what it costs
How much does podcast advertising cost in the UK?
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By James Rooney Updated
- lowest published minimum
- From £250 a campaign
- typical price
- $15 to $40 per 1,000 (Acast)
- channels in an AdBuyMCP plan
- 4
- ads in an AdBuyMCP plan
- Included
in an awareness plan
Your ad in the business, tech and news shows your buyers choose to listen to, sometimes read by the host.
Read the channel pagethe figures
UK podcast sellers publish these prices and minimums
Every seller figure links its source, the kind of source and the date it was checked. The last row is AdBuyMCP's own.
| What it measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Market minimumSpotify Ad Studio | £250 a campaign | Spotify Advertising UK, Small business advertisingSeller's own page, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Market minimumSpotify Ads Manager, UK help centre | About $250 lifetime in local currency, and a $15 minimum average daily budget (USD) | Spotify Ads help centre, Setting your budget (UK)Platform documentation, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Market minimumAcast self-serve | $250, £250 or €250 | Acast, Self-serve podcast advertising for local businessesSeller's own page, 7 June 2023, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Suggested budgetAcast self-serve (2023) | About $1,000 for a niche audience; $2,500 or more for broader reach | Acast, Self-serve podcast advertising for local businessesSeller's own page, 7 June 2023, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Typical CPMPre-recorded podcast ads (Acast) | $15 to $30 (USD) | Acast, How much does podcast advertising costSeller's own page, 20 November 2023, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Typical CPMHost-read sponsorships (Acast) | $25 to $40 (USD); business, finance and B2B shows $40 or more | Acast, How much does podcast advertising costSeller's own page, 20 November 2023, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Targeting surchargeAcast self-serve | 40% for the Business & Finance category; 20% each for region, city or postcode, other categories, audience attributes and device; 50% for a custom list of shows; country targeting free | Acast, Self-serve campaign costSeller's own page, 8 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Lead timeAcast host-read sponsorship | Four to six weeks to book; each podcaster approves the advertiser | Acast, How to book a host-read sponsorshipSeller's own page, 8 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026 |
| ListeningUK adults who listen to podcasts every week | 27% | Ofcom, International Podcast Day: our listening habitsRegulator, 30 September 2026, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Market sizeUK podcast advertising, 2024 | £90m, up 8% | Podnews, IAB UK: podcast ad market grows 8% in the UKTrade press, 29 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026 |
| In an AdBuyMCP planThe smallest plan, all four channels and the ads included | £3,000 a month, all-in | AdBuyMCP's published rate |
Market figures were checked against their sources on 20 October 2026. Sellers change their prices, so check the date before you rely on one. Each seller row is market data: it says what the seller publishes, not where an AdBuyMCP plan buys.
Compare this channel’s minimums with the other channels’ in the UK media minimums dataset, where every row has a dated source and the table downloads as a CSV.
Choose the podcast buy that fits the job.
Pick a format to see what to specify, request and measure before booking.
You want a presenter to explain the product in their own voice.
- Targeting
- Choose the show, the audience it serves and the episodes in scope. Ask whether the read is baked in or dynamically inserted.
- Procurement
- Ask for the named show, placement, estimated delivered impressions, exclusivity, usage rights and make-good terms. The host and sales house agree the script and recording.
- Measurement
- Use a unique URL or code and a defined attribution window. Responses show association; an exposure/control design is needed to estimate causal lift.
Read the supplier’s format information. Format descriptions checked 15 October 2026; prices and availability require a quote.
In an AdBuyMCP plan, podcasts are bought by show and category, and the weekly report counts the podcast line in downloads and ad deliveries. A download is not a confirmed play. See how far buying through each seller has been tested.
the unit
How are podcasts priced?
Most podcast ads are inserted into episodes as they download and sold per thousand impressions. A host-read sponsorship is priced per show per week, from the show's price per thousand and its expected weekly impressions, and the read runs in the show's episodes for as long as the campaign does.
What does the money reach?
Acast targets UK listeners by show, category and a partial postcode worked out from the listener's IP address, and sells a Business Leaders audience attribute. Spotify's self-serve podcast ads target by category, age, gender and location, and its Business category is sold programmatically only. Sellers count downloads and ad deliveries from their server logs, to the IAB Tech Lab standard.
beyond the media
What else should you plan for beyond the media?
A seller's headline price leaves these out.
Host reads take four to six weeks to book
Acast says a host-read booking takes four to six weeks, and each podcaster approves the advertiser. Leave those weeks before your start date.
Targeting a narrower audience raises the price
On Acast's self-serve platform a custom list of shows adds 50% to the price and most other options add 20%. Ask for quotes with your targeting already selected.
An AdBuyMCP plan includes the audio
If you buy podcast ads yourself, you supply the recording, or a script for a host to read. In an AdBuyMCP plan, we write the script and make the recorded ad, with a UK voiceover and a music bed, as part of your monthly price. A host read is recorded by the show's host.
On Acast's self-serve platform, choosing the Business & Finance category adds 40% to the price, and business, finance and B2B shows already sell at $40 or more per thousand.
in an AdBuyMCP plan
What do podcasts cost in an AdBuyMCP plan?
An AdBuyMCP plan buys podcasts with the other three channels for one all-in monthly price. The smallest plan, 3 times a week priced on a market of 10,000 people, is £3,000 a month, and we balance it across all four channels for your market.
All-in: the media, the ads we make for each channel from your website, the planning, buying and balancing across the four channels, and your weekly report, with no fee on top. Prices are shown before VAT.
What the £3,000 plan buys
- Out-of-home Billboard and screen artwork
- Streaming TV A streaming TV spot
- Podcasts A podcast ad
- ChatGPT ads A ChatGPT ad
What do the other three channels cost?
- Out-of-homeNo minimum on pay-per-play screens
- Streaming TV£0 minimum on Universal Ads
- ChatGPT ads£15 a day
For a first buy on this channel, read how to buy podcast ads in the UK.
Want your first test run with you in your own accounts? See managed services.
Each figure links back to one of these sources
- Spotify Advertising UK, Small business advertising (seller's own page, checked 20 October 2026)
- Spotify Ads help centre, Setting your budget (UK) (platform documentation, checked 20 October 2026)
- Acast, Self-serve podcast advertising for local businesses (seller's own page, 7 June 2023, checked 20 October 2026)
- Acast, How much does podcast advertising cost (seller's own page, 20 November 2023, checked 20 October 2026)
- Acast, Self-serve campaign cost (seller's own page, 8 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026)
- Acast, How to book a host-read sponsorship (seller's own page, 8 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026)
- Ofcom, International Podcast Day: our listening habits (regulator, 30 September 2026, checked 20 October 2026)
- Podnews, IAB UK: podcast ad market grows 8% in the UK (trade press, 29 April 2025, checked 20 October 2026)
- Acast, Campaign targeting (seller's own page, 16 December 2024, checked 20 October 2026)
- Spotify Advertising, Podcast advertising just got easier (seller's own page, launched 10 July 2025, checked 20 October 2026)
- IAB Tech Lab, Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines (industry body, updated 29 September 2026, checked 20 October 2026)
Each source shows when it was published or updated, where it says, and the date we checked it.
your plan and price
See what your market costs at 3, 5 or 12 times a week
Type your company website or work email to start. You'll see our draft of who buys from you, your market size and your all-in monthly price before you join the waitlist.
Free, with no card.
Talk your market and your plan through with James Rooney, who built AdBuyMCP and wrote its code.
Questions founders ask about what podcasts cost
Is the Spotify minimum £250 or $250?
Both appear on Spotify's own pages. Its UK small-business page says Ad Studio campaigns start at £250, and its UK help centre sets the lifetime minimum at roughly the equivalent of $250 in local currency, with a $15 minimum average daily budget. Plan on £250 and check the figure Ads Manager shows you at setup.
How long does an Acast host read stay in the episodes?
For as long as the campaign runs. Acast inserts host-read sponsorships into episodes as they download, so the read plays during the weeks you booked.
Is a host-read ad worth more than a pre-recorded one?
It can be, when the host's endorsement matters to your buyers. Acast prices host reads at $25 to $40 per thousand, against $15 to $30 for a pre-recorded spot, and the host reads your copy in their own voice.