The minimum spend table
TAKEOliver Wakefield-Smith · Digital SignetSources checked July 31, 2026
What is the minimum budget to advertise on podcasts?
Every row states what the seller publishes, or states that it publishes nothing. Where a platform is widely believed to have a minimum but we could not verify a live figure, the row says so; belief is not a source. This table feeds the Test Modeler’s eligibility output.
| Platform | Route | Stated minimum | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libsyn Ads (AdvertiseCast) | Marketplace | None published | Quote-only |
| Spotify Ads (Ad Studio / Ads Manager) | Self-serve | 250.00 | Verified 2026-10-23 |
| Acast (Self-Serve Ad Platform) | Self-serve | None published | Quote-only |
| Amazon Ads (Audio / DSP) | Managed | None published | No published audio CPMs and no published self-serve audio minimum in our verified set. DSP managed-service minimums are quoted regionally by sales. |
| AudioGo | Self-serve | 250.00 | Verified 2026-10-23 |
| Buzzsprout Ads | Self-serve | 200.00 | Verified 2026-10-23 |
| Podcorn | Marketplace | None published | No published rates. Creators set their own flat fees per proposal, so there is no rate card to cite. |
| Gumball | Marketplace | None published | Per-show rates are visible on gumball.fm while browsing, but they change show by show and month by month, so we do not reprint them as benchmarks. |
| SiriusXM Media (SXM Media) | Managed | None published | No published rates and no published minimum engagement. Everything runs through sales. |
| Ad Results Media | Agency | None published | No published fee model and no published minimum engagement. Quote-only. |
| ADOPTER Media | Agency | None published | We could not verify a current published minimum or fee figure at our last check, so none ships here. |
| Fame | Agency | None published | Production retainers are quoted per engagement. We could not verify current published pricing at our last check, so no figure ships here. |
| True Native Media | Agency | None published | No published rates or minimums. Roster inventory is quoted per show. |
Hard gates vs practical floors
Spotify’s 250.00 is a hard gate: the checkout enforces it. Marketplace floors are practical, not stated: on Libsyn Ads your floor is the cheapest show worth buying, and on Podcorn it is the cheapest proposal a creator will accept. Agency and network minimums are gates too, just unpublished ones: the account team decides whether your budget is worth a reply.
What the minimum actually buys
A floor-level buy is rate discovery, not growth. 250.00 on Spotify at auction prices teaches you your effective CPM; it will not move revenue you can see. The tier-by-tier version of what money buys is on what $500 buys, and the honest account of what a floor-level test can prove is the $500 test playbook.
Route decision: self-serve vs agency · All platforms: the roster