Report: Podcast Ad Spending Jumps 23% in Q2

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | 3:18pm CT

Magellan AI

Podcast advertising continued to show strong growth in the second quarter of 2026, with spending rising 23% from a year earlier and 9% from the first quarter, according to Magellan AI's latest Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report. Every month of the quarter topped the average monthly spending level recorded during Q1.

The report found 1,297 brands advertising on podcasts for the first time during the quarter, while overall ad load increased to 8.75% from 8.25% in Q1. Insurance was the fastest-growing advertising category, with spending increasing 60% quarter-to-quarter.

Quince remained the largest individual podcast advertiser with an estimated $19 million in Q2 spending. Shopify ranked second at $15.7 million, followed by BetterHelp at $15.6 million, Toyota at $13.5 million and Amazon at $12.5 million. T-Mobile, FanDuel, Progressive, SimpliSafe and Public.com completed the top 10. Combined spending among the 10 largest advertisers totaled an estimated $128 million, down 2% from Q1. Eight of the top 10 were also among the biggest spenders during the previous quarter.

Insurance spending climbed from $36.4 million in Q1 to $58.2 million in Q2, a 60% increase. Energy spending rose 52%, jewelry increased 47%, VPN advertising grew 42% and home improvement advanced 38%.

Financial Services remained the largest category overall with $114.4 million in estimated Q2 podcast spending, up 12% year-over-year. Business Services & Software followed at $83.9 million, while Consumer Services & Software accounted for $72.2 million. Health Services posted the largest year-over-year percentage increase among the top 10 categories, jumping 110% to $49.5 million.

Advertising dollars also became somewhat more concentrated among larger podcasts. Shows with an average rank of 500 or better captured 52% of Q2 podcast ad spending, up from 48% in Q1. Shows ranked 501-3,000 accounted for 31%, with lower-ranked programs receiving the remaining 17%.

Meanwhile, ad load across the sampled episodes increased to 8.75% from 8.25% in Q1 and 8.11% in the year-ago quarter. Sports podcasts were among those recording a sizable increase, with Q2 ad load rising from 7.77% in 2025 to 9.11% this year.

Magellan AI based the report on an analysis of 94,823 episodes from popular podcasts, sampling multiple copies of some episodes to account for dynamically inserted advertising. Its estimated spending model incorporates ad volume, estimated downloads, CPMs, ad type and how advertising was purchased.