Top 5 Highest Earning Podcasts in 2025
Thinking of starting a podcast? The top earners are now signing deals worth hundreds of millions. Here are the 5 highest-earning podcasts right now.
1. Joe Rogan
Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience
Deal: $250 million (Spotify, 2024)
Still the undisputed king of podcasting. Rogan renewed his Spotify deal in 2024 for up to $250 million, though his show is no longer exclusive — it's now available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music too. He was the first podcast to simultaneously top Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube charts. With an estimated $60–80 million per year when you include YouTube ad revenue and sponsorships, Rogan earns roughly $800,000 per episode.
Joe Rogan Podcast
2. Alex Cooper
Podcast: Call Her Daddy
Deal: $125 million (SiriusXM, 3 years)
Alex Cooper turned a college dorm room podcast into one of the biggest media properties in the world. After a $60 million Spotify deal, she moved to SiriusXM in 2025 for $125 million over three years — covering Call Her Daddy and her entire Unwell Audio Network. Forbes estimated her total 2024 earnings at $32 million, making her one of the highest-paid creators on the planet.
3. Ashley Flowers
Podcast: Crime Junkie
Company valuation: $250 million
Crime Junkie is the number two podcast in the US, and Ashley Flowers has built it into an empire. Her company Audiochuck reported roughly $45 million in annual profit and has racked up over 3 billion downloads across the network. In 2025, she raised $40 million in investment and signed a deal with Tubi valued at around $150 million. Not bad for a true crime show that started in a spare bedroom.
4. SmartLess
Podcast: SmartLess
Deal: $100 million (SiriusXM, 3 years)
Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett launched SmartLess during lockdown and quickly turned it into a $100 million property. After an initial deal with Amazon/Wondery for around $80 million, the trio moved to SiriusXM in 2024 for $100 million over three years. Each episode features a surprise celebrity guest that even the other two hosts don't know about in advance.
5. Dax Shepard
Podcast: Armchair Expert
Deal: $80 million (Amazon/Wondery, 2024)
Dax Shepard's long-form interview podcast has grown steadily since 2018. After stints on Spotify, he signed an $80 million deal with Amazon's Wondery in 2024. His conversational style and Hollywood connections keep the show consistently in the top charts, proving that authentic, personality-driven content still wins.
Dax Shepard Armchair Expert Podcast
The takeaway
The podcast industry has exploded since 2019. What used to be $10–30 million deals are now worth $100–250 million. Spotify and SiriusXM are the two biggest players bidding for top talent, and the shift from platform exclusivity to wider distribution means the best podcasters can earn from multiple revenue streams at once. If you're thinking of starting a podcast, there's never been more money in the space.
Waking up with a podcast on iOS
Podcast Alarm is a fully featured podcast player and alarm. You can set up queues of your favourite episodes and listen to them whenever you like. Why not subscribe to your favourite podcast and have the latest episode wake you up every weekday morning. There are lots of screenshots and videos in our "How to set a podcast as an alarm on iphone?" blog post.
