When starting your own podcast, you’ll need to carefully plan the steps you’re going to take in order to get your podcast episodes out there and possibly make money from them. Aside from gathering the right equipment, one important thing you’ll need to do is figure out is which of the podcast hosting platforms or sites to use.
Hosting your podcast has become a lot easier as of late, especially with the number of avid podcasters increasing all around the world. There are also more podcast websites than ever, all of which are perfectly capable of allowing your show to reach different audiences. Some are free, some are not, and some are more simplistic than others. All you need is to find out which one best suits your needs.
What is a podcast hosting site?
A podcast hosting site is a service that allows you to store and send your files. A site allows your audience to find you, share, and listen to your podcasts. Some podcast hosting sites are free, but if you want more than the basic storage plan, you’ll need to end up paying. These sites should also allow you to track your performance so you can grow, give you the tools you need to learn, and help you advertise.
How to choose a podcast hosting site?
There are so many hosting sites out there. The best way to find one is to see which user interface (UI) you like the most. You want your audience to be able to find your podcasts easily and navigate through your episodes with ease. With that in mind, you also want to have as much reach as possible. It all comes down to price, how much are you willing to spend and what’s in your budget. Most sites give you a trial, so test out some and see which one sticks!
Top Podcast Platforms & Hosting Sites
To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve listed down ten of the most popular podcast hosting sites that most beginners and successful podcasters are using today. We’ll tell you about their hosting services, requirements, and other related details so you can decide which one can meet both your immediate and long-term needs.
Libsyn
Pricing: $5 to $75 per month
Monthly Storage: 50MB to 1500MB
Libsyn, or Liberated Syndication, is one of the first podcast hosting sites ever created. As a pioneer in the podcast hosting industry, it began hosting and publishing podcasts as early as November 2004. Now, it hosts over 25,000 shows with over 44 million listeners a month.
The service provider offers everything for your podcast needs, including easy RSS feed integration, customization of information for iTunes, a variety of publishing tools, media hosting and delivery, accurate statistics, ad programs, premium content, apps for different operating systems (iOS, Android, and Windows), and more.
Podbean
Pricing: $3 to $99+ per month
Monthly Storage: 100MB and above
PodBean is home to both podcasters and listeners. Like Libsyn, it has access to a massive audience, as it provides podcast solutions for large organizations and even radio stations. Its simplified interface is ideal for beginners who want to be able to easily upload, publish, manage, and promote their podcasts without any technical training.
Aside from the usual podcast hosting, PodBean extends their service with video hosting and by offering unlimited uploads for premium members and crowdfunding options for podcasters who are looking for income to support their shows.
Buzzsprout
Pricing: $0 to $24 monthly
Monthly Upload: 2 to 12 Hours
Aside from having superb customer support, Buzzsprout prides itself on being a user-friendly site that makes uploading, sharing, and tracking shows super easy without the need for advanced knowledge in technical functions. Even if you’re already with a different hosting company, you can easily switch to Buzzsprout by entering your existing URL feeds—and they’ll import the episodes for you.
Another advantage of being on Buzzsprout is that they have much more flexible and affordable terms—their free plan allows you to upload shows as long as two hours for free every month and up to 12 hours per month under their most “expensive” paid plan.
SoundCloud
Pricing: $0 to $16 monthly
Monthly Upload: 3 Hours to Unlimited
SoundCloud has been a well-known audio file host for the longest time, but they only started offering their own podcast hosting service in 2014. Aside from being able to upload and download audio files, you can now generate an RSS feed for your podcast within the site.
One advantage of using this popular podcast hosting platform is that it already has a large pool of musicians, which draws in lots of listeners—this benefits new podcasters who are looking to reach a sizable audience. It also offers embeddable players to allow you to market your content on social networking sites.
PodOmatic
Pricing: $0 to $74.99 monthly
Monthly Storage: 500MB to Unlimited
For many, PodOmatic offers the easiest way to start podcasting. Simply record straight on the website and it will produce the RSS feed that you can use to get your podcast on iTunes (or Apple Podcasts), Google Play, and Spotify directories.
If you’re looking to increase your listenership or set up possible collaborations, PodOmatic makes for a great platform for connecting with fellow podcasters.
Blubrry
Pricing: $12 to $80+ monthly
Monthly Storage: $100MB to Unlimited
Blubrry is a favorite among podcasters on WordPress. Aside from keeping you from wasting time and effort in integrating podcasts with your WordPress site, it provides statistics to inform you of your listeners’ platforms, podcast clients, geography, domains, and referrers.
If you’re looking to find advertisers, this platform may be exactly what you need. It has a huge—and loyal—client base, which means you can expect this platform to provide reliable service to both podcasters and listeners alike.
Audioboom
Pricing: $9.99+
Monthly Upload: 5 Episodes and Above
Audioboom is a great choice if your main goals are to distribute and monetize your hosted content. The site is capable of distributing your show or entire network via leading podcast services, namely Apple Podcasts, Google Play, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Stitcher, for maximum exposure.
As a listener, you can also have access to unlimited channels and episodes without having to subscribe to a paid plan. The site also offers advanced statistics as well as embeddable players for your website and social media pages.
Spreaker
Pricing: $0 to $119.99 monthly
Monthly Storage: 5 hours to Unlimited
Perhaps what sets Spreaker apart from most of the other podcast hosting sites is its beginner-friendly and well-designed interface. Most of the listening is done on the minimalistic Spreaker mobile app, which can also be customized according to your personal preferences. In fact, it offers a variety of apps to suit your specific needs as a host or listener.
Fireside
Pricing: $19 monthly
Monthly Storage: Unlimited
The fact that the team behind Fireside are podcasters themselves may just be the assurance that you need to avail of their service. They provide accurate and detailed stats and analytics in real-time, so you can find out how well your show is doing, which episodes are doing better than others, and many more.
If you have your podcast hosted elsewhere, you can easily import them into Fireside without losing your subscribers. You also get an awesome website and blog (with a customized domain name) for your podcast.
Check out the 7-day free trial to see and learn more about Fireside.
Simplecast
Pricing: $12 monthly
Monthly Storage: Unlimited
Another host that has gained the trust of thousands of podcasters is Simplecast. Dedicated to providing its clients with the easiest way to get their audio published, Simplecast offers one-click publishing to major distributors, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Like Fireside, they offer just one simple plan that unlocks unlimited storage and plays. They also provide accurate analytics, a customizable website, embeddable players, and many more.
Simplecast also features an option where you can invite others to collaborate with you on future podcasts.
All of these are available with their 14-day free trial, which does not require a credit card.
Captivate
Pricing: 17 Euros – 90 Euros monthly
Captivate was created by podcasters for podcasters and offers a free 7-day trial with no contract and you can cancel at any time. Captivate is a UK company so their pricing will be in Euros, so for those North American podcasters it would be more beneficial to choose one of the North American podcast hosting sites. Their plans range as low as 17 Euros and go up to 90 Euros. The higher you go, the more downloads your audience can do a month. They offer free podcast courses and helpful videos on how to amplify your podcast as well.
Transistor
Pricing: $19 – $99 monthly
Transistor is based in the U.S, and gives you a 14-day trial period. You have the option for monthly subscriptions or yearly, and they go up to $99/month for the highest one. Transistor is great for those who have multiple podcasts because you still only pay one monthly price. Transistor offers analytics to see which episode is your most popular, and how many people have subscribed. The 14-day trial should be more than enough time to see if Transistor is right for you.
Castos
Pricing: $19 – $99 monthly
Castos offers a 14-day free trial to get a feel for their service. Much like Transistor, the prices are similar and it’s ideal for multiple different podcasts since it will be one monthly price. The coolest Castos feature is that it gives you the location of where your audience listens from. Castos also has a YouTube republisher which converts your audio to video and publishes them to YouTube to expand your audience.
Resonate
Pricing: $25 – $49 monthly
Resonate has live support ready to help you at any time. Plus, the pricing is more affordable than other hosting sites. You have the option for a 14-day free trial to test it out. You will also be paying for the type of audio you want as well, depending on your service. Resonate focuses on editing and publishing your podcast.
RSS.com
Pricing: $4.99 – $12.99 monthly
One of the most affordable podcast hosting sites out there is RSS. You get unlimited storage, distribution to major podcast directories, sponsorship opportunities and more. They also have six months free if you sign up, which is pretty incredible. The site is easy to navigate and they have 24/7 customer support with the highest plan.
Feature photo neil godding on Unsplash.
