$130 an episode
example: 5,000 downloads, a technology show, one 60 second host read · brands: data through November 8, 2026
| Downloads an episode, first 30 days | 5,000 |
| Ad unit | 60 second host read, baked in |
| CPM for technology | $26 per 1,000 downloads |
| Ad spots an episode | 1 |
| Price an episode | $130 |
| Price for 4 episodes | $520 |
In the last 90 days (August 10, 2026 to November 8, 2026) we read 796 sponsor reads in 253 episodes of 92 technology podcasts, from 218 brands. The brands on the most of those shows: Origin (8 shows), Palo Alto Networks (7 shows), Doppel (6 shows), WorkOS (6 shows), Framer (5 shows), Sentry (5 shows).
See who sponsors This Week in Startups, MTS.
Cite this: Between August 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026, Book a Sponsor read 16,486 sponsor reads in 5,922 episodes of 2,279 podcasts, from 2,985 brands. CPMs: Libsyn Ads rate card, read November 8, 2026. Source: Book a Sponsor, https://bookasponsor.com/podcast-advertising-rates
Podcast ad rates by genre, and who buys
The CPMs are Libsyn Ads' rates for a baked-in host read. The last two columns are ours: the shows we read in each genre between August 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026, and the brands that ran a sponsor read on them.
Podcast ad rates by ad unit
Across all 2,279 podcasts, 2,985 brands ran 16,486 sponsor reads. The brands on the most shows: Kalshi (179 shows), Quince (163 shows), FanDuel (147 shows), Odoo (132 shows), PrizePicks (120 shows), Indeed (117 shows). Fiction, comedy, games and leisure are not niches of their own in our data, so those rows say "not filed". Our niches do not match Libsyn's one for one, so we grouped them: business is our business, marketing, finance, productivity and crypto shows; technology is tech, AI and developer; society and culture is our culture shows. Health, education and science match by name.
data through November 8, 2026 · brands read August 10, 2026 to November 8, 2026 · show notes that name a sponsor · no price paid is read · CPMs: Libsyn Ads, read November 8, 2026
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How the calculator works
Price an episode = downloads in the first 30 days x CPM / 1,000 x ad spots, the equation Libsyn Ads prints. A 60 second baked-in host read uses the genre's CPM. Every other ad unit uses its own band, because Libsyn's genre table covers baked-in host reads only. With a genre Libsyn does not list, the calculator uses its $25 industry average.
Count downloads in an episode's first 30 days, the number advertisers price on. An episode that keeps getting downloads for months is worth more to a baked-in read, which stays in it, than to a dynamic ad, which can be swapped out.
Where the numbers come from
The CPMs are Libsyn Ads' published rate card, read on November 8, 2026; the page carries no date of its own. The brand counts are ours: every podcast episode whose show notes name a sponsor, read across 2,279 shows between August 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026, one sponsor read per brand per episode, with the show's own brand and adult brands left out. These are the same rows our podcast sponsors pages print.
Questions
How much do podcast ads cost?
Libsyn Ads lists a baked-in host read at $24 to $26 per 1,000 downloads for 60 seconds and $18 to $22 for 30 seconds (read November 8, 2026). Price = downloads in the first 30 days x CPM / 1,000. A show with 5,000 downloads an episode charges about $120 to $130 for one 60 second read.
What is a good CPM for a podcast?
Libsyn Ads puts the average baked-in host read at $24 to $26. By genre it lists Business at $30, Health and fitness at $27, Technology and Education at $26, Fiction at $24, Science, Comedy and Society and culture at $23, and Games and Leisure at $22. Dynamic inserts run lower: $18 to $22 on new episodes, $14 to $16 across the back catalog and $12 to $15 programmatic.
Why do host reads cost more than dynamic ads?
A baked-in host read is recorded by the host and stays in that episode for good, so it keeps earning downloads after the first month. A dynamic ad is inserted at download time and can be swapped out, and a programmatic ad is bought across many shows at once, so both sell for less per 1,000 downloads.
Which brands sponsor podcasts?
In the last 90 days we read 16,486 sponsor reads in 5,922 episodes of 2,279 podcasts, from 2,985 brands. On business podcasts the brands on the most shows were Shopify (12 shows), DeleteMe (9 shows), Monarch (9 shows), AG1 Next Gen (5 shows), AppLovin (5 shows), Indeed (5 shows). On health and fitness shows: LMNT (23 shows), Cozy Earth (19 shows), Quince (17 shows), Timeline (17 shows), BON CHARGE (14 shows), Betterhelp (12 shows). Each podcast page lists its own sponsors.
Is this what brands actually paid?
No. The CPMs are Libsyn Ads' published rate card. We read which brands sponsor which shows from episode show notes that name a sponsor; we never see the price a brand paid.
Is anything I type stored?
Your entries travel in the page address and the result is built from them. We don't ask for an account, and ordinary web server logs can record a page address, so leave out anything private.
Sources
- CPMs by genre and ad unit: Libsyn Ads, Podcast Advertising Rates, read November 8, 2026.
- Brands sponsoring podcasts: Book a Sponsor, 16,486 sponsor reads in 5,922 episodes of 2,279 podcasts, August 10, 2026 to November 8, 2026.
Turn the rate into a booked sponsor
Paste your newsletter. Book a Sponsor lists the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours, finds the person who buys the ads, and emails them every day from its own mailboxes. You get the replies and close the deal.
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Next: see which brands sponsor each podcast and paste your show.