iTunes Podcast Category List (Updated 2023)

iTunes is the engine that powers most of the podcasting world, and within that lies numerous categories that your show can be classified under.  Each show can qualify under 3 separate categories, and will be ranked separately in each.

The best practice is to assign your show to 3 separate Parent categories, and within each of those a unique Child category.  This gives your show the widest possible reach and allows more potential listeners to find your podcast.

Arts

  • Books
  • Design
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food
  • Performing Arts
  • Visual Arts

Business

  • Careers
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Investing
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Non-Profit

Comedy

  • Comedy Interviews
  • Improv
  • Stand-Up

Education

  • Courses
  • How To
  • Language Learning
  • Self-Improvement

Fiction

  • Comedy Fiction
  • Drama
  • Science Fiction

Government

History

Health & Fitness

  • Alternative Health
  • Fitness
  • Medicine
  • Mental Health
  • Nutrition
  • Sexuality

Kids & Family

  • Education for Kids
  • Parenting
  • Pets & Animals
  • Stories for Kids

Leisure

  • Animation & Manga
  • Automotive
  • Aviation
  • Crafts
  • Games
  • Hobbies
  • Home & Garden
  • Video Games

Music

  • Music Commentary
  • Music History
  • Music Interviews

News

  • Business News
  • Daily News
  • Entertainment News
  • News Commentary
  • Politics
  • Sports News
  • Tech News

Religion & Spirituality

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Religion
  • Spirituality 

Science

  • Astronomy
  • Chemistry
  • Earth Sciences
  • Life Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences
  • Nature
  • Physics
  • Social Sciences

Society & Culture

  • Documentary
  • Personal Journals
  • Philosophy
  • Places & Travel
  • Relationships

Sports

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Fantasy Sports
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Hockey
  • Rugby
  • Soccer
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball
  • Wilderness
  • Wrestling

Technology

True Crime

TV & Film

  • After Shows
  • Film History
  • Film Interviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews

Regardless of the iTunes Podcast Category that you select, it’s important to ensure that your downloads, rankings, and reviews are all optimized for the intrinsic SEO value that exists within iTunes.  Other podcasting directories like Stitcher have similar categories, but will differ slightly.

The updates to the Apple Podcasts Categories have been reflected in both our Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin and the Castos based RSS feeds.