If you haven’t jumped the podcasting bandwagon yet, here are eye-opening statistics by Edison Research.
Whether you like it or not, podcasting is here to stay and engage with people willing to listen.
But it takes a lot more than just simply recording your story and posting online to make a successful podcast. For starters, the first thing you have to do is sign up with a podcast hosting company that can store your .mp3s and create your podcast feed. It can’t be just any site either; it has to be the best podcast platform.
Given the popularity of podcasts, it almost goes without saying that there are so many podcast hosting platforms and podcast sites to choose from.
Some companies have been around for a long time and have a longstanding reputation for reliability and great service. But at the same time, newer ones are popping up all the time offering competitive features and pricing. The best podcast sites offer a range of tools that can make content creation and podcast distribution a breeze. There are paid versions, as well as free podcast hosting options.
Amid all these choices, the good news is whether you’re looking for podcast-sharing sites and want to start a brand new podcast, save money and move to a cheaper provider, or simply upgrade your current hosting platform–you have options. And we have you covered with our selection of the best platform for podcasts.
In this post, you will discover the different podcast hosting platforms to upload and leverage your audio content to build an audience and monetize your podcasts.
Below, you’ll find our extensive reviews on:
Let’s get started.
Choosing the right platform for your podcasts is one of the most important parts of starting your podcasting journey. Before you buy a pair of good headphones and a microphone you should choose a podcast hosting provider that will fit your particular needs as there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for podcast streaming services.
The most basic podcasting hosting sites offer you the space to store your files so that your audience can easily download them, however, the top podcast platforms do much more than that.
The best podcast hosting sites or podcast distribution platforms provide advanced analytics reports on your listeners, marketing tools to grow your audience, social sharing options, 24/7 support, and more. Additionally, they may include features like streaming compliance, file storage, and unlimited bandwidth. They can also help you with a free website and domain.
Lastly, sometimes the best podcast providers offer tools for easy insertion of ads during your podcasts, including CTAs to your product and services in order to monetize your podcasting journey.
In this guide–best podcast hosting–we will do our best to show you the most interesting podcast publishing platforms and options so that you can save your precious time and focus on recording your first episode.
Among all the best podcast websites, Buzzsprout is one of the easiest-to-use podcast hosting sites around and our #1 pick. It’s rare for podcasting sites to have 5-star ratings from 700+ happy customers, but Buzzsprout easily boasts great reviews from thousands of happy users.
They’re a host that’s been in business since 2009 and is trusted by over 100,000 podcasters, making it one of the best podcasting platforms. Plus, they’re one of the only companies that offer a totally free plan with unlimited team member accounts.
Their free plan only allows you to upload two hours of content hosted for 90 days–a fairly generous free feature as far as podcast streaming platforms are concerned. If you’re serious about podcasting, you can scale up and upgrade your plan based on how many hours of content you need to upload per month.
When you upgrade to one of their paid plans ranging from $12-24 per month, Buzzsprout hosts your files indefinitely and gives you unlimited storage and 250GB of bandwidth per month (enough for 20,000 to 40,000 downloads).
It also has one of the most vibrant podcast communities on Facebook, where its customer support takes care of questions and concerns regarding the platform.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides analytics, including total plays, listener locations, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers affiliate marketing opportunities through their Affiliate Marketplace, as well as integration with Patreon for listener support. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Supports social media sharing, and it can generate audiograms for promotion on social platforms. |
Audio editing features |
✔ |
Offers a basic audio editor called “Magic Mastering” for improving audio quality. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Podcast Feed” feature. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website that includes your show notes, episodes, and an embedded player. |
Buzzsprout offers a free tier that lets you upload two hours’ worth of audio a month, and each episode is hosted for up to 90 days. The paid plans (starting at $12/month) let you host your podcast indefinitely.
Also, you get more hours of uploaded audio files a month as you upgrade your plans.
PodBean takes away the guesswork from creating a podcast. Create your account by signing up for a free account and uploading your audio files to turn into a podcast.
This way, you can focus on what you have to say as PodBean will take care of hosting podcast concerns and technicalities.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including listener locations, devices, user retention, and more. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers monetization options, including a built-in patron program, advertising marketplace, and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Has social media sharing options and integrates with tools like Mailchimp, Hootsuite, and Audiogram for marketing purposes. |
Audio editing features |
Limited |
Features a mobile app with basic audio editing capabilities, but for more advanced editing, you may need to use third-party tools. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting, allowing you to restrict access to your content by creating private channels or using SSO (Single Sign-On). |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website with a built-in blog, embedded players, and various themes to choose from. |
The free plan lets you upload up to five hours’ worth of audio content, offers 100GB monthly bandwidth, and lets you create a free basic podcast website.
Paid plans give you unlimited hours and unmetered bandwidth, as well as monetization features, which makes it one of the top podcast hosting sites you can choose from.
If you’re considering where to host podcasts, consider using Transistor, where you can get advanced podcast analytics to track and monitor your podcast’s performance.
Aside from the usual metrics (average episode downloads, number of subscribers, etc.), the site breaks down the number of visitors each of your episodes has over a period.
It can also show you which apps listeners use to consume your content and shows you the map of where your listeners are from.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it supports integration with third-party services like Patreon, Memberful, or Supercast for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Transistor allows you to share your episodes on social media platforms, and it integrates with marketing tools like Mailchimp for email campaigns. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. Requires use of external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Podcast” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website that includes episode show notes, an embedded player, and various themes to choose from. |
Transistor does not have a free plan, but you can sign up for its free 14-day trial and play with all its features. It offers a monthly or yearly subscription across three plans. The higher the plan, the more times people can download your podcasts in a month, and the better the privacy settings are for your exclusive content.
RSS.com is one of the top podcast-hosting sites that has been around since 2005. They have few packages, with all plans offering unlimited podcast storage and episode length. This is great if you plan on releasing a lot of episodes or if your episodes have a generally chunky file size. Apart from that, RSS.com really focuses on podcast monetization by leveraging existing partnerships to help you find the perfect sponsors or offering the ability to dynamically insert advertisements in high-traffic podcasts.
RSS.com also offers a wide range of podcast-related features, such as:
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides analytics, including total plays, listener locations, and devices used. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it supports integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
Limited |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms but does not offer extensive integrations with marketing tools. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. Requires use of external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently does not support private podcasting features. |
Podcast website builder | Limited | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
As you can see, RSS.com is a very versatile, all-in-one podcast hosting, that will work both for beginners as well as more advanced podcasters.
RSS.com has three different pricing tiers: The first plan, Student & NGO is $4.99 per month, and as the name suggests is targeted at students and non-profit organizations. When it comes to the features, it offers the same set as the main $8.25/month ‘All-in-One Podcasting’ plan with an unlimited number of episodes and length of recordings. RSS.com also offers an Enterprise plan with additional monetization functionalities focused on dynamic ads and extended support. All above-mentioned prices assume annual billing, which applies a 35% discount on the monthly price.
Whether you’re a student or an individual looking to launch their show on a robust podcasting platform, you should give RSS.com a try.
Most podcast hosting site features are too restricted that it either encourages you to pony up for a higher plan or migrate to another host. So if you’re wondering where to host podcasts with ease, look no further than Castos.
Castos is considered one of the best podcast services thanks to its unlimited storage and bandwidth. This way, you can publish as many shows and gather as many listeners as you can. The platform also supports additional tools to help boost SEO performance.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it supports integration with third-party services like Patreon, Memberful, or Supercast for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Allows you to share your episodes on social media platforms and integrates with WordPress via the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin. |
Audio editing features |
✔ |
Offers integration with the Hindenburg Journalist audio editing software, which is a separate service, but it doesn’t have built-in editing features. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Podcast” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website that includes episode show notes, an embedded player, and various themes to choose from.m. |
Castos has three paid plans available. Each plan differs in terms of the number of private subscribers allowed per account. Higher plans also have access to Youtube Republishing, Headliner Audiogram Integration, Advanced Analytics, and more.
Captivate provides all the tools that podcasters need for making their voices heard, which makes it stand out among other podcasting services. With the platform’s simple interface and 24/7 customer support, you don’t have to worry about your podcast setup.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it provides the necessary support for you to set up listener donations, premium content sales, and sponsorships using third-party services. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Allows you to share your episodes on social media platforms and integrates with email marketing tools like Mailchimp and AWeber. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Podcast” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website that includes episode show notes, an embedded player, and various themes to choose from. |
You can sign up for a 7-day free trial on any of Captivate’s three plans. They all possess the same features – the only difference is the number of podcast episode downloads allowed in a month. The higher the plan, the more times people can download your podcast.
Sounder’s embedded player is well-designed and intuitive, episodes are easily searchable by keyword, they provide transcriptions, and you can conduct in-stream audio searches among other key features that make it a very robust free or paid hosting platform as well as podcast distribution service.
Notably, Sounder is also very easy to use. Not only is the dashboard simple and straightforward, but it can also be counted to provide exceptional customer support.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a monetization feature called “Sounder Plus” that enables dynamic ad insertion, allowing you to manage and insert ads into your podcast episodes. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
Limited |
Allows you to share your episodes on social media platforms, but it doesn’t offer extensive integrations with marketing tools. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently does not support private podcasting features. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Sounder provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
Sounder starts with a free Basic Plan that covers one podcast, up to 5k streams a month, 2 seats, podcast and episode pages, analytics, Sounder audio player access, free episode transcriptions, in-stream audio search, and 72-hour turn-around time for support.
The first paid tier is available at $12.99/month, which offers everything from the free plan with more robust features; and a custom plan with flexible pricing that lets you tailor solutions to your needs.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to record, upload, and publish your podcast to your hosting. You need to make sure that the quality of the podcast is up to standard and it is launched properly–and that’s where full-featured podcast platforms come in.
While Resonate Recordings can do these for you, it also offers a hosting platform to groom your podcast to success making it the best place to host podcasts.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it supports integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
Limited |
Allows you to share your episodes on social media platforms, but it doesn’t offer extensive integrations with marketing tools. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features but offers a separate professional audio editing and production service. For editing your podcast, you would need to use external audio editing software or their professional service. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently does not support private podcasting features. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
Resonate Hosting has a free 14-day trial for its two plans. The only difference between the two is the Premium plan gives you access to its microsite creator. Other services like Podcast Launch (starting at $199), Podcast Production (starting at $59), and others are paid separately.
Like Transistor, Simplecast helps you parse your listeners and your podcast’s performance using its advanced analytics feature making it one of the best podcast distribution platforms. The feature-rich platform allows you to easily uncover data about your audience so you can better understand how to create content that will resonate with them better.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but it supports integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Supports episode sharing on social media platforms and integrates with tools like Mailchimp and Zapier for marketing purposes. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Podcast” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a customizable podcast website that includes episode show notes, an embedded player, and various themes to choose from. |
Simplecast has a free 14-day trial for its three plans. Each plan offers at least two team members, one-click distribution, basic podcast analytics, and more. Higher plans get advanced data like Location analytics, Unique Listener reports, Technology analytics, Detailed Device analytics, and much more.
Co-founded by Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, Fusebox (originally Smart Podcast Player or SPP) made it easier for listeners to choose which podcast episode to listen to on the user’s website.
Since then, it has come up with even more innovations to help podcasters develop creative ways to present their episodes to their audience. making it rise as one of the top podcast sites.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including downloads, rankings by source, rankings by platform, and top-performing episodes. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Integrates with Podpage and WordPress; ConvertKit, MailChimp, and Active Campaign. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently doesn’t support private podcasting. |
Podcast website builder | ✘ | No dedicated podcast website builder, however, it integrates with WordPress. |
The free plan gives you access to its site-wide sticky player and most of its transcript features. The Pro plan contains all the free plan features plus all the podcast players and their more advanced options.
Blubrry gives you all the tools to set up your podcast and share your ideas to target listeners. However, what makes the platform unique is its turnkey Pro-Production Services that offer done-for-you podcast episodes from its expert in-house podcast team. It is arguably the best platform to start a podcast if you’re looking for the convenience of turnkey audio hosting sites.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a monetization program called Blubrry Ad Marketplace, where you can connect with advertisers to monetize your podcast. Additionally, you can integrate with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers the PowerPress plugin for WordPress, which allows for seamless integration with your website. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features but offers a separate professional audio editing and production service. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Internal Podcasting” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✘ | No dedicated podcast website builder, it integrates with WordPress via the PowerPress plugin, allowing you to create a podcast website with customizable themes and an embedded player. |
All four plans include all features, making it the best podcast software option if you want to save money. The difference is the monthly storage (starting at 100 MB). Higher plans get a much larger storage capacity.
For plans with higher storage and bandwidth, the Pro Hosting plan starts at $100 per month.
Blubrry also offers Internal Private Podcasting (starting at $150/month) and Pro-Production (podcast on autopilot for $950/month with four DFY shows).
Lots of podcast platforms out there are loaded with features that you might not need. Spreaker keeps things extremely simple by offering the essential features in exchange for slightly cheaper entry plans. So if you’re wondering where to host a podcast, this is certainly a cost-effective option. While it’s not the best free podcast hosting option, it’s definitely one of the more affordable podcast hosting websites you can try.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a monetization program called Spreaker Monetization, which allows you to earn revenue through ads and sponsorships. They also support integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers a customizable embedded player for easy sharing on websites and blogs. |
Audio editing features |
✔ |
Offers a built-in recording and editing tool called Spreaker Studio, available for desktop and mobile devices, which allows you to record, edit, and mix your podcast episodes. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Internal Podcasting” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
The free plan allows for multiple podcast hosting. The other paid plans give you access to customizable RSS feeds, programmatic monetization, and more. The Publisher Plan ($120/month, perfect for enterprises) lets people download your podcast 60,000 times monthly along with premium support and collaboration features.
If you’re new to podcasting and don’t have a website yet, then this solution is perfect for you. PodcastWebsites is one of the best podcast upload sites where hosting a podcast is simplified.
PodcastWebsites makes the entire process of creating a website where you can generate revenue from your podcast business easy.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✘ |
No built-in monetization tools, but provides the necessary support for you to set up listener donations, premium content sales, and sponsorships using third-party services. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers a customizable embedded player and integrates with email marketing tools like Mailchimp and AWeber. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Private Internal Podcasting” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Supports customizable podcast website feature that includes episode show notes, an embedded player, and various themes to choose from. |
There are two plans to choose from: New! and Popular. Regarding podcast hosting and advanced download statistics, the first RSS feed is included in both plans. But for additional feeds, you must pay $10/month per feed.
If you feel you’ve plateaued with your current podcast hosting site or are wondering how to start a podcast from scratch, consider Audioboom. Established podcasters get better monetization opportunities to further grow their audience and revenue. So while you have podcast hosting free options, investing just a little bit more in this podcast hosting software can certainly take your podcast to new heights.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a monetization program called Audioboom Plus, which allows you to earn revenue through ads, sponsorships, and branded content. They also support integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers embeddable players for easy sharing on websites and blogs. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently does not support private podcasting features. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
Podcasters can sign up and enjoy the creation of unlimited episodes a month with 10,000 plays max (for the Standard Plan) or 25,000 max (for the Plus Plan). Podcasters with over 10,000 plays per episode gain access to better features such as live reads and host endorsements from top podcast advertisers, branded content partnership opportunities, and more.
Even before “podcasting” was born, Libsyn has been at the forefront of hosting users’ audio content to its listeners since 2004. Up to this day, this podcasts platform continues to deliver top-notch hosting features to all its podcasters.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a monetization program called LibsynPRO, which includes dynamic ad insertion, premium content, and subscription options. They also support integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers a customizable embedded player for easy sharing on websites and blogs. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting through its “Premium Content” feature, which allows you to control who has access to your content. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
Libsyn has four paid plans. The higher the plan, the greater the monthly storage (starting at 50 MB a month), which is pretty standard as far as platforms for podcasts go. Also, the Classic features don’t have access to monetization and advanced tools.
Known for streaming free music from upcoming artists and musicians, Soundcloud has also become a place for podcasters to share their content. Still, Soundcloud holds its own among the best platforms for podcasts.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. However, multi-channel distribution is limited compared to dedicated podcast hosting platforms. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers its Premier monetization program, which allows eligible creators to earn revenue through ads. They also support integration with third-party services like Patreon for listener support and premium content sales. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers a customizable embedded player for easy sharing on websites and blogs. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✔ |
Supports private podcasting by allowing you to make your tracks private, but it is not as robust or secure as private podcasting features on dedicated podcast hosting platforms. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic profile page with an embedded player and track information, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. It is not a full-featured podcast website builder. |
The free Basic plan lets you upload any audio as long as it’s not longer than three hours. Repost lets you syndicate and monetize your content to grow your audience further. There’s also an opportunity to apply for their premium services program for greater reach.
Finally, the Pro Unlimited plan gives you access to its premium features like scheduled releases, mastering up to free tracks, and more.
Most platforms listed here offer limited trial periods to get you to sign up for their premium services. Podomatic flips the script by allowing people to sign up for free and enjoy generous limits for growing their audience, making it one of the most popular podcast platforms. Free podcast platforms usually offer limited features, but Podomatic features pretty great options.
Features | Availability | Details |
---|---|---|
Multi-channel distribution |
✔ |
Lets users distribute their podcasts to various directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. However, multi-channel distribution is limited compared to dedicated podcast hosting platforms. |
Analytics and listener statistics |
✔ |
Provides detailed analytics, including total plays, listener locations, devices, and listening apps/platforms. |
Advanced monetization options |
✔ |
Offers a Patreon integration for listener support and premium content sales. Additionally, they provide a feature called “AdvertiseCast” for connecting with advertisers. |
Integration with social media & marketing tools |
✔ |
Lets users share episodes on social media platforms and offers embeddable players for easy sharing on websites and blogs. |
Audio editing features |
✘ |
No built-in audio editing features. You would need to use external audio editing software for that purpose. |
Private podcasting |
✘ |
Currently does not offer a dedicated private podcasting feature. However, you can make individual episodes private, which is not as robust or secure as private podcasting features on dedicated podcast hosting platforms. |
Podcast website builder | ✔ | Provides a basic podcast website with an embedded player and episode show notes, but customization options are limited compared to other podcast hosting platforms. |
The free plan is good enough to help beginners establish themselves first as a podcaster. Once the demand for their episodes increases, they can level up to paid plans with high podcast server capacity for greater storage and bandwidth.
And here’s a bunch of alternative podcast web hosting platforms you might want to check out:
Podcast hosting provides audio hosting and RSS feed (basically a listing of all your episodes) for your podcast. Hosting companies upload your audio files, tell the podcast directories (e.g. Spotify or Apple Podcasts) your show’s details, and generate your feed. When a user subscribes to your podcast, the podcast host sends the audio files and media to respective directories directly.
More feature-rich hosts also provide analytics, marketing tools, and other features to make publishing and growing your podcast easy.
The answer is a resounding YES! While podcasting takes a lot of skill to master, running a podcast is extremely rewarding. You spend your time meeting and talking to interesting people and there’s also potential to transform it into a fairly lucrative side hustle or full-time job.
That being said, podcasting is not the easiest way to make money online. You’re likely better of learning how to start a blog if you’re there only for the money. In order to be successful in podcasting, you need to be a great speaker, a self-promoter, and know how to crack a joke from time to time to keep your audience engaged.
The vast majority of podcasts don’t make it big because podcasters don’t have sufficient digital marketing skills to build relationships and grow the listener base.
The podcast hosting platforms featured above should prove to you that there’s one for every type. For example, podcasters looking to level up might want to check out RSS.com’s monetization opportunities. For those whose target audience includes persons with disabilities, they will find lots to love with Fusebox’s auto transcription feature.
Beginners can do this with a podcast hosting service that’s simple and easy to use, such as Buzzsprout which possesses most of the key features that all podcasters look for in a hosting site.