It’s no secret that podcasts that rank higher on Apple Podcasts charts get more listeners. When people look for new podcast, they gravitate toward the top shows on the charts. So like a lot of podcasters, you probably want to see your podcast rankings against the other top podcasts.
Checking your podcast rankings regularly is a key way to determine if your marketing and promotional efforts are paying off. If your show climbs the rankings over time, you know that whatever you’re doing to promote your podcast is working.
In this article, we’re going to go over a few ways to check your podcast rankings in Apple Podcasts. Choose the method that works best for you. Then check out the top 10 ranking podcasts in Apple Podcasts, updated monthly!
In June 2019, Apple broke up iTunes into separate parts for podcast, TV, and music content. Since then, all podcasts can be found within their Apple Podcasts app. In this article, when we refer to iTunes, we’re talking Apple Podcasts.
How to View Your Ranking on Apple Podcasts Podcast Charts (Formerly iTunes)
Before we get started, let’s be clear about one thing: there’s no perfect way to check your podcast rankings in Apple Podcasts because Apple doesn’t publicly disclose exactly how they rank podcasts (or any of their content, for that matter).
This makes sense if you think about it. If Apple was transparent with their ranking system, podcasters would try to please the system to rank the highest, rather than trying to please the listener. Apple wants you to make great content for your listeners, not try to exploit an algorithm.
But there is plenty of evidence that the ranking system is reasonable and consistent. So you can use it to gauge the popularity of your show and whether your marketing is working.
Here are four ways to view your ranking on the Apple Podcasts charts.
1. Count your Apple Podcasts position
If you already have a popular podcast, an easy way to check where you rank on Apple Podcasts’ charts is to manually check your position. Open Apple Podcasts and navigate to the Top Podcasts section. The first chart will show the top podcasts and episodes in your country. Click “All Categories” to view every sub-category Apple Podcasts uses to group shows together.
For starters, click on the main category you chose for your podcast. If you can’t remember what you selected, head to your podcast hosting provider and check your dashboard. Castos users can go to their “Podcast Settings” and find their category selections under the “Feed Details” tab.
For our podcast, Audience, the parent category is Technology. Back in Apple Podcasts, we can click the Technology category and scroll through the top 200 shows in Apple Podcasts’ rankings. On their desktop app, we can also scroll the top 200 episodes to see if any of our individual episodes rank for this category. A note if you’re using the Apple Podcasts mobile app, each ranking chart will only list the top 150 options.
To drill down further, Apple Podcasts also lets podcasters choose subcategories. For Audience, they’re Business: Marketing and Education: How To. Apple Podcasts recently changed their user interface to remove podcast rankings for subcategories. But they do populate 60 shows for each.
A great way to see how to gauge your podcast against your peers is to check if the show is included in these subcategories.
Click on the Browse tab and find the All Category section. Find the parent category the subcategories belong to and scroll through the recommended shows.
Now, you may not see your podcast in any of these Apple Podcasts rankings. That doesn’t mean your show isn’t available on their platform. It just means you aren’t popular enough yet for Apple Podcasts to recommend you to listeners. You’ll have to use one of the next methods to determine your podcast’s ranking.
If you want to help your show appear in Apple Podcasts’ subcategory lists, try pitching your podcast to their editorial team. Bobby Temps shared his best practices on how to appear as a featured podcast on this popular Audience episode.
2. Check the Apple Podcasts charts on Podcharts
Podcharts is a simple and easy to use tool that monitors Apple’s chart rankings over time. It doesn’t just show you your current ranking. It also shows you how your ranking is changed over time. This is a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your podcast promotions.
There are two ways to use Podcharts. The first way is to simply browse the charts. The default page is a list of all podcasts ranked in order of popularity. Those top names probably look pretty familiar!
If you publish for a specific region, choose your country in the top left drop down selector. You’ll also want to select your show’s category so you see how you rank against similar podcasts. This is more valuable than tracking how your show ranks against all other shows.
The other way to use Podcharts is to open an account and add podcasts to your dashboard. This makes finding the same podcasts easy each time you visit Podcharts. You’ll also receive an email whenever it ranks in the top 100 of any country under any category.
Click “Add a Podcast” on your dashboard and enter your show’s name in the field that appears. If Podcharts can’t find your show, you may have to submit an Apple Podcasts link.
When you find your show on the list, click “Track.” Podcharts will now track that show. Add as many as you like to keep an eye on your competitors!
Now head back to the dashboard to see the shows you’re tracking. Click the “View Charts” button under a show to see how it has performed. You’ll see a chart that shows how you show has ranked over time. Hopefully your growth curve is this steep!
3. See your Apple Podcasts podcast rankings on Chartable
Chartable is another tool that captures and stores Apple’s podcast rankings over time. All you have to do if find your podcast’s page to see iTunes rankings in its main and subcategories.
Your first step is to select your country so Chartable can display the shows that rank in your region. The most popular four countries are listed in their own category at the top.
The next page will show you a list of categories and subcategories for that region. The left column refers to podcasts as a whole. The right column refers to individual episodes. To see your podcast rankings iTunes, we want to use the left column.
Once you click into a subcategory, you’ll see a ranking of shows. Simply find your show on the list (you may have to click through a few pages) to find its position.
One thing we like about Chartable is that it not only shows your position, but how your position has changed. If your show has moved up recently, you’ll see a green upward-facing arrow with a small green number. This number indicates how many positions you’ve increased. A red downwards-facing arrow and number indicates how many positions you’ve fallen.
If you can’t find your podcast on the list (maybe you don’t want to scroll through a dozen pages), try using the search feature at the top of the website. It doesn’t work for all podcasts, but it may work for yours.
If you want some more granular information about your podcast rankings in iTunes, click into your show. You’ll see some familiar information, like your cover art, description, and links. You’ll also find rankings for different categories and regions.
The Top Ranking Podcasts On iTunes (as of March 2023)
Apple Podcasts’ rankings change daily as new shows launch and others hit viral growth. To keep an eye on the top podcasts, we pulled the 10 top ranking shows as of March 13, 2023. This list is updated each month but for daily movements on Apple Podcasts charts, head to iTunesCharts.net.
- The Deck Investigates
- The Daily
- Dateline NBC
- The Girl in the Blue Mustang
- Crime Junkie
- The Coldest Case In Laramie
- Up First
- Morbid
- The Ben Shapiro Show
- Huberman Lab
Don’t Obsess Over Your Ranking
While there’s no doubt that high ranking podcasts get more downloads and build audiences quickly, that doesn’t mean you should obsess over your podcast rankings. Check them once or twice a week, but don’t pore over them obsessively every day. And you certainly shouldn’t hunt for ways to game the system.
Instead of looking for tricks to boost your podcast rankings to attract new listeners, focus on creating quality content. If you publish episodes people love, you’ll rise through the rankings naturally. Great content attracts new listeners, which means more downloads and reviews, which in turn attracts new listeners.
Do you have your own way to see your podcast rankings in Apple Podcasts? If so, drop us a comment and we’ll check it out. We may add it to our list!
Thanks for this! Exactly what I needed. 🙂