The Highest-Paid Podcasters Of 2026

When Jay Shetty started his podcast On Purpose in 2019, he remembers group telling him he was excessively late. The mean was already saturated, they said, pinch small room for growth. And wasn’t he really conscionable a contented creator?

Seven years later, the 38-year-old self-help guru hosts 1 of the astir celebrated podcasts successful the world, competing not only pinch the biggest TV, power and internet-native talk shows but blurring the lines betwixt them entirely. Just arsenic galore group watch his lengthy interviews pinch celebrities (including Michelle Obama and Matt Damon) connected YouTube arsenic perceive connected the iHeartMedia network—distribution deals that Forbes estimates paid Shetty $21 cardinal complete the past 12 months. And erstwhile those deals expired this year, Shetty landed a caller benignant of contract, successful which the audio and video of his show will not only beryllium distributed by Spotify; it will besides watercourse connected Netflix, pinch the 2 companies combining to salary him an estimated $100 cardinal complete the adjacent 3 years.

“When I started, video wasn’t normal for a podcast,” Shetty tells Forbes. “Now we had the 4 largest streamers bidding for the show. To spot that benignant of liking and enthusiasm was beautiful amazing—for maine and for the manufacture overall.”

The awesome point astir megadeals for illustration Shetty’s is that dissimilar the makers of movies, TV aliases different forms of entertainment, podcasters clasp ownership of their show’s underlying IP, meaning networks and platforms are paying millions conscionable to licence it arsenic a supplier and advertisement income partner for a group number of years. That’s 1 logic why premium streaming giants for illustration Netflix, Hulu and Tubi had mostly ignored the industry’s emergence complete the past decade, allowing YouTube to turn into the largest podcasting level successful the world. But opening successful 2025, hoping to trim into YouTube’s power complete engagement time, the streamers person made a splashy entrance.

Industry dealmakers opportunity that aft Netflix’s first $1 cardinal to $2 cardinal bids for apical podcasts were roundly rejected, the streamer adopted a strategy akin to the 1 it utilized antecedently to seizure marketplace stock successful scripted television—overpaying to lure talent distant from incumbent platforms. Offers of $10 cardinal aliases much per twelvemonth (on a one- aliases two-year proceedings term) yet convinced marquee shows from Spotify, iHeart and Barstool Sports to motion on. Goalhanger, a U.K.-based podcast network, reportedly landed $19 cardinal from Netflix to watercourse conscionable 40 episodes of its regular talk show The Rest Is Football during the World Cup.

“We deliberation astir video podcasts for illustration a modern talk show,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during the company’s net telephone earlier this year. “But alternatively of having a azygous brand-defined show, you person hundreds of them.”

Yet podcasts are ascendant because of their inherent differences from accepted television. They are overmuch cheaper to produce, tin tally year-round and make the bulk of their money from host-read advertisements inserted into the audio and video recordings. For the highest-end shows, brands will salary premium prices for a trusted host’s individual endorsement, aliases to target their audience’s circumstantial demographic.

Joe Rogan reigns arsenic the world’s highest-paid podcaster by pairing heavy listener spot pinch monolithic scale, releasing astir 15 episodes per period and attracting much than 80 cardinal downloads and views, according to 1 information provider. In 2024, Spotify rewarded him pinch a caller three-year statement that could scope $250 million.

For astir podcasters, landing a $100 million–plus woody for illustration Shetty’s from 1 of the awesome networks—mainly Spotify, SiriusXM aliases iHeart—is still the eventual prize. Deals are paid retired arsenic a guaranteed advance, pinch a gross sharing exemplary successful spot for immoderate further profits generated supra this break-even point, but title betwixt networks is what drives the guarantees supra $30 cardinal per twelvemonth for a prime fistful of elite talent. At that rate, advertisement income are improbable to make backmost overmuch profit for networks connected the shows, if any. “In theory,” says 1 apical talent lawyer, “if the customer earns out, you’ve made a bad deal.”

Still, networks warrant their biggest deals successful different ways, including subscriber acquisition, attracting blue-chip spon­sorships and utilizing talent arsenic marque ambassadors. For example, Wondery’s apical podcasters, New Heights hosts Jason and Travis Kelce, appeared connected a sheet for genitor institution Amazon astatine the Cannes Lions show successful June.

Talent, meanwhile, are utilizing their mega­deals and IP power to create mini-networks of shows nether their umbrella, specified arsenic Alex Cooper’s Unwell astatine SiriusXM aliases Charlamagne Tha God’s Black Effect Podcast Network astatine iHeart. These networks let the talent to make further gross by requiring sponsors to advertise crossed their slate to gain placement connected the main show. To date, however, it’s been difficult for these talent-led networks to make caller hits, and because they person to salary each accumulation and overhead costs retired of pocket, respective companies person seen layoffs (Crooked) and precocious turnover (Unwell). Independent networks, specified arsenic Steven Bartlett’s Flight Story aliases The Joe Budden Network, person had much occurrence building incrementally.

Even successful the champion circumstances, the companies beryllium little for the rate travel they tin make and much for the plus they tin become. Bill Simmons sold his podcast network, The Ringer, to Spotify successful 2020 for an estimated $200 million, and Conan O’Brien did the aforesaid 2 years later, getting immoderate $150 cardinal from SiriusXM. In April, OpenAI acquired the tech-focused show TBPN for an estimated $150 cardinal successful rate and stock, which Forbes estimates netted its hosts, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, astir $70 million.

Shetty is taking a somewhat different attack pinch his accumulation company, Perfect Strangers, investing successful a mini fistful of premium projects. He now has a fewer scripted and nonscripted TV shows successful development—at Netflix, possibly not coincidentally—and is simply a shaper connected the genre-bending Friends Keep Secrets, a podcast successful which hosts Benny Blanco, Dave Burd (better known arsenic Lil Dicky) and Kristin Batalucco entertain personage guests while being captured by hidden cameras and microphones scattered passim their house. It was named by Spotify editors arsenic 1 of the champion caller podcasts of the year.

“People often say, ‘Oh, if you did each this [with the podcast], why are you doing different stuff?’ ” Shetty says. “And I’m like, ‘No, you did a batch of this truthful you could do everything you wanted to do.’ That’s the dream of being an entrepreneur.”

Highest-Paid Podcasters of 2026

1. Joe Rogan

The Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify): $82 million

Sitting pinch the 58-year-old comedian and UFC broadcaster for three-hour conversations astatine his red-curtained workplace successful Austin, Texas, has go a rite of transition for anyone, from actors promoting a movie to politicians moving for president. And sloppy of whether his endorsement of Donald Trump successful 2024 impacted the result of the predetermination (as his buddy Dana White told Forbes), the wide speech astir it proves not only Rogan’s powerfulness but besides the legitimacy of podcasting arsenic a whole.

2. John Coogan, Jordi Hays

TBPN (OpenAI): $70 million

A small little than a year-and-a-half aft launching what they hoped to beryllium the “ESPN for tech news,” OpenAI bought the 11-person Technology Business Programming Network (TBPN) for an estimated $150 cardinal successful rate and stock. OpenAI laminitis Sam Altman had antecedently invested successful John Coogan’s first company, Soylent, and Rockwater expert Chris Erwin called the deal an “acqui-hire” for the fast-growing AI start-up astatine a clip erstwhile it will soon request to crook the receptor of regulators and investors astir its IPO. Still, the show’s accelerated maturation from $5 cardinal successful advertizing successful twelvemonth 1 to a projected $30 cardinal successful twelvemonth 2 shows that demographics of a show’s assemblage tin beryllium conscionable arsenic important arsenic its size.

3. Steven Bartlett

The Diary of a CEO (Independent): $45 million

In the first 4th of 2026, Bartlett’s firm question and reply show The Diary of a CEO posted its highest gross 4th ever successful the shows 9 years, driving the business for the 33-year-old’s entrepreneurial portfolio, which was weighted astatine $425 cardinal past autumn successful an finance information from backstage equity backers, including Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group. A 30 Under 30 Europe alum successful 2020, Bartlett will besides look connected American tv this autumn arsenic a impermanent shark connected Shark Tank, aft respective appearances connected the show’s UK counterpart, Dragon’s Den, in his autochthonal England.

4. Ashley Flowers

Crime Junkie (Red Seat Ventures/Tubi): $42 million

The reigning queen of existent crime, the 36-year-old Flowers is the co-host of Crime Junkie and laminitis of Audiochuck, which signed a $150 cardinal distribution woody pinch Fox subsidiaries Tubi (for video distribution) and Red Seat Ventures (for advertisement sales) past October. Though insiders opportunity the mostly of the gross is tied to Flowers’ flagship show, Tubi will create a Crime Junkie FAST transmission (“free ad-supported streaming television”) to administer respective Audiochuck shows, and the institution will besides proceed to administer them connected YouTube simultaneously.

5. Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes

SmartLess (SiriusXM): $37 million

What started arsenic a lark during the 2020 pandemic has turned into a morganatic and increasing business empire for the SmartLess hosts, who person since launched 4 different shows nether the SiriusXM umbrella arsenic good arsenic the mobile web SmartLess Mobile past June. Advertisers emotion their brand-safe contented and star-studded impermanent lineup, drawn from their corporate decades successful show business. Weekly episodes person not slowed their individual careers (Bateman is nominated for 4 Emmys this fall), though net for those projects are not counted here.

6. Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast (SiriusXM) : $35 million

The writer and motivational speaker’s business has exploded since the merchandise of The Let Them Theory in precocious 2024, trading complete 10 cardinal copies and increasing the assemblage for her podcast truthful exponentially that SiriusXM renegotiated her statement mid-term for much money. The 57-year-old Robbins has besides taken her self-help show connected circuit pinch unrecorded episodes trading retired crossed 5 states and landing a sponsorship by Microsoft Copilot.

7. Jason and Travis Kelce

New Heights (Amazon Wondery): $35 million

The timing could not person been amended for the Kelce brothers, who started their podcast successful the autumn of 2022. That season, Jason’s Philadelphia Eagles played Travis’ Kansas City Chiefs successful Super Bowl LVII, and later that summertime Travis began making love the biggest popular prima connected the planet, Taylor Swift. Those milestones and a dependable watercourse of personage guests pushed New Heights toward the apical of the podcast charts, culminating successful a three-year, $100 cardinal woody from Amazon’s Wondery successful August 2024. The Kelce brothers now bid immense premiums connected civilization advertizing connected some their episodes and clips crossed societal media.

8. Alex Cooper

Call Her Daddy (SiriusXM): $32 million

When the 31-year-old Call Her Daddy host signed a immense statement pinch SiriusXM successful August 2024, she acknowledged the work that came pinch the three-year, incentive-laden woody that has a full imaginable worth of $125 million. “There is simply a batch of unit connected maine to support it moving,” the 2022 30 Under 30 lister told Forbes, “but I emotion pressure.” That unit has only accrued since, pinch her Unwell web cutting ties pinch its second-most celebrated host, Alix Earle, and facing reports from Vanity Fair astir a toxic activity environment. Unwell still operates a brace of outer power channels, and uses its woody pinch Sirius to proceed expanding into different TV production, including this year’s Hannah Montana reunion typical for Disney+.

9. Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor

Pod Save America (Audioboom): $28 million

Three of the Pod Save America hosts (Favreau, Lovett and Vietor) founded left-wing multimedia institution Crooked Media successful 2017, and utilized a large SiriusXM woody successful 2022 to grow to much than 100 employees. In February, Crooked decamped for supplier Audioboom, taking much of their business operations in-house. At the aforesaid time, they besides signed a woody pinch MS NOW that will put condensed episodes of Crooked shows connected linear television.

10. Charlamagne Tha God

The Breakfast Club (iHeart/Netflix): $27 million

In December, the 48-year-old big of The Breakfast Club renewed a wide-spanning statement pinch iHeart Media worth up to $200 million complete the adjacent 5 years, which covers not only his power and podcast activity on-air but besides backing for The Black Effect Podcast Network, which he owns 51% of successful a associated task pinch iHeart. He told Forbes he wants to build it into “the BET for podcasting,” and has launched complete 60 shows. Separate from the renewal, Charlamagne co-hosts The Brilliant Idiots with stand-up comedian Andrew Schulz and scored a large payday from Netflix for his flagship regular greeting thrust clip program, which insiders show Forbes is the most-viewed podcast connected the level truthful acold this year. Coming successful 2027, he’s been chosen to person a prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

11. Dax Shepard

Armchair Expert (Amazon Wondery): $25 million

As portion of Wondery’s podcast spending spree successful 2024, the Amazon subsidiary poached the 51-year-old actor’s therapy-inspired personage talk show from Spotify successful a wide woody that included distribution, advertisement sales, merchandise rights, and plans to motorboat 2 caller podcasts and an yearly livestream. The first of those, Mom’s Car, debuted successful 2025.

12. Amy Poehler

Good Hang (Spotify): $24 million

The 54-year-old comedian and shaper has recovered breakout occurrence (and steadier paychecks) hosting her question and reply show Good Hang, which has quickly go a fixture connected the personage promo circuit—recent guests see Will Ferrell, Matt Damon and Mindy Kaling. And the look is working—earlier this year, Poehler won the first-ever Golden Globe grant for podcasting.

13. Bill Simmons

The Bill Simmons Podcast (Spotify/Netflix): $22 million

“The Podfather” was 1 of the earliest adopters of the mean erstwhile he started his seminal sports talk and question and reply show successful 2007, past arsenic an worker of ESPN. After an infamously turbulent divided pinch the network, the 56-year-old Simmons founded The Ringer web successful 2016 and sold it 4 years later for an estimated $200 million. He now serves arsenic caput of talk strategy astatine Spotify and was the first awesome podcast to look connected Netflix successful January.

14. Jay Shetty

On Purpose (Spotify/Netflix): $21 million

When his podcast came up for renewal, the monk-turned-wellness-entrepreneur received $100 cardinal offers from 4 different suitors, yet landing a caller mixed woody from Spotify and Netflix, which will move him up the database successful early years. The 38-year-old Shetty, who made the 30 Under 30 database successful 2017, conscionable relaunched On Purpose in July pinch an question and reply of Netflix prima Millie Bobby Brown.

15. Joe Budden

The Joe Budden Podcast (Independent): $20 million

With much than 70,000 paid subscribers, the 45-year-old erstwhile rapper has the biggest podcast connected Patreon, wherever fans salary straight to perceive him talk hip-hop civilization pinch his sheet of guests. With business partner Ian Schwartzman, they person built retired a afloat independent network and are presently moving connected a exertion level pinch organization building devices they dream to licence to different creators. And successful August, the web adds 2 caller shows. Schwartzman will big an executive question and reply show pinch Yahoo Finance, and Budden is launching a existent crime podcast successful business pinch Law & Order creator Dick Wolf.

16. Tucker Carlson

The Tucker Carlson Show (Red Seat Ventures): $20 million

Since leaving Fox News successful 2023, the 57-year-old governmental firebrand started his independent cognition pinch the backing of right-wing media investor Red Seat Ventures, a patient that besides backs erstwhile Fox stars Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly. A subscription to his Tucker Carlson Network costs $9 per period for entree to everything from interviews pinch Donald Trump and Vladmir Putin to documentaries including The 9/11 Files to caller monologues renouncing his affiliation pinch the Republican Party.

17. Scott Galloway

The Prof G Pod (Vox Media): $19 million

After entertaining offers northbound of $10 cardinal per twelvemonth from respective networks past May, Galloway, a professor of trading astatine NYU, and his Pivot co-host Kara Swisher stake connected themselves successful a renewal woody pinch Vox Media that comes pinch zero minimum guarantee and a 70% divided of the advertisement revenue, which Forbes estimates generated $15 cardinal complete the past 12 months. Galloway adds to his stock pinch a increasing number of shows nether his Prof G Media banner, including The Prof G Pod, Prof G Markets, and Raging Moderates), spreading his provocative marque of economical and taste commentary.

18. Andrew Huberman

The Huberman Lab Project (Independent): $18 million

Though his assemblage took a deed aft a 2024 New York mag exposé, the 50-year-old Stanford professor has weathered the large wind and maintains a pursuing for his popular neuroscience investigation and conversations, and a foothold pinch advertisers pushing health-related products, including a multimillion-dollar yearly business pinch vitamin supplement shaper AG1. Huberman is different of the very fewer apical podcasters whose business runs independently from the awesome networks.

19. Dan Katz, Eric Sollenberger

Pardon My Take (Barstool Sports/Netflix): $18 million

The flagship show of Barstool Sports, the Pardon My Take hosts (better known arsenic Big Cat and PFT Commenter) landed a immense woody pinch Netflix past December to bring their sports talk show to the streamer—and possibly much importantly, region it from YouTube. The brace besides look among a rotating formed of talent connected Fox Sports 1’s cablegram TV regular talk show Wake Up Barstool.

20. Hannah Berner, Paige DeSorbo

Giggly Squad (Acast): $18 million

After gathering connected the Bravo reality show Summer House, the 34-year-old Berner and 33-year-old DeSorbo person built a passionate female fanbase for some their show—which is eying a monolithic caller woody this fall—and for their individual ventures. Berner released a stand-up drama typical connected Hulu successful June and DeSorbo has her own pajama line, Daphne, and a abstracted video question and reply show pinch Amazon Prime Video.

Methodology

The rankings estimate the full magnitude earned by talent and/or their firm entities done minimum guarantees, gross sharing, level fees, and unrecorded events from June 2025 to June 2026. Shows that are broadcast unrecorded and syndicated into aggregate markets were considered to beryllium power shows—even if they merchandise the episodes arsenic podcasts later on—and the hosts of shows that are only distributed connected YouTube were considered net creators. Neither were considered here.

Estimations were calculated done interviews pinch agents, lawyers, managers, executives and manufacture experts. The figures correspond pretax net specifically for podcast work, though galore talents connected the database gain important further income from movies, TV, radio, endorsements, entrepreneurial ventures, individual appearances, investments aliases different categories. Fees for practice (agent, manager, lawyer etc.) are not deducted.

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