01 Dec How Much Does Podcasting Cost?

How Much Does Podcasting Cost?

Do you want to produce and start a podcast? Starting your own podcast can be used as a marketing tool to get your message to the masses. But it’s not limited to businesses and marketing teams.

Podcasting can be a super fun activity that allows you to share your opinion, thoughts, and ideas with whoever will listen. And the beauty of podcasting is that it’s straightforward and easy to get into.

Depending on your goals, podcasting is limitless – as a hobby, side hustle, or using it to promote your business. 

Podcasting is a great way to connect with your audience, share information and build trust with your audience.

But to get into podcasting, for businesses and individuals alike, an important question is how much does podcasting actually cost? Or to rephrase, how much does it cost to create a successful podcast? The short answer? It depends.

The costs to record a podcast can vary greatly depending on your goals and needs. 

With the slightly cheaper, ‘homemade’ options, the quality is often paired with crackling or loss of audio and additional quality-related issues. 

But that doesn’t mean you need to invest in really expensive podcast equipment either.

Read on to find out the different ways to podcast, and how much it costs.

The Different Ways You Can Podcast

Home Podcasting

One way in which you can podcast is from your own home, but as mentioned previously, the quality of the recording is likely to be reduced in comparison to booking out studio space in order to record. There are also a few costs you need to consider when creating your home podcast setup.

You first need to source recording and editing software. There are free options, of course, and as we said before, you don’t need to invest in expensive recording software and equipment. 

In fact, it is likely you can record a podcast using some of the equipment you already have.

However, we would recommend investing in a separate podcast microphone. Focusing your search on microphones that are designed for podcasting will save you money and effort in the long run, and differ hugely from the microphone on your phone, tablet, or laptop.

An average microphone can cost as low as £20, but a high-quality microphone can cost as much as £7,000! 

The problem is, you can’t cover up the poor sound quality and opting for an average microphone may give average results.

Another consideration is the type of headphones you use. Whilst you may think your regular earphones will do the trick, they’re not usually equipped for true monitoring or editing. 

In order to be really precise, you would benefit from using studio headphones. An average studio headphone can cost around £150, with some state-of-the-art headphones costing over £5,000.

The final stage is editing your podcast. And for that, you need high-quality podcast editing software. Again, you can opt for free audio editing software such as GarageBand or Audacity. But with these free tools, there are slight limitations.

Firstly, you need to consider tools that have good editing capabilities. Because recording and editing your podcast are two separate processes, you need a fully equipped tool (or an editor).

Some of the most equipped and popular tools can cost up to £200 a month. Alternatively, freelance producers/editors can cost upwards of £50 an hour.

Using a Podcasting Studio

 When looking at podcasting studios, you should consider the expertise on-site and the equipment supplied. Do they have a soundproof recording space? Do they have an audio engineer on call?

A professional studio will be equipped with state-of-the-art headphones, quality microphones, computers, an audio interface, microphone stands, the latest podcast recording software, and more, allowing you to focus on what you need – a high-quality podcast.

In fact, working from a podcasting studio can help you save money whilst using industry-standard equipment and facilities. It can really make a huge difference to your podcast production.

In addition, a studio will often have podcast hosting services, audio engineers, podcast producers, and a post-production team which you can hire along with your package at a much lower cost than an average freelance or production partner.

How Much Does It Cost To Record A Podcast?

Home Podcasting Costs

So, all in all, how much does it cost to start a podcast from home? For an average podcasting setup, and maybe cutting a few corners in regard to podcasting costs, this can cost around £500 not including a monthly fee of £20. 

Once you begin adding in microphone stands, additional microphones for your guests, mixers, and pop filters, this cost can suddenly go from £500 to £1,000.

Studio Podcast Costs

And how much does a standard podcast studio cost? 

For all that equipment above, expertise on call, soundproof spaces and more – you can find that for as little as £70 per hour. 

For both beginners looking to start a podcast and advanced podcasters, podcasting from a studio is not only cheaper in general, but a well-equipped podcasting studio will equip you with industry-standard equipment to enable you to produce the highest quality podcasts.

Additional Costs

So, you have paid for your podcast to be produced, but maintaining a podcast is like any product or service. If you want your product or service to reach more people, you need to invest in the maintenance of your podcast. This is done through marketing and branding.

Marketing Your Podcast

Popular methods of publicizing your podcast are via social media. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkedIn can be used to leverage your reach. If you have a following already, that’s great, and can save you time in the long run.

However, if you are just starting out, you may need to spend aspects of your budget on ads and/or influencers to increase your reach. 

And even if you have a following already, advertising your podcast is going to be a great way to spread awareness, and reach audiences you haven’t yet tapped. But of course, this costs money.

How much you can expect to invest depends on your platform. Whilst LinkedIn can be far more targeted than Instagram or Facebook, advertising there can cost 5x as much.

Podcast Branding

Do you need cover art? Do you have a logo? What about theme music? Image and design are important for a podcast, despite it being an audio product. 

Many listeners tend to find the cover art more important than the title to attract them to your podcast. In addition, music can really personify a podcast and help it stand out as podcasting becomes more popular.

Logo, cover art designers and custom music designers work upwards of £25-£50 an hour, so this can be an additional cost to consider.

How Outset Studios Can Help You

Whatever your podcast content, whether you are running an interview-based podcast, a conversational podcast, or even a solo piece, here at Outset Studios we are fully equipped with podcast professionals with years in the podcasting industry. Beginner podcasters and professional podcasters are equally welcome at our podcast production company.

From £70/hr, you can hire our well-equipped studio to record your podcast in a professional, cutting-edge environment. Our podcast recording studios consist of professional recording equipment for you and your guests.

We have a team of podcast producers that can provide you with editing services and be equipped with streaming tech so you can stream your content live on all major listening platforms such as Facebook and Instagram live, Twitch, and even YouTube.

So why not use one of our dedicated podcast room hire for all your recording, editing and podcast production needs? Book today!