Podcasts in India are growing fast
Indian podcasts on business, true crime, mythology, careers, comedy, health and personal finance have exploded, in Hindi, English and regional languages. Spotify is one of the main places people listen. New podcasts struggle to get noticed, and potential guests, sponsors and listeners all look at whether a show has an audience.
Where podcast numbers show
Spotify doesn't show a public play count on episodes the way it does on songs. Podcasters see plays, starts and streams in Spotify for Podcasters (now part of Spotify for Creators), and that's what sponsors and guests usually ask for. Spotify also shows follower counts and ratings on shows.
Prices
On the default option, 1,000 podcast plays cost the live price and 5,000 cost the live price. Options differ in how long each play lasts. See the table, updated 25 Oct 2026.
Be honest with sponsors
Sponsors pay podcasts based on expected listeners and look for results: promo-code redemptions, sign-ups or visits. Inflated plays that don't convert lose sponsors fast and can breach sponsorship agreements that require real audience numbers. Use plays to get past the empty-show stage, and give sponsors honest, real-audience figures.
Risks
Spotify filters artificial activity on podcasts too. Keep orders modest and gradual, and don't stack orders from several sellers on one episode.
Getting the right link
Open the episode in Spotify, tap ⋯ → Share → Copy link. It looks like open.spotify.com/episode/… . The show must be public.
Placing the order
Paste the episode link, choose a quantity between a small and a large, and pay. Spotify for Creators shows plays with a delay of a day or so.
Growing real listeners
Clip the best 60 seconds of each episode into Reels and Shorts with subtitles. Invite guests with their own audience and ask them to share the episode. Keep a fixed release day. Upload video versions to YouTube, which is where many Indian podcast audiences watch. Ask listeners to follow the show and rate it on Spotify.
Paying and tracking
Top up by UPI from ₹100. The order page shows progress. Undelivered plays are refunded to your wallet automatically.
Example: a careers podcast
A Hyderabad HR professional starts a Telugu podcast on getting a first IT job. After four episodes, each has under 100 plays. She orders 1,000 plays on her best episode, an interview with a hiring manager, and clips three short videos from it for Instagram. Future guests see a show with traction, and real listeners grow through the clips.
Video podcasts on Spotify
Spotify supports video podcasts, and many Indian shows now upload video versions. Viewers can watch or just listen. Video episodes tend to keep people engaged longer, and clips from them are easy to share on Instagram and YouTube Shorts. If you record video anyway, upload it to Spotify too, so listeners who prefer to watch can stay on the platform.
Plays on the right episode
New listeners usually start with your latest episode or the one that matches what they searched for. Put plays on your strongest episode, the one with the best guest or the most practical topic, and make sure its title says exactly what the listener gets: “How to crack your first PM interview, with a Flipkart hiring manager”.