How to Get Your Podcast on Spotify in 2026

The actual submission process — clicking the buttons, entering your RSS feed URL, confirming your details — takes under ten minutes. What adds time is the review window afterward, and the most common reason that window stretches from days into weeks is a rejected submission on the first attempt due to cover art or metadata that does not meet Spotify’s requirements. Get those right before you submit and the process is as fast as it should be.

Prerequisites: What You Need Before Submitting

Before submitting to Spotify, you need:

• An active RSS feed with at least one published episode. The RSS feed URL should be stable – it should not change after submission. Most podcast hosting platforms provide a permanent RSS URL.
• Cover art between 1400×1400 and 3000×3000 pixels, in JPG or PNG format. The image must be a perfect square. Text in cover art must be legible at small sizes since platform app thumbnails are small. Spotify will reject RSS feeds where the cover art does not meet these specifications.
• Valid podcast metadata: Your RSS feed must include a show title, description, author name, and language tag. These are standard fields that all podcast hosting platforms populate automatically from your account settings.
• Audio files in a supported format: Spotify accepts MP3 and AAC audio files. MP3 is the universally safe choice.

Method 1: Direct Submission via Spotify for Podcasters

Spotify for Podcasters is Spotify’s own dashboard for podcast creators (formerly Anchor.fm, which Spotify acquired and integrated). This is the direct route to submit your RSS feed without going through a third-party podcast host.

1. Go to podcasters.spotify.com and sign in with your Spotify account (or create one).
2. Click “Add your podcast” or navigate to the podcast submission section.
3. Paste your RSS feed URL and click “Next.” Spotify will read your feed and display a preview of your show information.
4. Verify ownership by confirming the email address associated with your podcast (pulled from the RSS feed). Spotify sends a verification email to this address.
5. Complete the category and language confirmation and submit.

Spotify reviews new RSS feed submissions and typically makes them live within approximately 24 – 72 hours. You will receive a notification email when your show is approved and visible on the platform.

Method 2: Distribution Through a Podcast Hosting Platform

Most podcast hosting services (Buzzsprout, Captivate, Podbean, Transistor, Simplecast, and others) offer one-click or automatic distribution to Spotify as part of their hosting plans. If you host your podcast through one of these services, you can authorize distribution to Spotify directly from your hosting dashboard, and the service handles the RSS submission on your behalf.

This method is simpler if you are already using one of these hosting platforms and want to distribute to multiple platforms at once. The submission timeline is similar – approval typically occurs within 24 – 72 hours of submission.

What Happens After Approval

Once your show is approved on Spotify, new episodes are pulled automatically from your RSS feed. You do not need to resubmit each episode – Spotify checks your feed regularly and imports new episodes as you publish them. The time between publishing to your podcast host and an episode appearing on Spotify is typically under an hour for established, approved shows.

Common Submission Issues and How to Resolve Them

• Cover art rejection: Most commonly caused by an image that is not exactly square (it must be 1:1 aspect ratio) or an image that does not meet the minimum 1400×1400 pixel requirement. Export your cover art at exactly 1400×1400 or 3000×3000 pixels.
• RSS feed not recognized: Verify that your RSS feed URL is publicly accessible – some hosting platforms require you to “publish” or “activate” your show before the RSS URL becomes publicly readable. Paste your RSS URL directly in a browser and confirm it loads a feed of XML data.
• Verification email not received: Check the email address in your podcast host settings under RSS/author information. The verification email goes to the email address listed in your RSS feed’s author tag, which may differ from your Spotify account email.
• Show approved but not appearing in search: New shows may take additional time to be indexed in Spotify’s search. The show page will be accessible via direct URL before it appears in keyword search results. Full search indexing typically occurs within a few days of approval.

Spotify for Podcasters Analytics

Once your show is live on Spotify, the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard provides listener analytics including streams, listeners, followers, and audience demographics. These analytics cover only Spotify listeners – data from Apple Podcasts, Google, and other platforms is tracked separately through your podcast host or platform-specific dashboards.

Key Takeaways

• An active RSS feed with at least one published episode is required to submit your podcast to Spotify
• Cover art must be a perfect square between 1400×1400 and 3000×3000 pixels in JPG or PNG format
• Spotify accepts MP3 and AAC audio files, with MP3 being the universally safe choice
• Submissions via Spotify for Podcasters typically receive approval within 24 – 72 hours
• Most podcast hosting platforms offer automatic distribution to Spotify, simplifying the submission process

Related Guides

• how to submit to Apple Podcasts
• distributing to every major platform
• audio quality requirements
• file format requirements
• CoHarmonify Podcast Studio