Acast's ad platform vs Spotify Ads Manager: which is better for podcast advertisers?
Acast's ad platform and Spotify Ads Manager both let you buy podcast ads yourself through a self-serve platform. The biggest difference is the podcast ad formats that they offer, with podcast host-read sponsorships being on or off the menu.
On Acast's ad platform, you can book host-read sponsorships from shows across a network of 140,000+ podcasts, in the same dashboard where you run Targeted Ads (also know as pre-recorded ads or announce-read ads). Whereas host-read podcast ads are not available to buy through Spotify Ads Manager.
So if you want the reach of a targeted buy and the trust of a host's own voice in one place, Acast's ad platform is the stronger choice. If you only need short produced spots, and want to combine podcasts with Spotify's music inventory, Spotify Ads Manager does that job well. Here's where each one wins.
Acast's ad platform vs Spotify Ads Manager at a glance
The biggest gap is in the first two rows. Everything else is closer than most comparisons suggest.
Can you book host-read ads in Spotify Ads Manager?
No. Spotify Ads Manager sells pre-produced podcast ads. For host reads, Spotify's own podcast ads page tells advertisers to contact a Spotify representative, which means a managed sales deal.
That matters because host reads are the reason most brands buy podcasts in the first place.
A produced spot borrows the show's attention. A host read borrows the host's credibility. Listeners hear a person they've chosen to spend hours with, talking about your product in their own words.
The trust is measurable. In Acast's Podcast Pulse 2025 research, 42% of US consumers said they trust podcasters for recommendations, ahead of journalists at 39%. And 89% of weekly listeners said a podcaster has changed their mind about something, even though 67% don't think of podcasters as influencers.
That last pair is the interesting one. Listeners don't feel sold to, and they still act.
If host reads are part of your plan, Spotify Ads Manager can only cover half of it. Acast's ad platform covers both halves from one platform.
How to book a host-read sponsorship on Acast's ad platform
A host-read campaign on Acast's ad platform usually goes from proposal to live in four to six weeks.
- Pick your shows. Filter the sponsorship marketplace by market and category. Each show lists its weekly listens, audience profile and a weekly price.
- Submit a proposal. Tell us the brand, the goal and the dates. Podcasters approve every sponsor, so detail helps.
- Get approved. You receive a draft media plan, adjust it to budget, and see which hosts said yes.
- Brief the host. Give three key points, your call to action and any do's and don'ts. The host writes it in their own words.
- Approve the read. You hear the recording before it airs and can ask for changes.
- Go live and track it. Reads are inserted across the show's episodes, including the back catalog, for the length of the campaign.
The host approval step is the part people sometimes see as friction. It's actually why the read works. A host who has agreed to your brand sounds like it.
Reads typically run from 60 seconds to a couple of minutes. Full steps are in the Acast support center.
What is Sponsorship+?
Sponsorship+ takes one host read and plays it far beyond the host's own show. It's the format with no equivalent in Spotify Ads Manager.
It works in two parts. You book a standard sponsorship on a show. The host also records a condensed version of the read, around 30 seconds, which runs as a targeted ad across relevant shows in the same market, during the same campaign window.
You set the budget for that second part, and you choose which shows' reads to extend. Most hosts set a minimum spend.
The result is a trusted voice at a scale a single show can't give you. A listener who has never heard of the host still hears a real person vouching for your brand, not an announcer.
It's also a better use of a great read. The best host reads take time to produce, and Sponsorship+ stops them living on one show's audience only. See how it works in the Sponsorship+ guide.
Targeted Ads vs Spotify podcast ads
For pre-produced spots, both Acast and Spotify let you upload an ad or make one with AI tools, set a budget and targeting, and go live without a sales call.
Spotify Ads Manager does some things well. The 250.00 entry point is low. You can buy music and podcast inventory in one campaign. And Spotify's targeting draws on its logged-in users.
On Acast's ad platform, Targeted Ads run across hundreds of relevant shows at once. You get a live reach forecast as you build, and targeting goes further on the podcast side: interests and behaviors, language, device, and city or postal-code location, alongside age, gender and category.
The real advantage is what sits next to Targeted Ads. On Acast's ad platform, a produced spot and a host read can live in the same plan. The produced spot buys frequency. The host read buys belief. Running only one of them leaves the other job undone.
Reach: different shows, not different apps
Both platforms deliver ads wherever people listen. Spotify says its podcast ads play on and off Spotify, and Acast's ads run on every major listening app, Spotify and Apple Podcasts included.
So the reach question isn't about apps. It's about which shows each platform sells, and how much those audiences overlap.
The answer is not much. An Attest study in January 2026 (N=300) found a 26% overlap between Acast's US audience and Spotify's podcast audience. A Spotify-only buy misses around three in four of the listeners Acast reaches.
Put another way, Spotify alone reaches 33% of US podcast listeners. Add Acast and that rises to 48%.
Acast reaches 23 million monthly unique listeners in the US, across shows it exclusively represents. If those shows aren't in your plan, neither are their audiences.
How much does each platform cost?
Both price on CPM, but only Acast publishes podcast rates. On Acast's ad platform, Targeted Ads start at $15 CPM and Host Read Sponsorships start at $25 CPM.
Targeting on Targeted Ads adds a set percentage to the base CPM. You see the price change as you pick options, and adding more options inside one category costs the same as adding one.
Sponsorship prices are set per show, based on its CPM and weekly impressions. The marketplace shows each show's weekly price before you submit a proposal.
Spotify's help center lists a minimum campaign budget of 250.00 in your local currency. Spotify doesn't publish podcast CPMs. Its podcast launch announcement described fixed CPMs, while its general pricing page describes auction bidding, so check the rate in the product before you plan around it.
For wider benchmarks, see our guide to podcast advertising costs and CPMs.
Why Acast's ad platform is the right call
Spotify Ads Manager is a good tool for a narrower job. Use it when:
- You're already buying Spotify music inventory and want podcasts on the same invoice.
- Your test budget is small and you only need produced spots.
- A show you need sits in Spotify's podcast network, not Acast's.
Use Acast's ad platform when:
- You want host reads, or a host read scaled across many shows with Sponsorship+.
- You want produced spots and host reads planned and measured together.
- You want the shows and listeners a Spotify buy doesn't reach.
Most podcast budgets above test level end up using both. The question is which one carries the plan. If your brief says "trust," "recommendation" or "credibility," that's a host-read brief, and only one of these platforms lets you book it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for podcast advertising, Acast's ad platform or Spotify Ads Manager?
For most podcast campaigns, Acast's ad platform. It lets you book Targeted Ads and host-read sponsorships across 140,000+ shows in one place. Spotify Ads Manager sells pre-produced podcast ads, and host reads go through Spotify's sales team.
Can I buy host-read podcast ads without a sales team?
Yes, on Acast's ad platform. You pick shows, submit a proposal, brief the host and approve the read before it airs. A campaign usually goes live in four to six weeks, because each host approves the brand.
How much do ads cost on Acast's ad platform?
Targeted Ads start at $15 CPM and Host Read Sponsorships start at $25 CPM. Extra targeting adds between 20% and 50% to the CPM, and country and language targeting are free.
What is Sponsorship+ on Acast?
Sponsorship+ pairs a host-read sponsorship with a shorter version of the same read, around 30 seconds, that runs as a targeted ad across other relevant shows. You get the host's voice at network scale.
Do Acast ads play on Spotify?
Yes. Ads bought through Acast's ad platform play on every major listening app, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, on shows Acast represents.
Can I run campaigns on Acast and Spotify at the same time?
Yes. An Attest study in January 2026 found only 26% overlap between Acast's US audience and Spotify's podcast audience, so the two buys mostly reach different people. Use the same attribution setup on both so you can compare results fairly.
The question to ask before you pick
Most comparisons of these two platforms argue about CPMs and minimums. Those gaps are small, and they change every quarter.
The gap that doesn't change is this. Spotify Ads Manager lets you buy a podcast's attention. Acast's ad platform lets you buy that and the host's word for it.
So before you compare rate cards, decide which one your brand actually needs. If it's only attention, you have options. If it's trust, you have one place to book it yourself.
Acast's ad platform and Spotify Ads Manager both let you buy podcast ads yourself through a self-serve platform. The biggest difference is the podcast ad formats that they offer, with podcast host-read sponsorships being on or off the menu.
On Acast's ad platform, you can book host-read sponsorships from shows across a network of 140,000+ podcasts, in the same dashboard where you run Targeted Ads (also know as pre-recorded ads or announce-read ads). Whereas host-read podcast ads are not available to buy through Spotify Ads Manager.
So if you want the reach of a targeted buy and the trust of a host's own voice in one place, Acast's ad platform is the stronger choice. If you only need short produced spots, and want to combine podcasts with Spotify's music inventory, Spotify Ads Manager does that job well. Here's where each one wins.
Acast's ad platform vs Spotify Ads Manager at a glance
The biggest gap is in the first two rows. Everything else is closer than most comparisons suggest.
Can you book host-read ads in Spotify Ads Manager?
No. Spotify Ads Manager sells pre-produced podcast ads. For host reads, Spotify's own podcast ads page tells advertisers to contact a Spotify representative, which means a managed sales deal.
That matters because host reads are the reason most brands buy podcasts in the first place.
A produced spot borrows the show's attention. A host read borrows the host's credibility. Listeners hear a person they've chosen to spend hours with, talking about your product in their own words.
The trust is measurable. In Acast's Podcast Pulse 2025 research, 42% of US consumers said they trust podcasters for recommendations, ahead of journalists at 39%. And 89% of weekly listeners said a podcaster has changed their mind about something, even though 67% don't think of podcasters as influencers.
That last pair is the interesting one. Listeners don't feel sold to, and they still act.
If host reads are part of your plan, Spotify Ads Manager can only cover half of it. Acast's ad platform covers both halves from one platform.
How to book a host-read sponsorship on Acast's ad platform
A host-read campaign on Acast's ad platform usually goes from proposal to live in four to six weeks.
- Pick your shows. Filter the sponsorship marketplace by market and category. Each show lists its weekly listens, audience profile and a weekly price.
- Submit a proposal. Tell us the brand, the goal and the dates. Podcasters approve every sponsor, so detail helps.
- Get approved. You receive a draft media plan, adjust it to budget, and see which hosts said yes.
- Brief the host. Give three key points, your call to action and any do's and don'ts. The host writes it in their own words.
- Approve the read. You hear the recording before it airs and can ask for changes.
- Go live and track it. Reads are inserted across the show's episodes, including the back catalog, for the length of the campaign.
The host approval step is the part people sometimes see as friction. It's actually why the read works. A host who has agreed to your brand sounds like it.
Reads typically run from 60 seconds to a couple of minutes. Full steps are in the Acast support center.
What is Sponsorship+?
Sponsorship+ takes one host read and plays it far beyond the host's own show. It's the format with no equivalent in Spotify Ads Manager.
It works in two parts. You book a standard sponsorship on a show. The host also records a condensed version of the read, around 30 seconds, which runs as a targeted ad across relevant shows in the same market, during the same campaign window.
You set the budget for that second part, and you choose which shows' reads to extend. Most hosts set a minimum spend.
The result is a trusted voice at a scale a single show can't give you. A listener who has never heard of the host still hears a real person vouching for your brand, not an announcer.
It's also a better use of a great read. The best host reads take time to produce, and Sponsorship+ stops them living on one show's audience only. See how it works in the Sponsorship+ guide.
Targeted Ads vs Spotify podcast ads
For pre-produced spots, both Acast and Spotify let you upload an ad or make one with AI tools, set a budget and targeting, and go live without a sales call.
Spotify Ads Manager does some things well. The 250.00 entry point is low. You can buy music and podcast inventory in one campaign. And Spotify's targeting draws on its logged-in users.
On Acast's ad platform, Targeted Ads run across hundreds of relevant shows at once. You get a live reach forecast as you build, and targeting goes further on the podcast side: interests and behaviors, language, device, and city or postal-code location, alongside age, gender and category.
The real advantage is what sits next to Targeted Ads. On Acast's ad platform, a produced spot and a host read can live in the same plan. The produced spot buys frequency. The host read buys belief. Running only one of them leaves the other job undone.
Reach: different shows, not different apps
Both platforms deliver ads wherever people listen. Spotify says its podcast ads play on and off Spotify, and Acast's ads run on every major listening app, Spotify and Apple Podcasts included.
So the reach question isn't about apps. It's about which shows each platform sells, and how much those audiences overlap.
The answer is not much. An Attest study in January 2026 (N=300) found a 26% overlap between Acast's US audience and Spotify's podcast audience. A Spotify-only buy misses around three in four of the listeners Acast reaches.
Put another way, Spotify alone reaches 33% of US podcast listeners. Add Acast and that rises to 48%.
Acast reaches 23 million monthly unique listeners in the US, across shows it exclusively represents. If those shows aren't in your plan, neither are their audiences.
How much does each platform cost?
Both price on CPM, but only Acast publishes podcast rates. On Acast's ad platform, Targeted Ads start at $15 CPM and Host Read Sponsorships start at $25 CPM.
Targeting on Targeted Ads adds a set percentage to the base CPM. You see the price change as you pick options, and adding more options inside one category costs the same as adding one.
Sponsorship prices are set per show, based on its CPM and weekly impressions. The marketplace shows each show's weekly price before you submit a proposal.
Spotify's help center lists a minimum campaign budget of 250.00 in your local currency. Spotify doesn't publish podcast CPMs. Its podcast launch announcement described fixed CPMs, while its general pricing page describes auction bidding, so check the rate in the product before you plan around it.
For wider benchmarks, see our guide to podcast advertising costs and CPMs.
Why Acast's ad platform is the right call
Spotify Ads Manager is a good tool for a narrower job. Use it when:
- You're already buying Spotify music inventory and want podcasts on the same invoice.
- Your test budget is small and you only need produced spots.
- A show you need sits in Spotify's podcast network, not Acast's.
Use Acast's ad platform when:
- You want host reads, or a host read scaled across many shows with Sponsorship+.
- You want produced spots and host reads planned and measured together.
- You want the shows and listeners a Spotify buy doesn't reach.
Most podcast budgets above test level end up using both. The question is which one carries the plan. If your brief says "trust," "recommendation" or "credibility," that's a host-read brief, and only one of these platforms lets you book it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for podcast advertising, Acast's ad platform or Spotify Ads Manager?
For most podcast campaigns, Acast's ad platform. It lets you book Targeted Ads and host-read sponsorships across 140,000+ shows in one place. Spotify Ads Manager sells pre-produced podcast ads, and host reads go through Spotify's sales team.
Can I buy host-read podcast ads without a sales team?
Yes, on Acast's ad platform. You pick shows, submit a proposal, brief the host and approve the read before it airs. A campaign usually goes live in four to six weeks, because each host approves the brand.
How much do ads cost on Acast's ad platform?
Targeted Ads start at $15 CPM and Host Read Sponsorships start at $25 CPM. Extra targeting adds between 20% and 50% to the CPM, and country and language targeting are free.
What is Sponsorship+ on Acast?
Sponsorship+ pairs a host-read sponsorship with a shorter version of the same read, around 30 seconds, that runs as a targeted ad across other relevant shows. You get the host's voice at network scale.
Do Acast ads play on Spotify?
Yes. Ads bought through Acast's ad platform play on every major listening app, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, on shows Acast represents.
Can I run campaigns on Acast and Spotify at the same time?
Yes. An Attest study in January 2026 found only 26% overlap between Acast's US audience and Spotify's podcast audience, so the two buys mostly reach different people. Use the same attribution setup on both so you can compare results fairly.
The question to ask before you pick
Most comparisons of these two platforms argue about CPMs and minimums. Those gaps are small, and they change every quarter.
The gap that doesn't change is this. Spotify Ads Manager lets you buy a podcast's attention. Acast's ad platform lets you buy that and the host's word for it.
So before you compare rate cards, decide which one your brand actually needs. If it's only attention, you have options. If it's trust, you have one place to book it yourself.
