Ship Your Pod

Guide

You film your show and want to know what clipping should cost you

Clipping services price in one of four ways: per clip, per hour of footage, per episode, or a flat monthly fee. None of them is cheaper on its own; the real cost depends on how long your episodes run, how often you publish, and how much of the finishing work (captions, titles, thumbnails, changes) is inside the quoted number. Work out your own cadence first, then make every quote answer the same question: what do you pay for one finished episode, ready to post?

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The four pricing models in plain terms

Per-clip pricing charges for each short that comes back, so your bill rises with the number of clips, not the length of the episode. Per-hour pricing charges for the length of the footage you send, so a long interview costs more than a tight solo episode even if both produce the same number of usable moments. Per-episode pricing charges one amount for one episode regardless of length within a cap, and flat monthly pricing charges one amount for a set number of episodes or clips each month whether you use them or not.

Each model shifts risk to a different side. Per clip and per hour put the risk on you when an episode is long or rich; per episode and flat monthly put the risk on the service when it is. Knowing which way the risk leans tells you a lot about the quote before you look at a single number.

Per clip: pay for output, watch the count

Per-clip pricing feels fair because you only pay for what you get, and it suits a host who wants three or four strong shorts from an episode and no more. The catch is that you often choose the count before you know how good the episode was, and a service paid by the clip has every reason to send more clips rather than better ones.

Before you agree, ask what counts as a clip. A teaser, a thumbnail, a chapter list and a description are all separate pieces of work; if they are billed separately, the per-clip figure is only part of your real cost.

Per hour of footage: simple to quote, easy to misjudge

Per-hour pricing is the easiest quote to give and the hardest to compare, because the length of your raw file has little to do with the number of good moments in it. A ninety-minute conversation with one great story costs the same as one with ten.

This model tends to suit short, tightly produced shows and punish long interview formats. If you run long, ask whether you can mark a time range to skip so you are not paying for the pre-roll chat and the outro. Some services let you note that per episode; if yours does not, you may want to trim before you upload.

Per episode and flat monthly: predictable, with a ceiling

Per-episode pricing is the easiest to budget because the number does not move with length or clip count, up to whatever cap the service sets. Read the cap: a service that stops at a certain episode length, or a certain number of shorts, has simply moved the variable cost into fine print. Whatever cap you are quoted, hold it against your own typical length and the number of shorts you actually post, and ask what happens on the episode that goes over.

Flat monthly pricing adds commitment on top. It can work well if you publish on a reliable schedule and will use every slot; it works poorly if you take breaks, batch-record, or publish unevenly, because you pay for months you do not fill. Ask whether unused episodes roll over, whether you can pause, and how long the commitment runs.

What is inside the number matters more than the model

Two quotes with the same headline figure can differ by the whole finishing job. One returns raw cut-downs with no captions; another returns captioned shorts, a teaser, thumbnails from real frames, a title, a description, chapters and post text for each platform. The second is the one you can actually publish from without opening another tool, and that gap is the real price difference.

Changes after delivery are the other hidden variable. Ask how many rounds of changes are included, how you request them, and whether a request to recut one clip, drop a section or fix a misspelled name costs anything. On Ship Your Pod, changes are a plain-words request on any clip: a few per episode on Starter, unlimited on Pro. Whatever service you look at, get this in writing before the first episode.

Questions to ask before you pay anything

Most pricing disappointment comes from a question nobody asked. Send these to any service, including this one, and compare the answers side by side rather than the headline figures.

If a service cannot answer one of these plainly, treat that as part of the price.

How to compare quotes on your own numbers

Write down three things about your show: your typical episode length, how many episodes you publish in a month, and how many shorts you actually post from each one. Then convert every quote into a cost per finished episode using those three figures. Per-clip quotes multiply by your real clip count, per-hour quotes multiply by your real length, and flat monthly quotes divide by the episodes you will truly send.

Once every quote is a per-episode figure with the same deliverables listed next to it, the comparison is honest. A model that looked cheap on its own page often is not at your length and cadence, and a model that looked expensive is sometimes the one that costs you nothing in extra tools or your own evenings.

Where Ship Your Pod fits

If the editing is the part that keeps you from posting, send the episode instead. 8 to 15 Shorts come back within a day (same day on Pro), captioned, scored and ranked best first, with teasers, thumbnails from real frames, and the title, description and chapters. You post them yourself, full quality, no watermark. Pro is $149 a month for 12 episodes, 15 Shorts each, plus the Facebook cuts, the newsletter and the article. Starter is $59 a month for 4 episodes. The price goes down every month you stay. Month to month, cancel any time. Pro has a 14-day free trial for your first episode.

Pro: up to 180 Shorts, 36 teasers, 60 thumbnails and 24 Facebook cuts a month (12 episodes, 15 Shorts from each). Starter: up to 32 Shorts, 8 teasers and 12 thumbnails a month (4 episodes, 8 Shorts from each).

Turn every quote into a cost per finished, ready-to-post episode at your real length and cadence, with the deliverables and change policy written beside it. Then the choice makes itself.

Questions

Is per-clip or per-episode pricing cheaper for a podcast?

It depends on how many shorts you post from each episode. If you post one or two, per clip is usually cheaper; if you post several plus a teaser and thumbnails, per episode usually works out lower and is easier to budget.

What should a podcast clipping price include?

At minimum, captioned vertical shorts you can post as they are. A complete package also includes a teaser, thumbnails, a title, a description, chapters, post text, and a stated number of changes after delivery.

Why do clipping services charge by the hour of footage?

Because it is simple to quote from the file length before anyone has watched it. It is the least accurate measure of the work, since a long episode can have fewer good moments than a short one.

Should I commit to a monthly clipping plan?

Only if you publish on a steady schedule and will fill every slot. If you record in batches or take breaks, ask whether unused episodes roll over or whether a per-episode option fits your rhythm better.

What does Ship Your Pod cost?

Pro is $149 a month for 12 episodes, 15 Shorts each, plus the Facebook cuts, the newsletter and the article. Starter is $59 a month for 4 episodes. The price goes down every month you stay. Month to month, cancel any time. Pro has a 14-day free trial for your first episode. Pro: up to 180 Shorts, 36 teasers, 60 thumbnails and 24 Facebook cuts a month (12 episodes, 15 Shorts from each). Starter: up to 32 Shorts, 8 teasers and 12 thumbnails a month (4 episodes, 8 Shorts from each).

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Last updated 2026-10-12.