The 20 Highest Earning Podcasts

There are literally thousands of podcasts to choose from on any topic you could possibly imagine. Most of them are not great and probably will never be heard at all. On the other hand, a select few podcasts are extremely popular. Popular enough that they have turned into full time, extremely lucrative paying careers for the hosts. So, exactly how much money do the top podcasts make??? A couple things to note before you look at the list below. First off, out of the top 20 most popular podcasts on iTunes right now, only three are actually ad supported. The rest are either supported by listener donations or completely free. Secondly, it should also be noted that, as with all forms of media-buying, an advertiser can get a big discount from buying in advance and in bulk. So these numbers may go up and down depending on the particular deal. And finally, how’d we get the revenue numbers? Good question. It turns out that a bunch of the podcasters below have actually spoken publicly about how much money they are making. In the cases where the info wasn’t spoon fed to us, we were also lucky enough to have access to an insider in the media sales industry. This anonymous insider helped fill in the gaps when needed. And finally, we also want to point out that the numbers below are gross revenue, not profits. Some of the casters below are clearly spending some money on things like editing, studio rentals, co-hosts… etc.  But enough delaying, below are the highest earning podcasts in the world… 20) RELEVANT Podcast Listeners: 120,000 downloads per episode Revenue: $3600 per episode 19) We’re Alive Listeners: 150,000 downloads per episode Revenue: $3750 per episode 18) Gweek Listeners: 120,000 downloads per episode Revenue: $5100 per episode #17) Futility Closet Revenue: $5150 per episode Listeners: 120,000 downloads per episode #16) Boars Gore and Swords Revenue: $5,375 per episode Listeners: 125,000 downloads per episode #15) The Cracked Podcast Listeners: 90,000 downloads per episode Revenue: $5700 #14) Smodcast Listeners: 100,000 downloads per episode Revenue: $6100 per episode 13) Savage Lovecast Revenue: $6100 per episode Listeners: 160,000 downloads per episode #12) Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast Revenue: $6500 per episode Listeners: 100,000 per episode #11) Doug Loves Movies Revenue: $7000 per episode Listeners: 115,000 downloads per episode #10) Hollywood Babble-On Revenue: $9150 per episode Listeners: 150,000 downloads per episode #9) How Did This Get Made? Revenue: $7300 per episode Listeners: 170,500 downloads per episode #8) Comedy Bang Bang Revenue: $10,675 per episode Listeners: 175,000 downloads per episode #7) The Joe Rogan Experience Revenue: $11,000 per episode Listeners: 180,000 downloads per episode #6) StarTalk Radio Revenue: $13,725 per episode Listeners: 225,000 downloads per episode #5) ESPN: The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons Revenue: $14,000 per episode Listeners: 250,000 downloads per episode #4) The Adam Carolla Show Revenue: $14,500 per episode Listeners: 250,000 downloads per episode #3) WTF with Marc Maron Revenue: $14,640 per episode ($4320 for the 20 second pre-roll, $6000 for the 60 second mid-roll and $4320 for the 20 second post-roll) Listeners: 250,000 downloads per episode #2) Shane and Friends Revenue: $15,250 per episode ($4500 for the 20 second pre-roll, $6250 for the 60 second mid-roll and $4500 for the 20 second post-roll) Listeners: 250,000 downloads per episode These YouTube stars are everywhere! I’ve never actually even heard of this podcast. Every other week, Shane Dawson jokes around with his friends about all things funny going on in the world. Never heard of him? Shane has 6 million YouTube subscribers and over 1 billion video views. He is also one of the highest earnings YouTube stars in the world, pulling in $1 million or more every year from his channel alone. #1) This Week in Tech Revenue: $50,000 per episode Listeners: 500,000 downloads per episode This Week in Tech, more commonly referred to as “TWIT”, is by far and away the highest earning podcast in the world bringing in an estimated $50,000 per episode (as the name implies, it’s a weekly show). As if that wasn’t impressive enough, in 2013 alone the TWIT.tv network grossed $8 million dollars across all the various shows, platforms and live events. Hosted by tech enthusiast Leo Laporte, TWIT discusses current events in the technology and consumer electronic worlds. Leo frequently welcomes high profile tech guests including Apple’s Steve Wozniak, John Hodgman, Kevin Rose and more.