Best True Crime Podcasts 2026: Ranked by Real Chart Data
Updated September 2026 · Based on CastFox data covering 24 Apple Podcasts chart snapshots in 78 countries (2026-02-24 to 2026-09-08) and 5M+ indexed podcasts
True crime is the most crowded category in podcasting, and the 19 best true crime podcasts 2026 has to offer are not the 19 with the loudest marketing. Every show on this list held a place in the top 100 of the US Apple Podcasts True Crime chart in all 24 snapshots CastFox recorded between February 24 and September 8, 2026, and the order below is set by how consistently each one charted, how high it ranked, and how many of the 78 countries we track it reached. No paid placements and no editorial favors.
The category has split into six recognizable formats, and knowing which one you want matters more than knowing which show is biggest. There are the weekly case shows that treat one story per episode as a conversation with a friend (Crime Junkie, Morbid, Rotten Mango, Serialously). There are the network newsmagazines feeding decades of broadcast archive into podcast feeds (Dateline NBC, 20/20, Snapped). There are documentary series built by reporters over years, not weeks (Casefile, Criminal, the two Binge series). There are the cold case and unsolved shows, including one built around playing cards distributed in prisons (The Deck, Park Predators, MrBallen). There is true crime with comedy in it, which is still where some of the largest audiences sit (My Favorite Murder, Last Podcast On The Left, Murder With My Husband). And there are the survivor-led and victim-centered shows that the last two years pushed into the top 20 (Betrayal Weekly, True Crime with Kendall Rae).
Each card below shows the real cover art, who hosts it, what the show actually is, why it earned its place in 2026, and who it is best for, plus the chart record behind the ranking: how many of the 24 US snapshots it appeared in, its average US rank, and how many countries it charted in on the most recent scrape. Click through to CastFox for the full profile with audience estimates, chart history by country, reviews, and contact details.
The 19 best true crime podcasts of 2026 at a glance
| # | Podcast | Hosted by | Avg US rank | Best rank | Countries charting | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crime Junkie | Audiochuck | 1.1 | #1 | 78 | 528 |
| 2 | Morbid | Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart | 3.8 | #3 | 69 | 884 |
| 3 | Dateline NBC | NBC News | 2.3 | #1 | 65 | 852 |
| 4 | Rotten Mango | Stephanie Soo | 18 | #12 | 78 | 560 |
| 5 | My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark | Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts | 9.1 | #6 | 67 | 1,000 |
| 6 | Casefile True Crime | Casefile Presents | 25.9 | #16 | 74 | 420 |
| 7 | MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories | Ballen Studios | 8.6 | #6 | 52 | 540 |
| 8 | Criminal | Vox Media Podcast Network | 23.4 | #13 | 69 | 403 |
| 9 | 20/20 | ABC News | 7.3 | #4 | 47 | 60 |
| 10 | Betrayal Weekly | iHeartPodcasts | Glass Podcasts | 12.9 | #5 | 52 | 177 |
| 11 | Serialously with Annie Elise | Annie Elise & Audioboom Studios | 10.7 | #5 | 48 | 439 |
| 12 | Last Podcast On The Left | The Last Podcast Network | 16 | #11 | 49 | 1,000 |
| 13 | Murder With My Husband | OH NO MEDIA | 23 | #16 | 53 | 354 |
| 14 | True Crime with Kendall Rae | Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios | 28.5 | #17 | 51 | 301 |
| 15 | The Binge Crimes: What Happened to the Harrisons? | Sony Music Entertainment | 28.6 | #12 | 49 | 154 |
| 16 | Park Predators | Audiochuck | 17.5 | #10 | 35 | 176 |
| 17 | Snapped: Women Who Murder | Oxygen | 16.2 | #11 | 32 | 366 |
| 18 | The Binge Cases: What She Buried | Sony Music Entertainment | 25.8 | #13 | 41 | 190 |
| 19 | The Deck | Audiochuck | 18.5 | #10 | 31 | 250 |
Jump to a Show
- #1. Crime Junkie
- #2. Morbid
- #3. Dateline NBC
- #4. Rotten Mango
- #5. My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
- #6. Casefile True Crime
- #7. MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
- #8. Criminal
- #9. 20/20
- #10. Betrayal Weekly
- #11. Serialously with Annie Elise
- #12. Last Podcast On The Left
- #13. Murder With My Husband
- #14. True Crime with Kendall Rae
- #15. The Binge Crimes: What Happened to the Harrisons?
- #16. Park Predators
- #17. Snapped: Women Who Murder
- #18. The Binge Cases: What She Buried
- #19. The Deck
Rising this month · How we ranked these · How to pick the right show · FAQ
The 19 Best True Crime Podcasts to Listen To in 2026
The Weekly Case Shows That Anchor the Category
#1. Crime Junkie
Hosted by Audiochuck
About this show: Ashley Flowers works through one infamous or underreported case per Monday episode with her best friend Brit Prawat, from cold cases to missing persons to the people pushing for justice. Made by Audiochuck, which Flowers founded, and built for listeners who normally end up researching a case themselves afterward.
Why it made the list in 2026: The most consistent true crime podcast in the world in 2026, and the only show in the category holding the top of the US chart and a presence in every country CastFox tracks. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 1.1, best #1, charting in 78 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Anyone starting with true crime, and anyone who wants a new self-contained case every week.
#2. Morbid
Hosted by Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart
About this show: An autopsy technician and a hairstylist, Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley, cover true crime, creepy history, and anything spooky, with heavy research and a dash of comedy. They call it a lighthearted nightmare, which is an accurate description of the tone.
Why it made the list in 2026: Second only to Crime Junkie on chart consistency in 2026, with one of the deepest back catalogs in the category. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 3.8, best #3, charting in 69 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want the research without the funeral-parlor tone.
#4. Rotten Mango
Hosted by Stephanie Soo
About this show: Stephanie Soo does long deep dives into the psychology of killers and into lesser-known crimes from around the world, and does not leave details out. The international case selection is what separates it from the rest of the weekly shows.
Why it made the list in 2026: One of only two shows on this list charting in all 78 countries CastFox tracks, which is unusual for an independent show with a single host. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 18, best #12, charting in 78 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want cases they have not already heard three versions of.
#11. Serialously with Annie Elise
Hosted by Annie Elise & Audioboom Studios
About this show: Annie Elise, known for the true crime YouTube channel 10 to Life, covers cases the way you would want a friend to fill you in: timelines, red flags, social media history, and the details most shows skip over because you would normally have to go and Google them yourself.
Why it made the list in 2026: A top-15 US average across every 2026 snapshot, built off a YouTube audience that followed her into audio. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 10.7, best #5, charting in 48 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: People who find most true crime shows leave the obvious questions unanswered.
Network Newsmagazines and Broadcast True Crime
#3. Dateline NBC
Hosted by NBC News
About this show: NBC News puts current and classic Dateline episodes into one feed: true crime mysteries, documentaries, and long-form investigations with the reporting resources of a network news division behind them.
Why it made the list in 2026: The highest-charting broadcast show in the category and a consistent US top-three presence all year, decades after the television series started. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 2.3, best #1, charting in 65 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want cases that reached a resolution, told at broadcast pace.
#9. 20/20
Hosted by ABC News
About this show: ABC News turns its newsmagazine into a true crime feed with mysteries, newsmaker interviews, and investigative reports, plus the 20/20 After Show and the True Crime Vault of archive episodes.
Why it made the list in 2026: A US top-10 average across every snapshot in 2026, and one of the largest archives any listener can start on. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 7.3, best #4, charting in 47 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Anyone who grew up on network true crime television and wants the same thing in a feed.
#17. Snapped: Women Who Murder
Hosted by Oxygen
About this show: Oxygen releases the direct audio from the original Snapped television episodes, drawing on 29 seasons of cases about women who killed, with new episodes every Sunday.
Why it made the list in 2026: Proof that a television archive can hold a US top-20 average in podcasting, with a place in every 2026 snapshot. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 16.2, best #11, charting in 32 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Viewers of the series who want the cases on headphones, and anyone who wants short, closed cases.
Documentary Series and Investigative Journalism
#6. Casefile True Crime
Hosted by Casefile Presents
About this show: Casefile Presents makes documentary-style episodes on the principle that fact is scarier than fiction, working through criminal cases in detail and often choosing stories that have not been covered elsewhere. Long, sparse, and heavily researched.
Why it made the list in 2026: The most respected documentary show in the category by reputation, and it still charts in more than 70 countries a decade after launch. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 25.9, best #16, charting in 74 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want a case told slowly, without banter.
#8. Criminal
Hosted by Vox Media Podcast Network
About this show: Phoebe Judge hosts stories about people who have done wrong, been wronged, or ended up somewhere in the middle. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network, named a Best Podcast of 2023 by the New York Times, and the show that proved restraint can carry true crime.
Why it made the list in 2026: A wide international footprint and a place in every 2026 snapshot, unusual for a show that deliberately avoids the genre's louder conventions. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 23.4, best #13, charting in 69 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want the human story rather than the forensic detail.
#15. The Binge Crimes: What Happened to the Harrisons?
Hosted by Sony Music Entertainment
About this show: Amy Dempsey Raven, an investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, spent more than a decade on one house where three people died in under five years while the authorities explained each death away. Sony Music Entertainment releases the season for bingeing rather than weekly.
Why it made the list in 2026: One of the strongest new documentary seasons of 2026, charting in the US top 20 on the strength of a single story. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 28.6, best #12, charting in 49 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want one case investigated to the bottom rather than a new case each week.
#18. The Binge Cases: What She Buried
Hosted by Sony Music Entertainment
About this show: Journalist Justine van der Leun spent years reporting on a story that reached her in a letter from Kwaneta Harris, a woman incarcerated in Texas, and found it more tangled than she expected. Bad checks, scams, and a story that keeps changing shape.
Why it made the list in 2026: A steady US top-25 charter across 2026 and one of the few shows here still climbing in the most recent snapshots. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 25.8, best #13, charting in 41 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who like a story where the reporter's own certainty is part of the subject.
Cold Cases and Unsolved Mysteries
#7. MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Hosted by Ballen Studios
About this show: John Allen, better known as MrBallen, tells true crime and mystery stories in tight narrative form through Ballen Studios. The selection leans toward cases that are strange before they are grisly.
Why it made the list in 2026: A US top-10 average across the whole of 2026, the best showing of any show that came to audio from short-form video. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 8.6, best #6, charting in 52 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want a story well told in one sitting, without a case file.
#16. Park Predators
Hosted by Audiochuck
About this show: Investigative journalist Delia D'Ambra takes cases from national parks and forests around the world, working through archives and remote landscapes to cover both headline crimes and ones that never got attention.
Why it made the list in 2026: A consistent US top-20 average across every 2026 snapshot on one of the tightest premises in the category. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 17.5, best #10, charting in 35 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Hikers, campers, and anyone who wants a setting as much as a case.
#19. The Deck
Hosted by Audiochuck
About this show: Audiochuck built this show around the cold case playing cards that some law enforcement agencies distribute in prisons, each card carrying the face of a missing or murdered person. Each week works one of those cases with investigators and family members.
Why it made the list in 2026: The most purposeful show on this list: every episode is an open case with an active appeal for information, and it has held a top-20 US average all year. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 18.5, best #10, charting in 31 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want true crime that is still trying to change the outcome.
True Crime With Comedy In It
#5. My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Hosted by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
About this show: Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark have shared true crimes and listener hometown stories every week since January 2016, covering serial killers, cold cases, cults, survivor stories, and historical events such as the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Part of the Exactly Right network with iHeartPodcasts.
Why it made the list in 2026: The show that created the true crime comedy format is still a US top-10 average ten years in, with one of the largest episode archives in podcasting. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 9.1, best #6, charting in 67 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want company alongside the case, and the original hometown-story format.
#12. Last Podcast On The Left
Hosted by The Last Podcast Network
About this show: The Last Podcast Network covers the full range of horrors, real and imagined, from cults and serial killers to demons and slashers, in long multi-part series with comedy running through them.
Why it made the list in 2026: A US top-20 average across every 2026 snapshot and one of the most durable audiences in the category. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 16, best #11, charting in 49 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want multi-part deep dives and do not mind jokes in dark places.
#13. Murder With My Husband
Hosted by OH NO MEDIA
About this show: OH NO MEDIA's show has a simple premise that carries it: a wife who loves true crime walks her husband, who does not, through the darkest cases. Three episodes a week.
Why it made the list in 2026: One of the highest-frequency shows on this list and still a US top-25 average in every 2026 snapshot. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 23, best #16, charting in 53 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want a case broken down for someone hearing it for the first time.
Survivors, Victims, and the People Left Behind
#10. Betrayal Weekly
Hosted by iHeartPodcasts | Glass Podcasts
About this show: Andrea Gunning hosts first-hand accounts of broken trust and double lives every Thursday, from the producers of the Betrayal series, with iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts. The focus is the aftermath as much as the deception.
Why it made the list in 2026: A US top-15 average across 2026 and the strongest showing of any survivor-led show in the category. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 12.9, best #5, charting in 52 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners drawn to stories about the people left behind rather than the perpetrators.
#14. True Crime with Kendall Rae
Hosted by Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios
About this show: Kendall Rae brings her YouTube true crime series into podcast form through Mile Higher Media and Audioboom Studios, with an explicitly victim-first approach aimed at raising awareness for families still waiting for answers.
Why it made the list in 2026: A place in all 24 of the 2026 snapshots on a three-episodes-a-week schedule, holding a US top-30 average. Chart record: 24 of 24 US snapshots, average US rank 28.5, best #17, charting in 51 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want advocacy alongside the reporting.
Rising This Month: True Crime Podcasts Climbing the Charts (September 2026)
These are the true crime shows moving up fastest in CastFox rankings. We compare each show's average US chart position across the 3 most recent snapshots (2026-08-18 to 2026-09-08) with the 3 snapshots before that. A show that was outside the top 100 in the prior window is marked as new to the top 100. This section is refreshed every month; the main list above changes more slowly because it rewards consistency.
COERCED: The Devotion & Death of Mica Francis Miller New to the top 100
Hosted by LUNASHARK®. COERCED: The Devotion & Death of Mica Francis Miller new to the US top 100, now averaging #4, with a best US rank of #4 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 26 countries on the latest snapshot.
The Truth About Natalie New to the top 100
Hosted by Audiochuck. The Truth About Natalie new to the US top 100, now averaging #5.7, with a best US rank of #2 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 36 countries on the latest snapshot. Twenty-seven-year-old Natalie Jones vanished after a July 4th lake party in Alabama in 2020. Ninety-three days later, her car and her remains were found in a rural Georgia field. No arrest. No clear answer. No closure...
What Happened to the McStays?
Hosted by ABC News. What Happened to the McStays? moved from an average of #90 to #10.3 (up 79.7 places), with a best US rank of #7 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 39 countries on the latest snapshot.
Crimes Of Reddit with Sabrina Deana-Roga & Alexis Linkletter New to the top 100
Hosted by Crime House. Crimes Of Reddit with Sabrina Deana-Roga & Alexis Linkletter new to the US top 100, now averaging #24.7, with a best US rank of #18 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 47 countries on the latest snapshot. Reddit is the last lawless place on the internet: no names, no rules, and an endless archive of humanity’s most disturbing, bizarre, and deeply human stories. Every Tuesday, co-hosts Sabrina Deana-Roga and Alexis...
Up and Vanished
Hosted by Tenderfoot TV. Up and Vanished moved from an average of #87.5 to #39 (up 48.5 places), with a best US rank of #34 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 27 countries on the latest snapshot. Host Payne Lindsey heads to the edge of the arctic circle to investigate two mysterious disappearances from Nome, Alaska. Up and Vanished investigates mysterious cold case disappearances with each new season of the hit...
How We Ranked These: CastFox Methodology
CastFox scrapes the Apple Podcasts charts every day in 78 countries and stores every position in the top 200 of every genre. For this list we took the 24 2026 snapshots of the US True Crime chart between 2026-02-24 and 2026-09-08, and scored every show that appeared in the top 100 of any of them.
- Consistency (50% of the score): the number of snapshots in which the show appeared in the US top 100. Every show on this list scored 24 out of 24, which is the filter that removes one-week spikes.
- Average US rank (30%): the mean of the show's US chart positions across those snapshots. Lower is better.
- Global reach (20%): the number of tracked countries in which the show was in the genre top 100 on the most recent snapshot. This is what separates a show with a large US following from a show with a global one.
There are no paid placements and no editorial overrides. A few shows on this list would not be our personal picks; they are here because the chart data put them here, and we would rather show you what people are actually listening to than what we think they should be. Chart position is not the same as audience size, so treat the ranking as a measure of sustained popularity rather than a download count. For a deeper look at what chart data can and cannot tell you, read how podcast audience demographics are calculated.
How to Pick the Right True Crime Podcast for You
What are the best true crime podcasts for beginners?
Start with Crime Junkie. It is the most consistent show on this list, the episodes are self-contained, and Ashley Flowers explains a case from the beginning without assuming you already know the names. Dateline NBC is the other easy entry point because the storytelling is broadcast-paced and there are hundreds of episodes to pick from. Avoid the long documentary series until you know whether you like the format.
What are the best true crime podcasts with solved cases?
Dateline NBC, 20/20, and Snapped: Women Who Murder work almost entirely from cases that reached a verdict, which is why they are the most satisfying listens if unresolved endings frustrate you. Criminal and Casefile True Crime also close most of their stories, though Casefile takes far longer to get there.
What are the best true crime podcasts hosted by journalists?
Criminal is hosted by Phoebe Judge and made by the team that helped define reported audio storytelling. Park Predators is hosted by investigative journalist Delia D'Ambra. The Binge Crimes: What Happened to the Harrisons? is reported by Toronto Star investigative reporter Amy Dempsey Raven, and The Binge Cases: What She Buried by journalist Justine van der Leun. Dateline NBC and 20/20 are network news divisions doing the same work at scale.
What are the best unsolved mystery podcasts?
The Deck is built on cold case playing cards that law enforcement agencies distribute in prisons, so every episode is an open case with an active appeal for information. Park Predators works the unsolved end of crimes in national parks and forests, and MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories covers the cases that never resolved into anything tidy.
What are the best true crime podcasts on Spotify?
All 19 shows on this list are free on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, because none of them are platform exclusives in 2026. Our ranking is built from Apple chart data since that is the chart with a public daily record, but the shows themselves are the same wherever you listen. Several offer paid ad-free tiers through SiriusXM Podcasts+, Casefile Premium, Dateline Premium, or Apple subscriptions.
You want a show you can binge in one weekend
The Binge Cases: What She Buried and The Binge Crimes: What Happened to the Harrisons? are built for it: a closed season, released to be listened to in order, no weekly wait. Betrayal Weekly works the same way if you start from the beginning of a season.
Want the next 181 true crime podcasts?
This list is the top 19. The CastFox True Crime chart page shows the top 50 updated daily, and PodcastGPT can find shows on any specific topic across 5M+ podcasts.
See the daily top 50 → Search by topic →Frequently Asked Questions About the Best True Crime Podcasts
What is the most popular true crime podcast in 2026?
Crime Junkie. It appeared in all 24 US True Crime chart snapshots CastFox recorded between February and September 2026, with an average US rank of 1.1, and it charts in all 78 countries we track. Morbid and Dateline NBC are second and third on the same measure.
How is this list ranked?
Each show's score combines three things from CastFox's daily Apple Podcasts chart data: how many of the 24 US True Crime chart snapshots in 2026 it appeared in the top 100 of (50% of the score), its average US rank across those appearances (30%), and how many of 78 tracked countries it charted in on the latest scrape (20%). Consistency is weighted most heavily, so a show that spikes for one week does not outrank one that holds its place all year.
Are these true crime podcasts free?
Yes. Every show here is free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the other major apps. Many also sell an ad-free or early-access tier: SiriusXM Podcasts+ covers Morbid, Rotten Mango, MrBallen, and Last Podcast On The Left, and Casefile, Dateline, and 20/20 each run their own premium feeds.
Which true crime podcasts are gentlest on graphic detail?
Criminal is the most restrained show on this list and often tells stories about people around a crime rather than the crime itself. Dateline NBC and 20/20 are edited to broadcast standards. Rotten Mango and Last Podcast On The Left sit at the other end and do not hold back detail, so start elsewhere if that matters to you.
How do I find a true crime podcast about one specific case?
Use CastFox topic search to search inside episodes rather than show titles, which is how you find the one episode about a case across 114M+ episodes. PodcastGPT Podcast Finder does the same thing at show level if you want a series rather than a single episode.