How long should a podcast be? 131 episodes measured.
How long should a podcast be? For a B2B interview show, as long as the conversation stays useful, which in practice is 30 to 45 minutes. We measured all 131 episodes of Future of Hospitality, a show we produce: the median is 38 minutes, and half of them run between 32 and 46. Roundtables run longer, with a median of 54 minutes.
131 episodes by length
| Length | Episodes |
|---|---|
| 20 to 29 minutes | 18 |
| 30 to 39 minutes | 55 |
| 40 to 49 minutes | 33 |
| 50 to 59 minutes | 19 |
| 60 minutes or more | 6 |
Interviews and roundtables
The six roundtables on the show's roundtables page run 46 to 72 minutes, with a median of 54. The other 125 episodes have a median of 38. With three to five guests, everyone needs time to speak, so a roundtable earns its extra length. An interview that runs past 45 minutes needs a reason. More on both formats in our guide to podcast formats.
What should set the length
- The guest's material. Stop when the useful answers stop, not at a set time.
- The edit. The first minutes of a recording are often warm-up and the end often repeats. Cutting both is where most episodes get shorter.
- Where it is watched. A full episode on YouTube or in a podcast app is chosen by people who already care. For everyone else there are clips.
- One range per series. Listeners get used to a length, so keep the episodes of one series close to each other.
Book longer than you publish
Ask the guest for about 40 minutes and plan the recording for 45. That leaves room for a slow start, a retake and a question that didn't land. Our invitation template asks for 40 minutes; it is in our guide to podcast guests.
The short version
Length is not either-or. From every episode, Reel cuts vertical and horizontal clips, so a 38-minute conversation also reaches the people who will only ever watch a minute of it.
Sources
- Own data: Future of Hospitality: the length of all 131 episodes, read from each episode page on 3 November 2026.