Rate card
A rate card is your published price list for sponsorship slots, split by ad type, placement and audience, giving sponsor talks a clear starting point.
A rate card is a published price list for the advertising or sponsorship slots a podcast sells, typically broken down by ad type, placement and audience size. It sets a clear starting point for negotiations with sponsors.
For example, a B2B sales podcast lists its rate card at 25 pounds CPM for host-read pre-rolls and a flat 1,500 pounds for a full episode takeover, making it easy for sponsors to budget.
Why it matters: a clear rate card signals professionalism and speeds up sponsorship deals by giving buyers a transparent, comparable price to work from.
Good looks like a clear, professional rate card that sponsors can read and budget against in minutes, backed by honest audience numbers.
- Pricing on download volume alone and ignoring how qualified the audience is.
- Hiding rates entirely, which adds friction and slows every deal down.
- Treating the published price as fixed and refusing sensible package deals.
What is a rate card?
A rate card is a published price list for the advertising or sponsorship slots a podcast sells, typically broken down by ad type, placement and audience size. It sets a clear starting point for negotiations with sponsors.
What should a podcast rate card include?
List each ad placement such as pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll, the pricing model, your audience size and any package deals. Keep it simple and easy to scan.
Should rate-card prices be fixed?
Treat them as a guide rather than a ceiling. Most B2B sponsorship deals are negotiated, and bundles or longer commitments often warrant a discount off the published rate.