Business podcast production can cost hundreds of dollars a month for a limited production scope or several thousand for a broader assignment. At Falls+Partners, audio editing starts at $149 per episode and audio plus video editing at $249. Managed production for one episode monthly starts at $399 for audio or $599 for audio and video. These are our current starting prices with defined scope limits, rather than an industry average. [source 1]
The number matters. So does the work it buys.
An editing quote tells you what happens to the recording. A production quote should tell you how the episode gets published.
Watch or listen to Winfluence Episode 344
In this episode of Winfluence, Jason Falls explains how to budget for a business podcast and compare what production proposals actually include.
Watch the full episode on YouTube · Listen to Episode 344
If you’re comparing proposals, start there.
Are you buying editing, managed production or show development?
Editing usually starts with a recording you provide. The assignment might include cleaning up the sound, improving pacing, adding your supplied intro and outro, and delivering a finished file.
That can be exactly the right purchase if your team already handles the rest.
But a finished file in a shared folder still needs somebody to write the title, check names, prepare the artwork and publish the episode.
Managed production adds an agreed process and set of deliverables around that recording. Depending on the package, it can include notes, transcripts, graphics, clips, review and publishing.
Show development asks earlier questions: Who is the show for? Why should they listen? What format serves them? Who researches the conversation, prepares the host or books the guests?
Those are different assignments. A proposal that includes all three should cost more than one that covers only an edit.
What do published podcast production prices tell us?
They tell us to read the scope.
HiveCast publishes an every-other-week audio plan at $500 per month. Its $875 weekly plan explicitly lists four episodes monthly. Video and cutdowns are additional services, and new shows have a setup charge. [source 2]
Truth Work Media lists $1,500 monthly for up to three audio episodes with a dedicated producer, editing, notes and hosting. Its entry package with video is $3,000 monthly for up to three episodes. [source 3]
These are advertised examples checked October 19, 2026. They are not equivalent packages or evidence of a universal market rate.
Ask what a provider means by “weekly.” Four episodes monthly and 52 episodes annually produce different calendars.
Ask whether clips include selection and captions. Ask whether publishing includes writing and checking descriptions. Ask which platforms are covered.
A low invoice can still leave your marketing team with a second job.
What makes podcast production cost more?
Raw recording length matters. A half-hour finished episode drawn from 35 minutes of clean conversation is a different assignment from one assembled from 90 minutes of false starts.
More speakers, separate tracks and additional camera angles can increase the work. So can uneven sound or recordings that require repair.
Editorial intervention matters, too. Removing a pause is different from restructuring a conversation.
The deliverables after the edit also affect price: show notes, artwork, captions, clips, uploading and quality checks.
Then there are revisions. One consolidated response from an approver is a different process from a succession of conflicting emails.
The Association of Independents in Radio’s 2025 rate guide discusses revision expectations and scope creep, and lists show-development and consulting rates of $100–$200 per hour. Those specialist freelance benchmarks help explain why planning and editorial work belong in a budget; they are not turnkey episode prices. [source 4]
Define the work, the approver and the deadline before comparing quotes.
Is producing a podcast in-house cheaper?
It can be. Count the time before deciding.
Here’s a hypothetical, not a typical production-time estimate: your team spends six hours per episode on editing, assets, review and publishing. At an assumed loaded staff cost of $75 per hour, that is $450 per episode, or $1,800 for four episodes.
Use your own hours and employment-cost assumptions. Include tools and any outside help.
Then compare that with an outside production fee plus the time your team would still spend preparing, recording and approving.
You may have the skills and capacity in-house. You may have better uses for those hours. Either answer is defensible once you can see the work.
“We already pay their salary” does not make the assignment disappear.
Does a business podcast need video?
Video deserves consideration, particularly when your experts are already recording a conversation.
YouTube reported more than one billion monthly active viewers of podcast content as of January 2025. That historical platform-wide figure supports evaluating the distribution opportunity; it does not predict your show’s audience. [source 5]
A simple video conversation and an elaborate studio production have different budgets. Decide what helps people follow the ideas and where your audience is likely to use them.
Audio can be a sensible starting point. Video can give you a full episode for YouTube and material for social clips. Each requires a scope your team can sustain.
AI tools can speed up transcription, cleanup and drafting. Somebody still needs to check names, context, captions and links. Ask what the provider’s team reviews before the episode reaches you.
How should a business compare podcast production quotes?
Give each provider the same brief: your goal, format, raw recording length, publishing cadence and required deliverables.
Then ask:
What do you need from us?
What will you deliver?
What work stays with our team?
What costs extra?
Who publishes the approved episode, and to which destinations?
Separate launch expenses from recurring production. Equipment, hosting, studio recording, guest booking and original research may be additional.
Also distinguish creating clips from posting them to social accounts. One does not automatically include the other.
Choose a publishing rhythm your team can maintain. A useful monthly show can be a better starting point than an ambitious weekly promise that nobody has time to keep.
Let’s price the job you need done
A business podcast gives your expertise room to answer questions, explain tradeoffs and help people understand the work you do.
That takes a purpose and a production process.
Explore our podcast production services and published pricing:
View podcast production pricing
Bring us your recording length, intended schedule and the work you want off your plate. Starting with an idea? Bring that. We’ll recommend a production plan with a clear scope and price:
Request a podcast production plan
If all you need is an editor, we can start there.