Give the Mic vs a freelance podcast editor. One edits. One makes the show.

A freelance podcast editor on Upwork costs $200 to $500 an episode for a full edit, or $800 to $2,500 a month on a retainer, and edits the episode. The clips, the guest kit, the pages and the posts stay with you, and so does the briefing. We are $399 a month per show at our launch price for the first 10 clients, then $699, with all of it included.

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Last reviewed 28 October 2026

Freelance editor, Upwork rates

$200–$500 an episode

5steps on your plate

Give the Mic

$399 a monthlaunch price, then $699

2steps, one approval

The short answer

Choose a freelancer if

you publish now and then, only need the edit, and have the time and budget to train one person for the long run.

Choose Give the Mic if

you want the whole show from one file (the edit, clips, guest kit, pages and posts) without briefing anyone every week.

What we learned on our own show. 8 to 12 hours an episode.

Before Give the Mic, we produced Future of Hospitality ourselves. Even with automations, one episode took at least 8 hours, sometimes 12, and the result wasn't as good as we wanted.

We also handed it to freelancers. This is what we ran into:

  • A lot of back and forth. A freelancer wants everything delivered neatly and asks what you need, whether the sound is right, what to cut. And to check an hour-long episode, someone has to listen for an hour.
  • They knew editing, not our market. Without the B2B context the LinkedIn posts were weak, and the clips missed the nuance: a first or last word cut off, or the wrong moment picked.
  • They did the edit and the clips, not the rest. No media kit for the guest, no episode page on the site.
  • Once trained, they didn't stay. It got too expensive, they took another job, or the work was more exacting than they wanted for the price.

A freelancer edits the episode; everything around it stays your job.

Alon Shkuri, producer, Give the Mic,

One episode, two ways.

From the end of the recording to live. The red rows are yours.

With a freelance editor

$200–$500 an episode

5steps on your plate

  1. CUE 01 Record the episode and send the file, with a brief YOU
  2. CUE 02 Edits the episode FREELANCER
  3. CUE 03 Answer questions and check the edit, round after round YOU
  4. CUE 04 Cuts clips from the moments you point out FREELANCER
  5. CUE 05 Check every clip: the first and last word, the right moment YOU
  6. CUE 06 Write the show notes, the episode page and the posts YOU
  7. CUE 07 Make a kit for your guest, or skip it YOU

With Give the Mic

2steps on your plate

  1. CUE 01 Record the episode and send us the file YOU
  2. CUE 02 Cutter edits the episode, Reel cuts 8 clips with captions CutterReel CUTTER + REEL
  3. CUE 03 Kit makes the guest kit, Page builds the pages and the article KitPage KIT + PAGE
  4. CUE 04 Our QA agent checks every cut and caption, a producer signs off PRODUCER
  5. CUE 05 Approve, once, within 72 hours of sending the file YOU
  6. CUE 06 Your guest gets their own clips, a quote card and a ready-made post YOUR GUEST

What a freelance editor costs. Upwork's own price ranges.

  • 01 / 04

    Audio cleanup

    Entry level

    $50–$200 an episode

    • Noise reduction and levelling
    • Filler words removed
    • An MP3 ready to publish
  • 02 / 04

    Full episode edit

    Mid level

    $200–$500 an episode

    • Intro and outro
    • Music and segments
    • Show notes and metadata
  • 03 / 04

    Video episode

    Expert level

    $500–$1,200 an episode

    • Audio and video in sync
    • Camera switching and graphics
    • Export for YouTube
  • 04 / 04

    Monthly retainer

    Mid to expert level

    $800–$2,500 a month

    • Weekly episodes edited
    • Show notes and scheduling
    • Uploads to the platforms

Side by side. Every row checked.

Upwork publishes typical price ranges for podcast editors, so this table uses those, for a weekly show.

Give the Mic vs Freelance editor, Upwork rates, last reviewed 28 October 2026
ThemFreelance editor, Upwork rates UsGive the Mic
Best for Shows that need an edit, with a host who has time to brief and check. B2B firms that want the whole show from one file and approve once.
Price $200–$500 an episode for a full edit; $800–$2,500 a month on a retainer. $399 a month per show, launch price for the first 10 clients; then $699. Unlimited episodes, on a yearly or a monthly plan.
Editing Yes. Yes, by Cutter, checked by a producer.
Clips per episode Part of the bigger packages, from the moments you point out. 6 vertical and 2 horizontal.
For your guest Not part of the packages Upwork lists. Their own clips, a quote card and a ready-made post.
Your website Show notes at most. Episode page, guest page and a 1,400-word article on your own domain.
Posting Uploads on a retainer; the posts are yours. Posted on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.
Briefing Every episode, until someone knows your show. In the first one to four episodes; then about 95% runs on its own.
Turnaround Agreed per freelancer. Within 72 hours, or that month is free.
Contract Per episode or per month. Yearly, or monthly with a three-month minimum. Unlimited episodes on both.

Want to see the difference? Send us your next file. We produce it free.

Within 72 hours you get the edited episode, the clips, a kit for your guest and the episode page. Keep it all, even if you never pay us.

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Where a freelancer is better

01

Where a freelancer is better

  • You pay per episode, so a show that publishes now and then only pays for what it makes
  • One person you can call and steer on every cut, once they know your show
  • Custom work, like sound design across a series, which Upwork lists in its bigger packages
  • If you can't do any of it yourself and have the budget: try a few freelancers until one speaks your language, then train them for the long run
02

Who Give the Mic is not for

  • Shows that publish a few times a year and only need the audio cleaned
  • Anyone who wants to pick one editor by hand and work with them on every cut

Questions

01 / 03

On Upwork, $20 to $31 an hour: $200 to $500 an episode for a full edit, $500 to $1,200 for a video episode, and $800 to $2,500 a month on a retainer for a weekly show. The cheapest we were quoted ourselves was a few hundred euros an episode, and a few thousand a month with a minimum of three episodes.

02 / 03

Unlimited episodes, on a yearly or a monthly plan, for $399 a month per show at our launch price for the first 10 clients, then $699. Every agent except Booker is included.

03 / 03

When you can't do any of it yourself and you have the budget to train someone. Try a few freelancers until one speaks your language, then keep them: nobody gets your show right from the first episode.

Compare

All comparisons

Let us do one episode for free. Then you know what you get.

Send us your next raw recording. Within 72 hours you get the edited episode, the clips, a kit for your guest and the episode page. Keep it all, even if you never pay us.

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Prefer email? hello@givethemic.com