybe they can eventually grow this into a full-time income. But for now, it’s a nice extra earner for doing something they enjoy. 

How much does the side hustle podcaster make?

• Sponsorship $150 per month
• Ebook Sales $20 per month
• Affiliates $70 per month

The Business Owner – $2600 per month

The business owner might’ve once been a side hustler, or, their business might pre-date their podcast. In either case, this podcaster offers something their listeners are willing to invest in.

This podcaster has grown such a strong authority and personal brand that people will pay a lot of money for an hour-long coaching session with them.

There are detailed courses for sale for those who can’t afford private coaching. The business podcaster has also created a product for their audience’s particular pain point, another solid income source.

Though the top line here seems (and is!) impressive, effort and time demands are also much higher. 

How much does the business-owner podcaster make?

• Course sales: $600 per month
• Coaching: $1200 per month
• Product sales: $800 per month

Choosing a Money-Making Niche

Our fictional podcasters all have one thing in common: a clearly defined niche.

To make a substantial income stream from your podcast, you must choose a niche to help you do that. Either that or you’ll need to be an already-known figure or brand.

For example, if you want to make money through podcast ad revenue, there are a lot of tv-recap podcasts. Sponsors pay for ad reads on those shows, plus it’s easier to make many episodes (or, as ad buyers call them, “inventory”) in a short time. 

But, the more unique your value proposition, the more your podcast will stand out. It’ll be memorable, and your audience will likely share it with their friends. The community it creates may be smaller but more engaged.

Some podcasters dig into a social need, what marketers call “pain points,” to create content. Tim Ferriss tapped into white-collar workers’ need to feel fulfilled and gain control over their lives. Crime Junkie satisfies their audience’s need for compelling mystery and validates their desire for justice. 

Can you make lots of money by simply recording yourself talking? Probably not. Can you make money by sharing knowledge and expertise with a combination of excellent sound design, unique and useful ideas, careful research, and interesting guests? Much more likely.

The main takeaway here is that in no way is podcasting passive income. It’s a lot of work.

6 Core Podcast Monetization Methods (and How Much YOU Can Make)

Now, let’s look at a few of the core ways podcasters make money and how much you can expect to make if you go down that route with your podcast.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate sales are probably the easiest way to start monetizing your podcast if you’re new to the game.

Running an affiliate program is when you agree to provide an affiliate link somewhere on your website or show notes promoting a brand, product, or service. You can read about how it works in our affiliate marketing for podcasters guide.

Essentially, you generate a small income every time a listener buys through your custom affiliate link. How much you make per click depends on the affiliate sales agreement you have with the brand, but normally, it’s between 5-50% of the sale. So, if it’s a link to a book that costs $20, you could earn between $1-10 for every click.

Amazon affiliate commission ranges from 1% to 20%, depending on the product category (fashion 10%, home improvement 7%, etc.), and you can earn 1.5% on any unrelated products a customer buys on the platform after arriving there via one of your links.

2. Advertising and Sponsorship

While advertising is often the go-to monetization strategy, it’s not the easiest way to make money podcasting. To make decent money from advertising and sponsorships in podcasting, you need one of two things: Impressive download numbers or an extremely niche topic with a hardcore audience (or both!).

In the right circumstances, ads and sponsorships are a win for everyone involved. Businesses like podcast advertising because it offers a unique way of reaching audiences. Studies show that podcasts can strongly influence listener brand perception by building intimacy and trust over time. Recently, podcasts have overtaken TV and radio as the most effective medium for advertising.

How Much Ad Revenue Do Podcasters Make Per Episode?

CPM (cost per mile) in podcast advertising is around $25 per 1000 downloads per episode. Note that this only includes downloads within the first 30 days of the episode’s release date.

But if you have a popular podcast with a very loyal niche audience, you theoretically could earn the same amount for around half the number of downloads per month. Ultimately, it depends on your niche and how valuable your audience is to the advertiser.

3. Exclusive Content

Offering exclusive content is a monetization method that will only work with a hardcore loyal audience who need your content. That, or you’ll need to provide very niche content where listeners see value in paying for your expertise.

Normally, podcasters will charge for access to their back catalog or high-value episodes in addition to their free content. You can expect to earn between $3-6 per series with this strategy, depending on how popular your podcast is. Check out this guide on how to sell podcast episodes if you’re interested in pursuing this.

To generate income from a private podcast, you’ll also need to pay for a hosting provider that offers membership capabilities. You can expect to pay around $20 per month for this software.

4. Selling a Product or Service

Creating your own physical products or consulting services to sell through your podcast (rather than advertising someone else’s) is a popular way to make money through your podcast.

For example, maybe you run a bodybuilding podcast and decide to start selling health shakes that include a new ingredient you’ve been raving about to your listeners. Or, you might start offering online training sessions with listeners.

How much money podcasters can make here depends on a few factors:

• If it’s a digital product, any cuts to partners will likely be minimal, and there will be no manufacturing or shipping costs.
• If it’s a physical product, it’s likely you will need to pay partners to create and distribute your goods.
• If it’s a service, you probably get to keep all of the profits, unless you employ a team to help run it.

5. Paid Subscriptions (Crowdfunding)

Paid subscriptions might include exclusive content as part of the package, but not always. To start making money from paid subscriptions, you’ll need to be popular with your audience or offer a really attractive subscription package. This might even link up with selling exclusive content or a service or product through your podcast.

The Tennis Podcast, for example, is available on all major platforms. Their website has merchandise for sale. However, the podcast also makes money by asking listeners to “Become a Friend” of the show. This membership includes ad-free listening (via Supporting Cast), bonus content, and access to live shows via YouTube. Friends of The Tennis Podcast also get access to The Barge, their online community for the show’s fans. And, Friends get a presale code to buy tickets for live shows (yet another income stream).

With an audience “in excess of 100,000,” if 5% of their audience joined the Friends community at the £6 level, that would be £30,000 per month. 

Bear in mind, this excludes any amount The Tennis Podcast pays to use Supporting Cast and their Friends membership platform. Producing a live show isn’t cheap, either. The point remains that The Tennis Podcast’s income stream is more like a cable of threads spun together. 

The most popular way to run paid subscriptions is via Patreon, but there are many good Patreon alternatives out there, too.

6. Donations

Donations can tie in with paid subscriptions, as many of the tools are the same (e.g., Ko-Fi, Buy Me a Coffee, etc.).

Accepting listener donations is a monetization method many creators use to keep their podcasts independent.

Asking listeners to commit to a regular monthly donation frees you from relying on other podcast monetization strategies like sponsorship, which might influence the content of your show.

Donation buttons can be set up for voluntary amounts (starting at $1 per month), or you can have fixed tiers that ask for a higher donation in exchange for something (for example, bonus content or merchandise). 

Key Takeaway: Use Multiple Income Streams

If you ask any podcaster who makes a decent income from their show how they do it, they’ll likely say, “multiple income streams.”  Combine some, if not all, of the above monetization methods. That’s how most podcasters make their money.

While no single option from the list above will be your golden ticket to quitting your day job, a combination could bring in a decent monthly package.

The Price of Admission in Podcasting

Although the price of admission in podcasting is low, it’s not a free-for-all. So, while you can easily make money with your podcast, you’ll need to spend at least a little cash first to make some later. This means you’ll likely be operating with negative cash flow when you start out.

New podcasters have some fixed costs (such as gear, hosting, branding) and variable costs (time, energy, enthusiasm). But you can definitely start with a low budget. Libraries, for example, sometimes offer courses, equipment, and quiet space to record.

However much it costs you to make your podcast, your content and niche have to be interesting, unique, well-crafted, and necessary, otherwise, you can forget breaking even, let alone making a profit.

There are many different ways to monetize a podcast – but they all require one thing: an audience. And to build an audience from scratch, you must create content that people actually want to listen to.

Case Study: Sarah Rhea Werner, Write Now and Girl In Space

Sarah Rhea Werner is one of the biggest success stories in independent podcasting. She began making solo shows (Write Now and Girl In Space), and now she is able to say, “I make a full-time living podcasting (including paying for healthcare, if not saving for emergencies) because I include both direct AND indirect podcast income.”

She diversifies her podcasts’ revenue streams with “avenues like Patreon, tip jars, in-episode advertising, etc.” As a result of her podcasts, she can also make money indirectly, “speaking engagements, product & merchandise sales, course sales, freelance opportunities, coaching, IP/rights licensing/sales, and more.”

She points out that the key is to set realistic goals, and build your audience first:

“Unless something magical (or illegal) happens, you’re probably not going to make $1 million podcasting overnight. But you can begin to make money and increase it incrementally over time, scaling it like a business.

It comes down to setting and attaining realistic goals. So perhaps your first goal is to cover your podcasting costs — your microphone and other equipment, your website, your hosting company, paying actors, and maybe a few other things. What does that money look like on a per-month basis? How will you obtain it, dollar by dollar? That’s your first goal.”

So, How Much Money Do Podcasters Make?

In summary, there are many ways to monetize a podcast, and generating multiple income streams from a combination is the way to make a decent packet.

In the Podcraft Academy, our Monetization Mastery course is dedicated to helping you set up and grow those streams, walking you through everything from affiliates and merch to premium content and sponsorship. You’ll find loads more in the Academy, too, from podcast feedback tools to downloadable checklists and resources. We’d love to work with you in there!