You might be thinking about starting a podcast, but you may be concerned about the cost of starting a podcast. The cost of starting your own podcast varies based on what equipment you already have as well as how professional you want your podcast to be. In some cases, you may already have just about everything that you need to start a podcast. On the other hand, you may have some things and other things you might need to replace or add to your already available equipment.
To help you out with calculating the cost of the podcast that you'd like to start, we have broken down the costs and provided low and high price estimates. All of our price estimates reflect prices for high quality equipment. Low price estimates are for the best quality that you can buy at a low price and high price estimates are for some of the best of the best equipment out there.
This article only contains price and cost information. If you are looking for other information about podcast equipment, such as equipment details, and some of the best options for each piece of equipment, see our Podcast Equipment Guide for Beginners or our Podcast Equipment Guide for Professionals. Both guides list some of the best equipment out there at different price points. The Beginners Guide largely lists lower priced equipment and the Professionals Guide tends to list higher priced equipment.
Equipment:
The Necessities:
- Computer:
- Low: $200
- High: $2,000
- Recording and Editing Software:
- Low: Free
- High: $200
- Microphone:
- Low: $50
- High: $400
- Headphones:
- Low: $40
- High: $400
The Extras:
- Pop Filter/Wind Screen:
- Low: $15
- High: $55
- Audio Interface:
- Low: $80
- High: $300
- Mixer:
- Low: $100
- High: $200
- Headphone Amplifier:
- Low: $25
- High: $300
- Microphone Boom Arm/Mic Stand:
- Low: $15
- High: $90
- Shock Mount:
- Low: $40
- High: $60
- Cables:
- Low: $50
- High: $100
- Acoustic Treatment:
- Low: $20
- High: $50
- Computer Monitor:
- Low: $70
- High: $330
Total Cost for Necessities Only:
- Low: $290
- High: $3,000
Total Cost for Necessities With Extras:
- Low: $705
- High: $4,485
Note that these total costs include a computer. If you already have a computer that you can use, then your start-up costs will largely go down. Also, these total costs are assuming that you would buy every piece of equipment listed, which is unlikely necessary for you based on the equipment you already have as well as your personal needs.
Hosting:
- Podcast Hosting Service Monthly Plan:
- Low: $5/month
- High: $100/month
Total Recurring Cost:
- Low: $5/month
- High: $100/month
Additional Costs:
- Cover Art:
- Low: Free
- High: $300
- Intro:
- Low: Free
- High: $200
- Music:
- Low: Free
- High: $200
Total Additional Costs:
- Low: $0
- High: $700
Grand Totals:
One-Time Start-Up Cost:
- Necessities Only & Additional Costs:
- Low: $290
- High: $3,700
- Necessities with Extras & Additional Costs:
- Low: $705
- High: $5,185
Again, please note that these total costs include a computer. If you already have a computer that you can use, then your start-up costs will largely go down. Also, these total costs are assuming that you would buy every piece of equipment listed, which is unlikely necessary for you based on the equipment you already have as well as your personal needs.
Total Recurring Costs:
- Low: $5/month
- High: $100/month
As you can see, there is really no clear answer as to what it will cost to start your podcast. Generally speaking though, you can expect to pay $200-$500 for a good quality podcast. On the extreme ends, you can start a decent podcast for around $100 and for the best of the best, most professional podcast possible, you can expect to dish out around $5,000.
Keep in mind that you can truly create a podcast with almost any budget. A lot of the time, you already have the equipment you need to start recording, such as a computer, headphones with a microphone, and recording software available on your computer. Of course, equipment you have laying around or a low budget might mean that you have to skip out on some quality. However, you can always work towards a higher quality podcast by slowly adding equipment to your podcast setup to improve the quality. So, don't let the costs of podcasting impact your decision for starting a podcast because podcasting is a process of constant improvement, so you have to start somewhere! Happy podcasting!
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Article Image: lucas Favre via Unsplash.
