YouTube Introduces Weekly Rankings of Top Podcasts to Compete with Spotify and Apple

A YouTube podcast microphone is seen at the Variety Podcasting Brunch Presented By YouTube at Austin Proper Hotel in Austin, Texas, on March 8, 2025. Mat Hayward | Variety | Getty Images

YouTube is solidifying its place in podcasts. The company on Thursday announced the launch of a weekly top podcast shows chart, rivaling those from other leading platforms. Podcasts such as “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Kill Tony,” and “Rotten Mango” currently top the YouTube chart.

Alphabet-owned YouTube reported that podcasts earn more than one billion monthly active views, making it a preferred service for listening to podcasts, surpassing some competitors, according to Edison Research in October.

Ben Meiselas, co-founder of The MeidasTouch Podcast, noted that YouTube offers the most favorable cost-per-mile, or cost per thousand impressions, compared to other platforms. “YouTube just isn’t a place where you drop your content from other sources,” said Meiselas. “We want to focus on making YouTube a channel the way people watch cable news.”

MeidasTouch has nearly five million subscribers on YouTube and averages around 350 million views a month. The podcast is also available on various streaming platforms.

Video podcasts continue to be a dominating force in the media landscape and have been a frequent topic at this year’s Upfronts. Other platforms have expanded in the space, investing significantly in podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide.

However, YouTube’s payouts to creators and its large user base make the platform essential for podcasters seeking an audience. YouTube’s Weekly Top Podcast Shows Chart is currently tracking podcasts in the U.S. and will be updated every Wednesday, ranking the shows by watch time.