Podcast Audio Format Checker
Format, sample rate, and channels — including whether your stereo file is really stereo.
Podcast Audio Format Checker Tool
For publishing, MP3 at 44.1 or 48 kHz is the standard, universally-accepted podcast audio format — mono or stereo depending on whether your recording actually has distinct stereo content. Drop your episode below to see its real format, sample rate, and channel layout, including whether a "stereo" file is secretly just mono.
Checking loudness or bitrate too?
Same tool, different focus: check LUFS, true peak, and loudness range or bitrate from the same drop.
Publishing the transcript too? Use the transcript formatter.
Should I export my podcast as MP3 or WAV?
MP3 for publishing — every podcast host and platform accepts it, and at 128-192 kbps it's indistinguishable from higher-quality formats for spoken word while keeping files small. WAV is worth keeping for your own archive/master copy since it's uncompressed, but it's overkill (and often rejected outright for size) as the file you actually upload.
What sample rate should a podcast be?
44.1 kHz or 48 kHz are both standard and accepted everywhere — 44.1 kHz is the older CD-audio standard still very common in podcasting, 48 kHz is more common in video/broadcast workflows. Neither is "better" for spoken word; what matters more is not resampling back and forth between them repeatedly across your editing chain.
Should a podcast be mono or stereo?
Either works, but many single-host, spoken-word podcasts are effectively mono anyway — recorded on one mic with no real stereo content, just labeled as stereo by the recording software. If that's you, exporting true mono halves your file size with zero audible difference. If you have distinct stereo elements (music beds, two hosts panned apart), keep it stereo.
How do I know if my "stereo" podcast file is actually just mono?
Check the left/right channel correlation — if it's above about 0.99 across the whole file, both channels are carrying essentially identical audio and you're paying stereo's file-size cost for no stereo benefit. The checker below flags this automatically as "effectively mono."