Podcast Ad Spending Eases In July, As Most Top Advertisers Keep Growing.

Podcast advertising remained resilient in July as six of the top 10 advertisers increased spending and four brands joined the rankings, according to Podscribe. Meanwhile, several familiar brands returned to the leaderboard.

New data from Podscribe shows Shopify retaining the No. 1 spot for a fourth consecutive month, despite cutting its estimated podcast ad spend 19% to $4.6 million. Mint Mobile also held its position at No. 2, although its spending slipped 12% to $4.3 million. Together, the two largest podcast advertisers trimmed nearly $1.6 million from their combined spending vs. June, reflecting a broader cooling at the top of the market after two months of growth.

Even so, the slowdown was far from universal. Six of the top 10 advertisers increased spending during July, while four new brands entered the monthly rankings, underscoring the continued churn that has characterized the podcast advertising market throughout 2026.

The closest battle came for third place. Quince edged past BetterHelp, with both advertisers finishing at $4 million in estimated spending. Quince posted a 1% increase from June, enough to move into third place, while BetterHelp declined 5%, dropping to fourth. Their contrasting buying strategies remained intact, with 87% of Quince’s ads delivered as host reads vs. 80% for BetterHelp.

The biggest mover among established advertisers was Wayfair, which climbed from No. 6 to No. 5 after boosting spending 45% to $3.3 million. Wayfair also dramatically expanded its reach, advertising across 2,676 shows. That was more than any other brand in the top 10. Wayfair also continues to rely on host-read ads for just 13% of its placements.

Several recognizable brands also returned to the rankings. Amazon nearly doubled its podcast investment, nearly doubling its spending from the prior month to $2.8 million and reclaiming the No. 6 position. State Farm entered at No. 7 with $1.8 million in spending after a 38% increase, while McDonald’s returned at No. 8, increasing its investment 27% to $1.7 million.

Squarespace rejoined the top 10 at No. 9 with $1.6 million, up 15% from June, while Toyota rounded out the rankings at No. 10 despite a 15% decline to $1.4 million.

Overall, the top 10 advertisers spent a combined $29.5 million in July, down 9% from $32.4 million in June. The decline was driven largely by pullbacks from Shopify and Mint Mobile, whose combined reductions accounted for more than half of the month’s overall decrease.

Sports continued to dominate podcast advertising. Podscribe reports six of the top 10 advertisers identified sports as their primary podcast genre. Meanwhile, BetterHelp remained focused on comedy podcasts, Quince continued to emphasize society and culture programming, and Mint Mobile maintained its concentration on news podcasts.

The July rankings also continued to highlight two distinct advertising philosophies. Shopify, Wayfair and State Farm pursued broad reach across thousands of shows while keeping host-read shares relatively low. By contrast, Quince and BetterHelp continued to invest heavily in host endorsements, while Squarespace split the difference with 50% of its advertising delivered as host reads.