Annual Budget
What a Podcast Costs to Run for a Year
People budget for episode one and abandon the show at episode five, because nobody told them what twelve months actually costs. Here are three honest annual budgets — lean, standard and serious — using real 2026 prices from a Ludhiana studio.
Lean: monthly, about ₹60,000 a year
Twelve monthly episodes recorded hourly at ₹999 for two hours each — ₹24,000. Quick Cut edits at ₹2,999 on six of them, self-editing the rest — ₹18,000. Twenty-four reels at ₹500 — ₹12,000. Hosting on a free tier plus YouTube, and artwork done once for around ₹5,000. This is the budget that actually survives a year, because monthly is a promise most people can keep.
Standard: fortnightly, about ₹1.6 lakh a year
Twenty-four Essentials sessions at ₹3,999 — ₹96,000. Quick Cut on every episode — ₹72,000, or less if you take Creator Stack bundles instead. Reels included in the bundles. This is the level at which a show starts feeling like a publication rather than a hobby, and where sponsors begin to take calls.
Serious: weekly with multi-cam, about ₹4 lakh a year
Fifty-two Multi-Cam Pro sessions at ₹4,999 — ₹2.6 lakh. Full Edits at ₹4,999 on the strongest half, Quick Cuts on the rest — around ₹1.3 lakh. A hundred and fifty reels. At this level you should be recording two episodes per visit to halve the travel and setup overhead, and you should be selling sponsorship, because the show can now carry itself.
The costs people forget
Artwork and a title sequence, once, ₹5,000–15,000. Hosting beyond the free tier, ₹3,000–6,000 a year. A domain and a simple page, ₹2,000. Paying a guest's travel occasionally, because the guest you actually want may not be free. And the real one: the episodes you record and never publish, which is a cost you control by recording fewer, better.
What actually decides whether it survives
Not budget. Cadence. A monthly show at ₹60,000 that runs for three years beats a weekly show at ₹4 lakh that stops in March, every time — for audience, for sponsors and for your own patience. Pick the cheapest cadence you are confident of keeping, and raise it only once you are bored of how easy it feels.
Request any open slot and we confirm it on WhatsApp — from ₹3,999 a session, or ₹999 an hour.
Session rates
The Essentials
2 cameras + Rode mics, 60-min session
₹3,999
Multi-Cam Pro
3 cameras + cinematic lighting
₹4,999
Newsroom Edition
3-cam 4K + dual collar mics
₹7,999
The Creator Stack
Pro shoot + full edit + 3 reels
₹9,999
Hourly booking
No minimum — book a single hour
₹999/hr
Bookings are confirmed on slot availability and are non-refundable; reschedule once with 24 hours' notice. Slots close two hours before start time.
Questions people ask
What does it cost to run a podcast for a year in India?
Realistically ₹60,000 for a monthly show, around ₹1.6 lakh fortnightly, and roughly ₹4 lakh for a weekly multi-cam show — using 2026 Ludhiana studio rates.
What's the cheapest sustainable setup?
Monthly episodes recorded hourly at ₹999, six paid edits a year, twenty-four reels. About ₹60,000 annually, and it's the budget most shows actually survive.
Does spending more make a podcast succeed?
No — cadence does. A monthly show that runs three years beats a weekly one that stops in March, for audience and sponsors alike.
Also worth reading
Check what's open this week
Live availability, confirmed on WhatsApp — from ₹3,999 — or ₹999 for a single hour.
Sai Podcast Studios · S.C.F. 27, Phase-3 Market, Opposite Army Public School, Dugri, Ludhiana — 141013 · +91 77195 75790