Podcast Sponsorship Pricing: Setting Your Rates

How to price ad inventory — the CPM math, the premium factors, and the negotiation ranges.

The landscape

When it comes to rate-setting grounded in real market data, the details matter. Here's what the evidence and practitioner experience point to:

• Base rates: $15–$25 CPM for general content; $30–$50 for business/finance; $50–$100 for premium B2B niches.
• Placement multipliers: mid-roll at full rate, pre-roll at ~70%, post-roll at ~50% — position determines price.

What actually works

When it comes to rate-setting grounded in real market data, the details matter. Here's what the evidence and practitioner experience point to:

• Premium factors: host-read (vs produced), exclusivity, niche specificity, audience quality proof — each adds 10–30%.
• The negotiation range: sponsors expect 10–20% negotiation on published rates — price accordingly.

Putting it into practice

When it comes to rate-setting grounded in real market data, the details matter. Here's what the evidence and practitioner experience point to:

• Packages beat per-slot pricing: bundles (episode + newsletter + social) sell better and hide discounting.
• Know your floor: the rate below which the slot isn't worth the read — walk away below it.

Key takeaways

• Base rates: $15–$25 CPM for general content; $30–$50 for business/finance; $50–$100 for premium B2B niches.
• The negotiation range: sponsors expect 10–20% negotiation on published rates — price accordingly.
• Know your floor: the rate below which the slot isn't worth the read — walk away below it.

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