Podtrac review: free IAB-certified measurement, $20 a month for more
Podtrac is the download measurement sponsors ask for, and the part most podcasters need is free. Our check of analytics.podtrac.com on 11 June 2026, four months before this review was written, recorded a free plan with IAB-certified measurement and demographics, and Grow Your Show at $20 a month.
The short answer
Buy Podtrac Start on the free plan, which is the unusual advice in this category and the right one here. Our 11 June 2026 check of analytics.podtrac.com recorded IAB-certified download data, audience demographics and industry ranking access at $0 a month, which is the number a sponsor will want to see.
Skip it Skip the $20 a month Grow Your Show tier until the free data has run out of answers, and skip Podtrac altogether if what you want is chart position or marketing attribution. That is Podkite's job, free or $7 a month on its own 11 June 2026 check.
Where Podtrac fits
Podtrac fits any show that sells sponsorship, or expects to. Its measurement is IAB-certified, which in practice means an advertiser will accept the figure without argument, and that single fact is why it sits in most podcast stacks regardless of what else is in them.
The pricing is simple to the point of being unusual. Our check of analytics.podtrac.com on 11 June 2026 recorded two options: a free plan carrying core measurement, audience demographics and access to the industry rankings, and Grow Your Show at $20 a month adding growth tools, deeper analytics and category-level rankings.
The free tier is the product for most independent podcasters, and that is worth saying plainly because free tiers in this category are usually demonstrations. Download counts, demographics and ranking access cover the conversation a sponsor wants to have, so a show with a few thousand downloads an episode has little reason to pay anything.
Grow Your Show at $20 a month is $240 across a year on the June 2026 rate, and the case for it is comparative rather than operational. You are paying for category-level rankings and deeper analysis, which help when you are arguing that your show outperforms its niche, not when you are simply reporting how many people downloaded an episode.
What it does not do is tell you whether anyone listened. A download is a file request, so a 90-minute episode downloaded and abandoned at minute two counts the same as one played through. Host-side analytics and platform dashboards cover consumption; Podtrac covers the number sponsors buy against.
It pairs rather than competes with the chart trackers. Podkite is free for one show or $7 a month on Starter, verified 11 June 2026, and covers chart positions, reviews and trackable links. Chartable once covered both sides and has been closed to new signups since December 2024, as our 13 June 2026 check recorded.
These figures were verified on 11 June 2026, four months before publication, and we have not re-checked them. A two-tier rate card is less likely to drift than a six-tier one, but four months is long enough for a free allowance to narrow, so read analytics.podtrac.com before you plan around it. The creator analytics category lists the alternatives.
Podtrac pricing
Podtrac has two published options and the measurement most people want is in the free one. Both figures below come from our check of analytics.podtrac.com on 11 June 2026, which is four months old at the time of writing and has not been re-verified.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | IAB-certified download measurement, audience demographics, industry ranking access |
| Grow Your Show | $20/mo | Growth tools, deeper analytics and category-level rankings |
There is only one price to pay, so the question is whether you need to pay it at all. Four things decide:
- Whether core measurement is enough. Downloads, demographics and ranking access were all on the free plan as of 11 June 2026.
- Whether you need category-level rankings, which the snapshot places on Grow Your Show at $20 a month.
- Whether a sponsor conversation is in prospect. The certified number is the reason to be here, and it costs nothing.
- What your host already reports. Consumption and retention come from the host, so paying Podtrac for growth tools duplicates less than it looks.
Podtrac pricing against the podcast analytics tools
No other tool in this category gives away as much. Podkite is free for one podcast and $7 a month on Starter, verified 11 June 2026, but its free tier holds only 6 Kitelinks a month and 30 days of data, so it is a trial rather than a working plan. Chartable charged $20 a month on Indie and $100 on Pro before it closed, as recorded on 13 June 2026. The useful pairing today is Podtrac free with Podkite Starter at $7 a month, which is $7 a month and $84 across a year, or both paid tiers at $20 and $7, which is $27 a month and $324 across a year on those June 2026 figures.
Podtrac billing terms worth knowing
The first row is the one that matters, because it is the reason most shows never pay.
- Free plan
- IAB-certified downloads, demographics and ranking access at $0 a month, as of 11 June 2026.
- Grow Your Show
- $20 a month, which is $240 across a year on that rate.
- Annual discount
- None recorded in our 11 June 2026 check, so assume monthly billing.
- What the number means
- A download, meaning a file request, rather than a measured listen.
- Host compatibility
- Works alongside any hosting provider through a measurement prefix.
- Demographics
- Audience data depends on surveying your listeners rather than appearing automatically.
- Check date
- 11 June 2026, four months old, not re-verified since.
The free plan is the headline and the $20 a month tier is optional, which is the opposite of how this category usually works. These figures are four months old, so confirm them on analytics.podtrac.com before planning a sponsorship pitch around them. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a podcast stack once you have each vendor's current rate.
What Podtrac gives up
You give up any sense of whether people listened. Downloads are file requests, so completion, drop-off and skipped segments are invisible here, and a show optimising its structure needs host-side consumption data instead.
There is no chart ranking across directories and no review monitoring. Those belong to Podkite, free or $7 a month on Starter as verified on 11 June 2026, which means a complete picture is two subscriptions even though one of them can be free.
There is no marketing attribution. Nothing here tells you which newsletter or post drove a download, so a show spending money on promotion cannot measure the return inside Podtrac.
The dashboard is functional rather than modern, and exports are plainer than a client-facing report needs. If you are presenting to a brand, expect to rebuild the numbers in a document of your own.
Demographic data depends on surveying your own audience rather than arriving automatically, so the demographics panel is as good as your response rate and no better. That is honest of the vendor and still work for you.
The paid tier is thinly described and we are not going to pad it out. Our 11 June 2026 check recorded growth tools, deeper analytics and category-level rankings for $20 a month, and what that is worth to a particular show is a judgement the free plan will help you make.
Our evidence is four months old. The free plan looked generous on 11 June 2026, and generous free plans are exactly the ones that narrow, so verify the current allowance before you build a sponsorship pitch on it.
How Podtrac compares
The table sets Podtrac against the chart tracker it pairs with, the product that used to do both jobs, and a host that reports its own listeners. Each price is that vendor's published rate with the date we checked it, and the dates differ. The creator analytics category holds the wider field.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podtrac | Download numbers a sponsor will accept | Free, $20/mo Grow Your Show (11 June 2026) | Counts downloads, not listening; no attribution |
| Podkite | Chart positions, reviews and trackable links | Free, $7/mo Starter (11 June 2026) | No download measurement at all |
| Chartable | Nothing current: closed to new signups | Discontinued; Indie was $20/mo (checked 13 June 2026) | Shut down in December 2024; data largely lost |
| Buzzsprout | Hosting with consumption analytics included | Not verified on this page | Not certified measurement, so sponsors may still ask for Podtrac |
What to test on the Podtrac free plan
Our 11 June 2026 check recorded IAB-certified measurement, demographics and ranking access on the free plan. Confirm that allowance first, because the check is four months old and a free tier this generous is the kind that changes.
- Read the current free plan on analytics.podtrac.com and note what has moved to the paid tier. Our figures are from 11 June 2026 and this is the step not to take on trust.
- Add the measurement prefix to your feed and let a full episode cycle run before you judge anything. Early numbers while the prefix propagates are not the real ones.
- Compare Podtrac's download count with your host's for the same episode and expect a difference. Knowing which number you quote, and why, is the point of the exercise.
- Look up your show in the industry rankings and note where it sits in its category, because that is the comparison a sponsor will make.
- Run the audience survey and see what response rate you get. The demographics are only as good as that, and it is work you do rather than data that arrives.
- Decide whether you want chart positions and attribution as well. Podkite was free for one show or $7 a month on Starter when we checked it on 11 June 2026.
- Only then consider Grow Your Show at $20 a month, which is $240 across a year. Our cost calculators will total the stack once you know whether you need the paid tier.
Podtrac questions buyers ask
How much does Podtrac cost?
Podtrac offers a free plan with IAB-certified download measurement, audience demographics, and industry rankings. The Grow Your Show plan costs $20/month and adds growth tools, deeper analytics, and category-level rankings. There are no download limits, no per-show charges, and no hidden fees.
Does Podtrac have a free plan?
Yes, and it is genuinely useful. The free plan includes IAB-certified download measurement, day-to-day growth tracking, episode-level data, and audience demographic insights. Most independent podcasters find the free plan sufficient for their analytics needs.
Who is Podtrac best for?
Podtrac is best for podcasters who need credible, third-party download measurement: particularly those who sell or plan to sell sponsorships. The IAB certification gives your numbers credibility with advertisers. It is also useful for anyone who wants to benchmark against industry rankings.
Podtrac vs Chartable: which should I use?
Chartable shut down in December 2024, so Podtrac is now the default free podcast measurement tool. Podtrac focuses on download measurement and demographics. For chart tracking (which Chartable offered), you need Podkite. Most podcasters now use Podtrac plus Podkite to cover what Chartable used to provide alone.
What does IAB-certified measurement mean?
IAB certification means Podtrac's download measurement methodology has been verified by the IAB Tech Lab to meet industry standards for accuracy. This matters because sponsors and advertisers trust IAB-certified numbers. When you pitch your podcast to brands, IAB-certified data from Podtrac carries more weight than self-reported hosting stats.
Does Podtrac track Spotify and Apple Podcasts?
Podtrac measures downloads across all platforms where your podcast is available, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. However, it does not track your chart ranking position on these platforms: for that, you need Podkite or similar chart-tracking tools.
Does Podtrac slow down episode downloads?
No. Podtrac's measurement prefix redirects through their servers to count the download, then passes the listener through to the actual file. This adds a negligible delay (milliseconds) that is undetectable by listeners. It has no impact on playback quality or download speed.
Can I use Podtrac alongside my hosting analytics?
Yes: this is the recommended approach. Podtrac provides IAB-certified third-party measurement that complements your hosting platform's built-in analytics. Having both gives you two data sources to cross-reference and strengthens your credibility when reporting numbers to sponsors or stakeholders.
Is the Grow Your Show plan worth $20/month?
For newer podcasters actively focused on growth, the $20/month plan adds useful tools and deeper insights. For established shows or podcasters who mainly need download numbers for sponsor pitches, the free plan is usually sufficient. Start free, use it for a month, and upgrade only if you feel limited by the available data.
Can I cancel Podtrac anytime?
Yes. The Grow Your Show plan is a monthly subscription with no long-term commitment. Cancel anytime and continue using the free plan's core measurement features. There is no cancellation fee or penalty.