Resources · 7 min read

How much does it cost to start a podcast?

By Vertical Drop · Updated 30 October 2026

Anywhere from almost nothing to several thousand pounds, depending on how you record and how much you do yourself. Here is an honest breakdown of the real numbers, from the team at our Clerkenwell studio, so you can pick the setup that fits your budget and your ambitions.

What are the main costs of starting a podcast?

Every podcast budget breaks down into four buckets: recording (the equipment or studio you use to capture audio and video), production (editing, mixing and artwork), hosting and distribution (the service that stores your episodes and sends them to Spotify and Apple), and promotion (clips, social assets and any advertising). Most first-time podcasters obsess over the first bucket and underestimate the second. In practice, editing time is where budgets and enthusiasm are most often lost, so it pays to plan for all four from day one. For the full launch process around these numbers, see our guide on how to start a podcast.

How much does podcast equipment cost if you record at home?

A workable home setup starts at around £100 to £200: a solid USB microphone such as a Samson Q2U or Audio-Technica ATR2100x, a pair of closed-back headphones, and a boom arm or desk stand. That gets you acceptable audio in a quiet, soft-furnished room. Stepping up to XLR microphones and an audio interface pushes the budget to £400 to £800, and adding decent video (camera, lighting, backdrop) can easily take a two-person home studio past £1,500.

The hidden cost of home recording is the room itself. Echoey walls, traffic noise and inconsistent levels are the problems listeners actually notice, and fixing them with acoustic treatment costs more than most microphones. That is why so many home-recorded shows sound worse than their equipment list suggests.

Is hiring a podcast studio cheaper than buying equipment?

Studio hire avoids the upfront cost of buying equipment. At our studio, the rate is £105 per hour with a two-hour minimum session. That includes the treated room, broadcast-grade microphones, 4K multi-camera video and an engineer running the session. Editing and other post-production services are quoted separately.

• Standard session: £105/hr, minimum two hours (£210).
• Half day: Book four hours in one day for a 10% discount: £420 − 10% = £378.
• Full day: Book eight hours in one day for a 20% discount: £840 − 20% = £672.

Two separate two-hour sessions each month cost £420 per month, or £5,040 over 12 months, for recording only. If you can record the same four hours in one day, the half-day rate is £378. Whether hiring or buying is cheaper depends on how often you record and what equipment you need.

How much does podcast editing cost?

Editing your own audio costs nothing but time, and the time is substantial: expect three to five hours of editing per hour of recorded conversation while you learn. Freelance editors typically charge £50 to £150 per episode for audio, and £150 to £400 per episode once multi-camera video, colour grading and social clips are involved. Some studios, including ours, offer post-production as an add-on, which keeps the whole chain (recording, edit, clips) with one team and avoids the file-shuffling between suppliers.

What do hosting and distribution cost?

This is the cheap part. Podcast hosting platforms such as Spotify for Creators, Buzzsprout, Transistor and Captivate range from free to about £20 per month. Distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube costs nothing beyond that. Budget £0 to £240 per year here, plus a one-off £50 to £150 if you commission cover artwork rather than designing it yourself.

So what does a realistic first-year budget look like?

For two separate two-hour studio sessions every month, budget £420 a month or £5,040 a year for recording. Add editing, hosting and promotion according to what your show needs. Recording four hours on a single day each month reduces the recording cost to £378 a month or £4,536 a year. Keep those recording costs separate from any production package so you can compare like for like.

What if you'd rather have it all done for you?

For businesses who want the full first-year tier handled end to end, we offer a package called Big Mic Energy: a complete 10-episode podcast season for £8,250 including VAT. It covers guest liaison and outreach, the recording of all 10 episodes, editing of longform video and audio, 3 clips per episode, one animated trailer, podcast branding, launch, and hosting fees for the season. In practice it replaces every line item above — recording, production, hosting and promotion — with a single fixed cost, which is useful if you'd rather budget once than manage four separate suppliers.

How can you keep costs down without sounding cheap?

Three tactics work well. First, batch record: two or three episodes in one studio session spreads the booking cost and keeps your feed ahead of schedule. Second, spend on capture, save on the rest, because clean recordings are quick to edit while bad ones are expensive to rescue. Third, start before you invest. Record a pilot, listen back honestly, and only then decide what deserves your money. We offer a free pilot episode for exactly this reason: it lets you test your idea in a professional room at zero cost.

The short version

Studio recording is £105/hr with a two-hour minimum. A four-hour half day in one day is £378 after a 10% discount; an eight-hour full day in one day is £672 after a 20% discount. Two separate two-hour sessions cost £420. Editing, hosting and promotion are separate costs unless included in an agreed production package.