How to Budget for Your Podcast

How to Budget for Your Podcast

Budgeting for your podcast is a crucial step that often gets overlooked in the excitement of planning content and recording episodes. In this post, we'll delve into the intricacies of production value and how this affects podcasting budgets. Whether you're a seasoned podcaster looking to level up your production value or a newbie seeking to understand the financial aspects of starting a podcast, this guide is your roadmap to creating a budget that aligns with your goals. But before you start, there is a very important question we need to address. 

Why is there so much discrepancy between the types of podcasting services offered and the costs associated?

The wide variance in services and costs within the podcasting industry can be attributed to several factors. There are various levels of production value, and producers who work within those values. We use the term “production value” to refer to the overall quality of a production, ranging from the amount of time and research put into the product to the artistic intricacies and technical details.

Now, imagine a production company is sort of like a car dealership and you’re thinking about buying a car. Much like vehicles, production services come in different levels of style, quality and value. There are a ton of choices and price points. Basic entry level, mid-level, high-end and luxury. All of these vehicles will get you where you need to go, but the ride will feel, look and even sound different with each car. Some of them will have amazing features that will make it much easier for you to enjoy the ride. Others will even pilot themselves, so all you have to do is stay awake and watch the road. Ultimately most people pick the car that makes sense for their budget and life needs. It’s the same with production companies and producers, reliability, fit and features play a factor into the cost of services and are very important things to consider. 

Experience, brand reputation, customization options, and geographic location also play significant roles in the cost variance. Established producers with a strong reputation often charge higher prices, while newer providers may offer lower rates to attract customers. 

Now that you understand the concept behind production value, you’re in a stronger position to make decisions and create a budget. Remember the car analogy we used at the top of this post? Let’s apply the same approach to your podcast budgeting. Starting with a base-level podcast budget.

BASE-LEVEL PODCAST BUDGET

Let’s say you’re looking to launch a simple two-person weekly conversational video podcast, working with your internal staff or on your own, below are the basic costs you need to consider. 

MID-LEVEL PODCAST PRODUCTION BUDGET 

Maybe you already have a show and you just want to outsource the parts that take the most time from your life, like post-production. You can hire a producer or editor to handle this for you. To outsource the post-production of your base-level podcast (mentioned above), you need to budget between $1,000 and $2,200 per episode, depending on the service provider’s experience and turn-around capabilities. 

KEY THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUDGETING FOR MID-LEVEL PODCAST PRODUCTION SERVICES:

When hiring, mid-level podcast post-production services should include editing, sound engineering, music licensing, transcripts, title, description, show notes, uploading and scheduling, and promotional materials (such as video clips). If adding video post-production the cost can increase spending on the amount of editing required and production process used. Below is an average mid-level podcast production budget.

HIGH-END LEVEL PODCAST BUDGET

Let’s say you’re looking for a turn-key solution where you or your team’s tasks and time commitment are minimal. In this case, you will want to work with a production company. If your style of show allows it, you can keep your cost lower by recording remotely, meaning over the internet, instead of in-person. 

FIRST CONSIDER THIS: 

If you haven’t launched the show already, you’ll need development and ideation support. These services should include cover art design, discovery, research, strategy, and the production of your show’s name, description and possibly even intro. Pro-level costs on all of this can range between $7,000 and $10,000. 

The next cost associated with this type of podcast and process is the actual production, from research to publishing. Production services should include an experienced producer/editor and sound engineer. In these services the company will likely include regular production meetings, pre-emails and scheduling of interviews, light research, outlines, editing or scriptwriting, sound engineering, music licensing, transcripts, title, description, show notes, uploading and scheduling, promotional materials (such as video clips). 

Here’s a sample of what it would cost to make an interview show produced with both video and RSS audio formats.

LUXURY LEVEL PODCAST BUDGET

If you’re still reading this, you might be looking for a luxury-level budget for a podcast.

There is much debate about what podcasts are on this level, because “luxury” is a subjective term. What might seem luxurious to me, could be average to some. Therefore let’s proceed with an open mind. A luxury level production will have a significant budget behind it. Think “Smartless” or “The Joe Rogan Experience”. Both of these shows are distributed by major networks. These companies provide the shows with creative and production support including multiple producers, sound engineers and editors. 

A production budget for these types of podcasts can vary significantly per episode. If you consider that they usually have at least one full-time producer, editor and a part-time sound engineer, we can estimate the base cost to produce these types of shows starts at a conservative $450,000 per year. 

Then there are multi-year award winning shows like This American Life, who have some full-time producers as well as freelancers that spend time on multiple productions. Looking at public radio budgets one can assume that it is no lower than $12,000 per episode. 

By the way, important things like talent fees, legalities, merchandising, advertising and live shows are not reflected in this estimation.

Now that you have a better understanding of the costs associated with producing a podcast, you can create a budget and decide if hiring a producer or production company is the right fit, or if you want to give it a go on your own. Either way, you have the information to start something great! 

Hi, I’m Maribel! If you landed here it’s because you are probably someone who values knowledge and experience. My team and I offer full-service production services for people and brands who want to create engaging content. You can learn more and check our recent projects here, or contact us here.