Joe Rogan is the highest-paid podcaster in the world as of November 2026, with estimated podcast earnings of about $82 million a year. This ranking covers hosts by their pretax podcast income over the most recent 12 months we can measure (mid-2025 to mid-2026): minimum guarantees from platforms, revenue shares, ad sales, subscriptions and live shows. Film, TV, book and endorsement money earned outside the show is left out, and where a show has several hosts, the figure is for the whole team.
The money has moved a long way from the Spotify exclusives of 2020. The biggest paydays now come from non-exclusive deals that let a show stay on YouTube, from video distribution with streaming services, and in one case from selling the whole show to a tech company.
| Rank | Host(s) | Show | Earnings per year (USD) | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dax Shepard | Armchair Expert | about $25 million | Wondery |
| 9 | Charlamagne tha God | The Breakfast Club | about $27 million | iHeartMedia |
| 8 | Alex Cooper | Call Her Daddy | about $32 million | SiriusXM |
| 7 | Mel Robbins | The Mel Robbins Podcast | about $35 million | SiriusXM |
| 6 | Jason and Travis Kelce | New Heights | about $35 million | Wondery |
| 5 | Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes | SmartLess | about $37 million | SiriusXM |
| 4 | Ashley Flowers | Crime Junkie | about $42 million | Tubi and Red Seat Ventures |
| 3 | Steven Bartlett | The Diary of a CEO | about $45 million | Independent |
| 2 | John Coogan and Jordi Hays | TBPN | about $70 million | OpenAI |
| 1 | Joe Rogan | The Joe Rogan Experience | about $82 million | Spotify |
The Kelce brothers and Mel Robbins are tied at about $35 million; the Kelces rank higher on the strength of a fixed, fully documented platform deal.
10. Dax Shepard: $25 million
An actor best known for “Parenthood” and “CHiPs” turned out to be one of the best long-form interviewers in the business. Dax Shepard launched Armchair Expert in 2018 with co-host Monica Padman, and the show’s mix of celebrity guests and scientists made it one of the most downloaded in America.
After a few years as a Spotify exclusive, Armchair Expert moved to Amazon’s Wondery in 2024 in a deal that covers distribution, ad sales and merchandise. Shepard and Padman have built a small network around it, with spinoff shows on the same feed.
The $25 million is the show’s estimated income under the Wondery arrangement, before tax.
9. Charlamagne tha God: $27 million
Charlamagne is the only name here who still gets up before dawn for a live radio show. The Breakfast Club has been a fixture of hip-hop radio since 2010, and it now lives a second life as one of the most watched podcasts on YouTube.
In late 2025 Charlamagne tha God renewed with iHeartMedia in a deal reported at up to $200 million over five years, which also covers his podcast network. A video deal with Netflix has been reported on top of that.
Divide the iHeart renewal over five years and you get close to $40 million a year at the top end; our $27 million reflects what he is estimated to have actually earned in the first year.
8. Alex Cooper: $32 million
Cooper started Call Her Daddy in 2018 as a co-hosted show under a sports media company. By 2021 she was running it herself on a Spotify exclusive reported at $60 million, and she turned a dating-advice podcast into one of the biggest celebrity interview shows in America.
In August 2024 Alex Cooper moved to SiriusXM on a three-year deal worth up to $125 million with incentives. She also runs Unwell, a media and consumer brand company that sells everything from merchandise to a hydration drink.
The SiriusXM contract is the base of our estimate; full incentives would add to it.
7. Mel Robbins: $35 million
Mel Robbins was a lawyer, then a TV host, then the author of “The 5 Second Rule.” Then she started a podcast in 2022, and it turned into the biggest act of her career. Her 2024 book “The Let Them Theory” became a global bestseller, and the podcast now ranks among the most listened to self-improvement shows in the world.
SiriusXM renegotiated Mel Robbins‘s deal in the middle of its term to pay her more, a rare move in an industry that usually waits for contracts to expire.
Her figure is pegged to that renegotiated SiriusXM contract, plus live events.
6. Jason and Travis Kelce: $35 million
Two brothers with more than 25 NFL seasons between them started New Heights in 2022 as a weekly chat about football. Then Travis began dating Taylor Swift, and the show became a pop culture event. Her August 2025 appearance, when she announced an album on the show, drew about 1.3 million concurrent viewers on YouTube.
In August 2024 the brothers signed a three-year deal with Wondery reported at $100 million, about $33 million a year before ad sales and live shows on top. Travis Kelce made his name as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, while Jason Kelce retired from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024 and moved into broadcasting.
The Wondery contract’s yearly value, plus extras, gets them to about $35 million.
5. Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes: $37 million
SmartLess began in 2020 as a lockdown project between three actor friends: one of them surprises the other two with a mystery guest every week. It became one of the most popular interview shows in the country, a live touring act and the subject of its own documentary series.
In 2024 the trio moved the show to SiriusXM in a deal reported at around $100 million. Jason Bateman, Arnett and Hayes all keep busy acting careers, so their podcast money arrives on top of TV and film pay.
The $37 million is split three ways, and rests on the SiriusXM deal plus tour revenue.
4. Ashley Flowers: $42 million
Crime Junkie started in Indianapolis in 2017 with a microphone and a lot of research. Ashley Flowers now runs audiochuck, a production company with a slate of true crime shows, and Crime Junkie is among the most downloaded podcasts in the United States year after year.
In October 2025 audiochuck signed a distribution deal with Tubi and Red Seat Ventures reported at $150 million, putting the show and its siblings on video.
Our estimate reflects her share of audiochuck’s earnings from that deal and its ad sales.
3. Steven Bartlett: $45 million
Bartlett dropped out of university, co-founded the social media agency Social Chain in his early twenties, and took it public. The Diary of a CEO, launched in 2017, is now one of the biggest podcasts ever made in Britain, filmed in a studio that looks like a movie set.
He has stayed independent, selling ads and sponsorships himself through his own company. That company was valued at $425 million in a private equity round, and Steven Bartlett also invests in startups and has a stake in several consumer brands.
The $45 million counts only what the show earned in the year, not the value of the business.
2. John Coogan and Jordi Hays: $70 million
The newest show here had the biggest single payday. TBPN, a three-hour live tech talk show that started in 2024, became required viewing in Silicon Valley within a year. In April 2026 OpenAI bought it, its first acquisition of a media company, in a deal estimated at about $150 million in cash and stock.
Coogan co-founded the meal-replacement company Soylent and said Sam Altman funded his first company back in 2013. He and Hays have said the show will keep running live every weekday with its editorial independence intact.
Much of their $70 million appears to come from that sale, booked in the year it closed, so this number is unlikely to repeat at the same level.
1. Joe Rogan: $82 million
Rogan started his podcast in 2009 as a loose hangout with comedian friends, filmed on a webcam. It is now the most listened to podcast in the world, a ranking it has held on Spotify’s yearly charts since he joined the platform.
His first Spotify deal, signed in 2020, was reported at around $200 million and made the show an exclusive. When it ran out in 2024, Joe Rogan signed a new three-year deal reported at up to $250 million that let him return to YouTube and other platforms, and keep ad revenue on top. He also still tours as a stand-up comic and works as a UFC commentator.
A three-year, $250 million contract works out to just over $83 million a year, which squares with our $82 million estimate.
Just outside the top 10
- Amy Poehler, Good Hang: about $24 million in the show’s first full year on Spotify, a remarkable start for a podcast launched in 2025.
- Bill Simmons, The Bill Simmons Podcast: about $22 million, helped by a Netflix video deal that started in January 2026.
- Jay Shetty, On Purpose: about $21 million, with a combined Spotify and Netflix deal estimated at $100 million over three years.
What the highest-paid podcasters have in common
- Video pays the bills now. Nearly every big deal on this list involves YouTube, Netflix, Tubi or another screen. Audio-only exclusives are fading.
- Owning the show matters. Cooper, Flowers, Bartlett and the TBPN hosts own their companies, which lets them sell, license or renegotiate on their own terms.
- Celebrity helps, but it is optional. SmartLess and the Kelces arrived famous. Flowers, Bartlett and Coogan built their audiences from scratch.
- Conversation wins. Nine of the ten are talk shows built around long chats with guests or co-hosts. Crime Junkie is the only storytelling show in the group.
FAQ
Who is the highest-paid podcaster in the world?
Joe Rogan, with estimated podcast earnings of about $82 million a year, mostly from his Spotify deal reported at up to $250 million over three years.
How much does the 10th highest-paid podcaster make?
Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert earned about $25 million in the past year.
How much do the Kelce brothers make from New Heights?
About $35 million a year, based on a three-year Wondery deal reported at $100 million plus ad sales and live shows.
Who is the highest-paid female podcaster?
Ashley Flowers of Crime Junkie, at about $42 million, ahead of Mel Robbins and Alex Cooper.
How do podcasters make money?
Through platform deals with minimum guarantees, ad sales, subscriptions, live tours and, more and more, video distribution with streaming services.
Do these numbers include TV, movies or books?
No. They cover podcast income only. Hosts such as Jason Bateman or Mel Robbins earn more from other work.
How we ranked pay
Our rankings are based on public contract reporting, team and school disclosures, and salary databases, all compiled in an internal pay model. Unless we say otherwise, we rank by the average annual value of each current contract and leave endorsements out of the number. Figures are approximate and can change quickly as new deals are signed.
Keep reading
- Surprising ways to make money without a traditional job
- Businesses that get paid before they deliver
- The most valuable money-making skills, ranked
Last updated: November 2026.
