How to advertise on The Moth: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

The Moth sells its host-read inventory on a quoted basis, campaign by campaign, through its podcast sales partner Audacy Podcasts rather than off a public rate card. Spotsnow data shows that more than nine in ten of the show's tracked ads are direct-response, and its top spender, Quince, has run roughly 18 to 21 ads on the feed. For a buyer, that mix says the storytelling doesn't dilute conversion: brands come back to run codes and URLs, not just to sit next to a Peabody. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys.

You can see the full profile for The Moth on Spotsnow, including its roster and spend estimates.

Why The Moth is built for host-read direct response

The Moth is a nonprofit storytelling institution founded in 1997, and its Radio Hour has won a Peabody and airs on 570-plus public stations. It sits in Society & Culture, a category where trust does the selling.

Spotsnow data shows the direct-response share sits above 90%, so most of the money spent here is chasing attributable action: promo codes, vanity URLs, trackable signups. Spotsnow estimates the show reaches roughly 500,000 listeners per episode, and that reach is an estimate, not an audited count. The format is the reason the coded read works. These are true stories told live without notes, so a listener leans in and stays leaned in through the break. A host-read borrows exactly that attention. The ad doesn't feel like a lane change; it feels like the same voice still talking.

On influence, the show carries about 4.6 stars on Apple Podcasts across roughly 22,000 to 26,000 ratings, per Spotsnow, with around 595,000 Instagram followers and active accounts on YouTube, X, and TikTok. Its pull is broad across platforms, not stuck in one feed.

Who is advertising on The Moth

The roster reads blue-chip: DTC essentials, mental health, personal finance, telecom, and jobs, with recognizable names carrying it. Five you'll spot on the feed:

• Quince
• Mint Mobile
• Wayfair
• Bombas
• LinkedIn

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Quince

Quince runs a direct-to-consumer line of affordable-luxury apparel and home goods. Spotsnow attributes roughly 18 to 21 ads and an estimated total spend over $200K, all direct-response. Cashmere and silk basics at accessible prices land cleanly with an audience that skews female and sits in the middle-to-upper income band.

Alma

Alma runs a nationwide network connecting people with therapists. Spotsnow attributes roughly 25 to 29 ads, the deepest count of the three, with estimated total spend over $200K, all direct-response. A show built on vulnerability and empathy is a natural home for a brand asking people to seek care.

Monarch

Monarch runs a budgeting and money-management app. Spotsnow attributes roughly 16 to 19 ads and estimated total spend over $100K, all direct-response. A subscription tool for people getting their finances in order fits an audience with income to manage and the patience to sit through a story.

Children's Miracle Network

The outlier here is Children's Miracle Network, a cause spot rather than a performance buy. It's proof that an awareness or mission message can also carry on this feed, not only coded direct response.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why Society & Culture brands cluster here

Look at who repeats: a mental health network, an affordable-luxury retailer, a budgeting app. None of them are impulse buys. They ask a listener to trust a recommendation and then act on it, and The Moth's whole appeal is trust built over the length of a story. The host isn't selling from a script full of features; they're handing you something the way a friend would. An audience that skews female, middle-to-upper income, and mostly US-based is the exact profile that pays for therapy, cashmere, and a finance subscription. That's why the mix looks the way it does. The authority isn't a celebrity voice, it's the format itself, and brands are paying to borrow it.

How your ad could sound

This Alma read is woven straight into the storytelling. The host moves from a storyteller's personal narrative, a buried placenta and an immigrant's search for home, into the sponsor handoff without a jolt. What works: the story-first framing and the natural transition. The host describes a pitch that "felt like a perfect fit", and that line does the endorsement work quietly. What's worth tightening: this slice carries no clear spoken offer, no promo code, and no urgency, so the call to action reads soft for a direct-response buy. If you want the conversion, give the host one crisp offer and a code to say out loud, and keep the native tone you already have.

View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format holds attention. Unscripted live stories keep listeners engaged through the break, which is where a host endorsement lands.
2. Host credibility carries the read. A Peabody-winning storytelling institution on 570-plus radio stations lends weight a produced spot can't buy.
3. The audience can act. Spotsnow estimates roughly 500,000 listeners, skewing female and middle-to-upper income, the profile that converts on essentials, care, and finance.
4. Buyers come back. Alma's roughly 25 to 29 tracked ads is repeat buying at a level that only happens when the math works.

The Moth in a nutshell

The Moth reaches an estimated 500,000 listeners who skew female, middle-to-upper income, and mostly US-based, drawn in by true stories told live. The brands already buying, Quince, Alma, and Monarch among them, run mostly host-read direct-response spots and come back for more. The show is sold on a quoted basis through Audacy Podcasts, not off a rate card. If your goal is coded, attributable conversion from a trusting audience, this is a direct-response feed first and a prestige buy second.