what it costs
Radio and DAX advertising cost
Radio has no public price list, and Global's self-serve planner is the newest way in.
A short application: five questions, no card. Approved accounts get the whole loop in their own sandbox, up to a monthly cap. Live spend is open to paid design partners.
By James Rooney Updated
- UK commercial radio, 2025
- £747m
- Our fee on the lines we plan
- 10%
- Our audio plan floor
- £250 per line
- Above £25,000 a month
- 5% + £749
how this is planned
AdBuyMCP plans podcast and digital audio from one audience, and scores how much of it carried over.
Read the channel pagethe figures
How much does radio advertising cost in the UK?
Every figure carries its source and the date it was checked. Where a seller publishes no price, the table says so.
| What it measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Market minimumFM and DAB airtime (station groups) | Not published; sold by station sales teams and agencies | Radiocentre, grow your business with radio advertisingIndustry body, checked 24 September 2026 |
| Market minimumGlobal AdPower (Heart, Capital, Smooth, LBC, Radio X, Classic FM, Gold, DAX) | None published; prices shown inside the planner | Global, Global launches AdPowerSeller's own page, 11 June 2026, checked 24 September 2026 |
| Market minimumDAX, Global's digital audio exchange | Not published | Global, DAXSeller's own page, checked 24 September 2026 |
| Typical CPTCommercial radio | £1.54 per thousand listeners (2021) | Communicorp UK, the cost of radio advertisingSeller's own page, 14 September 2021, checked 24 September 2026 |
| ClearanceRadiocentre, broadcast radio | Standard within 24 hours; Fast Track in 2 hours for £300 plus VAT, £100 plus VAT for members | Radiocentre, Fast Track clearanceClearance body, checked 24 September 2026 |
| Market sizeUK commercial radio, 2025 | £747m, a record; £89.5m of it from broadcasters' digital audio formats | Radiocentre, commercial radio reports record ad revenues for 2025Industry body, 2 March 2026, checked 24 September 2026 |
| Realistic startA digital audio test | £1,000 to £2,500 over four weeks | Our planning estimate |
| Our plan floorPodcast and audio line, DAX included | £250 per line | Product fact |
Checked against their sources on 24 September 2026. Rates move, so check the date before you lean on one.
How is radio airtime priced?
Radio is sold by the station groups through their own sales teams and through agencies, and none publishes a price list. Radiocentre, the industry body, sends buyers to a station's sales team or to a media agency, and Bauer's advertising page lists its services without prices. Radiocentre gives four weeks as the standard length for most campaigns.
The one published cost per thousand we found is £1.54 per thousand listeners, from Communicorp UK in 2021, so treat it as a dated guide to the order of magnitude.
Can you book radio and DAX advertising self-serve?
Yes, on Global's stations. AdPower launched on 11 June 2026 and books FM, DAB and DAX audio on Heart, Capital, Smooth, LBC, Radio X, Classic FM and Gold, alongside Global's outdoor network. Global says campaigns can go live as soon as the next day and shows prices inside the planner, and it publishes no minimum spend.
DAX itself, Global's digital audio exchange, publishes no CPM or minimum on its own pages.
How does clearance work for radio and DAX?
Radiocentre clears broadcast radio scripts, usually within 24 hours during office hours, and a Fast Track clearance in two hours costs £300 plus VAT, or £100 plus VAT for full members. Ads in special categories, including credit, gambling, alcohol, health, financial advice and environmental claims, must be approved before they air.
DAX and other streamed audio ads fall under the CAP Code, and Radiocentre offers advice on them that is not a compulsory clearance.
What does AdBuyMCP do for radio today?
AdBuyMCP plans digital audio as one of its seven channels, in a podcast and audio line with a floor of £250. It writes the deal paperwork for Global's DAX supply and for Acast, and the seller confirms the deal. It does not plan or book FM or DAB airtime. Live spend is open to paid design partners.
The category decides the calendar. Credit, gambling, alcohol, health and financial ads must be cleared by Radiocentre before they air, so a regulated product plans the clearance day in.
costs beyond the media
What else will you pay beyond the airtime?
Clearance
Broadcast radio scripts are cleared by Radiocentre, usually within 24 hours. Special-category ads must be approved before they air, and Fast Track costs £300 plus VAT for non-members.
Voiceover and production
A generated UK voiceover here costs £1.25 and a music bed 50p, charged separately from the media. A professional read is a different product with its own quote.
What we charge on the lines we plan
10% of media, or 5% plus £749 a month above £25,000 of trailing 30-day spend.
Live spend is open to paid design partners. The market figures above are other sellers’ prices, and nothing on this page funds a campaign. The loop that builds a plan runs in the sandbox, which opens to an approved application and takes no card. How the design-partner engagement works.
the lines we plan
What do the plan lines beside this market cost?
All seven channels a plan can carry are priced on what UK media costs.
Where the market figures come from
- Radiocentre, grow your business with radio advertising (industry body, checked 24 September 2026)
- Global, Global launches AdPower (seller's own page, 11 June 2026, checked 24 September 2026)
- Global, DAX (seller's own page, checked 24 September 2026)
- Communicorp UK, the cost of radio advertising (seller's own page, 14 September 2021, checked 24 September 2026)
- Radiocentre, Fast Track clearance (clearance body, checked 24 September 2026)
- Radiocentre, commercial radio reports record ad revenues for 2025 (industry body, 2 March 2026, checked 24 September 2026)
- Bauer Media, advertising services (seller's own page, checked 24 September 2026)
- Radiocentre, digital advice service made permanent (clearance body, 6 November 2019, checked 24 September 2026)
Checked against their sources on 24 September 2026. Rates move, so check the date before you lean on one.
book a working session
Bring one audience and a real budget, and we'll cost seven channels.
Bring a real brief to a 45-minute session and we’ll plan it live. We plan it in the sandbox against the published floors, and the lines the budget cannot carry are dropped in front of you.
A five-question application, no card.
Bring a real brief to a 45-minute session and we’ll plan it live.
Questions about radio and DAX cost
How much does radio advertising cost in the UK?
No UK station group publishes a rate card, so the price of airtime is a quote from the station or an agency. The one published figure we found is £1.54 per thousand listeners, from Communicorp UK in 2021. Global's AdPower shows its prices inside its self-serve planner and publishes no minimum spend. Radiocentre gives four weeks as the standard campaign length.
Is there a minimum spend for DAX?
Global publishes none. Its DAX pages carry no CPM or minimum, and AdPower, which books DAX alongside Global's radio stations, shows its prices inside the planner.
Can AdBuyMCP buy radio?
It plans digital audio, including deal paperwork for Global's DAX, inside its podcast and audio line from £250. It does not plan or book FM or DAB airtime. Live spend is open to paid design partners.