How We Rank
We measure your amplitude. Then we turn it up.
This chart doesn't measure fame. It measures signal — whether a show is active, growing, and resonating with real listeners. Every ranking is computed from verifiable data. No show can buy a higher position. No network deal changes the math.
Creator Activity
About a third of your chart position comes from what you do as a creator. Show up consistently, publish fresh content, and grow your audience — the algorithm rewards the work.
Freshness
Significant FactorHow recently you published. A show that dropped an episode yesterday carries more weight than one that went quiet two weeks ago. This is the simplest signal: are you active right now?
Consistency
Significant FactorYour publishing cadence over a rolling 12-week window. Miss a week and your score decays. Miss four and you're marked "on hiatus." Comeback episodes earn a bonus. Consistency is the signal of creator commitment — it's what separates a podcast from a project someone started and abandoned.
Growth
Minor FactorYour listener and subscriber growth trajectory. We reward momentum, not raw size — a show adding listeners at a faster rate this month than last month signals something worth paying attention to, regardless of total numbers.
Audience Resonance
About two-thirds of your chart position comes from how your audience and the broader community respond. This is deliberate — a chart should reflect what listeners value, not just what creators produce.
Community Pick
Significant FactorVerified listener engagement — the signal that real people are paying attention. Every vote passes through anti-gaming filters: account age gates, rate limiting, and anomaly detection. Organic engagement rises. Bot farms don't.
Search Heat
Significant FactorHow often people search for your show on this platform. When listeners actively seek you out by name, that's a signal of demand you can't fake. Search heat captures word-of-mouth momentum before it shows up in download numbers.
Cultural Echo
Contributing FactorWhen other shows mention you — in episodes, guest appearances, or explicit shout-outs — that's cultural echo. It measures interconnection within the community. Shows that get referenced by peers are influencing the culture, not just existing within it.
Rising
Contributing FactorHow quickly new listeners are finding you right now. This captures viral moments, co-signs, and feature placements before they fully mature into sustained audience growth.
Audience Rating
Contributing FactorHow listeners rate your show on podcast platforms. When your audience takes the time to leave a rating, that's a quality signal that raw download numbers can't capture. Both rating score and volume factor in.
Activity Requirement
Shows that haven't published a new episode in 90 days are automatically removed from the chart until they return. Publish a new episode and you're immediately eligible for the next chart cycle — no application, no waiting period, no penalty.
This rule exists because a chart should rank active shows. A podcast that went silent six months ago isn't competing for listener attention this week. When you come back, the algorithm picks you up right where your signals land.
Anti-Payola Design
Every signal in this chart is server-computed from data we collect directly. No show can buy, trade, or negotiate a higher position. No network affiliation changes the math. No advertising relationship influences rank.
Community signals pass through anti-gaming layers: account age gates, vote rate limiting, IP clustering detection, and anomaly scoring. This chart is designed to be the one place in podcasting where the ranking actually means something.
Your Signal Breakdown
Every ranked show can view its own signal breakdown — a per-signal score showing exactly where you stand and which areas have room to grow. Think of it like a credit score breakdown: you see your own numbers, but the exact formula stays protected from gaming. Find your show on the chart to view your breakdown.
Governance
Algorithm changes are reviewed by the advisory board and announced 7 days before taking effect. No silent updates. No surprise reranking. When the algorithm evolves, you'll know what changed, why it changed, and when the new version goes live.
Past algorithm versions and their methodology descriptions are preserved below for full transparency.
Algorithm History
Added Cultural Echo signal measuring cross-show references and community interconnection. Rebalanced Creator Activity signals to accommodate new Audience Resonance dimension. Added 90-day activity requirement. Shows that have not published in 90 days are automatically removed from chart rankings until a new episode is published.
Reviewed by system (S4d migration)
Algorithm version predates public methodology descriptions.
Reviewed by system (S4c migration)
Algorithm version predates public methodology descriptions.
Reviewed by system (S4b migration)
Algorithm version predates public methodology descriptions.
Reviewed by system (S4a migration)
Algorithm version predates public methodology descriptions.
Reviewed by system