What you are actually paying for
Podcast editing is not one job. Before you compare prices, split it into the pieces an editor might do:
- Audio cleanup: removing background noise, levelling volume between speakers, fixing plosives and room echo.
- Content edit: cutting false starts, long pauses, filler words and tangents so the episode moves.
- Video edit (for video podcasts): syncing cameras and audio, switching between speakers, framing, lower thirds and captions.
- Repurposing: cutting short clips for YouTube Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
- Publishing extras: show notes, chapters, thumbnails and uploading.
A quote that looks cheap often covers only the first item. A quote that looks expensive often includes all five.
Typical pricing models
| Model | How it is priced | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly freelancer | Per hour of editing time; Upwork reports typical video editor rates of $6–$25/hr, with senior editors at $61–$150/hr (Upwork) | Shows with irregular length or style | Hours add up on long, messy recordings |
| Per-episode freelancer or gig | Fixed price per episode, often tiered by length | Predictable weekly shows | Extra fees for video, clips or revisions |
| Monthly podcast service | Flat monthly fee for a set number of episodes | Teams publishing every week | Paying for unused episodes |
| DIY software | Subscription to a tool such as Descript or Riverside | Hosts who like editing | Your time is the real cost |
| Done-for-you per video | Fixed price per finished video | Solo talking-head episodes | Usually limited to certain formats |
On Fiverr, the seller sets the price, and Fiverr adds a 5.5% service fee plus $3.50 on orders under $200, which matters when you buy a lot of small episode edits.
What makes a podcast episode cost more
Length of raw recording
Editors have to listen to or watch everything you record. A 90-minute raw recording takes far longer to review than a 25-minute one, even if both end up as 20-minute episodes.
Number of speakers and cameras
Every extra person adds audio tracks to balance and, for video, a camera angle to cut to. Remote guests recorded on different microphones and internet connections take extra cleanup.
Recording quality
Clean audio from a decent microphone in a quiet room edits quickly. Echoey rooms, laptop microphones and dropped connections take time to repair, and some problems can't be fully fixed.
How tight you want it
A light edit removes obvious mistakes. A tight edit removes every filler word, restructures segments and adds music beds and transitions. Tight edits can take several hours per episode.
Video and clips
Turning an audio podcast into a YouTube video podcast roughly means doing a second edit. Short clips for social media are usually priced per clip on top.
Estimating your own cost
Instead of trusting a single "average", estimate it for your show:
- Note your typical raw length and number of speakers.
- Ask two or three editors how many hours they expect per episode for the edit level you want.
- Multiply by their hourly rate, or compare against their per-episode price.
- Add marketplace fees, revisions and clip fees.
- Add your own time spent briefing and reviewing.
That last step is easy to forget. If reviewing each draft takes you an hour, a cheap editor is not as cheap as the rate suggests.
Audio-only vs video podcast editing
Audio-only editing is the cheaper and faster job: no cameras, no framing, no captions on screen. Video podcasts are now common on YouTube, and they cost more because the editor has to keep picture and sound in sync and make the video watchable, not just listenable. If your audience mostly listens, consider editing audio carefully and keeping the video simple, such as a single wide shot.
Where DoneEdit fits (and where it doesn't)
DoneEdit, our own service, edits videos with one person speaking English, up to 10 minutes of raw footage and up to 5 minutes finished, for $27 per video (founding price for the first 20 customers) or $67 after. That works for solo video podcast segments, short solo episodes and clips you record on your own. It does not currently handle multi-speaker interview podcasts or long full episodes; for those, a podcast editor or a dedicated podcast service is the better choice.
Ways to cut podcast editing costs
- Record each speaker on a separate track so problems can be fixed per person.
- Use a dynamic or headset microphone and a quiet, soft-furnished room.
- Do a short pre-interview so the recording has fewer false starts.
- Give your editor a timestamped list of sections to cut.
- Keep a consistent format (intro, segments, outro) so the editor can reuse a template.