When a company asks for a quote on a podcast series, it usually expects one number per episode. In reality the cost splits into eight line items and six of them can be cut. This article breaks the budget down item by item, walks through a model ten episode series, and says plainly when it is cheaper not to make a podcast at all.
Key takeaways
- Editing itself is the smallest line in the budget. According to Podcast Engineers' 2026 pricing breakdown, basic freelance editing runs 50 to 200 dollars per episode, a boutique agency 200 to 400 dollars, and full service production 400 to 1,000 dollars and up.
- The same breakdown notes that a 200 to 300 dollar edit means three to five hours of work. You are buying hours, not microphones.
- Studio hire is easy to verify because studios publish rates. A Slovak studio lists 140 euros per 60 minutes for audio recording and 310 euros per 60 minutes for a video podcast with full post production.
- A video version doubles or triples the budget. Decide on it before you record, not after episode three.
- The most commonly hidden line is not editing, it is editorial work: question prep, booking guests and chasing calendars.
- A model ten episode audio series with an outside producer lands roughly between 4,000 and 8,000 euros. The video version with clips costs two to three times that.
What goes into the price of one episode?
Eight line items that quotes tend to compress into a single row. Split them apart and you can see where a quote grows and what you actually need.
- Editorial and prep: topic, questions, guest research, scheduling. One to three hours per episode and the most underestimated item on the list.
- Studio and gear: the room, microphones, mixer, an engineer. Studios publish rates, so this one you can check yourself.
- Recording: real studio time tends to be double the episode length, because sound gets dialled in, retakes happen and guests need a warm up.
- Audio editing: cleaning, levelling, cutting the stumbles. The most visible part and also the cheapest.
- Video version: two or three cameras, lighting, picture edit. This is the break point where the budget changes most.
- Social clips: three to five vertical clips per episode with subtitles. Usually the part that actually finds listeners.
- Artwork and music: cover, intro, licensed music. A one off investment at the start of a series, not a per episode cost.
- Distribution and admin: hosting, show notes, transcripts, uploading. A small sum that repeats every single week.
How much does editing cost and why is it the smallest item?
Because audio editing is a craft with predictable hours, while editorial work and video are open ended. According to Podcast Engineers' 2026 pricing breakdown, basic freelance editing runs 50 to 200 dollars per episode, a boutique agency with a named editor and a workflow charges 200 to 400 dollars, and full service production including show notes, publishing and clips runs 400 to 1,000 dollars and up.
The hours behind those numbers are more useful than the numbers themselves. That same breakdown puts a 200 to 300 dollar edit at three to five hours of work, while an edit above 400 dollars means four to six hours on the audio plus another two to four hours on the supporting deliverables. So when you compare two quotes you are not comparing microphone quality, you are comparing how many hours somebody will put in. The full figures are in their guide to podcast editing cost.
Our own production experience matches it. When a client pushes the price down, editorial hours are the first to go, and those are exactly the hours the listener notices most. A badly edited track is unpleasant, but a badly prepared conversation is boring, and boredom cannot be fixed in post production.
The video above walks through gear by budget tier, from the cheapest workable setup to a studio build. Treat it as a hardware overview rather than a production budget: equipment is a one off, while the hours repeat with every episode.
What does a ten episode series actually cost?
Here is the model we use in a first conversation with a client. It is an estimate for outside production in the Slovak market rather than a price list, but the ratios between items hold up well.
- Audio series, 10 episodes, two episodes per recording day: studio and recording roughly 1,500 to 2,500 euros, editing and mastering 1,000 to 2,000 euros, editorial 800 to 1,500 euros, artwork and music 500 to 1,500 euros as a one off, distribution and admin 200 to 500 euros. That lands between 4,000 and 8,000 euros.
- Video series with clips: add multi camera recording, lighting and a picture edit, plus three to five vertical clips per episode. In practice that means two to three times the audio budget.
- In house production: 1,000 to 3,000 euros of equipment once, then six to ten hours of your own person's time per episode. Cheaper on the invoice, more expensive on the calendar.
One recommendation for everybody: record two episodes and decide on the series afterwards. Two episodes cost a fraction of the budget and reveal what no pitch deck can, namely whether your host survives an hour in front of a microphone and whether you still have something to say by episode ten. Whether a podcast belongs in your marketing at all is covered in our piece on whether a company podcast is worth it.
When is producing a podcast not worth it?
When you cannot name ten topics you could talk about for an hour without preparation. That is the hardest test and most companies fail it. A podcast is not a format you can buy your way into: money pays for sound, light and editing, but not for having something to say. A series that dies after episode four damages the brand more than never starting would have.
The second case is a company that wants a podcast instead of content rather than alongside it. An hour long conversation every week is the most time expensive format you can buy. If your marketing budget is limited and you need results inside six months, the same money poured into short video and your website will do more. We are arguing against ourselves here, because we genuinely enjoy producing podcasts.
And the third: when the main reason is that a competitor has one. That is the worst reason there is. In a first meeting we always ask who specifically will host and how many hours a month they have for it. When the answer is that you will figure it out later, we suggest starting with something cheaper and faster, like a short video series that tests whether anyone wants your topics in the first place. How those costs are calculated is in our article on the cost of a company video.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one episode of a company podcast cost?
With outside production, budget roughly 400 to 800 euros for an audio episode and two to three times that for a video version with social clips. Published studio rates give you a verifiable anchor: one Slovak studio charges 140 euros an hour for audio recording and 310 euros an hour for a video podcast including post production. On top of that comes editorial work, which studio rate cards usually do not include.
Can we record cheaply in our own meeting room?
You can, and you will save on hire while paying for it in acoustics. A meeting room with glass and bare walls has a hollow echo that editing can reduce but not remove. If you go that way, spend on treating the room and on microphones first, not on cameras. People forgive bad picture and switch off bad sound within thirty seconds.
Should we shoot the video version from the start?
Only if you know you will cut social clips from it. A video version on its own doubles or triples the budget, and most people will still listen on headphones on the way somewhere. It earns its cost when every episode produces three to five vertical clips that go out and find listeners.
How many episodes before you see a result?
Realistically ten to twenty, which is six months at a fortnightly cadence. The first three episodes are you finding the format and the tone, everything after that is the product. If you do not have the budget or the appetite for at least ten, we would suggest spending the money elsewhere.
If you are weighing up a series and want to know which parts of that budget you genuinely need, get in touch. We will go through topics, format and whether a video version makes sense, and we will say so if we think a podcast is the wrong call. More on what we produce is in our production services, or write to us through contact.
