Survey Reveals Podcasters’ Favorite Audio Gear

New York, NY (July 26, 2024)—While podcasting is no longer buzzed about like it was prior to the pandemic, it is still a very formidable media format. An estimated 70 million people listened to podcasts in the US last year, and that number is expected to reach more than 113 million within the next five years. To make the most of that ever-growing audience, podcasters have to ensure that they’re providing quality content—not merely in terms of what they’re speaking about, but also how they’re heard. With that in mind, podcast news site The Podcast Host recently surveyed more than 500 podcasters to determine what audio gear has become the industry standards.

While many podcasts are created in professional recording facilities using broadcast-quality gear, there are thousands of productions that are put together by independent content creators. Unsurprisingly, budgetary concerns play a role in gear decisions when the money is coming out of a hobbyist or emerging professional’s own pocket, and as a result, pro-sumer gear is big within this market segment.

Case in point: The three most popular podcasting mics among the podcasters who responded to the survey were the Blue Yeti, garnering 16.6% of the vote; the Samson Q2U, landing at 8.1%; and the Shure MV7, netting 6.3%. Other mics noted included models from Rode, Audio-Technica and Heil.

Online Audio, Podcast Listening Bounce Back in 2023

Other microphone-related questions in the survey reveal that as podcasters grow more experienced, they tend to invest in more expensive/“better” mics, as well as improved mic stands and more. The survey also breaks down the popularity of different types of mics (USB, XLR and Combination) as well as how long users have had their current microphones.

Exploring the interface demands of the market, the survey finds the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (14%), Zoom PodTrak P4 (12%) and Rode Rodecaster Pro model 1 (11.5%) to be the most popular hardware tools at the moment. When it comes to software, however, survey respondents are apparently far less likely to dig deep into their pockets, as the free, open-source mainstay Audacity was the most popular software for both recording (17%) and editing (24%). Runners up included Adobe Audition (9.9%) and Apple Garageband (8.5%).