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Best Podcast Hosting Sites: 2024 Top 10 Platforms Compared

Best Podcast Hosting

If you’re looking to start a podcast, an excellent podcast hosting service is crucial for your success. A podcast hosting platform can help you store your files and create a podcast feed. Like starting a website, you need a web host, and with any new podcast, you need the best hosting.

We have researched and used over a hundred podcast hosting platforms to offer the best options based on price, features, storage, and more.

1. Buzzsprout (Editor’s Choice)

Buzzsprout has one of the best podcast-hosting dashboards to allow you to spend more time on your content.

Buzzsprout Homepage

Buzzsprout features magic mastering for perfect sound, built-in transcription, an affiliate marketing integration tool, an embedded player, a text editor to create show notes, and more. They also make your podcast mobile-friendly, give you great real-time statistics, and an option to create video highlights on the episode page. This service provides features to add up-to-date information or ads to all existing podcast episodes.  

Buzzsprout offers a free plan; however, the episodes are removed after 90 days. Their base plan starts at just $12 a month and offers the ability to upload three hours of new content monthly.

In our experience, Buzzsprout is one of the most professional-looking podcast players with an enhanced ability for quality audio production.

Pros
  • Easy to embed the podcast player into your website
  • Unlimited space to host your audio files
  • Quality marketing tools
  • Magic mastering for great audio
Cons
  • No unlimited plans

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 5.0
  • Support: 5.0
  • Disk space: 5.0
  • Security: 5.0
  • Pricing: 5.0

 

2. Libsyn

Libsyn is among the oldest podcast hosting platforms that have existed since 2004 and have helped thousands of podcast hosts. It offers a simple dashboard with publishing, listing, uploading, and scheduling options.

Libsyn Homepage

Libsyn allows your podcast to be downloaded anywhere that podcasts can be found, and you can publish any time of the day and even set publish date in the future.

Libsyn plans start at $5 per month, which offers three hours of uploads per month. However, unlike the best podcast hosting platforms, Libsyn only offers essential features with its plans, and all other features need to be purchased as add-ons. They provide programs for podcast networks and professional podcast hosts.

In our experience, Libsyn offers reliable podcast hosting; however, their plans lack some advanced features that other podcast hosting providers include in their plans.

Pros
  • Great statistics
  • Excellent customer support
  • Enterprise tools for professionals
Cons
  • Only essential tools included in base plans

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.9
  • Support: 4.9
  • Disk space: 4.9
  • Security: 4.9
  • Pricing: 4.9

 

3. RSS.com

RSS is also an old name in the podcast industry, getting its start in 2005. RSS offers many podcast tools, including episode scheduling, social media integration, unlimited storage, and bandwidth.

RSS.com

You can get your private podcasts up and running in minutes. RSS has partnerships with various companies to help boost its podcast audience. They also offer unlimited podcasts and detailed data to make your podcasts as engaging as possible. RSS provides automatic integration with Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. 

This hosting service offers multiple ways to monetize your podcast through sponsorship opportunities or a donation button. The custom-embedded players are compatible with any platform. Their most-bought plan is $12.99 a month and includes unlimited podcasts, a personalized RSS feed, a free website, and unlimited bandwidth [1].

In our experience, RSS makes integrating your podcast simple and allows you to create a podcast website to encourage audience growth, all at an affordable price.

Pros
  • Easy to integrate with social media
  • Simple to collect stats on listeners
  • Contacting your listeners is simple
Cons
  • They offer free hosting, but it is very limited

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.9
  • Support: 4.8
  • Disk space: 4.9
  • Security: 4.8
  • Pricing: 4.8

 

4. Podbean

Podbean has helped over 540,000 podcast hosts and has been in the industry for ten years. Creating a podcast is easy; they even allow you to import existing files.

PodBean Homepage

They also allow you to choose your own podcast logo and change the colors to reflect your brand. Podbean has a stats screen that keeps you up to date with your podcast performance. They provide simple integration with Patreon, automatic uploads to YouTube and social media, and more. Their basic plan is free and includes five hours of storage and 100 GB per month. Podbean also offers a premium plan for just $9 a month for unlimited bandwidth and storage, an ad marketplace, and advanced design elements. 

In our experience, Podbean is a simple and affordable podcast hosting provider.

Pros
  • Fast downloads with zero downtime
  • Efficiently distribute multiple podcasts to social media
  • Upload video podcasts in minutes
Cons
  • Image dimension isn’t the best for album art

 

Our rating
  • Product: 4.8
  • Support: 4.7
  • Disk space: 4.8
  • Security: 4.7
  • Pricing: 4.8

 

5. Podcastics

Podcastics is a free podcast hosting platform that offers great features. They provide affordable options starting at just $8 a month. Unlike other podcast hosting services, Podcastics offers a one-month free trial to try their services without risk.

Podcastics Homepage

Their features include instant integration from Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and other platforms, unlimited episodes, an RSS feed, podcast websites, many options to monetize your podcast, and options to manage listeners.

Podcastics also offers the ability to schedule your episodes, offers smart links, surveys, QR codes, editing tools, and live streaming.

In our experience, Podcastics is one of the best podcast hosting platforms and includes the most features in their free plan compared to other podcast hosting services.

Pros
  • Excellent features with a free plan
  • Affordable podcast hosting services
  • Easy-to-use platform
Cons
  • You need to choose a paid plan to get features such as an embedded player, statistics, reviews, and ratings.

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.7
  • Support: 4.7
  • Disk space: 4.7
  • Security: 4.7
  • Pricing: 4.7

 

6. Transistor

Transistor is among the newest podcast hosting providers that are great for beginners and professionals. This service allows the podcast host to host unlimited podcasts as well as private podcasts and has all the usual podcast tools to upload and publish your podcasts.

Transistor Homepage

They also allow you to integrate with YouTube, invite more than one team member to manage your podcast, integrate with email providers, offer a podcast website builder, and more.

Their plans start at $19 per month for 20,000 downloads per month, and they offer a 14-day free trial to try their podcast hosting service risk-free.

Pros
  • 14-day free trial
  • Unlimited storage
  • Host multiple podcasts
Cons
  • No audio enhancement options

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.7
  • Support: 4.6
  • Disk space: 4.6
  • Security: 4.6
  • Pricing: 4.6

 

7. Spreaker

Spreaker is a podcast hosting service that offers more tools than most other services. It has tools for offline recording, production, and even publishing.

Spreaker Homepage

They also offer ad insertion and live podcasting options with interaction options in the chat box. They also offer a free plan to test out their podcast hosting service and base packages starting at $7 per month for 100 hours of audio and basic listener stats. You can host as many podcasts as you want within the 100-hour limit. 

In our experience, Spreaker offers reliable podcast hosting for a reasonable price with valuable tools.

Pros
  • All in one solution
  • Simple to use
  • Affordable
Cons
  • No video podcasting

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.6
  • Support: 4.5
  • Disk space: 4.5
  • Security: 4.5
  • Pricing: 4.6

 

8. Captivate

Captivate is a helpful podcast hosting service for monetizing a successful podcast. They allow you to host unlimited shows with no upload or storage limit.

Captivate Homepage

Captivate also offers podcast analytics to help track your listeners, a call-to-action feature for monetization, and the ability to add your Patreon. With Captivate, you can also do private podcasting for members only. 

Every Captivate plan includes all the features of the podcast hosting provider, but each plan has a different number of allowable downloads. Their plans start at $19 a month, which allows 12,00 downloads per month.

In our experience, Captivate is a great option to start your podcast and provides opportunities to monetize and grow your podcast websites.

Pros
  • User-friendly dashboard
  • Unlimited Hosting
  • Affordable
Cons
  • No free plan

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.4
  • Support: 4.4
  • Disk space: 4.4
  • Security: 4.4
  • Pricing: 4.4

 

9. RedCircle

If you are a podcast host looking to reach a bigger audience and begin to monetize your podcast, Red Circle is an excellent option. You can use their ad platform to collect donations and sell member subscriptions.

RedCircle Homepage

Red Circle allows you to customize your content, ultimately making it one of the best podcast hosting services. There is no limit on when or to who you release your content. Red Circle provides an all-in-one platform to host, publish and grow your content, allows you to cross-promote to connect to other podcasts to build your audience, and offers unlimited storage, ads, YouTube integration, and more.

Red Circle has a free option with unlimited storage, the ability to accept donations and control all your content. Their $9 monthly plan allows you to host unlimited shows, access extensive podcast statistics, and more.

In our experience, Red Circle is a great option to grow your podcast online for a low price.

Pros
  • Excellent analytics
  • Easy monetization
  • Podcast creation is simple
Cons
  • Once you submit a title or description for your podcast, it can’t be changed.

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.3
  • Support: 4.3
  • Disk space: 4.4
  • Security: 4.4
  • Pricing: 4.3

 

10. Anchor

Anchor is a free podcast-hosting service founded in 2015 and is now owned by Spotify. Anchor was made to give everyone the option of a free podcast service with no upload limits.

Anchor Homepage

They allow you to do unlimited hosting of episodes and built-in ad integration. This podcast service also provides an episode builder to create and edit episodes with their app. Anchor is the best podcast hosting service that is free to use [2].

In our experience, Anchor is an extremely useful hosting platform for any free podcast.

Pros
  • Completely free
  • Podcast hosting and recording features
  • Built-in monetization
Cons
  • Limited podcast host control

 

Our Rating
  • Product: 4.2
  • Support: 4.2
  • Disk space: 4.3
  • Security: 4.3
  • Pricing: 4.3

 

Buyer’s Guide

Before choosing the best podcast hosting service, you need to understand the basics of it and what to look for in the best podcast hosting platform.

What Is A Podcast Hosting Service?

A podcast hosting service stores your files online and sends them to streaming apps and other podcast directories.

Podcast

The best podcast hosting site integrates with Spotify, Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, and other directories. Once you distribute the podcast to the podcast directories, listeners can listen to it on that platform or download it. 

How To Choose The Right Podcast Host For You

Choosing the right podcast platform depends on your experience as a podcast host and the popularity of your podcast. If you’re a beginner starting your podcast from scratch, you can choose among podcast platforms that offer unlimited bandwidth and a built-in audience. If you have a low budget, you can try a free podcast hosting service [3].

Professional podcast hosts looking to grow and monetize their podcasts can try hosting providers after evaluating how much storage they need, their download plans, their budget, and what kind of analytics they need.

Finding success in podcasting has to be a secondary goal. If you are getting into it for the money, the industry isn’t there yet. It should be for the love of the game
– Matt Gourley, Podcast Host, Earwolf Podcast Network

Do I Really Need A Podcast Host?

You might wonder if you can make it with standard web hosting for your podcast. Shared web hosting could work for your podcast website, but it will definitely affect the listener experience. Podcast hosts are designed for podcasts to upload and store files.

Shared Hosting

A regular web host may block the process of multiple users trying to download your podcast, which is essential to monetizing your content.

What Are The Benefits Of Podcast Hosting Providers?

Podcasting is a great way to build an online community and brand. Using a hosting provider has several benefits, including [4]:

  1. Not Compromising Quality – Storing your podcast on your own server will often cause you to compromise quality, speed, and storage, decreasing quality. Podcast hosting platforms have built-in servers to store large podcast files without compromising quality.
  2. Data Transfers – Podcasts are delivered over RSS feeds, and when you store podcast files on your account, the users need to download the files directly, and it eats up a large amount of bandwidth. Leaving a podcast host to handle data transfers prevents large expenditures of bandwidth.
  3. Save On Storage – Hosting and storing your files yourself can be expensive. Podcast hosts take care of the storage for you and save you money. Your storage needs may also change as your podcast grows, so having a hosting service can be beneficial when changes are needed to be made.
  4. Fast Speeds – Speed is essential for podcast hosting, just like any video hosting. If the video doesn’t start after a minute or two, the user will just leave. Low speeds won’t keep listeners engaged, and they will move on to another podcast.
  5. Podcast Analytics – Podcast analytics can help you analyze critical information about your listeners and how your podcast is doing. The best podcast hosting sites include these analytics to track episode downloads, listener engagement, and more.
  6. Security – Just like running a website, running a podcast has risks. Hosting a podcast on your own server requires extensive security measures and regular backups. A podcasting hosting platform comes with built-in security and tools to back up your files.

Helpful Steps For Starting Your Own Podcast

With podcasts becoming more and more popular in recent years, now is a great time to start your own. Creating your own podcast can be done in simple steps [5].

  1. Choose A Podcast Name – A podcast name is one of the most important choices you can make for your podcast. It is how listeners will know your brand and create that relationship. Your podcast name can be personal, descriptive, or creative.
  2. Add A Cover Image – The right cover image helps create your brand image for the listener. The image needs to fit the niche of the podcast. Hosting platforms often help to create a cover image and customize it to your needs.
  3. Add Music – Theme music helps brand your podcast and helps listeners identify the podcast and channel with your music. Intro music should be around five to ten seconds long and should align with your niche.
    “Learn from the best podcasters in your niche and set your mindset to succeed. Be interested in your audience and not just interesting” – Gary Hibbert, Podcast Host, Real Talk with Gary
  4. Get The Right Equipment – For proper podcasting, you need the correct equipment. The basics include a great host, recording software, and a great microphone. Using the right tools helps you quickly produce engaging content [6].
  5. Choose Podcast Style – Your podcast needs to match your style to create an environment to engage listeners. Your welcoming message should be positive and appealing. After deciding on your style, you can focus on the content of each episode, including the topic and takeaways of each episode. Planning out your content allows for better delivery.
  6. Record And Release Your Podcast – How you record your podcast is up to you. Some content creators record several podcasts and once, and some focus on one episode at a time. Once you’ve recorded your podcast, you need to use popular platforms like Google Podcast, Itunes, Spotify, and more to reach the right listeners.
    “It’s still a workday, especially for those just starting. You don’t just show up and talk to your friend. You have to act as though it’s your 9-to-5 job and you have to be a professional.” – Jess Neil, Co-Host, New Player has Joined.
  7. Marketing – Marketing your podcast using social media and running ad campaigns is an effective way to get your podcast out there. You can also connect with radio stations, invite experts, and more to reach new listeners.

FAQs

Is Podcasting Worth It?

Podcasting is worth it if you have all the skills for podcasting. To run a successful podcast, you need to be a self-promoter, have some marketing knowledge, and be a great speaker.

Can You Make Money Running A Podcast?

Yes, you can make money running a podcast, but you must create an audience. Once you have listeners, you can make money from affiliate marketing, sales, and sponsorships [7].

Affiliate Marketing Podcast

How Often Should A Podcast Be Published?

How often you publish a podcast depends on your audience, niche, and length of your podcast episodes. For instance, if your episodes are only 15 minutes long, you may want a daily podcast. If your episodes are an hour or longer, this can justify a weekly podcast. 

How Much Does Hosting For Podcasts Cost?

Hosting for podcasts typically costs between $5 and $50 a month. The pricing varies depending on the company, the number of episodes you need to create, the downloads needed, bandwidth, and more.

Can Anyone Start A Podcast?

Anyone can start a podcast regardless of past work experience. The only skill set you need to have to be an effective podcast host is the ability to talk about specific topics and engage an audience.

Which Platform Do We Recommend?

Choosing a dedicated podcast hosting platform can benefit you in several ways. The best podcast hosting can increase security, provide you with fast speeds, give you helpful user analytics, and more.

We recommend Buzzsprout. Buzzsprout has a podcast player that looks professional and is simple to embed into your podcast website, offers you unlimited space to host all your audio files, and provides quality marketing tools and magic mastering for high-quality audio.

They also feature other vital tools like a text editor for show notes, affiliate marketing integration, and built-in transcription, all at a low cost.

Try Buzzsprout today to get started creating your podcast and building your audience.

Our #1 Recommendation: Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout Logo small
  • Editor's Choice
Overall Rating:

Features

Customer Support

Pricing

User-friendliness

Key Features:
  • User-Friendly Interface
  • Multiple Members
  • Free Website
  • Buzzsprout Distribution Services
  • Podcast Statistics Feature
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Article by

Matt Diggity

Matt is the founder of Diggity Marketing, LeadSpring, The Search Initiative, The Affiliate Lab, and the Chiang Mai SEO Conference. He actually does SEO too.

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