What Joe Rogan earns for a podcast video is staggering — but it's his guests' pay that surprised us

Podcasts have become an important platform to shape opinions and gauge the pulse of the people in America, and Joe Rogan is a podcaster whose popularity has skyrocketed. But his career isn't restricted to any one format in the media, from sports commentary, standup comedy, and sitcoms to reality TV, and the UFC, Rogan has dabbled into everything. However, one of the most popular and possibly lucrative projects is his globally hit podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” With hundreds of millions of downloads, exclusive deals, and a star-studded guestlist, fans often wonder how much the star makes from his show. 

The podcast/show, "Joe Rogan Experience" was first launched in 2009. It started as a free-form conversation among friends and quickly evolved into a platform featuring diverse guests offering interesting insights from various fields. His long-form interview style and wide range of topics attracted a large, predominantly male audience on YouTube, catapulting the show's popularity.

After blowing up on the video streaming platform, Rogan signed a mega streaming deal with Spotify in 2020. The exclusive licensing deal with the streaming giant was reportedly worth $100 million.

This year, he signed a fresh deal which allowed him to bring the podcast to other platforms as well. Notably, according to the Wall Street Journal, the new deal is estimated to be worth a whopping $250 million. 

Apart from the contract, Rogan's podcast also attracts significant advertising revenue. Estimates from Mount Bonnell suggest that Rogan makes about $75,000 to $100,000 per episode from ads alone. 

According to Forbes, Rogan's total income from his podcast was estimated to be $30 million in 2019. At the time, the records showed that his podcast had over 190 million monthly downloads, which has significantly gone up since.

Rogan has made hundreds of millions of dollars from more than 2000 episodes featuring guests like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Mike Tyson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bernie Sanders, Robert Downey Jr., Miley Cyrus, Aaron Rodgers, and many more.

Despite the revenue, reports suggest that a guest spot on JRE doesn't pay much. In fact, cosmologist Brian Keating who was a guest on the show, revealed in his blog that guests do not get a penny for appearing on the podcast. Last year, Keating wrote about his experience on the show, revealing some of the backstage details, Keating explained that arriving on the set was a unique experience.

He shared that he had to sign a waiver under the "Geneva Convention", and then wait for the host to start. While Keating firmly stated that Rogan does not pay his podcast guests, a separate report from Mount Bonell suggests that the host does cover the travel expenses, accommodations, and meals of his guests.

The report further suggests that the primary benefit for guests on the show is getting exposure to Rogan's massive audience. While Rogan retains all the creative independence over the show, he typically allows guests to promote their projects, books, or upcoming events to the millions of listeners of his podcast. Thus for many, the opportunity for widespread exposure is considered more valuable than cash payments.