Podcast CPM Calculator
(Sponsorship Revenue and Effective CPM)
Enter downloads per episode, your CPM and ad slots to estimate revenue, or enter a sponsor's flat price to see the effective CPM.
What do you want to work out?
Typical downloads in the first 30 days
Price per 1,000 downloads for one slot
Share of ad slots you sell
Result
💡 Formula Guide
How Podcast Advertising Is Priced
Most podcast ads are sold on a CPM basis: a price per thousand downloads of the episode carrying the ad. That makes revenue a direct product of audience size and price, and it is why every podcaster who is approached by a sponsor ends up doing the same arithmetic. This podcast CPM calculator does it both ways: it estimates income from a CPM you charge, and it works out the effective CPM implied by a flat fee a sponsor offers you.
Example. An episode with 8,000 downloads and a $25 CPM earns 8 × $25 = $200 for one ad slot. With two slots and 70% sell-through, an episode earns $200 × 2 × 0.7 = $280. Four episodes a month gives $1,120, or $13,440 a year. Notice how much rides on sell-through: at 100% the same show would earn $1,600 a month.
Working Backwards From a Sponsor's Offer
If a sponsor offers a flat $200 for one read and your episodes get 8,000 downloads, the effective CPM is $25. If they offer $100, it is $12.50, half the first figure. Seeing the offer as a CPM lets you compare it with your usual rate and with other offers.
Reference Rates and Their Limits
Podcast pricing is mostly private, so public figures are best read as reference points. The figures below come from the Castos guide to podcast advertising rates, published in September 2026:
| Ad type | CPM | Source given by Castos |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-recorded ad | $15 – $30 | Acast published rate guidance, 2026 (starting points) |
| Host-read sponsorship | $25 – $40 | Acast published rate guidance, 2026 (starting points) |
| 60-second spot, average | $21.37 | Final Libsyn / AdvertiseCast report, September 2024 |
Castos notes that the Libsyn / AdvertiseCast monthly rate series has ended and nothing has replaced it, so many CPM figures quoted online are out of date. Rates also differ by category, country and ad format. Use these figures to judge whether an offer is in a normal range, and rely on your own past deals to set a price.
Getting the Download Number Right
CPM pricing depends on the download count, so the count has to be one a sponsor will accept. Your hosting platform reports raw downloads, but responsible counting removes repeat requests, bots and partial pre-fetches. The IAB Tech Lab publishes podcast measurement guidelines that define how a download should be counted, and hosts that follow them give sponsors more confidence. Use a consistent window, such as downloads in the first 30 days, and average across recent episodes rather than your best one. Back-catalog episodes can keep gaining downloads for years, which matters if your sponsor buys evergreen placement, but for planning it is safer to use the typical first-month figure.
💡 Tip: when you pitch, quote your average downloads per episode over the last 5 to 10 episodes, not your peak. An average is a figure you can deliver again.
How to Use This Calculator
- Choose whether to estimate revenue from a CPM or work out the CPM from a sponsor's price.
- Enter average downloads per episode.
- For revenue mode, enter your CPM, ad slots per episode, episodes per month and sell-through. For CPM mode, enter the sponsor's price.
- Read per-slot, per-episode, monthly and yearly revenue, or the effective CPM.
For the pricing unit itself, see the CPM Calculator and the eCPM Calculator. Compare with other creator income using the Newsletter Revenue Calculator and the YouTube Revenue Calculator. If a brand deal is priced per post instead of per download, the Influencer Rate Calculator helps you set it, and the Affiliate Commission Calculator models the affiliate route many smaller shows use.
Frequently Asked Questions About Podcast CPM
How do you calculate podcast ad revenue?
Divide downloads per episode by 1,000, multiply by the CPM for one ad slot, then multiply by the number of slots you sell. With 8,000 downloads and a $25 CPM, one slot earns 8 × $25 = $200. Two slots at 70% sell-through is $280 an episode, and four episodes a month is $1,120.
What is a typical podcast CPM?
Castos, citing Acast's published rate guidance, puts pre-recorded podcast ads at $15 to $30 CPM in 2026 and host-read sponsorships at $25 to $40. Acast's figures are starting points, not averages. Most pricing is private and negotiated, so treat any published range as a reference only.
How can I turn a flat sponsor price into a CPM?
Divide the price by downloads and multiply by 1,000. A $200 offer on an episode with 8,000 downloads is a $25 CPM. Switch the calculator to the CPM mode to compare that figure with published ranges and decide whether to accept or counter.
Which downloads should I use?
Use verified downloads over a standard window, often the first 30 days, from your hosting platform. Industry guidelines from the IAB Tech Lab define how to count downloads, filtering repeats and bots. Sponsors often want that data, so inflated numbers can cost you credibility.
Why does CPM differ between ad positions?
Pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads play at different points in an episode, and not every listener reaches each one. In the rate guidance quoted on this page, host-read sponsorships are priced above pre-recorded ads. Ask the sponsor which placement and format the price covers.
What is sell-through rate for a podcast?
The percentage of your ad inventory that actually sells. If you have two slots per episode and typically sell one, sell-through is 50%. Enter the share you have sold in recent months.
Do I need a large audience to get sponsors?
Not necessarily. Advertisers pay for reach and for how well the audience matches what they sell. Small shows may also work with flat rates or affiliate deals instead of CPM, which the calculator's CPM mode helps you evaluate.
Is this an accurate income forecast?
It is an estimate. Downloads fluctuate by episode, sponsors negotiate, and campaigns run in seasons. Use the calculator to plan and to sanity-check offers, and update inputs with real episode data as you collect it.
Last Updated: October 2026 | Reference rates are from the Castos guide to podcast advertising rates (September 2026), which cites Acast and the final Libsyn / AdvertiseCast report. Most podcast pricing is private, so actual offers vary.