Cost per episode
The fully-loaded cost of producing one podcast episode - including team time for recording, editing, show notes, clips and promotion, plus a share of gear, software and any guest or freelancer costs.
For example, a team thinks an episode costs them the £30 hosting fee. But once they count 12 hours of team time across recording, editing, clips and promotion at a blended rate, the true cost per episode is closer to £600.
Why it matters: knowing your true cost per episode is the only way to compare in-house production honestly against an agency, and to weigh the show's cost against the pipeline it influences. Counting only cash costs badly understates it.
Most teams under-count by ignoring team time - once you load in recording, editing and promotion hours, the true cost per episode is usually multiples of the cash cost.
Cost per episode = (team hours per episode x blended hourly cost) + per-episode gear/software + guest/freelancer costs
The team-hours term is almost always the largest, and the one most often left out.
- Counting only gear and software, not the hours.
- Forgetting promotion - an unedited, unpromoted episode is cheap and worthless.
What is cost per episode?
The fully-loaded cost of producing one podcast episode - including team time for recording, editing, show notes, clips and promotion, plus a share of gear, software and any guest or freelancer costs.
How do I calculate the cost of a podcast episode?
Add up the team hours spent on recording, editing, show notes, clips and promotion at a realistic blended rate, then add a per-episode share of gear and software and any guest or freelancer costs.