guide · buying the awkward channels

How to buy podcast ads in the UK

Choose between an inserted spot and a host read first, because the route, the price and the lead time all follow from it.

There are four practical routes into UK podcast advertising: Spotify's Ad Studio, Acast's self-serve, Acast's sponsorship marketplace and Global's AdPower. The format comes first. A dynamically inserted spot is bought on a CPM through a self-serve tool, from £250 on Spotify, and Acast has quoted $250, £250 or €250 for its self-serve. A host read is agreed show by show, and Acast says it typically takes four to six weeks. AdBuyMCP plans audio as one of seven channels from the same sentence of audience, with a £250 plan floor and a fidelity score of 65 at content level.
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By James Rooney Updated

Spotify Ad Studio
From £250
Acast host read
4 to 6 weeks' lead
Acast CPM guide
$15 to $40, in US dollars
Length
7 min read
evidenceNo campaign outcomes
On this page
What to rememberPick the format before the routeThe four routes, side by sideBuying a self-serve spot, step by stepBooking a host read, step by stepClearance and the rules on labellingWhere AdBuyMCP fitsWhat this does not claimWhere this came fromQuestions

key points

What to remember

These are the points most likely to change your decision, and the full guide follows below.

  1. 01

    Choose the format first. An inserted spot is targeted, reported on and removable, and a host read borrows the host's voice and is agreed show by show.

  2. 02

    Self-serve entry is low: Spotify's Ad Studio starts at £250, and Acast has quoted $250, £250 or €250 for its self-serve.

  3. 03

    Every targeting option on Acast's self-serve beyond country adds to the CPM, from 20% for a region or a category to 50% for a custom show list.

  4. 04

    Host reads take weeks: Acast says four to six, with one to two weeks for the podcaster's review and one to two for the script and recording.

  5. 05

    Measure response you own. A promo code, a vanity URL or UTM-tagged traffic tells you more about a small audio test than an impression count does.

01

Pick the format before the route

A podcast ad is either inserted or read. A dynamically inserted spot is a produced ad placed before, during or after an episode as it is downloaded or streamed, and it can be targeted, reported on and swapped out. A host read is the presenter delivering your message in their own voice, agreed with the show.

The two are priced apart. Acast's own guide, updated for 2026, puts pre-recorded podcast ads at $15 to $30 per thousand and host-read sponsorships at $25 to $40, with business, finance and B2B shows at $40 and above. Those are US dollar figures on Acast's UK page, and no UK primary source we checked publishes a sterling podcast CPM.

The choice follows the job. A spot suits a test, because it is cheap, targeted and quick to change. A host read suits a considered purchase, where the host's standing with the audience is part of what you are buying. On Acast's sponsorships marketplace the podcaster approves every advertiser.

Sources: Acast, How much does podcast advertising cost? (vendor claim); Acast Learning Center, How to book a host-read sponsorship (vendor docs).

02

The four routes, side by side

Here are the four routes with published terms. Direct deals with independent shows and programmatic audio through a DSP are two more ways in, and neither publishes UK prices we could confirm, so neither is in the table.

Four routes into UK podcast and digital audio advertising

RouteWhat you buyEntry pointHow it is pricedLead time
Spotify Ad StudioAudio ads in Spotify's music streaming and podcasts£250 a campaign, with a minimum average daily budget of $15AuctionAn ad set starts once one of its ads is approved
Acast self-serveDynamically inserted spots across Acast's podcasts$250, £250 or €250, as Acast has quoted itCPM, with targeting surchargesNot published
Acast sponsorships marketplaceHost reads on named showsNo published minimumA price per show per week, from the show's CPM and its estimated weekly impressionsTypically 4 to 6 weeks
Global AdPowerGlobal's FM, DAB and DAX digital audio, and its outdoor networkNo published minimumShown inside the plannerLive as soon as the next day
From each seller's own pages, checked on 24 September 2026. Acast's self-serve entry figure is from its 2023 guide for local businesses, and its current product page states no minimum. Spotify's daily minimum is in US dollars on its UK help page.

Sources: Spotify Advertising, Small business advertising, UK (rate card); Spotify Ads help, Setting your budget, UK (rate card); Acast, How to promote your local business with self-serve podcast advertising (vendor claim); Acast Learning Center, Self-serve campaign cost (rate card); Acast Learning Center, How to book a host-read sponsorship (vendor docs); Global, Global launches AdPower self-service advertising (vendor announcement).

03

Buying a self-serve spot, step by step

A self-serve spot is the quickest way to find out whether a podcast audience responds to you, and the steps are the same on either tool.

Set the budget
Spotify's Ad Studio starts at £250 a campaign, with a minimum average daily budget of $15. Acast has quoted $250, £250 or €250 as the entry point for testing its self-serve.
Choose the targeting
Country targeting costs nothing extra on Acast. Regions, cities and postcodes add 20%, podcast categories 20% (Business and Finance 40%), audience attributes 20%, devices 20% and a custom show list 50%.
Make the ad
Record a produced spot, or generate a voiceover in AdBuyMCP's creative studio. Keep to one idea and one call to action, because the listener cannot click.
Allow for approval
Spotify starts an ad set once at least one of its ads is approved, so leave time for review before your start date.
Measure the response
Acast lists impressions, website traffic in Google Analytics, UTM parameters, promo codes, third-party tracking tags and customer surveys. A promo code or a vanity URL is the cheapest way to see response from a small test.

Sources: Spotify Advertising, Small business advertising, UK (rate card); Spotify Ads help, Setting your budget, UK (rate card); Acast, How to promote your local business with self-serve podcast advertising (vendor claim); Acast Learning Center, Self-serve campaign cost (rate card).

04

Booking a host read, step by step

Acast's sponsorships marketplace sets out seven steps. The order matters, because the podcaster can say no.

Select shows
Pick shows by audience and category. Each carries a price per week, built from its CPM and its estimated weekly impressions.
Submit a proposal
Send it to the shows you picked. Podcasters approve every advertiser that wants to sponsor their show.
Wait for approval
Acast puts the podcaster's review at one to two weeks.
Confirm the booking
Confirm once the show accepts.
Write the script
Brief the host with the facts they must say and leave the delivery to them. Script development and recording take another one to two weeks.
Review the read
Listen to the recorded read before it goes out, because it is in the host's voice rather than yours.
Launch and track
Track the response on your own site with a code or a URL that is unique to the show.

Source: Acast Learning Center, How to book a host-read sponsorship (vendor docs).

05

Clearance and the rules on labelling

Broadcast radio has pre-clearance for some categories. Radiocentre's clearance team must approve broadcast radio ads from special-category advertisers, among them credit, gambling, alcohol, health and financial advice, and its standard turnaround is 24 hours in office hours. Fast Track clearance in two hours costs £300 plus VAT for non-members and £100 plus VAT for full members.

Streamed audio ads, DAX included, come under the non-broadcast CAP Code rather than the broadcast one. Radiocentre's clearance team said in 2019 that it gives advice on them at no extra cost to members and that the advice is not compulsory. We have not checked the CAP guidance on labelling a host read as advertising, so ask the show how it identifies sponsored content before you brief the host.

Sources: Radiocentre, Clearance: Fast Track and Trustmark (clearance body); Radiocentre, Clearance team makes its digital advice service permanent (clearance body).

06

Where AdBuyMCP fits

AdBuyMCP plans podcast and digital audio as one of seven channels from the same sentence of audience. It compiles that audience into show and genre allowlists and publisher segments, grades the translation 65 out of 100 at content level, and sets the dayparts from the brief, so a business audience buys the commutes. A line under the £250 plan floor is dropped and its budget moves to lines that can carry it.

It reaches audio through five connectors: StackAdapt, Amazon Ads, Spotify, Global DAX and Acast. Named-show deals run as booking paperwork, and a person at the seller confirms each one. Every connector's evidence grade is published on the supply page, and none has spent money yet.

The version of this that matters is the one with your own audience in it. Apply for a sandbox of your own, and once it is approved every channel gets scored against that audience, with nobody else in the room.

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A five-question application, no card.

what this guide does not claim

The limits of this guide

This guide describes how UK podcast advertising is bought, from each seller's own pages checked on 24 September 2026. Prices move, and several figures are in US dollars on UK pages, so check the seller's current page before you budget. No UK primary source we checked publishes a sterling podcast CPM, a DAX minimum or a price for a direct deal with a show, and none is printed here. AdBuyMCP has not bought audio for anyone: its audio connectors run in a deterministic sandbox today and no rail has spent money. Live spend is open to paid design partners.

If one of those limits is disqualifying, it is better established now than in week three, and a call establishes it in forty-five minutes.

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where this came from

The source of every figure above

Outside figures link to the page that published them, each opened on 24 September 2026. Product facts name the code or data module they are read from.

Published sources

  1. 01Spotify Advertising, Small business advertising, UKRate card · opened 24 September 2026
  2. 02Acast, How to promote your local business with self-serve podcast advertisingVendor claim · dated 7 June 2023 · opened 24 September 2026
  3. 03Acast Learning Center, How to book a host-read sponsorshipVendor docs · updated 8 April 2025 · opened 24 September 2026
  4. 04Acast, How much does podcast advertising cost?Vendor claim · updated for 2026 · opened 24 September 2026
  5. 05Global, Global launches AdPower self-service advertisingVendor announcement · dated 11 June 2026 · opened 24 September 2026
  6. 06Spotify Ads help, Setting your budget, UKRate card · opened 24 September 2026
  7. 07Acast Learning Center, Self-serve campaign costRate card · updated 8 April 2025 · opened 24 September 2026
  8. 08Radiocentre, Clearance: Fast Track and TrustmarkClearance body · opened 24 September 2026
  9. 09Radiocentre, Clearance team makes its digital advice service permanentClearance body · dated 6 November 2019 · opened 24 September 2026

Our code and data

  • 01Every market figure above links to the seller or body that published it, each opened on 24 September 2026
  • 02src/data/channels.ts on this site: the audio fidelity band, the compiled vocabulary and the plan floor
  • 03src/data/supply.ts on this site: the audio connectors and their evidence grades

This guide is 1,508 words long, counted from its text when the page is built. Where the platform’s README and its code disagree, the code wins.

read next

Where the claims above are checkable

Everything asserted here is checkable somewhere else on this site or in the product itself.

What podcast advertising costs

The cost layers of a UK audio campaign, from the media to the fee.

Podcast & digital audio

The channel page: what an audience compiles into, and the score it gets.

How to read a media plan

The fields a plan line should disclose, audio lines included.

the other 19 guides

bring a brief

We'll run all of this on your own audience.

In a 45-minute session, one sentence about your audience becomes seven channel plans in front of you, with the fidelity score, the lawful-basis manifest and the measurement eligibility on screen.

Start now Book a working session

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Bring a real brief to a 45-minute session and we’ll plan it live. · Design-partner phase · a sandbox account is granted on a five-question application, no card

Questions this guide gets asked

Answered in full here, and indexed alongside every other question this site answers at /faq.

What is the minimum spend for podcast ads in the UK?

On the self-serve tools it is low. Spotify's Ad Studio starts at £250 a campaign with a $15 minimum average daily budget, and Acast has quoted $250, £250 or €250 for its self-serve. Host reads on Acast's marketplace have no published minimum and are priced per show per week, and Global's AdPower publishes no minimum.

How long does it take to get a host-read podcast ad live?

Acast says four to six weeks on its sponsorships marketplace: one to two weeks for the podcaster to review your proposal, and one to two weeks for the script and recording. A self-serve spot is quicker, because it needs only the tool's own approval.

Should I start with a host read or an inserted spot?

Start with a spot if the aim is to learn. It is cheaper, it can be targeted and reported on, and a promo code shows you the response quickly. Move to host reads once you know which shows' listeners respond, because a host read costs more per thousand and takes weeks to arrange.