Spotify vs Apple Podcasts: How the Two Platforms Monetize Podcast Creators

The short answer

Spotify and Apple Podcasts pay podcast creators in two fundamentally different ways. Spotify's Partner Program splits ad revenue 50/50 with the creator whenever Spotify itself sells and inserts the ad into the episode. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions has no built-in ad model at all — the creator instead sells paid subscriptions and keeps 70% of the price in year one, rising to 85% after a full year of continuous paid service, minus a $19.99/year program fee to Apple.

The core difference: ad revenue vs. subscription

Both platforms solve the same problem — letting a podcast host earn money directly through the platform itself, not only through podcast sponsorships booked outside the platform — but with two completely different mechanics:

• Spotify Partner Program: Spotify itself sells and inserts ads into the episode via dynamic ad insertion, and shares the revenue with the creator. The listener pays nothing extra.
• Apple Podcasts Subscriptions: The creator sets their own subscription price, and a listener who wants ad-free or exclusive access pays for it directly. Apple sells no ads on the creator's behalf.

Spotify Partner Program: how it works

Per Spotify's own support page (support.spotify.com, fetched directly for this research), a show has to meet all of the following to be admitted into the Partner Program:

• The show is hosted on Spotify for Creators
• The creator has a legal address in one of the eligible markets
• At least 3 published episodes
• At least 2,000 consumption hours on Spotify in the last 30 days
• At least 1,000 audience count on Spotify in the last 30 days

These thresholds were lowered in January 2026 — the program previously required 2,000 listeners, 10,000 consumption hours and 12 published episodes — making entry significantly easier for smaller and newer shows. To stay eligible, a show still has to publish an episode and earn at least $10 within any rolling 6-month period.

Once admitted, the creator earns a 50% share of the revenue every time an ad that Spotify itself has sold and monetized plays in the episode — both on and off Spotify. At least one ad break has to be inserted per episode to earn anything at all. Creators with video episodes can additionally earn Premium video revenue when Premium subscribers watch without an ad interruption.

The Danish angle: Denmark is named explicitly on Spotify's own list of markets where ads currently aren't served to listeners — but a Danish creator can still be admitted to the Partner Program and earn money when Spotify sells ads delivered into their content consumed elsewhere, plus Premium video revenue. Quoted directly from Spotify's own support page: "If you are a creator in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, or Switzerland, while ads on Spotify for Creators are not currently served to listeners in these markets, you can still earn revenue for any ads delivered by Spotify into your content when consumed elsewhere, in addition to Premium video revenue." In other words: a Danish show can earn through the program, just not yet from ads actually shown to Danish listeners — only from ads delivered to listeners elsewhere, plus Premium video.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions: how it works

Apple Podcasts has no equivalent ad-sharing model at all. Instead, a creator enrolled in the Apple Podcasters Program ($19.99/year, per Apple's own product page) can set up one or more paid subscription tiers for their show — typically offering ad-free episodes, early access or bonus content as the reason to subscribe.

The revenue split follows Apple's general, publicly documented model for auto-renewable subscriptions across the App Store (developer.apple.com, fetched directly): the creator keeps 70% of the subscription price (minus applicable taxes) in year one, rising to 85% once a given subscriber has paid continuously for more than a year. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions' own product page doesn't restate these two percentages verbatim, but they match Apple's general subscription terms that Podcasts Subscriptions runs on, and they recur consistently across multiple independent sources — treat them as well-founded, not as a direct Apple quote specifically about podcasts.

Because Apple runs no ad marketplace for podcasts, the platform also takes no cut of that kind of revenue — any advertising or sponsorship an Apple Podcasts host arranges outside the platform (for example through an ad network, as covered in podcast sponsorships) is entirely the creator's own deal, with no Apple intermediary.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions is available in over 170 countries and regions. Danish and Danish-language shows already use the feature actively — for example the Danish podcast "GoLittle," found publicly on the platform during this research, named only as evidence the feature is genuinely used in a Danish context, not as any assessment of its size.

Comparison: Spotify Partner Program vs. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions

What this means for a sponsorship deal — Make Influence's operational perspective

The following is Make Influence's own operational assessment of what this platform economics means for a brand negotiation, not a restatement of a documented Spotify or Apple policy:

• A host admitted to the Spotify Partner Program has a smaller share of income that's independent of your sponsorship deal. That doesn't necessarily change the price, but it's useful background when assessing how dependent the host actually is on brand partnerships.
• A host with a working Apple subscription has already proven a segment of the audience will pay directly for access. That's the same kind of signal covered for Patreon in Patreon for creator sponsorships — useful as one data point on engagement, but not on its own evidence of relevance to your product.
• The two revenue streams don't exclude each other. A show can easily be admitted to the Spotify Partner Program and offer an Apple subscription while also running paid sponsorships — the three layers don't compete for the same listener time the way two competing brand sponsorships would.
• Ask directly whether an ad-free Apple subscription tier also removes your sponsored segment. If the host offers an ad-free version of the episode to subscribers, it's worth clarifying in the brief whether that means subscribers won't hear your brand mentioned at all — that can affect the deal's real reach.

Worked example (hypothetical)

The figures below are hypothetical and illustrate only how the two revenue models calculate differently for the same show — they are not a documented creator income figure and not a real Make Influence customer case.

A show averages 40,000 downloads per episode and publishes 4 episodes a month, for 160,000 downloads/month.

Spotify scenario: Assume 25,000 of the 160,000 downloads happen via Spotify with ads inserted, and Spotify sells the ads at an illustrative $20 CPM. Gross ad revenue: 25,000 ÷ 1,000 × $20 = $500. Creator's share (50%): 500 × 0.50 = $250/month.

Apple scenario: The show offers an ad-free subscription at $4.99/month via Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, and 150 listeners subscribe (a hypothetical conversion figure). Gross revenue: 150 × 4.99 = $748.50/month. Creator's share in year one (70%): 748.50 × 0.70 = $523.95/month. Subtracting Apple's program fee on a monthly basis (19.99 ÷ 12 = $1.67): 523.95 − 1.67 = $522.28/month.

Combined, hypothetical monthly revenue from these two platform layers alone (before any direct sponsorship): 250 + 522.28 = $772.28/month.

Common mistakes

• Assuming Apple Podcasts Subscriptions also has an ad-sharing model. It doesn't — the entire revenue comes from subscriptions the creator prices themselves.
• Assuming a Danish show can't join the Spotify Partner Program at all. It can be admitted and earn from ads delivered elsewhere plus Premium video — just not yet from ads shown directly to Danish listeners.
• Quoting the 70%/85% Apple figures as a direct Apple statement about podcasts specifically. They come from Apple's general App Store subscription terms that Podcasts Subscriptions is built on — consistently corroborated across sources, but not restated verbatim on Apple's own Podcasts Subscriptions page.
• Assuming an ad-free subscription tier automatically also removes a paid sponsorship. Confirm directly with the host — it depends on how the episode is edited, not on any platform rule.

FAQ

Can a show be in both the Spotify Partner Program and offer Apple Podcasts Subscriptions at the same time?

Yes. The two programs are independent of each other and run on their own platforms — a show can easily be admitted to both while also running ordinary, directly booked sponsorships.

How much can a podcast host actually earn from the Spotify Partner Program?

It depends entirely on how many downloads happen via Spotify itself and what CPM Spotify is selling ads at that period — there's no fixed rate, and for Danish creators the current restriction that ads aren't yet shown to Danish listeners also applies.

Does a podcast host still need to disclose a sponsorship deal even if the show is also in the Spotify Partner Program or Apple Podcasts Subscriptions?

Yes, unchanged. Neither Spotify's nor Apple's platform revenue has any bearing on the disclosure duty for a separate brand deal — see influencer marketing disclosure rules in Denmark and the EU.

Is Apple's $19.99/year a one-time fee or recurring?

Recurring — it's an annual program fee for enrollment in the Apple Podcasters Program, which unlocks the tools to offer subscriptions.

What about TikTok and YouTube — do they have an equivalent model for podcast-like content?

Not directly for podcast audio, but the same underlying principle (platform-shared revenue vs. direct fan payment) recurs in YouTube Channel Memberships and Super Thanks and TikTok's Creator Rewards Program.