To start the podcast of your dreams, you need the appropriate equipment to get the show started. Unfortunately, money makes the world go round in our society. Often in digital spaces, people will recommend expensive and complicated systems and equipment for content creation. However, with my help, we can work to find acceptable tools of the trade for smaller budgets, helping low-income content creators get their start. This is part one of a two-part blog, as I believe the choices in software are as equally deep as the choices in hardware. This blog will address the physical hardware and equipment you need before you ever hit “record.” Note: Every product I mention is not sponsoring me, all opinions and recommendations are my own. This blog also acts under the assumption you already have a computer capable of, at the minimum, storing audio/video files, installing software, and uploading files to the internet. The process of building or buying a PC is an equally in-depth topic, so that recommendation will also come at a later date.

The most important piece of equipment for any podcast is the microphone. The medium is all about sound, with many podcasts forgoing any kind of video accompaniment, so high-quality sound is integral. So, what are your best microphone options while on a budget? First, I’ll suggest the one I currently use on recommendation from a former professor. I currently record and stream audio through my FIFINE USB Microphone. USB mics often get flack for their sound quality, but there are many USB mics with very high sound quality. While you’ll most likely move towards more expensive and complex microphones as you achieve more success, there is no good reason not to start with a simple USB microphone. The model I use is the FIFINE K669 USB Microphone. This microphone is recommended for podcasting, audio recording, and streaming. This microphone will only set you back $32.99 and is available in the US, UK, and Canada. If you have a higher or lower budget for a microphone, FIFINE has several other microphones on their website for the purchase of similar or greater quality, including some that come bundled with the equipment we’ll discuss later, such as pop filters.  It’s a bit pricier to add on an arm stand to this microphone as part of a bundle, but I think the arm stand is the most worth getting bundled IF you think you’ll need it. Not every person requires an arm stand for their microphone, but it can be very helpful for those who type/write, play video games, or make art while recording. There are hundreds of other microphones online, but FIFINE’s models work well for my purposes and price point. If you find other microphones of similar price, I recommend diving into their reviews. This is, in my opinion, the best price you’ll get for a good, budget microphone, so any option in that price range is worth considering.

A common microphone recommendation you’ll receive online is Blue’s “Yeti” microphone, or the famous “Blue Yeti” for short. This is a powerful microphone that does exceptional work for a streamer, podcaster, “let’s player”, or digital creator. It has countless awards from places like “Gizmodo” and “PC Gamers.” However, the elephant in the room is the price tag. $129.99 is a steep price for a USB microphone, even if it frequently goes on sale for just $89.99. A notable luxury streaming tech company, Elgato, lists one of its microphones at $149.99. The Blue Yeti is a budget option by the standards of tech heads and industry leaders, but if you’re going to go budget, I recommend something below $60 if possible. If you’re going to spend over a hundred on a microphone, I’d make sure it’s something top of the line you really believe in the quality of. If you’re going to get a Blue microphone, I would at least suggest the Blue Snowball, which comes at a price of $69.99 for comparable quality to the Yeti. This is still more expensive than the ultra-budget options like my K669, but it’s miles better than the mortgages required to get a Yeti.
Now that you’ve decided on a microphone, you need one important piece of equipment to make sure that audio comes out perfectly – a pop filter. Pop filters are essentially just a meshy membrane, stretched taut, to allow sound waves to pass through it. These filters block harsh waves of air when you speak. These harsh bursts are known as “plosives” and come from saying consonants like “P” and “B”. So, a pop filter is vital to a good podcast. However, the technology itself is rather simple, so you should not spend an arm on a leg on it, even at higher levels of success.

If you’re in dire desperation, simply a piece of cloth, stretched thin enough or place far enough from the microphone, can do enough to muffle the worst plosives. Most DIY cloth solutions will not sound great, however. Socks as pop filters are not a sustainable system. However, most inexpensive pop filters are nylon, so nylon pantyhose, stockings, or other hosiery will make a decent base for a pop filter if you really want to DIY it. This is a rough but affordable alternative if you want to skip buying a pop filter until you can afford top-level ones. The pop filter I use at home currently is the “DragonPad USA” pop filter. This is a decent, effective, and relatively inexpensive pop filter that fits perfectly onto the K669, Blue Yeti, or most other microphones of that size. However, despite a price point of $13, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it, due to it experiencing slight tearing of the mesh after just three years of use. Ideally, you can eventually use a metal pop filter. These metal frame pop filters should only cost $30-$40 if you’re getting a good price for them. I recommend starting with the usually $15 and below nylon pop filters, however. Any decent one, like my DragonPad or Sweetwater’s “Rok-It” Nylon Filter, should last a few years if taken care of properly. That should at least give you time for a boatload of content until you decide to reinvest in upgraded equipment. Pop filters are vitally important but upgrading them is a lower priority.

The final piece of equipment I will be recommending here is a pair of headphones. Headphones are one of the most basic forms of computer-related equipment found in nearly every home, from a simple pair of dollar store earbuds to top-of-the-line headphones used by audio engineers. Our budget falls somewhere in between those two extremes. First, use a headset over earbuds. Earbuds are terrible for the health of your ears long-term, and only the highest quality and expensive buds produce sound without butchering the quality to some degree. My current headset is the Onikuma K10. In the past, I used the Onikuma X10. This brand has affordable, comfortable, and high-quality headphones with clear audio. The K10s usually sell for about $65.99 but are not the best bang for your buck on the site. The K10 suffers from being a “gamer headset,” meaning the price tag is inflated by unnecessary additions of RGB lights and a microphone. The microphone is useful enough for calls and gaming, but for streaming, recording, and podcasting, your standalone microphone will always sound better. Models like the X9 and K20 have significantly lower prices and less “rainbow gamer crap” plastered on them.

Unfortunately, many of the best headsets today are designed with Twitch Streamers or musicians in mind, so they have RGB lights and microphones crammed in regardless. The best pair of headphones I can recommend is a SteelSeries pair, especially the Arctic. However, these cost an easy $129.99 or more, so I cannot comfortably recommend them to a budget creator. Headphones simply need to be comfortable and sound clear enough. I have experienced headphones that are both hard to wear, due to being uncomfortable, and hard to hear from. If you find a headset for $70 or less with good reviews for quality, and you can afford it, go for it.

One last piece of advice for you is – don’t be afraid to bargain hunt. If you’re looking for tech on a budget, you’re going to have to work for it. Technology is expensive inherently, unfortunately. Used microphones, reduced-price headphones, Facebook marketplace tech, all of it is worth giving a shot if the price is good and you can be relatively certain that the equipment is working and quality. Deals and bargains like that will enable you to get the technology of even higher quality than my recommendations, like the Arctic or Yeti, while paying prices closer to my budget listed. This bargain hunting is risky, however, and you should take every precaution to make sure the equipment is functional, undamaged (relatively) quality, and comfortable.

What is your setup like currently? Are you a tech-whiz with a top-of-the-line custom computer and $300 cat ear gaming headphones? Or are you just starting out, working off a laptop and earbuds? We’ve all started somewhere. Comment below what you’re working with and what, if any, of the equipment I discussed today you think you’ll be adding to your collection! If you have any better recommendations for any of the equipment discussed, please comment below! If you learned anything today or enjoyed what you read, please share this with your friends so we can all be a little bit smarter and nerdier together! As always, I’d also appreciate comments and suggestions from you! If there’s anything you’d like to see in a future post here, let me know!