How to Start a Podcast in 2026: Equipment, Hosting, and YouTube

Here is how to start a podcast: pick a narrow topic and a format, record a few episodes with a USB microphone in a quiet room, upload them to a podcast host (Spotify for Creators is free, Buzzsprout starts at $15 a month), and let the host's RSS feed send your show to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other apps. If you want to grow on YouTube too, record video or connect your RSS feed to YouTube Studio. You can launch with under $100 of gear and no paid software. The steps below show what each part involves and where people usually get stuck.

Is starting a podcast still worth it?

The audience is there. Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 found that 80% of Americans aged 12 and up have listened to or watched a podcast, and 57% have done both, as reported by Tubefilter in March 2026. YouTube said in February 2025 that it had passed 1 billion monthly podcast viewers, and that people watched over 400 million hours of podcasts a month on TV screens in 2024.

The catch is competition: big audiences attract lots of shows. Treat it like any side hustle: expect months of work before it pays anything, and choose a topic you'd talk about for free.

How to start a podcast, step 1: pick a topic and a format

A narrow topic is easier to grow than a broad one. "Personal finance" is crowded. "Money for nurses working night shifts" tells a listener right away whether the show is for them.

Then pick a format you can keep up:

• Solo: cheapest and easiest to schedule. Hardest to keep lively.
• Co-hosted: two people talking is easier to listen to, but you have to line up two calendars.
• Interview: guests bring their own audiences, but booking them takes time every week.
• Narrative or storytelling: scripted episodes, like true crime or history. Takes the most writing and editing per minute.

Before you buy anything, write down 10 episode titles. If you struggle to reach 10, the topic is too thin.

Step 2: Podcast equipment you need (and what you can skip)

Sound matters more than anything else in the setup. An echoing room is harder to fix in editing than a plain cover or a slow intro.

What you need:

• A microphone. A dynamic USB mic is the usual starting point because it picks up less room noise than a condenser mic. Some models have both USB and XLR outputs, so you can plug into an audio interface later without buying a new mic. Prices change often, so compare a few retailers before you buy.
• Headphones. Any closed-back pair works. You need them to hear problems while you record, and to stop your speakers from bleeding into the mic on calls.
• A quiet, soft room. A closet full of clothes beats a bare office. Rugs, curtains, and a couch all cut echo for free.

What you can skip at first: mixers, audio interfaces, acoustic foam panels, and a camera upgrade. Your phone or a webcam is fine for a first video podcast.

Software: free recorders like Audacity handle solo audio. For remote guests, use a tool that records each person on their own track, so you can fix one voice without touching the other.

Step 3: Record and edit your first episodes

Record three episodes before you publish anything. New listeners who like episode one will look for more, and a show with three episodes looks active.

Keep your first edit simple: cut long pauses, false starts, and off-topic tangents, and level the volume so the hosts sound equally loud. Removing every "um" eats hours.

Step 4: Choose a podcast host

A podcast host stores your audio files and creates the RSS feed that podcast apps read. You don't upload episodes to Apple Podcasts or Spotify one by one. You upload once to your host, and the apps pull new episodes from the feed.

Prices checked on Buzzsprout's pricing page (annual billing) and the Spotify for Creators site on October 21, 2026.

Spotify for Creators calls its hosting "completely free." Buzzsprout's free plan deletes episodes after 90 days, so it works for testing but not for a show you plan to keep. Either way, make sure the host lets you export your feed if you switch later.

Step 5: Make your cover art and submit to the apps

Apple's show cover specs ask for a 3000 x 3000 pixel image in PNG or JPG, with no transparency. If you submit through an RSS feed, Apple accepts 1400 x 1400 up to 3000 x 3000, and prefers the largest size. Make the show name readable at thumbnail size, because that's how most people will see it.

If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.

Once your first episodes are live on your host, submit the RSS feed to Apple Podcasts through Podcasts Connect and to the other directories your host lists. Approval can take a few days, so do it before you announce the show.

Step 6: Put your podcast on YouTube

YouTube is now a major place people find podcasts, and it has search, which most podcast apps barely do. There are two ways in.

Upload video episodes yourself. On YouTube, a podcast is a playlist, and each episode is a video in that playlist, per YouTube's podcast help page. You create the podcast in YouTube Studio and add episodes to it. Audio-only episodes need some visual, such as your cover image or an audiogram.

Connect your RSS feed. YouTube can pull episodes straight from your host. According to YouTube's RSS delivery guide, you connect the feed in YouTube Studio, verify a code sent to the email in your feed, and pick which episodes to import. YouTube then turns each episode into a video using your show art as a still image, and new episodes upload on their own. Some limits worth knowing:

• RSS import is only available in select countries.
• Audio can't be changed after it's published. Replacing an episode creates a new video.
• Episodes delivered by RSS can't contain ads, and sponsorships must be declared.
• Deleting an episode on YouTube doesn't remove it from your feed, so it can come back. Set it to private instead.

A static image works for listeners who play podcasts in the background, but it's a weak fit for YouTube's recommendations, which favor videos people actually watch. If you'd rather not be on camera, you can pair the narration with visuals for each segment. Tools like VidPuff write a script from a title, generate narration and a visual for each scene, and render a long-form 16:9 video you review and edit before uploading. That suits scripted shows (history, stories, explainers) more than interview formats. Our guide on how to start a YouTube channel covers the channel setup side.

Step 7: Publish on a schedule and promote it

Pick a schedule you can hold for six months, even if that's every other week. Missing weeks costs more listeners than a slower pace does.

For promotion, start with places that already hold your audience: forums, groups, and newsletters in your niche. Guesting on other shows in your topic puts you in front of people who already listen to podcasts. Cut your best minute from each episode into a clip for social media.

How podcasts make money

Expect nothing for the first stretch. Common income routes are sponsorships (once you have steady downloads), listener support or paid subscriptions, affiliate links, and selling your own product or service.

On YouTube, video podcasts can earn ad revenue once the channel is in the YouTube Partner Program. That requires 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours on long-form videos in the past 12 months (or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days), according to YouTube Help, and the channel still has to pass review. Long episodes can rack up watch hours faster than short videos, which is one reason podcasters moved to YouTube. See YouTube monetization requirements for the details and how to make money on YouTube for other income streams.

Podcast income is taxable like any side income. The IRS self-employment tax page explains when you owe it.

FAQ

How do I start a podcast with no money?

Use a phone or a cheap USB mic, record in a closet or a room with soft furnishings, edit in free software like Audacity, and host on Spotify for Creators, which is free. Make your cover in a free design tool at 3000 x 3000 pixels. You can submit the RSS feed to Apple Podcasts and YouTube at no cost.

How do I start a podcast on YouTube?

Create a podcast in YouTube Studio (it's a playlist marked as a podcast) and upload episodes as videos, or connect your existing RSS feed so YouTube imports episodes automatically. RSS import is only available in some countries, and audio-only episodes show your cover art as a still image.

How many episodes should I launch with?

Three is a common starting point. It gives new listeners more to play right away and gives you a buffer if a week goes wrong.