Most hosts write a rate card to justify a price. Sponsors read it looking for a reason to skip the show. The card that gets a reply is written for the second reader, and almost nobody writes it that way.
This podcast rate card template fixes that with seven fields on one page. You can fill it in under an hour, and three worked 2026 examples show it at 800, 4,500 and 20,000 downloads. The number itself comes from our podcast sponsorship rates guide. This post is about the document you put it in.
A podcast rate card is a one page pricing sheet. It lists your downloads, measurement basis, audience, one past result, packages, rates and open slots. It exists so a sponsor can buy without a second email.
What is a podcast rate card template? A one page sheet with seven fields: downloads, measurement basis, audience, one past result, packages, rates and availability. Buyers check the first four before they trust the price. Copy the template in Section 2 and fill it in under one hour.
1. What Goes on a Podcast Rate Card?
A podcast sponsorship rate card is the pricing menu for your show. It is not your media kit. The kit tells the story across several pages, while the card names the deal and the number. Sponsors usually ask for the kit, then buy from the card.
Buyers read a card in a fixed order, whatever order you wrote it in. First who listens, then how many, then whether anyone has paid you before, and only then the price. Seven fields answer those questions in that order, so a buyer never has to email you for the next one.
- Downloads with a trend: the 30 day average per episode and the direction it moved since last quarter. Sponsors buy future audience as much as current audience.
- Measurement basis: which hosting platform counts your downloads, over which window, and whether it follows the IAB Tech Lab Podcast Measurement Guidelines. It is the field almost every card leaves out.
- Audience in job titles: who listens, described the way a buyer segments a market. "Marketing leaders at US SaaS companies" beats "engaged professionals" every time.
- One past result with a number: redemptions, signups or a conversion rate from a previous campaign. If you have never run a paid deal, use your affiliate conversion rate and say so.
- Three packages with exact deliverables: spot length, position, episode count, extras and approval window. Vague deliverables invite negotiation on every one of them.
- Rates and open slots: the number for each package and how many slots remain this month. Scarcity you can prove is the only scarcity that moves a buyer.
- Terms and contact: approval window, disclosure line, payment terms, validity date and a direct email. A card with no direct address ends the conversation wherever it lands.
Equally, leave off your origin story, your microphone and your five year vision. Every line that does not help a buyer decide makes the price harder to find.
Show age belongs off the card too, because it is not the barrier it feels like. In the MillionPodcasts database in September 2026, 29.8% of sponsored Business podcasts launched in 2023 or later. For Health and Fitness the figure was 35.8%, and for Technology 27.8%. Sponsors buy an audience and a result, not a founding date.
Write the past result field first. Every other field is data entry. This one is the argument, and if you cannot fill it yet, run one affiliate campaign before you send a single card.
2. The One Page Podcast Rate Card Template
Copy this podcast rate card template into a document, replace every bracket, and keep every label. The labels are the part sponsors scan for, so changing them costs you more than it gains.
[Show Name] | Sponsorship Rate Card | Valid [Month Year] to [Month Year]
Downloads: [X] per episode, 30 day average, [up X%] since [Q2 2026]. Counted by [hosting platform], IAB certified [yes/no].
Audience: [job title or role] at [company type or life stage], [X%] in [country], skewing [age range]. Source: [listener survey / platform data], [month year].
Format: [X] minute episodes, [X] per week, [interview / solo], audio plus [YouTube, X views per episode, reported separately].
Past result: [Brand] campaign drove [X] [redemptions / signups] across [X] episodes, a [X%] conversion. [Renewed.]
Package 1, Entry: One episode. One 60 second host read mid-roll, tracked link in show notes, delivery report. $[X].
Package 2, Standard: Four episodes. One 60 second host read mid-roll in each, one dedicated social post, conversion tracking and a wrap report. $[X].
Package 3, Premium: Eight episodes over two months. Mid-rolls in each, category exclusivity for the flight, monthly reporting call. $[X].
Add-ons: Newsletter mention $[X]. Additional social post $[X]. First mid-roll position +[X]%. Category exclusivity on Package 2 +[X]%.
Terms: Script approval [7] days before recording; our draft runs if the window passes. Every read carries a spoken sponsor disclosure. Payment [50% on signature, 50% on final episode]. Rates valid to [date].
Availability: [X] of [X] mid-roll slots open for [month].
Contact: [Name], [direct email], [calendar link].
Filling the numbers
Downloads come from your hosting analytics, not your gut. Package prices come from the formula in our podcast sponsorship rates guide. Multiply 30 day downloads by your category rate, then divide by 1,000. Below 1,000 downloads, quote a flat fee per episode instead. At that size CPM maths produces a figure too small to open a conversation.
Filling the packages
Write Package 2 first, because it is the deal you actually want. Then size the other two around it so the middle looks like the sensible choice. The proportions and every term line are set out in Section 5.
Put a validity date on the card even if you never plan to raise rates. It gives you a clean reason to reprice later, and it stops a sponsor holding you to a number from 2024.
3. Three Example Rate Cards for 2026
The same seven fields look very different at 800, 4,500 and 20,000 downloads. The cards below fill the template for a small niche show, a mid-size health show and an established business show. Every figure is a sample input, so swap in your own before you send anything.
All three cards work from the same published source. The Libsyn Ads rate card lists $18 to $22 per 1,000 downloads for a 30 second host read. Sixty seconds lists at $24 to $26. By category it lists Business at $30 and Health and Fitness at $27. Those are asking rates, so anything above them needs a stated reason.
Notice that the 20,000 download card names the published rate before naming its own. Conceding the market number first is what makes the higher number believable.
4. Which Download Number Goes on the Card?
The 30 day average of your recent episodes, and nothing else. Libsyn Ads measures a show on the downloads a new episode receives in its first 30 days, then multiplies by the CPM. Most buyers think in that window, so a card built on it needs no translation.
Use the 30 day average, not the lifetime total
A lifetime figure flatters an old show and, at the same time, hides a shrinking one. Buyers know this. The moment they see "250,000 total downloads" they start dividing by episode count. They will not give you the benefit of the doubt.
Downloads are not plays
Apple and Spotify report plays, listeners or followers inside their own apps. Sponsors buy downloads, because that is the figure every host platform can count the same way. If your only number is a Spotify play count, say so on the card. Relabelling it as downloads is the fastest way to lose the buyer's trust, and buyers check.
Name the platform and the standard
Different hosts filter duplicate downloads differently, so two shows with the same listeners can report different numbers. Write the platform name and whether it follows the IAB Tech Lab guidelines. That one line pre-empts the most common mid-campaign dispute.
Report video on its own line
If you publish to YouTube, list views separately and never add them to downloads. Mixed figures read as inflation, even when they are honest. A separate video line also lets you price video on its own later, which is where the premium sits.
A video line is also a differentiator. In the same September 2026 pull, 24.8% of sponsored Business podcasts listed a YouTube channel. Health and Fitness sat at 23.0% and Technology at 32.5%. Among Business shows with 50K to 250K estimated monthly listeners it rose to 63.2%. The bigger the buyer you want, the more they expect the line.
If your downloads dropped last quarter, show the number anyway. Add one line of cause: a summer break, a schedule change, a feed migration. A stated dip reads as honesty. A missing trend reads as a hidden dip.
5. Packages, Exclusivity and Terms on the Card
One rate invites negotiation. Three packages invite a choice, and most buyers choose the middle. Build the card so the middle is the deal you actually want.
| Package | What is in it | Price against Package 2 | Its job on the card |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Entry | One episode, one 60 second host read mid-roll, tracked link, delivery report | 50 to 60% | Lets a cautious first buyer test you at a price you are happy to sell |
| 2: Standard | Four episodes, mid-roll in each, one social post, conversion tracking, wrap report | Your target rate | The deal you want. One episode proves nothing, so most sponsors land here |
| 3: Premium | Eight episodes over two months, category exclusivity, monthly reporting call | 180 to 220% | Anchors the top and makes Package 2 look sensible. Some buyers take it |
Price exclusivity as a line item
Category exclusivity means turning away every competing brand for the flight. Charge 40 to 60% above the base package for it. Never fold it into Package 1 or 2 for free. Define the category in words on the card, because "fintech" means different things to you and to them.
The price is justified because sponsored shows rarely stop at one sponsor. We checked 2,926 sponsored Business, 2,018 sponsored Health and Fitness and 2,612 sponsored Technology podcasts active in the last 12 months. About nine in ten had worked with two or more sponsors. The median count rises with audience size. That is exactly the pipeline an exclusivity clause asks you to close.
| Estimated monthly listeners | Business: median sponsors per show | Health and Fitness: median sponsors per show | Technology: median sponsors per show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1K | 7 (1,315 shows) | 6 (720 shows) | 9 (944 shows) |
| 1K to 10K | 12 (869 shows) | 8 (737 shows) | 15 (881 shows) |
| 10K to 50K | 15 (225 shows) | 12.5 (226 shows) | 16 (305 shows) |
| 50K to 250K | 19.5 (76 shows) | 14 (131 shows) | 17.5 (100 shows) |
| 250K to 1M | 26.5 (22 shows) | 26 (21 shows) | 18 (15 shows) |
Counts are unique sponsors over each show's lifetime, from the MillionPodcasts database, September 2026. Shows without a listener estimate are excluded from the bands. Read the table as a floor for how much business an exclusivity clause can cost you, not as a target.
The four term lines that belong on the card
Terms on a rate card are not legal text; they are the four decisions a sponsor's team will ask about, answered in advance. The full contract comes later, and our podcast advertising agreement template covers that document.
- Script approval window: usually seven days before recording, with your draft running by default if the sponsor misses it.
- Spoken disclosure: a host read is an endorsement under the FTC Endorsement Guides at 16 CFR Part 255. A disclosure for an audible ad must be in the audio, so the card should say every read carries one.
- Payment terms: the split and the trigger, for example half on signature and half on the final episode. Agency deals often settle 30 to 60 days after the flight ends, so a split protects your cash.
- Validity date: the month your rates expire. It is the cleanest reprice mechanism you will ever have.
This section is informational and not legal advice, and disclosure rules differ outside the US. The point for the card is simpler: a stated disclosure line removes an approval round for any sponsor with a compliance team.
List every add-on with its own price. A sponsor who sees three line items negotiates one of them. A sponsor who sees one number negotiates the number.
6. Rate Card vs Proposal vs Pitch Deck
Hosts search for a podcast sponsorship proposal template and a podcast pitch deck template as if they were interchangeable. They are three documents for three moments, and sending the wrong one at the wrong moment costs replies.
| Document | Length | When it goes out | What it must contain | Who reads it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate card | One page | With the first reply, or as soon as a brand asks about pricing | The seven fields in Section 2 | A marketing manager or founder deciding alone |
| Sponsorship proposal | One to two pages | After a named brand has replied and shown interest | Their goal, your recommended package, expected outcome maths, timeline, price, next step | The same buyer, now justifying the spend to a manager |
| Pitch deck | Eight to twelve slides | Only when an agency or brand team asks to present internally | Positioning, audience, proof, packages, terms, contact, one slide each | A room of people who have never heard the show |
Podcast sponsorship proposal template
A proposal is the rate card rewritten for one brand. It should take you 20 minutes, because every number already exists on the card. What changes is the first line, which now starts with their goal.
Your goal, as we understood it: [Brand] wants [trial signups / awareness among X] in [quarter].
Why this show: [X]% of our [downloads] listeners are [job title]. Our last [category] campaign converted at [X%].
Recommended package: Package 2, four episodes with a 60 second host read mid-roll in each, plus [add-on]. $[X].
What that buys you: [downloads] listeners times a conservative [1.5%] conversion is roughly [X] signups per episode, [X] across the run. At $[X] that is about $[X] per signup.
Timeline: first read on [date], last read on [date], wrap report by [date].
Next step: reply yes and I will send the agreement. Slots for [month] close on [date].
Podcast pitch deck template: slide order
Build the deck only when someone asks for it. If they do, one idea per slide, in this order, and never more than twelve slides.
- Slide 1, positioning: show name, one sentence on who it is for, one sentence on why it exists.
- Slide 2, audience: job titles, geography, age skew and the source of each figure.
- Slide 3, reach: 30 day downloads with trend, video views on a separate line, measurement basis.
- Slide 4, proof: the past result with a number, and one sponsor quote if you have it.
- Slide 5, packages: the three packages from the card, prices included.
- Slide 6, terms and contact: the four term lines and a direct email.
Never send a deck unprompted. A buyer who wanted a price and received twelve slides reads it as a show that does not know its own number. Send the card, then offer the deck.
7. How Do You Send a Rate Card to a Sponsor?
A good podcast rate card template sent to the wrong brand, as an attachment, with a three paragraph email, still gets ignored. Three steps fix the sending problem.
Step 1: Find sponsors already buying shows like yours
The brands most likely to say yes are the ones already paying podcasts your size in your category. They know the channel works and they already have a budget line for it. The MillionPodcasts podcast directory lets you filter 3M+ podcasts by category, estimated monthly listeners and the "has sponsor" flag. You can then export the list with a Sponsor Names column. As of the June 2026 count, 43.1K podcasts in that database carry a sponsor. Pitch those brands first, and reference the show they already buy.
Here is what that export looks like for one category. These are the brands sponsoring the most Health and Fitness podcasts. The pool is the 2,018 sponsored shows active in the last 12 months, September 2026.
| Brand | Sponsored Health and Fitness podcasts | Brand | Sponsored Health and Fitness podcasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMNT | 70 | Pique Life | 39 |
| Timeline | 49 | OneSkin | 39 |
| Bon Charge | 47 | Prolon | 37 |
| Cozy Earth | 47 | Beam | 37 |
| BiOptimizers | 43 | Sunlighten | 35 |
A health host with a 4,500 download show does not need to guess who buys podcasts. Ten brands each sponsor 35 or more shows in the category. Every one of them has a media buyer who already understands the channel. That is the list the card goes to first.
Step 2: Send the card as a link, not an attachment
Attachments get flagged by spam filters, fail to preview on mobile and go stale the moment you change a price. Host the card as a shareable browser link or a page on your site. It opens in one tap and updates in place. Our guide to the podcast media kit sponsors trust covers the tools that generate those links at no cost.
Step 3: Add a one paragraph note
The email names your show, your audience in job titles, one reason this brand fits and the package you recommend. Then it links the card. Then it stops. Do not restate the card in the email, because a buyer who reads the same numbers twice trusts them less. Our sponsorship email templates cover the follow-up sequence when the first note goes unanswered.
Send the card in the same email as your first reply, not after a call. Buyers who have to ask for a price twice usually stop asking.
A rate card does not sell the show. It removes every reason a buyer had to delay. Seven fields, one page, sent as a link to a brand that already buys podcasts your size, is the whole system.
Build the sponsor list this rate card goes to
Filter 3M+ podcasts to the shows in your category and audience band that already carry a sponsor. Unlock verified host and producer emails and export the list with the Sponsor Names column to CSV or Excel. Then pitch brands that already buy podcasts like yours from your own outreach tool.
Start free, no card required →8. Six Mistakes That Get a Rate Card Ignored
None of these are beginner errors. Experienced hosts make all six, because each feels reasonable at the time.
- "Contact for pricing": the buyer now has to do the work you were supposed to do. Most move to the next show instead.
- "Potential reach of 50,000+": tells a sponsor the real number is smaller than you want to show. Give the 30 day average from Section 4.
- Adjectives instead of job titles: "passionate, engaged listeners" describes every podcast. "Studio owners in the US" describes yours.
- One price and no packages: a single number is an invitation to negotiate it. Three packages, as in Section 5, are an invitation to choose.
- Free exclusivity: agreeing to turn away every competitor at the base rate. Reprice it or leave it out.
- A card with no date: a sponsor quotes your own 2024 number back at you in 2026. The reprice becomes an argument, not a renewal.
Read your finished card as a buyer with one question: what would I still have to email this host to ask? Whatever you write down is a missing field.
9. Which Format Should You Send First?
If you have never sold a sponsorship, send the rate card from Section 2 and nothing else. Fill the past result field with an affiliate conversion and label it that way. Price on a flat fee if you are under 1,000 downloads, and on the published card if you are above it. The Section 3 examples show both.
If a named brand has already replied, send the proposal from Section 6. It reuses every number on the card and adds their outcome maths. If an agency asks to present the show internally, and only then, build the deck.
What it depends on is who is reading. One person deciding alone wants the card. One person convincing a manager wants the proposal. A room wants the deck. Match the document to the reader and the price stops being the thing they argue about.
10. Podcast Rate Card Template FAQ
What is a podcast rate card template?
A podcast rate card template is a one page pricing sheet with fixed fields you fill in. The fields are downloads, measurement basis, audience in job titles, one past result, three packages, add-ons, terms, availability and contact. It exists so a sponsor can decide without a second email.
What is the difference between a podcast rate card and a media kit?
A media kit tells the story of the show across several pages: positioning, host bio, audience profile and proof. A rate card is one page and names the deal: packages, rates, terms and open slots. Sponsors usually ask for the kit first, then buy from the card. Send the card with the kit rather than after it.
How much should I charge on a podcast rate card?
Start from the published Libsyn Ads card. It lists $18 to $22 per 1,000 downloads for a 30 second host read and $24 to $26 for 60 seconds. Business sits at $30 and Health and Fitness at $27. Multiply by your 30 day download average and divide by 1,000. Below 1,000 downloads, quote a flat fee per episode instead.
Should a podcast rate card show prices or say contact for pricing?
Show prices. A card that hides the number makes the sponsor do your work, and most move to the next show instead. If you want room to negotiate, put it in the tier structure. A premium tier priced at 180 to 220% of your target makes the standard tier look like the sensible choice.
Do I need a rate card, a sponsorship proposal and a pitch deck?
You need the rate card first, because it is the only one a sponsor cannot buy without. Write a sponsorship proposal only for a named brand that has replied. Build a pitch deck only when an agency or brand team asks to present the show internally. Both reuse the fields on the card.
References
Libsyn Ads. (Retrieved September 2026). Podcast Advertising: The Ultimate 2026 Guide, rate card, category CPM table and 30 day measurement window. https://advertising.libsyn.com/podcast-advertising-ultimate-guide Federal Trade Commission. (Revised 2023). 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, via eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-255 MillionPodcasts. (September 2026). Database export of podcasts with a sponsor publishing in the last 12 months, Beats Business, Health and Fitness and Technology; columns Monthly Estimated Listeners, Number of Unique Sponsors, Sponsor Names, Podcast YouTube Url, Years Active. https://www.millionpodcasts.com/podcasts-directory/ MillionPodcasts. (June 2026). Our Database panel: podcasts with sponsors count. https://www.millionpodcasts.com/