What is the best mic for podcasting?

There are a ton of options when choosing a microphone. There are USB mics and XLR microphones. There are dynamic mics and condenser microphones. But what is the best microphone for podcasting?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question without knowing more about your show and how you want to produce it.

If you want to start out with a simple recording setup then a USB microphone will allow you to record straight into your recording software on your computer. If you prefer a more advanced recording setup you may want to use an XLR mic with a mixing board and digital recorder.

If you have a sound-treated room or a hardware limiter/gate then a condenser microphone can make your podcast sound great. Condenser mics pick up the full range and richness of your voice but also pick up the background noise. However, most podcasters are podcasting from home and may not have a sound-treated room or a quiet environment. Dynamic microphones don’t pick up as much background noise and require the podcaster to be right up close to the mic.

Blue Microphones have a couple of popular USB Condensor microphones that many podcasters use. They are the Blue Snowball and the Blue Yeti. The Yeti is the better of the two for podcasting.

The Yeti also comes in a Pro edition which has an XLR connection in addition to USB.

Rode Microphones have a popular podcasting mic called the Rode Podcaster. This mic is a great quality dynamic USB microphone. Rode also has an XLR version of this mic called the Procaster.

Many podcasters regard the HEIL PR40 as the top podcasting microphone and it is a great sounding dynamic XLR mic. But it is relatively expensive at $325.

The Audio Technica ATR2100USB microphone is a great sounding mic which has both USB and XLR connections. You can start out recording into your computer and as you expand your podcast studio you can use the same mic with your new mixing board.

The ATR2100 sounds almost as good as the Heil PR40 at a small fraction of its price. You can pick up one of these mics for only $59.

For the beginner podcaster on a budget, I would say that the ATR 2100 is the best option. For the more advanced podcaster with a big budget, a more expensive dynamic mic like the PR40 is the way to go.

More information about the Best Microphones for Podcasting can be found in our Podcast Equipment Guide.