A podcast is the highest-leverage content a small business can make in 2026. One honest conversation becomes a long form episode, a month of social clips and a trailer, all from 90 minutes of your time. But the pricing is murky, so here is the honest breakdown at each level, including what we charge ourselves.
The short answer
DIY costs £50 to £150 a month in tools and a lot of your evenings. A freelance audio editor costs £100 to £400 per episode and you still do everything else. Full production, where you turn up, talk, and get handed finished content, runs £500 to £2,000 a month depending on frequency and how much video is involved.
DIY: £50 to £150 a month plus your time
A decent USB mic, hosting on a platform like Spotify for Creators, and free editing software will genuinely get you published. The catch is the time. Recording is the easy part. Editing an hour of audio, writing show notes, cutting clips and uploading everywhere takes most people four to six hours per episode.
DIY makes sense if you enjoy the craft and have the hours. It falls apart when the business gets busy, which is exactly when you need the content most.
Freelance editor: £100 to £400 per episode
A good freelance editor cleans up your audio, cuts the dead air and delivers a finished episode. What they do not do is strategy, video, clips for social, thumbnails, show notes or distribution. You are still the producer, the social team and the publisher. This level suits hobbyists more than businesses using the podcast to win work.
Full production: £500 to £2,000 a month
This is where a podcast becomes a business tool instead of a second job. You record one session, usually 60 to 90 minutes, and the production team handles everything: multi camera video, the full edit, sound mix, short vertical clips with captions for social, a trailer, show notes and distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Our own founding member rate is £695 a month for exactly that: one 90 minute session becomes a full episode, 10 social clips and a trailer. We bring the recording rig to your office or a partner space in Colchester while our permanent Colchester studio is being fitted, and founding members get first access when it opens. That rate is limited to the first five Colchester businesses.
Why businesses bother at all
An advert rents attention. A podcast owns it. A potential client who has listened to you talk for 45 minutes arrives at the first call already trusting you, and that shortens every sales conversation you will ever have.
The maths also works in your favour. Ten short clips a month from one session is more content than most businesses post in a quarter, and it all points back to a long form episode that sells for you around the clock.
- ▪One recording session becomes a month of content
- ▪Long form builds trust no advert can buy
- ▪Clips feed social without extra filming days
- ▪Every episode is a permanent sales asset
The honest caveat
A podcast is a commitment. One episode does nothing. The businesses that win with it publish consistently for six months and let the back catalogue compound. If you cannot commit to a session a month, spend the money on Google Ads instead and revisit this later.