AdvertiseCast vs Megaphone Comparison 2026
AdvertiseCast is a free marketplace that matches an existing show against a published rate card, $18 to $26 CPM depending on the spot. Megaphone is Spotify's podcast host at $99 a month, and its dynamic ad insertion only earns if there is a back catalogue still being downloaded, not just new episodes. One adds a sales channel to hosting already in place. The other charges for hosting with the sales channel built in.
Podcast ad marketplace with published rates
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
At a glance
- Only AdvertiseCast has a free tier.
Side by side
AdvertiseCast | Megaphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free | Paid subscription |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing (they differ) | Usage-based | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
AdvertiseCast
Podcast ad marketplace with published rates
AdvertiseCast is the rare ad network that prints its rate card in public, so a podcaster can work out what an episode is worth before talking to anybody. Shows list, advertisers book, and host-read spots are matched against downloads. Its rates are an industry average rather than an offer, and a small show will be quoted under them.
Our note
The rate table is worth reading whether or not you list here, because it is the clearest public benchmark for what podcast advertising is worth. Use it to sanity-check any sponsorship offer you get directly.
Only on this side
- Covers brand deals & sponsorships
Megaphone
Spotify's podcast host with an ad marketplace
Megaphone is where Spotify puts podcasters who want to sell advertising against a back catalogue rather than only against new episodes. Hosting and distribution come with a campaign manager, so an ad sold today can be inserted into an episode published two years ago and swapped out when the campaign ends. The Spotify Audience Network is the demand side of it. It is priced for somebody whose show already earns, not for a first episode.
Why people weigh these two
- Megaphone instead of AdvertiseCast
- Megaphone couples Spotify's hosting with an ad marketplace at $99, where AdvertiseCast is free to list on.
- AdvertiseCast instead of Megaphone
- AdvertiseCast publishes its rates and costs nothing to join, a marketplace rather than a hosting platform with insertion technology built in.
Which one should you pick
Pick AdvertiseCast if there is already a host in place and only a channel to sell ads is missing, with no monthly fee and a rate card to check before agreeing to anything. It suits a show pulling a few thousand downloads an episode; fewer than that and the minimums that make a buy worth an advertiser's time will not be met. It does not touch hosting or insert ads into old episodes.
Pick Megaphone if the back catalogue still gets listened to and dynamic insertion can keep earning off episodes published years ago, plus a route into the Spotify Audience Network. At $99 a month for Professional, it is priced as an advertising business with hosting attached, so compare it against the current host's fee plus current ad earnings, not against hosting alone. A show in its first season is paying for a monetization layer with nothing yet to monetize.
Common questions
- Does AdvertiseCast include podcast hosting?
- No, it is only the ad marketplace and assumes the show is already hosted elsewhere. Megaphone bundles hosting, distribution and the ad marketplace together for $99 a month on its Professional tier.
- What does Megaphone's dynamic insertion do that AdvertiseCast does not?
- Megaphone can place an ad into an episode published years ago and pull it when the campaign ends, so a back catalogue keeps earning. AdvertiseCast matches advertisers to a show but does not insert or swap ads inside episodes already published.
- Which one is free?
- AdvertiseCast costs nothing for the podcaster; the advertiser pays the published CPM instead. Megaphone charges the podcaster directly, $99 a month for Professional or a quoted Enterprise rate for networks running many shows.
- Is Megaphone worth it for a brand-new show?
- Usually not yet. Dynamic insertion only pays off once there is a back catalogue people still download, so a podcast in its first season is buying a monetization layer with nothing to monetize. AdvertiseCast carries no such requirement, though it still needs download numbers high enough to interest an advertiser.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.