Your number
$11,250
Your rate card
- Day rate$950 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$125 per hour
- An episode, produced$750 per project
- Monthly retainerfour episodes a month, edited, published, show notes and clips$3,750 per month
- Each one over the retainer$375 per booking
What to charge for each thing (4)
- Edit only$250 per episode
- Full production$650 per episode
- Launch package (artwork, intro, first three)$4,000 each
- Show notes and social clips$200 per episode
US rates for podcast producer / editors at your level, adjusted for your market. What you last got wins.
- 3 months on retainer at $3,750four episodes a month, edited, published, show notes and clips$11,250
For 3 months on retainer at $3,750, the quote is $11,250.
To take home $85,000 after $9,000 of costs and 30% tax you need to bill $134,286 a year. At 24 billable hours a week for 47 weeks that is $125 an hour, $950 a day. Anything under that is a pay cut you did not agree to.
Podcast producers usually day at $400 to $900. You are above it. That is fine when the work is, and it is the reason to say it plainly and show the work.
An episode, produced runs $200 to $800 and takes about 6 hours of your time; at your hourly that is $750. The number is the higher of the two, because the client is buying the outcome, not the hours.
A retainer is the month, not the hours: four episodes a month, edited, published, show notes and clips. It is priced about 20% under the same work bought one at a time, in exchange for the certainty; three months minimum, or it is not a retainer.