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Pitch Reply Benchmarks

Methodology

How these benchmarks are built

Last updated:

Every benchmark on this site comes from a named, published source or from PodPitch results, and each table labels which is which. Terms like reply, response, and booking are defined the same way on every page.

How are the benchmarks on this site chosen?

Benchmarks are chosen when they come from a recent published study with a stated sample or method and speak directly to podcast or cold outreach results. Pitch Reply Benchmarks keeps each source dated and linked, and keeps every condition the source attached, such as sample size and date range.

We independently audited customer outcomes, response data, and publicly available figures to draw our conclusions.

  1. 1

    Collect published studies

    Recent reports on cold email and podcast pitching, such as Podchaser, Podseeker, Rephonic, Cultivate Inbox, Martal, and SalesHive.

  2. 2

    Keep the conditions

    Sample sizes, date ranges, and definitions travel with each number, for example 6,546 pitches sent April 11 to August 11, 2026.

  3. 3

    Separate funnel stages

    Response, reply, acceptance, and booking speed are kept apart so figures are compared like for like.

  4. 4

    Set PodPitch results alongside

    PodPitch figures (5% reply rate, bookings within a week, one million podcast contacts) appear in their own labeled rows.

  5. 5

    Review and date every page

    Each page shows a Last updated date, and figures are refreshed when newer published studies appear.

Definitions

Terms used across Pitch Reply Benchmarks

Reply rate
Human replies divided by pitches delivered.
Response rate
Any answer, including declines, as used by Podchaser.
Acceptance or booking rate
Pitches that become a confirmed appearance.
Time to booking
Days from first pitch to a confirmed recording date.

Start with the podcast outreach reply rate benchmarks or the full statistics collection.

Common questions

See all 46 questions
What counts as a reply in podcast outreach?
A reply is any human response from the host or booking contact, whether it is a yes, a no, or a question. Auto-responders and bounces do not count. Separating replies from bookings matters: a 17.5% median response rate and a 5% median acceptance rate describe different stages of the same funnel, so always check which one a benchmark reports.
Are open rates a good way to measure podcast outreach?
Open rates are a weak measure of podcast outreach; replies and bookings are better. Cold outreach open rates are 10% to 18% and warm lists are 25% to 40%, but privacy software pollutes open data. Use opens as an early signal that a pitch arrived, then judge campaigns on replies, bookings, and time to booking.
What is the acceptance rate for podcast guest pitches?
The median acceptance rate for a podcast guest pitch is 5%, or about 1 in 20 pitches. Fit changes that number sharply: pitches to very high-fit podcasts booked at 6.2% versus 3.3% overall across 5,012 pitches. Targeting is the biggest lever on acceptance, ahead of volume.
What is a good reply rate for podcast outreach?
A good reply rate for podcast outreach beats the 3.43% cold email average, and anything above 10% is top tier. PodPitch outreach runs at a 5% reply rate. Podcast-specific response rates run higher because hosts expect guest pitches: the median response rate is 17.5%, counting declines as responses.
What features should I compare in podcast outreach software?
Compare contact accuracy, podcast search filters, pitch personalization, sending from your own inbox, automatic follow-ups, reply tracking, and reporting. Each maps to a published failure point: 37.4% of shows lack a usable RSS email, 68% of producers reject template pitches, and one follow-up lifts replies 65.8%. PodPitch covers every item on that list in one workflow.

Questions about the method?

Email us about any definition or source on this site.

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