Podcast sponsorship revenue.

Worked example

5,000 downloads per episode, 3 ad slots, a $18.00 CPM, 70% of slots sold, a 20% network cut, 4 episodes a month. One slot at full price is 5,000 / 1,000 x $18.00 = $90.00. Three slots at 70% sold is $90.00 x 3 x 0.70 = $189.00 per episode; after the 20% cut you keep $151.20. Over 4 episodes that is $604.80 a month and $7,257.60 a year, $30.24 per 1,000 downloads.

How it works

CPM here is the price an advertiser pays per 1,000 downloads of an episode. Sell-through is the share of your ad slots that actually get a paying sponsor. This tool has no built-in benchmark for CPM or sell-through: rates vary by show, audience, ad position and whether the ad is read by the host, so enter what your sponsors really pay. Count downloads over the same period your sponsors count them.

Fixed-fee or per-sale (affiliate) sponsorships are not modelled; for those see the affiliate commission calculator. The result is an estimate, not a promise of earnings.

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or stored.

Sources

Arithmetic on the numbers you enter. No external rate is applied.

FAQ

How much do podcasters make from ads?

It depends on downloads, ad slots, CPM and how many slots you sell. This calculator uses your numbers instead of an average, so you can see what your own show would earn.

What is a podcast CPM?

The price an advertiser pays for every 1,000 downloads of an episode. At a $18.00 CPM and 5,000 downloads, one slot is $90.00.

What is sell-through?

The share of your available ad slots that you actually sell. Unsold slots earn nothing, so 70% means 7 of every 10 slots are paid.

How many downloads do I need for $1,000 a month?

With the example inputs you need 8,267 downloads per episode.