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7 Best Podcast Hosting Sites

Isabelle Merlin

January 1, 2023

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If you are starting your podcast, then choosing the right podcast hosting is the very crucial part. Also, the best podcast hosting sites can grow your audience.

In this today’s article, we will share the best Podcast hosting sites with their review.

Before starting the main content of this article, let us share with you “what is a podcast” if you are a beginner, then you should read it; otherwise, you can skip and continue to the list.

What Is a Podcast?

In the last 15 years, the podcast has gone mainstream. Podcasting is the world of information and entertainment, and people of all groups use it. There are mainly more than five hundred thousand podcasts in existence.

A podcast can be anything story, an interview, or a documentary that can be downloaded and listened to whenever we want or hear it online. The podcast became famous in 2014.

From then till now, we can see a considerable change. We get almost everything from news to entertainment and from comedy to fantasy. All the entertainment sectors are into podcasting. As time flies, there are many podcast hosts.

Now, It’s time to move to the main content of this article.

What Is The Best Podcast Hosting Sites?

Here are our top picks for the best podcast hosting platforms:

• Buzzsprout
• Podbean
• Spreaker
• RSS.com
• Transistor
• Speaker
• Captivate
• Simplecast

1. Buzzsprout

The Best Podcast Hosting Service for Beginners (Free – $24/month + $20 Amazon Gift Card).

If you are looking for the best podcasting platform, we recommend selecting buzzsprout. Buzzsprout offer helpful free material + robust tools that will help you in your podcast journey.

Buzzsprout is easy to use, and the tools and features are accessible and user-friendly. Easy to create; uploading a file is also very easy to choose and upload, which is very good for buzzsprout.

It gives one-stop to figure out all the information needed, which is a primary function of a podcast host buzzsprout makes the work more accessible. It has an advanced lyric that gives the info each episode can be customized or published and modified, including every single episode.

Magic mastering software is outstanding in buzzsprout, where we can upload audio and use their AI technology to normalize or filter the audio to provide a better audio experience for the listener. They charge an additional fee for this tool, but this software is worth it because it saves time for editing.

Affiliate hub helps make money, provides the free opportunity only for buzzsprout users, and gives an easy route to earn cash. buzzsprout has a community with a significant number of users. It is beneficial if you have any trouble using the tool. You can drop questions their team will answer, which is fantastic.

Audiogram gives a feature to create audio directly within buzzsprout. It is a visual aid or an audio aid with a waveform. It would be great for visual aid or a piece of audio. It is excellent for repurposing on social media platforms.

Buzzsprout also provides a podcast website that can act as an app but won’t work effectively. It has an option for podcast episode transcription, and they also offer a podcast player for the website, which will embed episodes into the website. buzzsprout makes that decent, practical, and clean, and you can add chapters that will show up on some records but not all of them.

The player in this lets us add players to the website, which is simple to use. We can also personalize it to match our directory, which is a big thing buzzsprout helps with, and the simple steps to do if we have an affiliate hub. It can add a sponsor or search for a sponsor, which is fantastic.

Overall the features are good.

Buzzsprout Pros & Cons:

Pros

• It is very user-friendly.
• Posting is scheduled.
• The features of monetization are outstanding.

Cons

• Customization options are not more
• We don’t get a video podcast feature
• Upload hours have clapped

Many podcast hosts do not provide a free trial, but it offers an appreciable trial. Price does not depend on downloads. It depends on the time, which is suitable for unlimited team members is provided to all plans.

• FREE PLAN – Includes upload of two hours every month, valid for 90 days. Magic mastering will not be available on the free plan; it contains advanced settings that anyone can upgrade to remove ads.
• $12 per month – Includes 3 hours of upload per month, episodes are hosted indefinitely, import podcasts for free, upload content for up to $ 4 per hour, provide unlimited storage, advance stats, and pay additional for magic mastering for 6$ total it will cost 18$.
• $18 per month – Upload 6 hours per month, upload more content for 3$ per hour,  import podcasts for free, unlimited storage, and additional magic mastering tool costs $9 per month total it will cost up to 27$ per month.
• $24 per month – Upload 12-hour per month episodes hosted indefinitely, upload more content for $2 per hour,  import podcasts for free, unlimited storage, and additional magic mastering costs 12$ per month total it will cost 36$ per month.

2. PodBean

Best Easy Podcast Hosting Service ($29/Month + 1 Month Free).

PodBean provides extra monetization opportunities compared to other best podcasting hosting. we love one thing about PodBean is that newbies and professionals can both use this platform

Podbean is a very trusted name in the podcast space. They have an excellent app. 

Podbean gives a ton of features to the users. All podbean plans come with podcast stats and a website that provides full access to change and customize the website design. We can create our domain which we can use in our podcast websites, and they also offer custom episode publishing and the ability to schedule episodes to go live on an earlier day. We can also manage and publish podcast episodes all from our mobile place.

Podbean also offers a podcast player, making it easy to embed particular episodes onto the website. It also has integration with MailChimp, which makes it easy to capture emails. We can use their app to create children’s podcasts. It helps to develop and capture audio within the app.

Podcast monetizer show podbean gives many ways to do it very quickly. They provide a patron program which is very easy to sign up listeners as patrons. We can sell access to our show through subscriptions while getting deeper and charging for particular episodes. It has an ads marketplace where it is effortless to connect with sponsors, which will get ads into the show.

Podbean also allows live stream episodes, and guest hosts can call in live. We can even sell tickets to the Livestream to listeners and grant permission through the Livestream. It can receive virtual guests when they are listening to the Livestream; podbean is amongst the few podcast host that allows for video podcasts. They also offer an excellent business plan.

Overall the features of the podbean are excellent, which allows great tools for the user as it provides a various number of tools.

You can utilize the tools provided by the podbean the best because it has a more complex feature, and learning these tools may take time for the best use as podbean is from a long time there are many resources available on the website. Still, the learning curve is more compared to other podcast hosts, but it is necessary to have all the tools to make out best of it; all the features are excellent and approachable.

Overall the features are good.

PodBean Pros & Cons:

Pros

• It provides unlimited hours
• Embedded players
• Perfect podcast themes 
• Selling podcasts 
• Video Podcast

Cons

• Calling support is not available
• Templates are very few

Podbean has many features, so they split up the bills 

• FREE PLAN – It has a free plan called podcast starter, which has 5 hours total and a storage of 100GB per month. We cannot expect more as it is the basic pack
• $9 Per Month – Audio podcasting has no limits and unlimited storage, unmetered bandwidth, pro themes, and advanced custom design. All the features are unavailable in this pack, and you can use them to do essential work. Will be billed annually for $14
• $29 per month is best for professional podcasts and podcast networks. This pack includes unlimited storage connection and unmetered bandwidth and has pro themes. It has full custom designs but does not contain enterprise podcasting. Will be billed annually for$39
• $99 Per Month – It is ideal for business organization enterprises. It includes all the features of a $29 pack, but it will consist of the enterprise pack, which contains premium bandwidth, multiple admins,  priority support, personal podcast, and SSD login. I will be billed for $129, which is very much overpriced.

3. Spreaker

Best Content Management System and Monetization (Free – $120+).

If the Monetization of your podcast is crucial for you, then you can go with spreaker. This platform comes with the ability to integrate advertising into your podcast from the beginning.

Spreaker is a perfect podcasting host with outstanding features

Spreaker generally focuses very much on live podcasting and making money monetizing the podcast from the beginning. All their paid plans give access to monetization features. The existing catalog episodes moving those on spreaker can earn you money for the previous episodes.

They provide this in the name of ad insertion, which helps pick the specific parts of the episode for the annual play. They may fill the spots automatically using programmatic advertising. It means the advertiser pays the spreaker for advertising on a podcast for particular demographics the spreaker puts ad, which will make sense in the show in the sponsor given to them where you will earn a percentage of revenue. It could be an effortless way to start making money.

It will save time in finding advertisers and negotiating with them. It allows one to start making money from the beginning, and it will enable one to make episodes of previous episodes while people are listening, as it creates a source of revenue. Another feature allows multiple hosts in podcasts to pay a little more. All plans come with an embeddable podcast player, and their pay plans customize their free plan, and the cheapest plan allows only the primary feature.

They even provide access to private or limited shows for a broadcaster or above titles. They offer a spreaker studio, podcast creation, and audio editing software where we can create or download or edit episodes spreaker also contain their podcast player app. Overall, they are an excellent podcast host.

As they focus more on live and simple podcasting from these, making money is very simple with their live tools, podcast app, and audio editing software, but they are effortless and user-friendly to use, which is very good.

Overall the features are good.

Spreaker Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Easy-to-use tools
• Easy user interface
• The platform gives access to new episodes and live streams

Cons

• Communication only through emails

Spreaker offers a free plan, but it will limit the features you can host multiple shows on their free plan, and they contain monthly and yearly plans.

• The on-air talent plan costs $6 per month – It provides multiple podcast hosting, customized RSS feeds, and programmatic customization. It will bill $7 monthly, and if a yearly plan is chosen, it will bill $6 per month.
• The broadcaster plan costs $ 18 per month – It provides multiple podcast hosting, customized RSS feeds and programmatic customization, limited access podcasts, and advanced statistics. It will bill $20 monthly, and if the yearly plan is chosen, it will cost $18.
• Anchorman plan costs $ 45 per month – It provides multiple podcast hosting, customized RSS feeds and programmatic customization, limited access podcasts, complete statistics, and customized player colors. It costs $50 per month; if the yearly plan is chosen, it will cost $50 per month.

4. RSS.com

RSS.com is best for having the most features for growing your podcast.

If you are looking for unlimited storage, powerful analytics, and a podcasting website that goes along with your recording, then look no further than RSS.com. These features ensure that your podcast platform can handle any business growth you experience as you scale.

If you are looking for the best podcast hosting platform with unlimited storage and bandwidth, It is perfect for more prominent podcasts.

Rss.com also offers tools such as episode scheduling and social media integration, making it easy for you to manage your podcast and engage with your audience.

Many podcasters have been using RSS.com for many years, and they appreciate RSS.com Services.

RSS.com also helps you to monetize your podcast via sponsors; they also help you in that.

RSS.com allows listeners to scale their podcasts, supporting unlimited downloads and episodes they can record.

Using data and analytics lets you know where your podcast is most potent and where your content needs improvement, and you can help your audience to the best of your ability by changing your content to meet.

Such data is the key to making the most of your podcasting efforts, allowing you to do more than focus on the relevant content during your episodes.

Overall the features are good.

RSS.Com Pros & Cons:

Pros

• It gives privacy
• It makes blogs and podcasts interesting.
• It can work on slow internet.

Cons

• Bad user interface
• It may be a problem for beginners

RSS.Com Pricing & Plans:

There are currently three plans on RSS.com.

• Student & NGO Costs You $4.99/mo – In this plan, you can upload unlimited episodes with unlimited duration. Also, you will get an RSS feed for your podcast, a Free website for your show, and many more.
• All-in-One Podcasting Costs You $8.25/mo – This plan has the same features as the starter student & NGO plan; also, you can pay annually for this plan.
• Pro & Enterprise – In this plan, Everything in All in One Podcasting, plus you will get Multiple podcasts, Dynamic Ads Insertion, Custom analytics reports, Dedicated 24/7 support & Special requests welcome.

5. Transistor

Best Built-In Podcast Analytics ($19.99/month).

Your podcast's success depends on where you choose to host your podcast and the reach or impressions of your podcast. Transistor might be the podcast platform to check out if you want to reach the widest audience possible.

The most prominent feature of the transistor is it offers unlimited podcasts on one transistor plan where we can have more than one show. We do need to buy more than one plan for creating multiple shows. The transistor will be a superb option to select their charge based on monthly downloads, and their cheapest plan will provide 15,000 monthly downloads, which will be a good deal compared to other podcast hosts.

They offer an embeddable podcast player to help podcast episodes into our websites. All plans come up with a built-in podcast website. Each plan comes up with a comparatively lower price, and it allows two podcast managers where two people can simultaneously manage the show by only paying for one transistor plan.

It provides the ability for private podcasting, whereas transistor will include inexpensive plans for the internal podcast. All plans come up with unlimited storage and bandwidth, and they will apply upload as per user per month charges based on the downloads the show is experiencing. It also integrates with MailChimp, convertkit, and drip, some of the best email providers. It makes super easy ways to connect with the audience. It may not contain as many features as others, but it offers a reasonable price.

There are few features to use, as the process of using a transistor is easy. It has an exemplary user interface which will not create a problem for the user, and running more shows and maintaining the presentations are made easy through the transistor.

Overall the features are good.

Transistor Pros & Cons:

Pros

• It is straightforward to use
• Features are powerful

Cons

• No more tools are available.

Transistor Pricing & Plans:

• The starter pack costs $19 per month. It offers an unlimited podcast, live customer support, advanced analytics, a built-in podcast website, two additional team members and 15,000 monthly downloads, and up to 50 private podcast subscribers.
• Professional pack costs$49 per month. It offers an unlimited podcast, live customer support, advanced analytics, a built-in podcast website, five additional team members and 75,000 monthly downloads, and up to 500 private podcast subscribers.
• The business pack costs $99 per month. It offers unlimited podcasts, live customer support, advanced analytics, a built-in podcast website, ten additional team members, 200,000 monthly downloads, and up to 3,000 private podcast subscriptions.

6. SimpleCast

Industry-Leading Features Powering Top Brands ($15/Month).

There are several benefits to Simplecast. It is a leading platform known for its industry-leading features, starting at just $15 per month.

The plans in simplecast are off unlimited storage and unlimited uploads of as much content as users want. The excellent offer is that you do not need to pay the additional fee, and their cheapest plan has 20,000 monthly downloads. Until the user is under that, he can post unlimited content where most people can stay in the more affordable plan.

It also provides a podcast website, but we need to attach a custom domain for that website. It also allows us to do multiple hosts through a single simplecast account, but we have to pay monthly for each show hosting.

They also provide an embeddable podcast player where we can easily embed our episodes which will easily play on websites. Simplecast also introduces professional and enterprise plans. The basic plan starts with two team managers and two people that can have their simplecast account.

They also contain a recast feature that helps you easily create audios and trailers to help show more on social media, and plans become more advanced as we pay for higher plans. Some tools are not available on simplecast but on other platforms, which may result in drawbacks.

As denoted by the name, they provide a straightforward interface for the user, which will not be complex or face any problems using the features. At the same time, that may be why they do not have many features offered in simplecast and are easy to use.

Overall a better podcasting site.

SimpleCast Pros & Cons:

Pros

• It is straightforward to use
• Good customer support
• Allows sharing
• Good and easy user interface

Cons

• Asian people are less who this platform.

They provide three plans according to levels. 

• The basic plan costs $15 per month – It offers everything and the necessary features to get started. They offer 2 team member seats, unlimited storage, distribution to all the places where audiences are available, and basic analytics. Website show customization with a custom domain, ability to manage multiple shows using a single account, recast available, embedded with episode web player, RSS feed, email support, and 20,000 downloads per month. It costs $13.50 monthly if a yearly plan is chosen.
• The essential plan costs $35 per month – Everything is available, including important tools for growing podcasts. They offer 4 team member seats, compare analytics of two episodes, location analytics, unique listener reports, web player analytics, and technology analytics. They also offer 50,000 downloads per month, costing $31.50 per month if a yearly plan is chosen.
• The growth plan costs$85 per month – Everything essential is provided and has deeper insights. It contains 9 team member seats, compares metrics around five episodes, location analytics, detailed device analytics, web player embedded location analytics, network analytics, technology analytics, and 120,000 downloads per month. It costs $76.50 per month if you choose a yearly plan.

7. Captivate

Best for Marketing and Growing Your Audience ($19/Month).

Captivate is a new podcast hosting platform that prioritizes growing its audience and avoiding competition in the podcasting industry. Rebel Base Media created several websites, and Podcast Websites were one of them.

Captivate is a growth-oriented based solution. It will give almost all the tools possible to help the user grow skills. They provide unlimited shows under one plan, allowing the user to select the best for him. They charge according to monthly downloads since we have to have new ratios on one plan, which will be included and hosted under one plan and count toward the monthly downloads. All their plans come from the get-go with an embeddable podcast player for our website.

Some unique features of captivate as they have unlimited team members for all the plans. They don’t limit the number of people who run and operate the shows they provide. Many tools include web player calls to action, built-in single subscription marketing links, email marketing integration, and one-click sponsorship creation. All their plans include transcription support. The exciting thing about captivate is it even offers to host a private podcast at their basic plan, which is very helpful for beginners and comparatively in other podcast hosts.

We have to pay a higher amount to access the private podcast. In this case, it’s a very impressive move from captivate that all its plans include a podcast site. It also provides features that many podcasts don’t have the feature at all. Comparing the prices and features offered, are better in captivate.

Captivate is very simple and easy to use. It shows running up live from all the other podcast hosting directories as there are tons of different marketing features maximizing the use of all the features, and the features provided are straightforward, user-friendly, and cost-efficient.

Overall a good podcast host for learners.

Captivate Pricing & Plans:

The start of the pricing is slightly higher than the other plans, but it is worth the price. all of the plans have the same features but has a difference in download

• The personal plan costs $17 monthly, including 12,000 downloads per month. It will cost $19 if paid monthly.
• The professional plan costs $44 monthly – It includes 60,000 downloads per month; if paid monthly prices go more than $44
• The business plan costs $90 per month – including 150,000 downloads. If paid monthly prices go more than $90

Conclusion on Best Podcast Hosting Platforms

All the podcasts listed above are perfect in their segments, and they are not the best or ideal because everyone has a fault. Apart from that, these tools are worth using according to their price, user-friendly interface, and easy-to-handle features. Some of them have placed a high range of cost, which will be a drawback for them because many podcast host provides the same feature for lower prices.

RSS.com is not preferable because it does not have an interface everyone can use. It is designed for programs that are not preferable apart from that, even if they are good.

For beginners, preserve, and simplecast are the best tools to get started. Advanced users can use buzzsprout and podbean because they offer many features and tools; even spreaker is a good choice.

Overall all the choices are good at their segments, depending entirely on user requirements.