How Often Should I Release New Podcast Episodes in 2025?

Every podcaster eventually asks, “How often should I release new podcast episodes?”  The honest answer is, “It depends.” Some of the most popular podcasts release new episodes weekly. But it’s not the only way to please your audience, and for many independent podcasters, it’s not realistic. Let’s examine the variables that affect a release schedule, so you can figure out how often you should release new episodes of your podcast. 

How Often Do Most Podcasters Publish New Episodes?

Just like the question of 'how long should a podcast episode be?', we can look at patterns from other podcasts. But what works for one show won't necessarily work for another. Here's the podcast release frequency data from our upcoming Independent Podcasters Report.

46% publish every week. It's a powerful routine, provided you can manage it. But almost a quarter of respondents reported publishing every two weeks, which is a hugely underrated schedule. Bi-weekly offers a brilliant balance between regularity and not feeling like you're constantly running on the treadmill.

Hosting company Buzzsprout also publishes monthly data based on the 120k+ shows on the platform. Here's their podcast release frequency data from August 2025.

• 0 - 2 days: 7%
• 3 - 7 days: 34%
• 8 - 14 days: 38%
• 15 - 29 days: 20%
• Over 30 days: 2%

According to this sample, most podcasters release new episodes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Again, don't consider this a prescription for a weekly or fortnightly release schedule. The data doesn't include what goes into making those podcasts, which we’ll address.

How Long Does It Take You To Do Good Work? 

Every podcaster has a different workflow and situation. Here are two candid examples from my own experience. Please don't judge me. 

When I make The Fiction Podcast Weekly Podcast, each episode takes about an hour. The script is a newsletter distilled into highlights. I record and edit it alone in my office. Each episode runs about four minutes. Producing a weekly episode like this is, as my dad would say, no skin off my nose. 

On the other hand, I produced Ladies and Gentlemen, The Automatics over five months. It’s a 50-minute horror story with multi-track editing, effects processing, and six voice artists, all recorded separately. I couldn't make a podcast like that weekly, and I don't know anyone who could without a lot of help. 

If each episode takes you ten hours and you work full-time, a weekly release schedule isn’t sustainable; it’s a path to burnout. You may have to give up some things, such as spending time with your kids or friends, gym workouts, or regular housecleaning. Over time, the quality of your podcast will suffer, too. 

Our guide, How Much Time Does It Take to Run a Podcast?, examines the variables for different podcast workflows in greater depth. Once you’ve established how you want to make each episode, and how long that takes, it will be easier for you to estimate how frequently you can release new episodes. 

And here's some more data from our upcoming 2025 Independent Podcaster Report:

• Of podcasters who take 1-3 hours to create an episode, 63% publish weekly
• Of podcasters who take 4-5 hours to create an episode, 40% publish weekly
• Of podcasters who take 6-8 hours to create an episode, 53% publish weekly

You might think the weekly release percentage would continue to drop as the number of hours taken increases, but there are a lot of variables in podcasting. On top of that, some creators simply have more time available to spend on creating.

Quantity, Quality, and Frequency

You don’t have to release tons of episodes to make a positive difference for your ideal audience. If your podcast’s topic is time-sensitive (such as news or current events), then a frequent release schedule helps your podcast stay relevant. Most people prefer clear and informative episodes less often, rather than a constant stream of new, sloppy episodes. Let’s look at some real-world examples of podcasts with specific release schedules and their workflows. 

Daily Episode Release Schedule

A daily release schedule is good for podcasts that: 

• have short episodes (about five minutes each)
• include time-sensitive content
• can use batch processing

or some combination of those attributes. 

For example, I could produce The Fiction Podcast Weekly Podcast with a daily release schedule. But, there isn’t enough relevant fiction podcast news to fill 365 (or 261) episodes a year.

Podnews, on the other hand, does have enough news to justify a daily (5 days per week) release schedule. In How James Cridland Publishes a Daily Podcast & Newsletter the Podnews editor shared how he's only pre-produced the newsletter and podcast once, because it was an April Fool’s instalment of the podcast and newsletter, and his wedding was scheduled that day. 

If you don’t want to work on your daily podcast every day, you can try batch processing. Set aside dedicated sessions to record and edit multiple episodes at once, then schedule them to publish on future dates.

The team behind Pocket-Sized Podcasting uses this approach. Each week, they produce a set of episodes in a three-hour block, then line them up for release.

Daily podcasts aren’t difficult to produce and sustain, provided you schedule work sessions regularly and have a steady source of relevant information. 

Seasonal Podcasting

Now that you know about batching, you can imagine how seasonal podcasting works. You could produce eight to ten episodes, then take a break for a month or two. By scheduling time to work on your podcast in bulk, you can also schedule breaks. This way, you don’t feel as though you’re churning out new episodes for eternity. And, you can choose to release those episodes daily, weekly, or at a frequency that suits you best. 

When you take a break, you can keep your feed active with highlights from your back catalog, episodes swapped with collaborative podcasters in your niche, or by creating montage episodes using themed clips from classic episodes.

Can I Release Podcast Episodes Monthly?

 If a monthly release schedule helps you make the best possible podcast, then yes, this is the right release schedule for your show. Critically acclaimed podcast The Truth released episodes monthly. Followers looked forward to new episodes and shared the back catalog with their friends. 

One of my favorite sleep story podcasts, The Inn at The End of Things, releases new episodes monthly. Not only do I look forward to new episodes, but I also listen to the available episodes more than once. Sure, it’s because I keep falling asleep mid-episode, and I want to find out how the story ends. The point, however, is that consistency and quality are always more persuasive than quantity. 

So shows that release monthly can build an audience, but the content needs to be exceptional to keep the show fresh in their listeners' minds for up to another 30 days. On a recent episode of Podcraft titled Can You Grow a Podcast on a Monthly Release Schedule?, there was a great discussion around how to add more episodes without too much extra work.

Let's say you release a highly researched, in-depth interview or documentary-style episode each month. You could up your release schedule to bi-weekly by taking a monthly walk with your smartphone and wireless lav mic, having a raw 10-minute conversation directly with the listener about your thoughts and takeaways on the previous episode. Far from being "filler," you might find that episodes like this become hugely popular and help build an extra level of engagement with your audience.

In podcasting, your creativity will always give you options.

Use Habits to Your Advantage 

Podcasting fits into habits for both creators and the audience. When your episodes are released consistently, they become your audience’s habit. When I worked in data entry full-time, the only thing that kept my soul from atrophy was downloading a nice, juicy queue of podcasts before work. Instinctively, I knew what day to expect new episodes of my favorite shows. If there weren't a new episode on the scheduled day, I’d feel betrayed. 

That doesn’t mean you have to publish daily or even weekly; it means predictably. That predictable work schedule doesn’t have to command your life, though. Here are some ways to manage holes in your new episode release schedule. 

Keep Your Audience Informed

If you know in advance that you can’t publish a new episode on the usual day, or if you plan to take a break at the end of a season, let your audience know. That message can be part of the episode before it, or you can tell them in your email newsletter or on social media. Most importantly, let your audience know when you’ll be back. When you release the next episode at the scheduled time, let your audience know on social media and/or in your email newsletter. 

Besides, sometimes you may have gaps in your episode release schedule for a very good reason that’s relevant to your podcast. Perhaps you miss a week because you're attending a convention in your podcast niche’s industry. When you come back, you’ll have new information to share with your audience, and that’s worth celebrating.

Fill The Gap with Cross-Promotion

If you have enough time in advance and a good relationship with another podcaster in your niche, think about a feed swap. Ask the podcaster to send you an episode from their back catalog, and upload that to your media host. Explain in the show notes that you’re sharing this episode with them because it’s a show you love and you hope they will, too. Then, tell your audience when you’ll be back. If that podcaster does the same for you, too, it can be a great way to mutually grow both audiences.

What If I Miss Releasing an Episode?

If you miss a weekly release, most of your audience won't even notice. Avoid filling your next intro with long apologies, because those distractions stay in your back catalogue forever. Just pick up with your next episode.

If you have time, drop in an older episode from your archive or try the episode swap strategy covered earlier. Add a quick note in the show notes to explain the gap and let listeners know you will be back soon.

Again, dependability makes up for any disruption when you release new podcast episodes.  

Is There a Best Day to Publish New Podcast Episodes?

Hang on, let me get my crystal ball out for you. Actually, no, here’s something better. Katie analyzed the top 20 podcasts in the US charts and found that the most popular day of the week to publish new episodes appears to be Monday. 

But, Rob Walch of Libsyn said that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are when they see the most downloads. 

Marketers who study the day-of-the-week effect hypothesize that people lean toward virtuous choices (such as going to the gym) early in the week, and gradually lean toward fun choices later in the week or on the weekend. A fitness podcast may do well on a Monday or Tuesday, while a comedy or gaming podcast may see more downloads on Friday. 

Ultimately, you can spin your wheels overthinking this. Just pick a day of the week and stick to it. That’s the right day of the week to release new episodes - the day that works for you.

Only You Know the Right Answer

When I was growing up, we had to wait for three years for new Star Wars movies, and we were happy. We looked forward to the next instalment like kids who can only celebrate their birthday in a leap year. Now, with every possible flavor of Star Wars stories released every year, the excitement has worn off. However, the fact remains that people don't mind waiting for something they like, as long as they know when to expect it. Your audience will be patient with your episode release schedule, provided you stick to it, keep them informed, and produce quality podcast episodes. 

Before you think about your release schedule, take a moment to consider what kind of podcast this is, how you want to make it, and how much time you have in your life for that podcast. You can scale back some features or segments to release episodes more frequently. Alternatively, you can schedule time to produce multiple episodes in a short period, then release them on a more frequent schedule. The “best” episode release schedule is the one you can stick to while still producing your best work. 

Fortunately, you're right on top of one of the finest time-savers in podcasting: Alitu. Professor Gloria Mark of the University of California at Irvine's Department of Informatics found that a three-second interruption breaks one's focus and causes a 23-minute setback. But with Alitu, you don't have to switch software for planning, recording, editing, or publishing. Alitu's all-in-one podcasting process keeps you in a flow state, helping you produce quality episodes consistently. Plus, with the time you save, you can connect with your audience. It's a win-win all around.