With over 104 million people listening to podcasts regularly, the podcast industry is growing, and people are loving podcasts more than ever. That’s why you need to start your podcast or share your already created audio files with the world.
However, a lot goes into a successful podcast, and one of them is having a great podcast hosting site that can accelerate your podcast journey. Having a top-notch podcast hosting provider allows you to reach out to more audiences and give you the ability to make your podcast creation a breeze
Finding the right podcast hosting platform can be challenging, with thousands of podcast hosts available. We’ve narrowed your search down to the ten best podcast hosting sites that will equip you with all you need to have a successful, thriving podcast.
In this article, we will be considering the important features that make up a great hosting platform, such as; the key features, Ease of Use, Monetization opportunities, Support, Pricing, and other necessary details that will ensure you get the right podcast hosting services for your podcast. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.
What Is Podcasting
In simple terms, podcasting is creating digital audio files (known as podcast files) that are shared and made available on the internet for individuals to listen to. Usually, the podcast hosting providers work by allowing you to upload your podcasts and then help distribute them to top podcast directories to reach a larger podcast audience. They also provide monetization opportunities to ensure you earn while doing what you love. These podcast platforms offer more features like bandwidth storage, website integrations, analytics, etc., that your website may not have.
Podcasts can range from talk shows, interviews, conversions, or news and can be hosted by an individual or set of individuals.
10 Best Podcast Hosting
Buzzsprout
Best for Speed ($12 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Buzzsprout has easy features to help upload your audio, and you also get the chance to schedule your audio files. Buzzsprout is fully equipped with advanced podcast analytics showing how many plays your podcast has gotten, the countries your audience are listening from, and other helpful insight to improve your podcasts.
| Best For | Podcast Analytics |
| Price | Competitive |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
With over 100 000 users and over 13 years in the industry, Buzzsprout is a great podcast-hosting platform that both beginners and professionals love.
Buzzsprout has easy features to help upload your audio, and you also get the chance to schedule your audio files.
That’s not all! Buzzsprout is fully equipped with advanced podcast analytics showing how many plays your podcast has gotten, the countries your audience are listening from, and other helpful insight to improve your podcasts. Buzzsprout analytics is second to none when it comes to podcast hosting platforms.
It only gets better! Buzzsprout shares your podcast to over 12 major podcast directories such as Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. You don’t have to worry about your podcast not reaching enough audience.
Beginner podcasters are not left behind. Bruzzsprout has extensive detailed resources to help podcasters create a thriving podcast business.
Key Features:
- Episode Chapter Markers
- Automatic Voice Refinement
- Video Podcast Outlines
- Embed on Website
- Quick export from another podcast host
- Transcription
- Podcast Websites
- Ads Automation
Episode Chapter Markers: You can break your podcast into chapters to help your listeners get an overview of what to expect at first glance. Chapter Markers is particularly useful for long podcasts.
Automatic Voice Refinement: The Magic Mastering feature aims to fine-tune your voice to sound more professional in minutes. While this may not be so helpful for professional podcasters, it is a goldmine for those just starting.
Video Podcast Outlines: Buzzsprout comes with a video podcasts highlight feature that allows you to create an important video highlight of your podcast to display on your dashboard or share across social media platforms.
Embed on Website: Buzzsprout has two types of players; a single episode player that embeds a single episode and a playlist player for more than one podcast episode that you can embed directly on any website. It also comes with a simple podcasting WordPress plugin for your website.
Quick export from another podcast host: You already hosted your podcast on another podcast hosting platform and want to move to Buzzsprout? No problem! Buzzsprout offers quick and easy export in minutes.
Transcription: Buzzsprout allows you to attach transcription to each of your podcasts, which is displayed on your podcast’s public website
Podcast Websites: You get access to a free podcast website once you signup for their plans.
Ads Automation: Buzzsprout allows you to add ads to your podcast for promotions.
User Experience:
It only gets better! Buzzsprout shares your podcast to over 12 major podcast directories such as Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. You don’t have to worry about your podcast not reaching enough audience.
Beginner podcasters are not left behind. Bruzzsprout has extensive detailed resources to help podcasters create a thriving podcast business.
Pricing:
Buzzsprout offers four pricing plans:
- Free Plan – The free Plan gives you access to at most 2 hours of upload each month for the next 90 days, unlimited team members, and advanced analytics.
- $12/month – The $12 plan contains all features available in the free plan, 3 hrs upload each month with $4/hour for extra hours, unlimited podcasts, unlimited storage, 250GB Bandwidth, and the ability to import all your podcasts for free.
- $18/month – All features mentioned above, 6hrs each month with $3/hour for extra hours, unlimited podcasts.
- $24/month – All features mentioned above, 12hrs each month with $2/hour for extra hours, unlimited episodes.
What I Like/Dislike | About Buzzsprout :
Likes:
- Free podcast hosting plan
- Multiple podcasts player
- Podcast statistics that give you a detailed view
- Easy interfaces and top-notch customer support
- Monetization marketing tools
- Extensive podcast directories
Dislikes:
- Your audio gets deleted after 90 days on the Free Plan
- Reduced audio quality on Standard Plan.
Podbean
Best for Monetizing ($9 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Podbean allows you to host video podcasts on advanced plans, so you are not limited to just audio podcasts. This hosting platform also comes fully equipped with a mobile app to record and edit your podcasts on the go.
| Best For | Video Podcasts |
| Price | Competitive |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
If you are looking for one of the best podcast hosting services that foster podcast growth and monetization, Podbean is the hosting platform. Having been around for over ten years and with 540 000 loyal users, Podbean offers great, unique features you may not find elsewhere.
Podbean allows you to host video podcasts on advanced plans, so you are not limited to just audio podcasts. This hosting platform also comes fully equipped with a mobile app to record and edit your podcasts on the go.
When it comes to Monetization, Podbean put in a lot of work to ensure that there are different avenues to monetize your podcasts; some of these avenues include an advertising marketplace, premium podcast options, and Patreon support for raising funds.
To the coolest part, You get access to unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth starting from their standard paid plan, so you don’t have to worry about running out of storage.
Here are some key features you should take note of;
Key Features:
- Live Streaming Features
- Robust analytics
- Free podcast website with full customization
- Automatic social and directories distribution
- Monetization features
- SEO Meta-tags
Live Streaming Features: The app and desktop app supports live streaming, where you can go live and interact with your podcast audience. Your audience can send messages or call in.
Robust analytics: Podbean analytics shows daily listeners, download sources, number of downloads, user retention, top 10 episodes, location of your audience, and so much more. Podbean also supports Google Analytics Integration.
Free podcast website with full customization: You get access to a website where you can promote your podcast. The website comes with customization tools to customize parts of the website like the header picture, text, colors, etc. You can also choose from different website themes.
Automatic social and directories distribution: Podbean automatically shares your newest episode to your social media platforms and uploads it to major podcast directories to reach a larger audience
Monetization features: It comes with monetization features like an Advertising marketplace where you can advertise your podcast, PodAds to manage your campaigns, Patreon Program to allow your audience to donate money, and Premium Podcasts allow you to create paid podcasts.
SEO Meta-tags: Free SEO meta-tags plugin to help the audience discover you better.
User Experience:
When it comes to Monetization, Podbean put in a lot of work to ensure that there are different avenues to monetize your podcasts; some of these avenues include an advertising marketplace, premium podcast options, and Patreon support for raising funds.
To the coolest part, You get access to unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth starting from their standard paid plan, so you don’t have to worry about running out of storage.
Pricing:
Podbean offers four pricing plans:
- Basic – $0/month – Free podcast hosting (5 hours total storage space, 100 GB bandwidth) Three episodes per day.
- Unlimited audio ($9/month) – Unlimited audio storage and bandwidth (unlimited episodes, advanced analytics, Podbean premium options, and some monetization options)
- Unlimited plus ($29/month)– All features mentioned above (video and audio podcasts, all monetization options, website customization options)
- Business ($99/month)– All features mentioned above (Podcast networks aspiration, Podbean pro app, advanced security, support features)
What I Like/Dislike | About Podbean:
Likes:
- Really Convenient
- Makes You Money
- Live Streaming and Video Podcasts
Dislikes :
- Limited website customization
- Limited Site Design Options
- Limited SEO Capabilities
Transistor
Best distributing ($19 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Transistor is a growth-oriented podcast host that offers robust analytics focused on tracking and growing your audience. Another key thing that makes transistor stand out is its private podcast feature.
| Best For | Private Podcast |
| Price | Well Priced |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
Transistor is a growth-oriented podcast host that offers robust analytics focused on tracking and growing your audience. Another key thing that makes transistor stand out is its private podcast feature. Transister allows private podcasting that is available to members only. This feature is great for podcast creators that want to share private content with certain persons and those that want to monetize their episodes.
The robust analytics offers a detailed view of your traffic from all platforms, including the average number of downloads, subscribers, trends, and audience statistics. Not just that, you can host multiple episodes making it a great feature for producers that host more than one podcast.
Transistor also aids your podcast distribution by distributing it on popular podcast hosts like Apple. It also comes with WordPress Integration to embed its podcast player on the website hosting platform you are using.
Key Features:
- Multiple podcast hosting
- Easy to Use Interface
- Automatic YouTube Upload
- Podcast distribution to major sites
- Integration with email marketing tools
Multiple podcast hosting: You can host as many podcasts as you want. However, their number of downloads is capped at 15 000, and you will need a Professional plan to expand that number.
Easy to Use Interface: Transistor put a lot of effort into ensuring their interface is easy to use. You can upload and schedule your podcast episodes without even sweating.
Automatic YouTube Upload: Transistor uploads your podcast to your YouTube channel automatically, so you have one less thing to worry about
Podcast distribution to major sites: Your podcasts are automatically distributed to major directories.
Integration with email marketing tools: Transistor allows you to keep in touch with your listeners by integrating Convert kit, MailChimp, HubSpot, etc., which notifies listeners of every important update.
User Experience:
The robust analytics offers a detailed view of your traffic from all platforms, including the average number of downloads, subscribers, trends, and audience statistics. Not just that, you can host multiple episodes making it a great feature for producers that host more than one podcast.
Transistor also aids your podcast distribution by distributing it on popular podcast hosts like Apple. It also comes with WordPress Integration to embed its podcast player on the website hosting platform you are using.
Pricing:
Transistor offers three pricing plans:
- Starter ($19/month) – Offers unlimited episode upload (unlimited audio storage, two additional team members) 50 private subscribers, 15 000 downloads, and advanced statistics..
- Professional ($49/month) – 5 additional team members (500 private subscribers, 75 000 downloads).
- Business ($99/month) – 10 additional team members (3000 private subscribers, 200 000 downloads)
What I Like/Dislike |About Transistor:
Likes:
- Host multiple shows
- Easy and simple user interface
- Builds branded website for your podcast
- Private podcasts features for large companies
- Robust analytics
- Easy distribution across platforms
Dislikes:
- No free plan
- The prices may not be beginner-friendly
- Having multiple shows eats up your downloads
Castos
Best for WordPress($19 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Castos has a robust plugin for WordPress site owners, unlike other podcast hosting companies. This podcasting platform makes it easy for WordPress site owners to create and integrate podcasts into their sites.
| Best For | WordPress Plugin |
| Price | Good Price |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
Castos has a robust plugin for WordPress site owners, unlike other podcast hosting companies. This podcasting platform makes it easy for WordPress site owners to create and integrate podcasts into their sites. However, if you are not interested in creating a WP website, Castos comes with a podcast website when you register.
Castos comes with automatic transcription for a small fee, so you don’t have to worry about spending hours transcribing your podcasts. Another notable feature of Castos is its private podcasting feature. You can manage your members-only contact information directly from the Castos dashboard, so you don’t have to worry about sharing a RSS link that may later leak with your subscribers. It also comes with detailed analytics to get an insight into how your episodes perform.
Key Features:
- Customizable Podcasts website
- Automated Transcripts
- Customizable player
- Manage your podcast from your WordPress Dashboard
- Private Podcasting
Customizable Podcasts website: Castos comes with a customizable website that you can customize to look just like your WordPress website
Automated Transcripts: Never have to worry about transcription again. Castos takes care of it.
Customizable player: You can embed a Castos player into your WordPress site and get your listeners to listen directly to your podcast without leaving your site.
Manage your podcast from your WordPress Dashboard: You can easily edit and add podcasts from your WordPress dashboard.
Private Podcasting: Castos allows you to set up private podcasts limited to members-only for secure content.
User Experience:
Castos comes with automatic transcription for a small fee, so you don’t have to worry about spending hours transcribing your podcasts. Another notable feature of Castos is its private podcasting feature. You can manage your members-only contact information directly from the Castos dashboard, so you don’t have to worry about sharing a RSS link that may later leak with your subscribers. It also comes with detailed analytics to get an insight into how your episodes perform.
Pricing:
Castos offers four pricing plans:
- Starter ($19/month) – Unlimited storage (up to 100 private subscribers, 20 000 downloads per month) unlimited podcast episodes and podcasts..
- Growth ($49/month) – Video Republishing to YouTube (Headliner Audiogram integration, 250 private subscribers) 75 000 downloads per month.
- Pro ($99/month)– Video file hosting (1Advanced and top-notch analytics, 500 private subscribers) 200 000 downloads per month
- Castos Premium ($499/month)– Custom contracts and Invoices (Single Sign-on, dedicated account manager) increased limits.
What I Like/Dislike | About Castos:
Likes:
- Unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth
- YouTube Republishing
- Automatic distributions to directories such as Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Dislikes:
- Pricier plans
Blubrry
Best for Powerpress($10 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Blubrry makes it to our top 10 paid and free podcast hosting platforms. Blubrry has been around for decades and is considered a veteran in podcast hosting. Blubrry is particularly known for its WordPress plugin, Powerpress.
| Best For | Great Powerpress Plugin |
| Price | Paid and free |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
Blubrry makes it to our top 10 paid and free podcast hosting platforms. Blubrry has been around for decades and is considered a veteran in podcast hosting. Blubrry is particularly known for its WordPress plugin, Powerpress. The Powerpress plugin is one of the best WordPress podcast plugins that makes uploading and hosting your podcast on your site a breeze. This hosting platform also gives you a free WordPress website once you subscribe to any of their plans. And if you are not interested in a full-blown website, you are gifted a free landing page for your podcast making it a win-win situation
Another important feature blueberry is known for is its unlimited bandwidth and monetization features. Let’s look at its key features to understand better what Blubrry offers.
Key Features:
- Free plugin and website
- Private Podcasting
- Blubrry Pro Production Services
- Robust Podcast Analytics
- No-Fault Podcast Hosting
Free plugin and website: Once you signup with Blubrry, you get a free WordPress website to host your podcast and Powerpress; their free plugin to carry out every podcast-related function.
Private Podcasting: Blubrry offers premium features for podcasters that want to keep their audio files secure and limited to a limited number of people.
Blubrry Pro Production Services: If you are a podcaster looking for quality sound and professional delivery, or you are too busy and won’t mind investing a few dollars in getting your podcast edited, produced with the highest sound quality, and uploaded for you, then you will benefit from the Blubrry Pro Production Services.
Robust Podcast Analytics: Bluebrry shows you the number of plays and downloads in different time ranges, the devices used to listen to your podcast, your listeners’ countries, and every other insight needed to improve your podcast.
No-Fault Podcast Hosting: Blubrry doesn’t charge you even if you go over your monthly storage up to 25%
User Experience:
This hosting platform also gives you a free WordPress website once you subscribe to any of their plans. And if you are not interested in a full-blown website, you are gifted a free landing page for your podcast making it a win-win situation
Another important feature blueberry is known for is its unlimited bandwidth and monetization features. Let’s look at its key features to understand better what Blubrry offers.
Pricing:
Blubrry offers three pricing plans:
- Standard Plan ($10/month)– 125MB audio storage (free WordPress site, unlimited downloads) standard analytics.
- Advanced plan ($17/month)– ($400MB storage and all features in the standard plan).
- Pro Plan ($100/month)– Unlimited storage (tech support, dynamic Ad insertion, unlimited team account sharing, and advanced statistics).
What I Like/Dislike | About Blubrry:
Likes:
- Functional podcast player
- No-fault podcast hosting
- Automatic podcast feed upload on directories like apple podcasts and google podcasts.
- Free WordPress podcast website
Dislikes:
- Doesn’t come with a free podcast host plan
- Advanced analytics comes with higher-paid plans
- It is costlier compared to the features it offers
- The user interface is quite outdated
Captivate
Best for easy to use ($17 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Captivate’s strength is its laser focus on growth and results, making it a great choice for beginner podcasters. Captivate makes navigation super easy with its easy-to-use user interface.
| Best For | Great for Beginners |
| Price | Medium Priced |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
Captivate’s strength is its laser focus on growth and results, making it a great choice for beginner podcasters. Captivate makes navigation super easy with its easy-to-use user interface. Another notable thing is its growth-oriented features targeted at growing your podcasts, such as the call-to-action buttons, email opt-in, and so much more. We will get into that in the key features section.
What makes Captivate different and unique from other podcast hosting platforms is its zero interference in audio. Captivate doesn’t make any changes to your files. Therefore, be rest assured that your audience listens and sees the same information. This is particularly helpful for audio dramas and presenters. Your file name, bitrates, RSS feed, and metadata stay the same.
Key Features:
- Responsive Website
- WordPress plugin
- Website Integration
- Robust Statistics
- Instant Directories upload
- Practical Growth Features
Responsive Website: Most podcast websites are basic and lack useful functionality, not Captivate websites. You get a fully responsive website with a functional search bar to help users navigate and find the specific podcast they are interested in. The website also has filters that arrange podcasts to start from the first or latest podcast.
WordPress plugin: It comes with a WordPress plugin called Captivate Sync that allows you to link your website to your captivate account so that changes made on either account will be reflected.
Website Integration: You get access to useful website add-ons such as Alitu, where you can edit and create your podcasts.
Robust Statistics: Get insight into average downloads per episode in different days range, listeners; locations, and the medium being used to listen to your podcasts with Captivate Analytical tools
Instant Directories upload: Captivate instantly uploads your RSS Feed to all important directories like Spotify. However, you will have to upload your podcast to Apple podcasts separately, but you can do that on your Captivate dashboard, so it is a win-win situation.
Practical Growth Features: Captivate is a growth-oriented podcast hosting platform. They provide features like Call to Action that allow you to create shareable links to anything you can set to appear on the podcast player. These can be links to your Patreon support page or downloadable resources. You can also create unique links for every episode.
The trackable links feature allows you to create links for affiliates and sponsorship with trackable analytics to determine how these links perform.
The email opt-in feature lets you embed subscribers’ email directly on Captivate, while the sponsorship kit pdf allows you to highlight download numbers and recent episodes.
Captivate growth features are constantly evolving, and I am sure they will add more growth features as the year goes by.
User Experience:
What makes Captivate different and unique from other podcast hosting platforms is its zero interference in audio. Captivate doesn’t make any changes to your files.
Therefore, be rest assured that your audience listens and sees the same information. This is particularly helpful for audio dramas and presenters. Your file name, bitrates, RSS feed, and metadata stay the same.
Pricing:
Captivate offers three pricing plans:
- Personal ($17/month) – (12 000 downloads per month, unlimited bandwidth).
- Professional ($44/month) – (60 000 downloads per month, , Unlimited).
- Business ($90/month) – (150 000 downloads per month).
What I Like/Dislike | About Captivate:
Likes:
- Private podcast option
- Robust growth features
- Simple interface
- Responsive website
- Unlimited bandwidth, storage, and uploads
- Embed Podcast Player to your website
Dislikes:
- The number of downloads can be insufficient when you have multiple shows.
RSS.com
Best for sophisticated ($5 per month).
Stuarts Take
RSS Media host offers everything you need to have a thriving podcast career. It has a necessary sophisticated tool that makes podcast production simple and monetization seamless.
| Best For | Sophistication |
| Price | Mixed |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
RSS Media host offers everything you need to have a thriving podcast career. It has a necessary sophisticated tool that makes podcast production simple and monetization seamless.
Let’s start with the user interface. RSS interface is simple and straight to the point to help you get started in minutes. All you need to do is follow each set-up instruction. You will successfully create your account and be ready to make your first podcast episode. You can create your first podcast episode for free using RSS, but consequent episodes will require you to subscribe to one of their plans.
Talking about plans, RSS offers one of the most affordable plans to get started in your podcasting journey, offering as low as $5/month for students and non-governmental organizations. Let’s take a look at the key features you stand to enjoy.
Key Features:
- Episode Scheduling
- Chapter Markers
- Monetization features
- Easy host to host transfer
- Allows you to customize your RSS feed address
- Custom-embed players
- Public website for your podcast
- One-time submission to top distributors
- Cross-platform analytics
Episode Scheduling: Don’t want to publish your podcast at the moment? Don’t worry; RSS will sort that out for you. You can schedule your podcast episode to publish at a certain time.
Chapter Markers: For long episodes, you can use chapter markers to mark each clip segment to help viewers know what to expect.
Monetization features: RSS helps you monetize your podcasts by giving you access to sponsorship opportunities in partnership with Popcorn. If you don’t want to have sponsorship ads in your podcast, RSS provides a donation button that can enable your audience to send in their donations.
Easy host to host transfer: It provides a seamless transfer in case you want to transfer from a podcast host to RSS.
Allows you to customize your RSS feed address: You can customize your RSS feed address to improve your discovery further.
Custom-embed players: You get the chance to add custom players to different platforms.
Public website for your podcast; You get to create your own website where you can host your podcasts and grow your audience.
One-time submission to top distributors: Get your podcast submitted to top distributors, including Spotify.
Cross-platform analytics: RSS comes fully equipped with a robust analytics system that shows data like peak time, number of downloads, geo-location of listeners, platforms, and devices.
User Experience:
Let’s start with the user interface. RSS interface is simple and straight to the point to help you get started in minutes. All you need to do is follow each set-up instruction. You will successfully create your account and be ready to make your first podcast episode. You can create your first podcast episode for free using RSS, but consequent episodes will require you to subscribe to one of their plans.
Talking about plans, RSS offers one of the most affordable plans to get started in your podcasting journey, offering as low as $5/month for students and non-governmental organizations. Let’s take a look at the key features you stand to enjoy.
Pricing:
RSS.com offers three pricing plans:
- Students & NGOs ($4.99/month) – (Unlimited episodes and duration, cross-platform analytics).
- All in one podcasting ($8.25/month) – (All features above, Monetization options).
- Pro & Enterprise (Quote-based) – (Multiple podcasts, Dynamic Ad insertion, custom analytics report, 24/7 customer service.).
What I Like/Dislike | About RSS.com:
Likes:
- Affordable prices
- Chapter markers
- Cross-platform analytics
Dislikes:
- The free edition is very limited
- Tracking subscribers can be quite difficult.
Spreaker
Best for monetize ($8 per month).
Stuart’s Take
If you want to make money while creating great content, Spreaker is the right hosting space for your podcast. This one-stop-shop podcast hosting platform gives you everything you need to create, distribute and monetize your podcasts.
| Best For | One-Stop-Shop |
| Price | Easy Monetisation |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
If you want to make money while creating great content, Spreaker is the right hosting space for your podcast. This one-stop-shop podcast hosting platform gives you everything you need to create, distribute and monetize your podcasts.
Speaker comes with a mobile app compatible with Android and ios to enable you to create and fine-tune your podcasts wherever you are. You also get detailed statistics on how your podcasts perform and practical monetization features.
Key Features:
- Dynamic Ad Insertion
- Multiple Shows
- Live podcasting feature
- Customizable RSS feed
- Instant podcast distribution
Dynamic Ad Insertion: You can monetize your podcast in no time with Spreaker’s dynamic Ad insertion. They insert sponsorship ads in different parts of your podcast to ensure you earn well.
Multiple Shows: you can create more than one on Spreaker without worrying if one will affect the other
Live podcasting feature: The live podcasting feature allows you to create a live podcast where you can interact with your listeners.
Customizable RSS feed: Spreaker allows you to customize your RSS feed for a better discovery
Instant podcast distribution: With one push of a button, you can send your podcast to top directorates and reach a larger audience of podcast listeners.
User Experience:
If you want to make money while creating great content, Spreaker is the right hosting space for your podcast. This one-stop-shop podcast hosting platform gives you everything you need to create, distribute and monetize your podcasts.
Speaker comes with a mobile app compatible with Android and ios to enable you to create and fine-tune your podcasts wherever you are. You also get detailed statistics on how your podcasts perform and practical monetization features.
Pricing:
Spreaker offers three pricing plans:
- Free Speech ($0/month) – With the free plan, you can upload ten episodes and get up to 6 months of statistics.
- On-Air Talent ($8/month) – (Ads monetization, auto-upload to major directories, 100 hours of storage) RSS feed customization.
- Broadcaster ($20/month) – (All features above, 500 hours of storage).
- Anchorman ($50/month) – (All above features, full statistics, 1500 hours of storage).
- Publisher ($120/month) – (All the above features, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth).
What I Like/Dislike | About spreaker:
Likes:
- ou get your web page on Spreaker.
- You can start live streams and record podcasts on the go
- Free lifetime plan
Dislikes:
- Customer service needs more improvement.
Audioboom
Best for advertisers ($9 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Audioboom is particularly known for its ability to attract top advertisers and its strong distribution partner base. So, this is a good podcast hosting company for beginners and professionals serious about monetizing their podcasts.
| Best For | Affordability |
| Price | Good |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Yes |
Audioboom is particularly known for its ability to attract top advertisers and its strong distribution partner base. So, this is a good podcast hosting company for beginners and professionals serious about monetizing their podcasts.
Just like every other podcast hosting platform on this list, Audioboom comes with the necessary features to guarantee success in your podcast journey. However, its advertisement strength makes it stand out from other podcast hosts.
Key Features:
- Robust Statistics
- Dynamic Ad insertion
- Advertisement marketplace and Campaigns
- Listing into Podcast Directories
- Embedded Player
Robust Statistics: Audioboom provides podcasters with intuitive insight to help podcasters discover what works and doesn’t.
Dynamic Ad insertion: One way to monetize your podcasts is through ad insertion. AudioBoom is known to attract the highest-paying advertisers and sponsorship, so you have nothing to worry about. Also, each ad is tailored to your podcast’s niche to avoid contradictions.
Advertisement marketplace and Campaigns: Put your podcast out there with their marketplace feature. The campaign option allows you to create specific campaigns targeting location, genre, keywords, and more.
Listing into Podcast Directories: Audioboom automatically lists your podcast to top directories, including Spotify, Iheart, and much more.
Embedded Player: Audioboom has embedded players that you can embed into your social media handles, blogs or websites. The player comes with all the necessary features to make listening to your podcast seamless.
User Experience:
Audioboom is particularly known for its ability to attract top advertisers and its strong distribution partner base. So, this is a good podcast hosting company for beginners and professionals serious about monetizing their podcasts.
Just like every other podcast hosting platform on this list, Audioboom comes with the necessary features to guarantee success in your podcast journey. However, its advertisement strength makes it stand out from other podcast hosts.
Pricing:
Audioboom offers two pricing plans:
- Podcaster ($9.99/month) – (Unlimited uploads, 10 000 plays).
- Podcast Pro (Quote-based) – (unlimited plays, unlimited uploads, and other benefits).
What I Like/Dislike | About Audioboom:
Likes:
- Strong sponsorship partners make monetization easier for good podcasts
- Allows multiple shows on the same platforms
- Tracks your promo codes
- Mid-roll ads insertion
- Free podcast websites
Dislikes:
- You can’t qualify for Podcast Pro until you’ve exceeded the 10 000 plays
- There’s no mobile app
Simplecast
Best for podcasting ($15 per month).
Stuart’s Take
As the name implies, Simplecast makes podcasting simple and enjoyable for its users. Every one of their features is simplified to help you get the best out of your podcast career. However, the simplicity of their features doesn’t mean they are ineffective; you get access to robust features that you will fall in love with.
| Best For | Overall Web Hosting |
| Price | Overall Web Hosting |
| Annual Discount | Overall Web Hosting |
| Promotion | Overall Web Hosting |
As the name implies, Simplecast makes podcasting simple and enjoyable for its users. Every one of their features is simplified to help you get the best out of your podcast career. However, the simplicity of their features doesn’t mean they are ineffective; you get access to robust features that you will fall in love with.
A notable feature that Simplecast offer is the Unique Listener feature which cancels out multiple views from the same device to allow you to get the exact statistics of the unique downloads and streams your podcast got.
Key Features:
- Good Visual Representation of Statistics
- Social Media Sharing Clips
- Episode Comparison feature
- Different player options
- Podcast Website
Good Visual Representation of Statistics: Simplecast makes it easy for users to understand their statistics with clean, simple visuals that allow you to get an insight into how your podcasts are doing. These statistics are served based on IAB guidelines, so you have nothing to worry about.
Social Media Sharing Clips: The Recast tool allows you to create short audio clips from your podcast episodes that you can share on social media platforms. The Recast tool is also available to your listeners to give them the chance to share their favorite part of your show on their social handles.
Episode Comparison feature: Alongside its detailed analytics, the episode comparison feature allows you to compare the performance of a particular episode against another in a graphical form. This gives you deeper insight into how the episodes are performing.
Different player options: You get access to different player options and color customization on higher plans
Podcast Website: You get a free website to host podcast episodes that your listeners will love.
User Experience:
As the name implies, Simplecast makes podcasting simple and enjoyable for its users. Every one of their features is simplified to help you get the best out of your podcast career. However, the simplicity of their features doesn’t mean they are ineffective; you get access to robust features that you will fall in love with.
A notable feature that Simplecast offer is the Unique Listener feature which cancels out multiple views from the same device to allow you to get the exact statistics of the unique downloads and streams your podcast got.
Pricing:
Simplecast offers three pricing plans:
- Basic ($15/month) – (Unlimited storage and upload, 20 000 downloads per month, 2 team members’ seat).
- Essential ($35/month) – (4 team members’ seats, 50 000 downloads, compare analytics across two episodes,).
- Growth ($85/month) – (9 team members seat, 120 000 downloads, sophisticated analytics).
What I Like/Dislike | About Simplecast:
Likes:
- Offers custom domains
- Analytics is more advanced
- Has an excellent customer care support
Dislikes:
- The uptime feature has a rating of 75%, which is below average
- The RSS feed has a rating of 53%, again below average
- Customer support
- Simplecast has a world-class support team available 24/7
Secondline
Best for podcast website ($69 per month).
Stuart’s Take
Sometimes, the free website that comes with hosting sites is too basic and inadequate to give you the optimum features required to run a booming podcast career. That’s where Secondline comes in – a comprehensive podcast theme designed for WordPress. Secondline has all the necessary features that you will ever need in a podcast website. Let’s take a look at it.
| Best For | Free Hosting |
| Price | Podcast Theme |
| Annual Discount | Yes |
| Promotion | Overall Web Hosting |
Sometimes, the free website that comes with hosting sites is too basic and inadequate to give you the optimum features required to run a booming podcast career. That’s where Secondline comes in – a comprehensive podcast theme designed for WordPress. Secondline has all the necessary features that you will ever need in a podcast website. Let’s take a look at it.
Key Features:
- Great Player
- Episode Archives
- Filtering episodes
Great Player: The most important part of a podcast website should be the player. The player gives you access to the podcast audio, and it is important that the player have all the necessary features that will give your listener that seamless experience. Secondline themes come with full screen and adjustable players that fit any occasion. It has necessary buttons like the play, download, and share buttons. It also offers integration with third-party players in case you want a more sophisticated player for your podcast website.
Episode Archives: Second line offers robust episode navigation that allows your audience to move through your podcasts and discover the ones they would love to listen to
Filtering episodes: If you have a large category of podcasts, your audience can use this feature by clicking the category they want to listen to. No more scrolling through hundreds of podcasts!
User Experience:
Sometimes, the free website that comes with hosting sites is too basic and inadequate to give you the optimum features required to run a booming podcast career. That’s where Secondline comes in – a comprehensive podcast theme designed for WordPress. Secondline has all the necessary features that you will ever need in a podcast website. Let’s take a look at it.
Pricing:
Secondline offers three pricing plans:
- Single Podcast Theme ($69) – (1 You get one WordPress theme of your choice) .
- Podcast Theme Bundle ($139) – (1You get access to all Secondline podcast themes).
- Lifetime Access ($380) – (Unlimited access to all secondline podcast themes).
What I Like/Dislike | About Secondline:
Likes:
Dislikes:
What is the Best Free Podcast Hosting Service
We’ve looked at the top ten best podcast hosting platforms we carefully curated to give you the best in your podcast career. However, we will be looking at the top two extremely suitable platforms for beginners and professionals, no matter your budget.
The best podcast hosting service, in our opinion, is
Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout offers one of the best features you will need at the beginning of your podcast career. Their free plan offers the most robust features compared to other podcast hosting platforms. You get access to 2 hours of podcasts every month with good analytical insight to help you know what to improve. This is particularly helpful if you are just starting. Buzzsprout allows you to test the waters without lacking any important feature that will help you scale your podcast.
You can create your podcasts, upload them to the major directories and iterate as you go. So, I will highly recommend Buzzsprout as my best podcast hosting platform.
Even with their paid plans, you get everything you need to keep succeeding.
Podbean
Our second runner-up in the best podcast hosting platforms you can start with is Podbean. Podbean offers unique features that you can get at affordable prices. Its free plan offers up to 5 hours, 100GB bandwidth, and three daily episodes. That is enough to start your podcasting career if you are a beginner.
Not just that, you have access to unique features like audio clips, video podcasts, SEO-meta tags, live stream features, and good monetization features. Podbean is truly a growth-oriented hosting platform for podcasters.
What Equipment Do You Need To Podcast
Starting a podcast needs some basic equipment, but it can be intimidating when you see podcasters having expensive and sophisticated equipment. As a beginner, you may not have enough money to get all the outrageous equipment listed on the internet.
So, does that mean you can’t start podcasting? Not at all.
A good, reliable mic is the major equipment to start your podcast channel. Getting a reliable mic guarantees clear audio and quality sound output. So, ensure you invest in a quality mic even if you are operating on a tight budget.
Due to the editing that audio clips usually require, we recommend a good laptop for a start.
As you progress in your podcasting career, you can start investing in
Foam Acoustic Panels: To block out distracting noise and ensure still quietness
Noise Cancelling HEADPHONES: It allows you to concentrate and cancel out background noise
A mixer or recording software: To get the best out of your podcast, having a mixer to add songs and all will be a good investment. Alternatively, going for premium recording software can be a great addition.
How To Promote Your Podcast
Half of your podcast problems are solved now that you’ve gotten the best podcast hosting site. However, it would help if you still found ways to promote your podcast and increase your listening base, leading to more monetization of your podcast.
Submit your podcast to podcast directories
A podcatcher is an app dedicated to playing podcasts, and one of the popular ones is the apple podcasts. Make sure your podcasts are always listed in the major aggregators so that you can reach more audiences. However, if you purchase any hosting platforms listed here, your podcasts are listed automatically.
Promote on Social Media in different ways
Social Media is the surest way to create awareness. Never let your social media game down. Always make sure you strategically publicize your podcast on your social media handles in different creative ways.
Encourage listeners to leave reviews and testimonials.
Statistics show that over 45% will buy a product based on reviews. That shows how important reviews are. You can create a questionnaire to get their reviews or devise creative ways to allow your listeners to drop their testimonials and reviews. After doing this, don’t forget to share it on your social media and podcast website.
Partner with other podcasters
Another way to promote your podcast is to host and be a guest with other podcasters. Doing this will allow you to publicize your podcast and help you leverage your guest’s existing audience. Who knows? Some of your guest’s audience may be looking for what your podcast offers.
Let’s Wrap Things Up
Starting your podcasting career doesn’t need to be a pain in the ass. Once your podcast ideas are ready, you need one of the best podcast hosting platforms to get started. Fortunately, we’ve looked at the best paid and free podcasting platforms to start your podcast. We hope you found the perfect podcast host for your podcast!