Podbean and Buzzsprout are some of the best-known podcast hosting platforms in the industry, with hundreds of thousands of users. If you plan to start a podcast, you can’t go wrong with one of these options.
We are experts in podcast hosting and have spent months researching and using Podbean and Buzzsprout. In this article, we will give you an in-depth look at these tools based on their value, pricing, features, and more, so you can select the best podcast hosting platform for your podcast.
Table Of Contents
- Quick Summary
- Buzzsprout Overview
- Podbean Overview
- What Are The Main Differences Between Podbean And Buzzsprout?
- FAQs
- How User-Friendly Is Podbean?
- Does Buzzsprout Allow You To Produce Other Audio Content?
- Is Buzzsprout Free?
- Are There Any Hidden Fees With Podbean And Buzzsprout?
- How Hard Is It To Switch From Buzzsprout To Podbean?
- Does Podbean Show Who Is Listening To Your Podcast?
- How Long Does It Take To Upload To Apple Podcasts With Buzzsprout?
- How Many Podcast Downloads Is Good With Buzzsprout?
- What Is The Best Podcast Host?
Quick Summary
Buzzsprout offers flexible podcast publishing that allows you to publish episodes immediately or schedule them.- The Podbean podcast app provides detailed statistics on your podcast performance, gives you the tools to share your podcast on social media, and offers excellent monetization options.
- These two podcast hosting platforms vary in terms of support, interface, monetization options, podcast analytics, apps, and more.
Buzzsprout Overview
Buzzsprout is a quick and easy way to publish your podcast. This podcasting platform allows you to publish episodes immediately or schedule them.
Buzzsprout also offers advanced statistics to track your progress on podcasting platforms and see how your podcast is performing.
In our Buzzsprout review we talked about support for multiple video podcasts, optimization options, and more. Their interface makes it easy for anyone to navigate. They allow you to list your podcast with podcast directories such as Google Podcasts, Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher.
- Publish immediately or schedule
- Intuitive user interface
- Get published in top podcast directories.
- 90-day free trial
Buzzsprout Pricing
Buzzsprout offers a free plan and three paid plans. Buzzsprout’s plans are as follows:
- Free Plan: Upload up to 2 hours each month, episodes hosted for up to 90 days, advanced stats, unlimited team members, and more.
- First Paid Plan ($12 per month): Upload up to 3 hours each month, episodes hosted indefinitely, advanced stats, unlimited team members, unlimited storage, free import, ability to accept monthly payments and create premium content, and more.
- Second Paid Plan ($18 per month): Upload up to 6 hours each month, episodes hosted indefinitely, and everything from the first paid plan.
- Third Paid Plan ($24 per month): Upload up to 12 hours each month, episodes hosted indefinitely, and everything from the previous plans.
Free Plan: - Easy and fast publishing
- Advanced podcast stats
- Support for multiple podcasts
- Customization options
- No native monetization features
Make your podcast all about your audience, and then you can’t go wrong”.
– Farnoosh Torabi, Personal Finance Expert and Host of “So Money” podcast
Podbean Overview
Podbean gives you detailed statistics on your podcast performance, including embedded social sharing tools to promote podcast episodes.
It offers great monetization tools to generate revenue with your podcast. Podbean also offers free podcast websites and mobile responsive templates.
Podbean has a mobile app that allows you to create and publish your audio podcasting from anywhere. They also offer live streaming for live audio shows and scheduling and publishing episodes from your mobile phone.
Their audio player is customizable to match your podcast website or blog. They also don’t put any limits on episode length.
- Detailed analytics
- Embedded social media sharing
- Monetization features
- Customizable audio player
- Ability to stream live audio
- No limits on podcast episode length
Podbean Pricing
Podbean offers a free plan and three paid plans. Podbean’s plans are as follows:
- Free Version: Upload up to 5 hours each month, 100 GB of bandwidth per month, mobile app, embeddable player, distribution to significant podcast directories, free podcast website creation, and free themes.
- Unlimited Audio ($9 per month): Unlimited storage space and bandwidth, everything from the free version plus advanced custom design, mapping of your domain, monetization features such as an ad marketplace, premium sales, and pod ads.
- Unlimited Plus ($29 per month): Includes everything from the previous plans, plus complete custom design and a patron program for monetization.
- Network ($79 per month): Includes everything from previous plans plus unlimited podcast channels, 50 admins, a professional network page, advanced podcast statistics, live chat support, and the ability to remove Podbean branding.
Free Version: - Android and iOS Podbean podcast apps
- Detailed analytics
- Flexible audio player customization
- Unlimited podcast publishing
- A complicated setup process for new users
What Are The Main Differences Between Podbean And Buzzsprout?
While both podcast host options offer similar features, they have slight differences that can impact your final decision. These are some of them:
1. Interface
One significant difference when comparing Podbean and Buzzsprout is the user interface. Buzzsprout’s straightforward dashboard makes uploading, editing, and publishing podcast episodes easier.
Buzzsprout’s dashboard also provides detailed analytics to track podcast statistics and performance.
Podbean’s dashboard is more complex and takes a bit of a learning curve to get used to. They offer various features to manage your podcast all in one place and upload new podcast episodes easily.
Podbean’s user interface can be more overwhelming, especially for first-time users.
2. Monetization
Buzzsprout and Podbean both offer options for monetization. Buzzsprout allows you to set up donation campaigns and receive donations on your podcast episode page.
Podbean also allows you to set up donation campaigns and has an affiliate program. They offer more monetization options, such as sponsored content, CPM advertising, and premium subscriptions for podcast listeners.
3. Podcast Analytics
Buzzsprout offers more basic analytics with data such as video recordings on total downloads, episode stats, and listener locations.
Podbean offers more comprehensive analytics, such as reports of downloads by region and device type, basic marketing analytics, referral tracking, and listener segmentation.
4. App
When considering mobile apps, the Podbean app has an edge. They offer iOS and Android apps that allow you to manage your podcast on the go.
Buzzsprout doesn’t currently offer a mobile app, but they do have a website optimized for mobile use. It allows you to access features on your mobile device, but it isn’t as comprehensive as the Podbean mobile app.
5. Podcast Distribution
Both Podbean and Buzzsprout offer podcast distribution to all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
Buzzsprout steps it up by including its own directory to allow users to discover new podcasts. Buzzsprout also enables you to submit your podcast to Pandora and Amazon Music.
Podbean also has its own directory, but it isn’t as comprehensive. They don’t offer an automatic submission process for services such as Pandora and Amazon Music, and you have to manually submit your podcast on those platforms.
5. Storage And Bandwidth
The main difference between Podbean and Buzzsprout is the amount of storage space they offer. Podbean offers unlimited storage space on every plan besides the free plan, and Buzzsprout offers up to 250 hours or 2GB of storage space on the free plan.
In regards to bandwidth, both platforms have generous offerings. Buzzsprout’s free plan offers up to 10 hours of bandwidth monthly, and Podbean’s free plan gives you 100GB of bandwidth monthly.
6. Support
Both hosting platforms offer support to users. Buzzsprout’s help center offers detailed tutorials, articles, live chat, and email support.
Podbean also provides an extensive knowledge base with tutorials and articles and 24/7 customer service over the phone, email, and live chat.
FAQs
How User-Friendly Is Podbean?
Podbean is very user-friendly. Podbean makes it easy to upload and edit audio files, add artwork, create a podcast website, and create a podcast RSS feed.
Does Buzzsprout Allow You To Produce Other Audio Content?
Yes, Buzzsprout allows you to produce other audio content. Buzzsprout will enable you to podcast upload audiobooks or lectures to host on the platform.
Is Buzzsprout Free?
Yes, Buzzsprout offers a free plan and a free trial for 90 days, so you can try Buzzsprout out risk-free.
Are There Any Hidden Fees With Podbean And Buzzsprout?
No, there are no hidden fees with Podbean and Buzzsprout. Both platforms offer fairly transparent pricing plans so you can compare the prices of the plans and the features before deciding which one is right for you.
How Hard Is It To Switch From Buzzsprout To Podbean?
It is relatively easy to switch from Buzzsprout to Podbean. First, ensure that you have done any necessary data backups. Next, create a Podbean account and upload your files.
After that, you can submit your podcast to various streaming services, such as Apple Podcasts, and create an RSS feed.
Does Podbean Show Who Is Listening To Your Podcast?
Yes, Podbean shows you who is listening to your podcast through user engagement features. You will know how many users played a particular part in an episode.
How Long Does It Take To Upload To Apple Podcasts With Buzzsprout?
To upload to Apple Podcasts with Buzzsprout, it usually takes a week to get approval and another week to appear in search results on iTunes.
How Many Podcast Downloads Is Good With Buzzsprout?
With Buzzsprout, if you have over 30 downloads, you are in the top 50 percent of podcasts; with over 105 downloads, you are in the top 25 percent; over 405 downloads, you are in the top 10 percent and with over 975 downloads puts you in the top 5 percent of podcasts.
What Is The Best Podcast Host?
Choosing the best podcast host depends on your professional needs. Both Podbean and Buzzsprout are platforms that offer multiple useful features. However, if you are looking for a professional platform that will provide reliable podcast hosting and help you reach a worldwide audience, Buzzsprout is the best choice.
Buzzsprout offers exquisite features such as unlimited team members, support for multiple podcasts, distribution to Pandora and Amazon Music, and more.
Buzzsprout guarantees integration with multiple platforms and various customization options at an affordable price, making it the best podcast host available.
Give a chance to Buzzsprout today to upgrade your podcast career.
Our #1 Recommendation: Buzzsprout
Features
Customer Support
Pricing
User-friendliness
