The November board is not a list of the biggest podcasts. It is a list of the ones that are still moving.
Scored with the Xcelcast Universal podcast ranking system from Xcelcast's 11/1/2026 figures, this Top 20 weighs rating, recent growth, and channel size. The ranking rewards shows audiences are actually choosing right now — and it punishes size without momentum.
The result: Diary of a CEO sits at #1, ahead of MrBeast, with Mark Tilbury and Paul Barron Network locking the top four. Joe Rogan, MKBHD, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens — names that usually dominate any casual conversation about podcast power — miss the cut because their October lines went flat or reverse. Question everything you thought the leaderboard meant.
How we scored it
Plain words: a strong Xcelcast rating plus real October growth can outrank a giant that barely moved. The ranking looks at how fast a channel grew, how many subscribers it actually added, and whether that pace held from 9/1→11/1 — then balances that against channel size so a 525M audience is not treated like an 836K one. Size still matters. It cannot carry a dead growth line into the Top 20. Every subscriber figure below is from Xcelcast Universal data dated 11/1/2026 (with 10/1 and 9/1 priors where noted).
The November Top 20
| Rank | Show | Nov 1 subs | Rating | 30-day adds | 30-day % |
| 1 | Diary of a CEO | 21.6M | 5.0 | +1.3M | +6.40% |
| 2 | MrBeast | 525M | 4.9 | +5.0M | +0.96% |
| 3 | Mark Tilbury | 9.36M | 4.9 | +210K | +2.30% |
| 4 | Paul Barron Network | 2.80M | 4.9 | +100K | +3.70% |
| 5 | Financial Audit (Caleb Hammer) | 4.06M | 4.7 | +130K | +3.31% |
| 6 | Glenn Beck | 1.93M | 4.7 | +130K | +7.22% |
| 7 | Mel Robbins Podcast | 6.40M | 4.8 | +120K | +1.91% |
| 8 | The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart | 911K | 4.7 | +32K | +3.64% |
| 9 | Modern Wisdom | 4.49M | 4.8 | +60K | +1.35% |
| 10 | Dwarkesh Patel | 1.46M | 4.8 | +30K | +2.10% |
| 11 | Alex Hormozi | 4.61M | 4.7 | +60K | +1.32% |
| 12 | The Bulwark | 1.81M | 4.7 | +30K | +1.69% |
| 13 | Professor Jiang | 2.96M | 4.5 | +40K | +1.37% |
| 14 | Stephen A. Smith Show | 1.48M | 4.2 | +70K | +4.96% |
| 15 | Shawn Ryan Show | 6.67M | 4.6 | +60K | +0.91% |
| 16 | Julian Dorey | 1.46M | 4.8 | +20K | +1.39% |
| 17 | Tim Dillon Show | 1.31M | 4.4 | +30K | +2.34% |
| 18 | Jillian Michaels | 836K | 4.2 | +43K | +5.42% |
| 19 | All In Podcast | 1.17M | 4.6 | +20K | +1.74% |
| 20 | Theo Von | 4.80M | 4.8 | +40K | +0.84% |
The top of the board
Diary of a CEO is #1 on this Xcelcast Universal ranking and leads Joe Rogan by YouTube subscribers in Xcelcast's November figures at 21.6M vs 21.2M (rating 5.0). October was the breakout: +1.3M / +6.40% (20.3M→21.6M) and +12.50% since 9/1 (19.2M→21.6M). That YouTube-sub lead is Xcelcast data — not a claim DOAC is #1 on every market composite.
MrBeast at #2 is the size floor: 525M, rating 4.9, +5.0M in October (+0.96%). Absolute adds at that scale still keep Beast top-two while other mega-channels fall out. Mark Tilbury (#3) compounds in finance-education: 9.36M, rating 4.9, +210K / +2.30%, +5.41% since 9/1 (8.88M). Paul Barron Network lands at #4: 2.80M, rating 4.9, +100K / +3.70% (2.70M→2.80M), +6.46% since 9/1 (2.63M) — mid-tier velocity with a near-ceiling rating (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaulBarronNetwork).
The risers
Below the top four, the board is about who audiences are still discovering. Financial Audit (Caleb Hammer) is #5 at 4.06M, rating 4.7, +130K / +3.31%, +9.43% since 9/1 (3.71M). Mel Robbins Podcast (#7) holds a 4.8 rating at 6.40M with +120K / +1.91% and +4.23% since 9/1 — steady demand, not a spike. The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart (#8) proves smaller can climb: 911K, +32K / +3.64%, +5.93% since 9/1.
Stephen A. Smith Show (#14) and Jillian Michaels (#18) are the pure percent stories: Stephen A. +70K / +4.96% to 1.48M; Jillian +43K / +5.42% to 836K, with +10.14% since 9/1 (759K). When a sub-1M channel posts double-digit 90-day growth, Universal listens.
New to the published board at the bottom: All In Podcast (#19) at 1.17M, rating 4.6, +20K / +1.74%, +5.41% since 9/1, and Theo Von (#20) at 4.80M, rating 4.8, +40K / +0.84%. One is a mid-size compounder with a clean 90-day line; the other is a large comedy brand still adding tens of thousands a month.
Glenn Beck at #6 needs a caveat. Xcelcast Universal shows 1.93M, rating 4.7, +130K / +7.22% (1.80M→1.93M) and +8.43% since 9/1 — a sharp one-month jump after a flat stretch at roughly 1.78–1.80M. Treat it as a possible measurement jump, not proven virality, until December confirms the baseline.
Who size could not save
These are not ranked slots — they are the miss list, and the clearest argument for weighting growth alongside rating and size.
- Joe Rogan: 21.2M, rating 4.8, only +100K / +0.47%. Size and rating of a top show; almost no recent growth. On this Universal ranking, not enough. (DOAC leads Xcelcast's November YouTube-sub figures 21.6M to 21.2M — a subscriber lead, not a claim DOAC is #1 on every market composite.)
- MKBHD: 21.4M, rating 5.0, flat Oct→Nov. Perfect rating, zero adds.
- Tucker Carlson Show: 5.79M, rating 4.9, only +20K. Premium brand, stalled line.
- Candace Owens: 6.07M, rating 4.4, −10K (6.08M→6.07M). First clear down-tick after a long climb.
Size still buys revenue and cultural gravity. It does not buy a Top 20 slot here without a pulse.
Why this board looks the way it does
Xcelcast Universal is a YouTube and Overall Podcast -subscriber ranking because that is where the fight for new audience is easiest to see month to month. A channel that adds a hundred thousand people in October is telling you something a lifetime-subscriber crown cannot. The flip side is just as useful: when a household name posts a flat or reverse month, Universal drops it even if the brand still owns the culture conversation. Creators reading this board should treat it as a momentum check, not a lifetime achievement award, and advertisers should treat the miss list as a reminder that reach without recent demand is a different product than reach with a pulse.
Lessons for Creators
1. Growth beats pedigree on a modern scoreboard. Rogan (21.2M, +0.47%) and MKBHD (21.4M, flat) miss this Top 20 while Jillian Michaels (836K, +5.42%) and Jon Stewart (911K, +3.64%) make it. Track percent and absolute adds.
2. A high rating without adds is a ceiling, not a strategy. MKBHD's 5.0 and Tucker's 4.9 did not clear the growth gate. Rating is necessary on Universal, not sufficient.
3. Mid-tier velocity compounds. Paul Barron Network (+3.70%, 2.80M), Financial Audit (+3.31% / +9.43% since 9/1), Mark Tilbury (+2.30% / +5.41% since 9/1), and All In Podcast (+1.74% / +5.41% since 9/1) show the roughly 1M–10M band can still outrank brands many times their size.
4. Verify one-month spikes. Glenn Beck's +7.22% is flagged as a possible measurement jump. One green month is a hypothesis; two is a trend.
5. Do not confuse a YouTube-sub lead with every ranking. DOAC is #1 on this Xcelcast Universal board and #1 by YouTube subscribers in Xcelcast's November figures. Other composites (reviews, lifetime views, Spotify lanes) can still rank other shows higher — know what the board is measuring before you celebrate.
What We're Watching
- Diary of a CEO: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiaryOfACEO: #1 here at 21.6M / +1.3M in October. Watch whether the Rogan gap widens past 500K by the Dec 1 Xcelcast figures.
- MrBeast: https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast: #2 at 525M / +5.0M absolute adds; watch percent compression as the base grows.
- Mark Tilbury: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkTilbury / Paul Barron Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PaulBarronNetwork: #3 and #4 high ratings (4.9) with real mid-tier growth (+5.41% and +6.46% since 9/1).
- Financial Audit: https://www.youtube.com/@CalebHammer: #5 at 4.06M with +9.43% since 9/1. Money-stress demand has not cooled.
- All In Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@allin / Theo Von: https://www.youtube.com/@TheoVon: New #19 and #20 watch whether All In's 90-day line keeps compounding and whether Theo's absolute adds stay ahead of percent compression.
- Jillian Michaels: https://www.youtube.com/@JillianMichaels: #18 at 836K / +10.14% since 9/1. Loudest small-channel riser — watch for a December leapfrog.
- Glenn Beck: https://www.youtube.com/@GlennBeck: #6 with +7.22% in October. Confirm whether December holds the new baseline or reverts.
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Sources: Xcelcast Universal podcast ranking / Xcelcast data (monthly YouTube rounded public counts; figures dated 11/1/2026; priors 10/1/2026 and 9/1/2026). The ranking weighs rating, overall podcast ecosystem sentiment, recent growth, and channel size. Growth figures in the table are October 1→November 1 subscriber adds and percent unless labeled as since 9/1. DOAC's YouTube-sub lead over Rogan (21.6M vs 21.2M) is from the same Xcelcast November figures. Subscriber counts are not total audience.