PodStat - Unified Download and Listener Analytics Across Every Podcast Host

Spotify for Podcasters shows Spotify numbers. Buzzsprout shows Buzzsprout numbers. Independent podcasters have no single view of their actual total audience. PodStat pulls every RSS-based host's stats API into one dashboard with trend lines, episode performance, and sponsor pitch one-pagers.

𝕏 Post Reddit HN

Difficulty

intermediate

What is it?

Over 4 million active podcasts exist and 80% of indie creators publish to 3+ platforms simultaneously, yet every host keeps stats siloed. Podcasters manually copy numbers from Buzzsprout, Anchor, Podbean, and Apple Podcasts into spreadsheets monthly. PodStat connects to each host's stats API and RSS data, normalizes download counts, and surfaces a unified timeline with per-episode breakdown and geo distribution. The killer feature is a one-click sponsor pitch PDF — auto-generated with total downloads, listener demographics, and CPM benchmarks. Buildable in 2 weeks using public APIs from Buzzsprout, Transistor, and Castos, plus Apple Podcasts Analytics via their API.

Why now?

Chartable shut down in 2023 leaving a vacuum, and both Buzzsprout and Transistor now have stable public stats APIs that make normalization a weekend project rather than a months-long scraping nightmare.

▸Unified download timeline across all connected podcast hosts.
▸Per-episode performance table with listener retention proxy from available data.
▸One-click sponsor pitch PDF with total reach, geo, and CPM benchmarks.
▸Weekly email digest with episode performance delta and growth rate.

Target Audience

Independent podcasters with 500–50k monthly downloads, roughly 200k creators in this tier actively complaining about fragmented analytics.

Example Use Case

Marcus runs a true crime podcast on Buzzsprout and Podbean, connects both in 3 minutes, and uses the auto-generated sponsor deck to land a $500 sponsorship deal he would have missed without the combined download count.

User Stories

▸As an indie podcaster, I want all my download numbers in one chart, so that I can see my true audience size without copying spreadsheets.
▸As a podcaster pitching sponsors, I want a one-click PDF with my total reach, so that I can send a professional media kit in minutes.
▸As a podcast hobbyist, I want a weekly email with episode growth delta, so that I can track momentum without logging into three dashboards.

Done When

✓Host connection: done when user clicks Connect Buzzsprout, completes OAuth, and sees episode data appear in dashboard within 60 seconds
✓Unified chart: done when downloads from two connected hosts appear on a single timeline with no duplicates
✓Sponsor PDF: done when user clicks Generate and a downloadable PDF opens with total downloads, top episodes, and geo breakdown
✓Stripe upgrade: done when user completes checkout and the sponsor PDF button becomes active immediately.

Is it worth building?

$19/month x 80 podcasters = $1,520 MRR at month 3. $49/month pro plan x 150 users = $7,350 MRR at month 9.

Unit Economics

CAC: $12 via Reddit and Twitter outreach. LTV: $228 (12 months at $19/month). Payback: 1 month. Gross margin: 91%.

Business Model

SaaS subscription

Monetization Path

Free: 1 podcast feed. Paid $19/month: unlimited feeds, sponsor PDF. Pro $49/month: team sharing, email reports.

Revenue Timeline

First dollar: week 3. $1k MRR: month 3. $5k MRR: month 8.

Estimated Monthly Cost

Vercel: $20, Supabase: $25, Resend: $10, Stripe fees: $20. Total: ~$75/month.

Profit Potential

Full-time viable at $6k–$12k MRR.

Scalability

High — add Spotify, YouTube audio, and newsletter subscriber sync as paid add-ons.

Success Metrics

Week 2: 100 signups. Month 1: 25 paid. Month 3: 75 paid with 80% retention.

Launch & Validation Plan

Post in r/podcasting and r/podcasters asking how people track cross-platform stats, recruit 10 beta testers from responses, validate with 3 paid signups before full build.

Customer Acquisition Strategy

First customer: DM 30 podcasters on Twitter who post about podcast growth frustrations, offer 3 months free for feedback. Ongoing: r/podcasting posts, Podcast Movement community, ProductHunt, podcast newsletter sponsorships.

What's the competition?

Competition Level

Medium

What's the roadmap?

Feature Roadmap

V1 (launch): two-host sync, unified chart, sponsor PDF, Stripe billing. V2 (month 2-3): weekly email digest, geo map, episode ranking. V3 (month 4+): Spotify API, YouTube audio, team sharing.

Milestone Plan

Phase 1 (Week 1-2): host sync + unified dashboard ships with real data. Phase 2 (Week 3-4): Stripe + sponsor PDF live, 5 beta users paying. Phase 3 (Month 2): ProductHunt launch, 30 paid users.

How do you build it?

Tech Stack

Next.js, Supabase, Stripe, Resend, Buzzsprout API, Transistor API, Apple Podcasts Analytics API — build with Cursor for API normalization layer, v0 for dashboard charts.

Suggested Frameworks

Next.js, Recharts, Supabase

Time to Ship

2 weeks

Required Skills

REST API integration, OAuth flows, Recharts, PDF generation.

Resources

Buzzsprout API docs, Transistor API docs, Apple Podcasts Analytics API, jsPDF docs.

MVP Scope

app/page.tsx (landing), app/dashboard/page.tsx (unified chart + episode table), app/api/connect/[host]/route.ts (OAuth per host), app/api/sync/route.ts (normalize and store stats), app/api/sponsor-pdf/route.ts (jsPDF generator), lib/hosts/buzzsprout.ts, lib/hosts/transistor.ts, lib/db/schema.ts (Drizzle schema), components/StatsChart.tsx, .env.example.

Core User Journey

Connect first podcast host -> connect second host -> see unified download chart -> generate sponsor PDF -> upgrade to paid.

Architecture Pattern

User connects host via OAuth -> token stored in Supabase -> cron job calls each host API daily -> normalized stats stored -> dashboard queries Supabase -> sponsor PDF generated on demand via jsPDF.

Data Model

User has many PodcastFeeds. PodcastFeed has many EpisodeStats. EpisodeStats belongs to one HostConnection. User has one SponsorProfile.

Integration Points

Buzzsprout API for stats, Transistor API for stats, Stripe for billing, Resend for weekly digest email, jsPDF for sponsor PDF, Supabase for data storage.

V1 Scope Boundaries

V1 excludes: Spotify Podcasters API, YouTube audio sync, team collaboration, white-label, mobile app.

Success Definition

A podcaster the founder never spoke to signs up, connects two hosts, sees a unified total for the first time, and upgrades to paid to unlock the sponsor PDF.

Challenges

Each host's API has different rate limits and data shapes — normalization logic is underestimated work. The hardest non-technical problem is convincing podcasters to pay before they see the combined number for the first time.

Avoid These Pitfalls

Do not build your own RSS parser when host APIs already return structured data. Do not support 10 hosts on launch — ship with 2 and nail the UX. Finding first 10 paying podcasters will take longer than the build — post in communities before writing code.

Security Requirements

Supabase Auth with Google OAuth, OAuth tokens encrypted at rest via Supabase Vault, RLS on all user tables, rate limit API sync to 10 calls/minute per user, GDPR data deletion endpoint.

Infrastructure Plan

Vercel for Next.js and API routes, Supabase for Postgres and auth, Supabase cron for daily sync jobs, GitHub Actions for CI, Sentry for error tracking.

Performance Targets

150 DAU and 800 req/day at launch, dashboard load under 2s, sync API under 10 seconds per host, Recharts chart render under 500ms.

Go-Live Checklist

☐Security audit complete
☐Payment flow tested end-to-end
☐Sentry live
☐Monitoring dashboard configured
☐Custom domain with SSL active
☐Privacy policy and terms published
☐5 beta podcasters signed off
☐Rollback plan documented
☐ProductHunt launch post drafted.

First Run Experience

On first run: a seeded demo podcast feed with 12 episodes and 6 months of fake download data is pre-loaded. User can immediately explore the unified chart and click Generate Sponsor PDF without connecting any real host. No manual config required: demo data loads from seed.ts, Stripe is in test mode, OAuth not required to explore.

How to build it, step by step

1. Define schema in lib/db/schema.ts: User, PodcastFeed, HostConnection, EpisodeStat tables. 2. Scaffold Next.js app with Supabase Auth. 3. Build lib/hosts/buzzsprout.ts and lib/hosts/transistor.ts as normalized stat fetchers. 4. Create app/api/connect/[host]/route.ts handling OAuth token exchange and storage. 5. Build app/api/sync/route.ts as a cron-triggered normalizer writing to EpisodeStat table. 6. Create components/StatsChart.tsx using Recharts unified timeline. 7. Build app/api/sponsor-pdf/route.ts generating jsPDF from aggregated stats. 8. Wire Stripe checkout gating sponsor PDF and multi-feed access. 9. Set up Resend weekly digest triggered by Supabase cron. 10. Verify: connect two real podcast feeds, confirm unified chart renders, download sponsor PDF, complete Stripe checkout end-to-end.

Generated

April 18, 2026

Model

claude-sonnet-4-6

← Previous

StageReview - Visual Diff Between Figma Design and Live Staging URL

SprintMood - Passive Team Energy Heatmap From Calendar and Commit Patterns

Disclaimer: Ideas on this site are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies. Revenue estimates, market demand figures, and financial projections are illustrative assumptions only — not financial advice. Do your own research before making any business or investment decisions. Technology availability, pricing, and market conditions change rapidly; always verify details independently.