Web dev podcasts, by the numbers

Popular web dev and programming podcasts ranked by reviews and Apple podcasts top charts

The podcast logos for Syntax, Coding Blocks, Hanselminutes, Soft Skills Engineering, The ReadME Podcast, Front End Happy Hour, The freeCodeCamp Podcast, and Ladybug Podcast

As part of marketing my book on GraphQL, I’m pitching myself as a guest to podcast hosts. While I’ve listened to Syntax for years, I didn’t know any other podcasts about web development. So I had to do some research! And here it is—podcasts about web dev or programming in general, ranked by:

• Apple podcasts ranking: Apple ranks podcasts in a certain country and category based on subscribers and growth rate.
• Number of reviews: An indicator of how many people have listened to the podcast and felt strongly enough to write a review.
• Review rating: See which are most loved by listeners! All of the 5.0-rated podcasts have low review counts but are gems you’re unlikely to have heard of. 💎

All the data came from Chartable, which aggregates reviews from Apple and Spotify. If I missed your favorite web dev podcast, let me know in the comments! I didn’t include podcasts focused on other areas, like data, cybersecurity, machine learning, design, blockchain, or backend languages (for example, there are two python podcasts in the top 100 US Tech podcasts).

The three full lists are at the bottom of this post. Combining all three factors, here are the two top tiers:

Top Tier A

• Syntax with 4.9 stars from 1,606 reviews
• Coding Blocks with 4.9 from 1,171 reviews

Top Tier B

• Hanselminutes with 4.8 from 636 reviews
• Soft Skills Engineering with 4.8 from 371
• The ReadME Podcast with 5.0 from 19
• Front End Happy Hour with 4.9 from 216
• The freeCodeCamp Podcast (no longer active) with 4.9 from 683

And here are some interesting finds:

• A great podcast hosted by women: Ladybug Podcast 4.8/241
• Some of the podcasts with the most subscribers are for people learning to code: CodeNewbie is #1 on the list, Learn to Code With Me is #4, and Learn to Code in One Month is #7.
• Github’s The ReadME Podcast 5.0/19 is the only one in the top US Tech charts that has a 5-star rating. Given how few reviews (and probably subscribers) it has, it must be growing really fast to be ranked #155 in US Tech. Its first episode was published on May 12, 2021.
• Some of the most-subscribed, lowest-rated podcasts are from the big three cloud providers: AWS TechChat 4.0/48, Azure Friday 4.6/54, and Google Cloud Platform Podcast 4.5/194.
• The podcast with the second-lowest rating, Undefined 4.3/39 (perhaps because it ends each episode with a “fuck you”? 😄), has had some great guests—most recently Adam Wathan, Evan You, and Rich Harris.

By Apple podcasts rank

Apple ranks the top 250 podcasts in a category for each country. The category is chosen by the podcast creator. Most chose Technology, but some chose How To, Tech News, Society & Culture, and Business.

US Tech

Full US Tech list

1. #34 CodeNewbie 4.6/637
2. #46 Syntax 4.9/1,606
3. #61 The Changelog 4.7/311
4. #80 Learn to Code With Me 4.5/626
5. #89 Coding Blocks 4.9/1,171
6. #116 Hanselminutes 4.8/636
7. #126 Learn to Code in One Month 4.9/90
8. #141 Software Engineering Radio 4.5/414
9. #154 Soft Skills Engineering 4.8/371
10. #155 The ReadME Podcast 5.0/19
11. #158 Front End Happy Hour 4.9/216
12. #161 The Stack Overflow Podcast 4.7/120
13. #216 AWS TechChat 4.0/48
14. #232 Azure Friday 4.6/54
15. #235 Google Cloud Platform Podcast 4.5/194
16. #246 The freeCodeCamp Podcast 4.9/683

US Other

These podcasts aren’t in the Technology category, but did make the top 250 in their category in the US:

1. React Round Up 5.0/6 #122 US How To
2. JavaScript Jabber 4.4/57 #135 US How To
3. JAMstack Radio 4.8/13 #217 in US Tech News

Other Tech

These podcasts are in the Technology category but didn’t make the top 250 US list. I’ve ordered them by a combination of their rank in a country and that country’s population:

1. Full Stack Radio 4.8/369 #147 Great Britain
2. Software Engineering Unlocked 4.9/12 #184 Great Britain
3. PodRocket 5.0/29 #170 Canada
4. React Podcast 4.7/141 #60 Japan (#250 in Canada)
5. HTTP 203 4.6/31 #216 Japan
6. Ladybug Podcast 4.8/241 #48 Argentina
7. Undefined 4.3/39 #167 Spain
8. CodePen Radio 4.9/101 #47 Philippines
9. The Bike Shed 4.9/162 #51 Philippines
10. The Web Platform 4.7/30 #50 Vietnam
11. Chats with Kent 4.9/20 #134 Philippines
12. Modern Web 4.9/8 #194 Australia
13. Maintainable 5.0/26 #134 Netherlands
14. Career Chats 5.0/4 #177 Guatemala
15. egghead.io developer chats 4.7/53 #185 Guatemala
16. Web Rush 4.9/37 #16 Paraguay
17. devMode.fm 4.8/57 #139 Paraguay
18. Junior to Senior with David Guttman 5.0/6 #148 Azerbaijan

Unranked / Other

1. ShopTalk 4.9/812 #197 Sweden Society & Culture
2. The Entrepreneurial Podcast 5.0/6 #210 Greece Business
3. Legacy Code Rocks 4.9/18
4. OpenHive.JS 5.0/2

By review count

1. Syntax 4.9/1,606
2. Coding Blocks 4.9/1,171
3. ShopTalk 4.9/812
4. The freeCodeCamp Podcast 4.9/683
5. CodeNewbie 4.6/637
6. Hanselminutes 4.8/636
7. Learn to Code With Me 4.5/626
8. Software Engineering Radio 4.5/414
9. Soft Skills Engineering 4.8/371
10. Full Stack Radio 4.8/369
11. The Changelog 4.7/311
12. Ladybug Podcast 4.8/241
13. Front End Happy Hour 4.9/216
14. Google Cloud Platform Podcast 4.5/194
15. The Bike Shed 4.9/162
16. React Podcast 4.7/141
17. The Stack Overflow Podcast 4.7/120
18. CodePen Radio 4.9/101
19. Learn to Code in One Month 4.9/90
20. devMode.fm 4.8/57
21. JavaScript Jabber 4.4/57
22. Azure Friday 4.6/54
23. egghead.io developer chats 4.7/53
24. AWS TechChat 4.0/48
25. Undefined 4.3/39
26. Web Rush 4.9/37
27. HTTP 203 4.6/31
28. The Web Platform 4.7/30
29. PodRocket 5.0/29
30. Maintainable 5.0/26
31. Chats with Kent 4.9/20
32. The ReadME Podcast 5.0/19
33. Legacy Code Rocks 4.9/18
34. JAMstack Radio 4.8/13
35. Modern Web 4.9/8
36. React Round Up 5.0/6
37. Junior to Senior with David Guttman 5.0/6
38. The Entrepreneurial Podcast 5.0/6
39. Career Chats 5.0/4
40. OpenHive.JS 5.0/2

By rating

1. PodRocket 5.0/29
2. Maintainable 5.0/26
3. The ReadME Podcast 5.0/19
4. React Round Up 5.0/6
5. Junior to Senior with David Guttman 5.0/6
6. The Entrepreneurial Podcast 5.0/6
7. Career Chats 5.0/4
8. OpenHive.JS 5.0/2
9. Syntax 4.9/1,606
10. Coding Blocks 4.9/1,171
11. ShopTalk 4.9/812
12. The freeCodeCamp Podcast 4.9/683
13. Front End Happy Hour 4.9/216
14. The Bike Shed 4.9/162
15. CodePen Radio 4.9/101
16. Learn to Code in One Month 4.9/90
17. Web Rush 4.9/37
18. Chats with Kent 4.9/20
19. Legacy Code Rocks 4.9/18
20. Modern Web 4.9/8
21. Hanselminutes 4.8/636
22. Soft Skills Engineering 4.8/371
23. Full Stack Radio 4.8/369
24. Ladybug Podcast 4.8/241
25. devMode.fm 4.8/57
26. JAMstack Radio 4.8/13
27. The Changelog 4.7/311
28. React Podcast 4.7/141
29. The Stack Overflow Podcast 4.7/120
30. egghead.io developer chats 4.7/53
31. The Web Platform 4.7/30
32. CodeNewbie 4.6/637
33. Azure Friday 4.6/54
34. HTTP 203 4.6/31
35. Learn to Code With Me 4.5/626
36. Software Engineering Radio 4.5/414
37. Google Cloud Platform Podcast 4.5/194
38. JavaScript Jabber 4.4/57
39. Undefined 4.3/39
40. AWS TechChat 4.0/48