We’ve researched and tested a lot of podcast hosts over the years, we feel confident in recommending Buzzsprout for podcasters because it is the best overall podcast hosting platform out there.
Buzzsprout is affordable, and reliable, making it easy for beginners when starting a podcast.
The biggest challenge when choosing a podcast host is knowing what to look for and what you need. For example, some hosts are cheaper and more suited to beginners and others have more features or better distribution.
In this guide, we reached out to some of the biggest podcast hosts in the industry to find out which podcast hosting is best for different situations.
| 🏆 Best Overall  | 🥇 Best Hosting  | 🚀Growing  | 🎤 Distribution  |
| 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
What is the Best Podcast Hosting Platform 2024?
Here are my top picks for the best podcast hosting platforms:
Table of Contents
1. Buzzsprout – Best Overall Podcast Hosting Platform
Wired Clip – Bottom Line
If you are looking for the best overall hosting platform for your podcast look no further than Buzzsprout. Unlike some other hosts, you will have full control over your podcast.
Sign up for as low as $12 per month and receive a $20 Amazon gift card
Key Features
- 🎙️ Directory Listing: Broad reach across major podcast platforms.
- 🎙️ Statistics: Deep insights on audience and download trends.
- 🎙️ Magic Mastering™: Auto-enhanced audio quality.
- 🎙️ Monetization: Listener payments, premium content, and ads.
- 🎙️ Episode Optimization: Effortless audio adjustments.
- 🎙️ Transcriptions: Boost accessibility and searchability.
- 🎙️ Multiple Podcasts: Manage many shows with team collaboration.
- 🎙️ Integrations: Connect easily with popular podcast tools.
Pricing
Buzzsprout offers a free trial and has four paid plans ranging from $9 to $79/month.
- Free – Upload 2 hours per month
- $12/month plan allows you to upload 3 hours per month
- $18/month plan allows you to upload 6 hours per month
- $24/month plan allows you to upload 12 hours per month
Exclusive Offer: Unlock savings with our special Buzzsprout promo codes!
- Buzzsprout is recommended by Podcasters from beginners to experts.
- Podcast Hosting made easy!
Further reading: Buzzsprout review.
2. Podbean – Easy-to-use Podcast Hosting
Key Features
- 🎙️ Publishing: Unlimited hosting with professional designs and scheduling.
- 🎙️ Distribution: Wide reach, embed players, and automated social sharing.
- 🎙️ Statistics: In-depth analytics on episodes, listeners, and trends.
- 🎙️ Monetization: Ads, donations, subscriptions, and live stream revenue.
- 🎙️ Studio App: Live streaming, listener interaction, and call-ins.
Pricing
Podbean offers a free trial and has four paid plans ranging from $9 to $79/month.
| Plan | Cost | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 🎙️ Basic Podcast Starter | $0 (Always Free) | Basic starting package |
| 🎧 Unlimited Audio | $9/mo. (annually) or $14 monthly | Unlimited audio podcasting |
| 🎥 Best Value Unlimited Plus | $29/mo. (annually) or $39 monthly | For video podcasts & monetization |
| 🌐 Network | $79/mo. (annually) or $99 monthly | For multiple podcasts & networks |
Exclusive Offer: Unlock savings with coupon codes for Podbean
- Easily start your own podcast today!
- There is a reason Podbean is used by 570,000+ Podcasters!
Further reading: Podbean review
3. Captivate – Best For Growing a Podcast
Key Features
- 🎙️ Unlimited Podcast Hosting with Every Plan
- 🎙️ In-Built Podcast Marketing Suite
- 🎙️ Easy Single Click Submission to Leading Directories (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)
- 🎙️ Easy-to-Understand Analytics
- 🎙️ Simple, Responsive Podcast Websites
Captivate offers three pricing plans with monthly fees ranging from $17 to $90 when paid yearly.
Try Captivate with a 7-day free trial or check out the Captivate review for detailed pricing and features. Discounts also available depending on the time of year.
Every tool you need to start, manage and monetize
your podcast
Unlimited Podcast Hosting
4. BluBrry – Best for Distribution
BluBrry is another podcasting platform with a robust content delivery network. It offers five different subscription plans to choose from, which is perhaps the most diverse of the platforms discussed here since podcast hosting sites offer an average of three.
All of the plans feature no-fault hosting, which gives you breathing room and allows you to go 25 percent above each service plan at no additional cost to you. Other vendors tend to put hard caps on the amount of bandwidth they provide to their customer base.
This eliminates the need in having to unnecessarily upgrade to the next tier if you happen to go slightly above the cap of your current plan.
Additional key features from BluBrry include podcast optimization for delivery platforms such as Google Play and iTunes, Web/FTP upload options, RSS feeds for your podcasts, professional and advanced statistics, and robust content delivery due to the vendor hosting 35 data centers worldwide.
Here is a breakdown of the five plans and their prices upfront:
- Small – You pay $10 per month with no-fault coverage along with 100MB storage per month.
- Medium – You pay $20 per month with no-fault coverage along with 250MB storage per month.
- Large – You pay $40 per month with no-fault coverage along with 500MB storage per month.
- Extra Large – You pay $80 per month with no-fault coverage along with 1,000MB of storage per month.
- Professional – Does not offer a price, but offers unlimited bandwidth. It is safe to say that the price is variable since it is designed to support large businesses looking to push out their podcasting content to their base
If you want to try out BluBrry, you can install it via the PowerPress plugin and install it onto your WordPress website to showcase your podcasting content.
There are also SEO tools to help optimize your podcasts and make them easier to search on your website whenever subscribers get curious.
Blubrry stands as one of the better sites that supports creators, giving them the means to create enticing podcasts and succeed from them.
5. Castos – Best Podcast Hosting Service
Castos makes it easy to migrate your podcasting content via the Seriously Simple Podcast plugin. If you have a WordPress website, the plugin allows you to manage your podcasts via the WordPress dashboard.
You can also create RSS feeds and tie your podcasting content into other platforms such as
iTunes. The plugin also simplifies publishing your podcasts if you want to push out content right away.
The Castos podcast hosting service comes with a 14-day trial to test out the site’s features and see if it suits your fancy or not.
Below are the three plans that you can choose from:
- Starter – Sold at $190 per year (or $19 per month). The Starter plan allows unlimited podcasts, unlimited episodes, detailed podcast analytics for your podcasts, private podcasting, and podcast hosting service along with a personalized podcast website.
- Growth – Sold at $490 per year (or $49 per month). The Growth plan stacks the Starter plan on top of this one and includes YouTube video republishing and audiogram integration.
- Pro – Sold at $990 per year (or $99 per month). As you might’ve guessed, the Pro plan stacks the Growth and Starter plans on top of it and includes video podcast hosting sites along with more advanced analytics.
The podcast website’s page is customizable and responsive. Castos offers pre-built templates to tie into the theme of your podcasting series, regardless if it’s for mobile devices or your desktop computers. You can pick a unique website for each of your podcasts. The customizable colors gave the websites we created a nice touch to them.
While Castos has nice aesthetic features, its social media support is top-notch. You can share your podcasts via YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook where listeners will be able to follow you
A podcast hosting platform that automates ever step in building a successful podcast.
14-Day Free Trial
Further reading: Castos review
6. Transistor
This website comes with private podcasting and unlimited shows built into it. Coupled with public shows, you will be able to share private feeds with your audience, regardless if it’s premium content or internal podcasts.
Transistor comes with a free 14-day trial so that you can upload your shows and play around with the site’s features for a couple of weeks before you decide whether or not you want to commit to the site.
Cost-wise, the site’s pricing structure is based on monthly downloads. Costs are incurred based on the total accumulation of shows you have on your account. Here’s an estimate of what to expect:
- Starter – 10,000 downloads per month for $19/month
- Professional – 50,000 downloads per month for $49/month
- Business – 100,000 downloads per month for $99/month
What differentiates the three plans are based on the number of users supported on a per-podcast basis. The Starter plan supports two users, while the Professional and Business plans support five and ten respectively.
Both Professional and Business also allow subscribers on a per-podcast basis. Business is the most advanced of the three plans where it allows up to 1,000 subscribers for each podcast. While it is expensive, it is something to consider if you are confident that your content will draw in a large audience.
Transistor also offers private podcasting, which is an effective method of monetizing your podcasts while keeping your community engaged.
It’s offering premium-level content that real followers are willing to pay top dollar for, or a community-based show where it’s available to members only. It’s quite easy to run a private show, where you can invite your audience and the rest will handle itself.
7. Red Circle – Best Podcast Host for Monetization
Red Circle is an all-in-one platform to monetize, host, and distribute your podcast.
- All in one Podcast platform
- Excellent Monetization Features
"Was super easy for me to make the switch over, support was outstanding"
Further reading: RedCircle Review
8. Anchor.fm
Anchor advertise themselves as one of the easiest podcast hosts to start with, and they’re not wrong.
They make it easy to create and distribute podcasts with ease. You will have access to a wide variety of the site’s editing tools to create pro-level podcasts.
What makes Anchor unique is the ability to host podcasts for free. That’s right, Anchor is one of the few free podcast hosting platforms. This is because one of the co-founders of the site, Nir Zicherman, is firm in his belief that podcasters should not have to pay for one of the best podcast hosting services like it’s the early 2000s. This is due to the fact that the companies that charge money for hosting podcasts have been around for decades.
This is a very deep contrast as the public has access to cloud technology, making it easier to host data on the internet. Google has a business model where hosting is offered for video, audio, and textual content via cloud services, such as Google Drive.
After signing on to Anchor ourselves, the site is true to its word of keeping podcasting content free.
The monetization aspect of Anchor is one of the more appealing features that Anchor has to offer.
Anchor will work in partnering you with willing sponsors that you are willing to work with and select which of your episodes you want to monetize.
You’ll also have the option to choose which podcast episodes you want ads to appear in, in exchange for reading all sponsorships while your podcast is being recorded. It is a seamless process that easily blends within your show.
Subscribers do not need an account with Anchor to be able to subscribe to their podcasts.
We had a chance to try out the vendor’s free recording software and managed to get some high-quality podcast files out of it.
9. RSS.com
RSS.com gives podcasters unlimited audio storage. Very easy-to-use interface making it easy to distribute and share your podcast everywhere.
- Podcasting Made Easy
- Start
- Grow
- Monetize
"5 star product, couldn't be easier to get started"
Full RSS.com review
10. Simplecast
Simplecast has been around since 2013, making it one of the premier hosting sites for podcasters looking to expand their branding. comes with a free 14-day trial.
Once the trial period expires you can choose whether to opt with a subscription plan from the site or move to another platform. If you choose to upgrade, the basic plan runs at $15 per month.
There are also Essential and Growth plans if you’re looking to go big on your podcast branding. Here’s a quick rundown of each of the three plans:
- Basic – $15 per month ($13.50 per month if pre-paid annually)
- Essential – $35 per month (31.50 per month if pre-paid annually)
- Growth – $85 per month ($76.50 per month if pre-paid annually)
Some of the features available in the Basic plan include unlimited storage and uploads, a show website with a customizable domain, an embeddable web player to showcase your episodes.
The platform makes it easy to distribute your content across a wide audience.
11. Podomatic
Podomatic is partnered with Patreon and Advertisecast to give podcasters the ability to monetize their podcasts. When you sign up, you’re automatically placed with the basic plan, which offers 500 MB storage and 15 GB bandwidth per month. That’s almost 180 hours worth of audio content that you can put out to draw a sizeable audience.
Features include but are not limited to:
– Pro design tools
– Monetization support via Patreon
– Placement for your podcast page
– Customer support
– Statistics to track your podcasts
Pro – 100GB bandwidth per month along with 2GB of storage. The plan is $8.32 per month when billed yearly or $9.99 per month if you opt for the monthly-only plan.
Pro Plus – 200GB bandwidth per month along with 2.5GB of storage. The plan is $12.49 per month
when billed yearly or $14.99 per month if opting with the monthly-only plan.
Pro Platinum – 500GB per month along with 5GB of storage for $20.82/month
Broadcaster – The Broadcaster plan is a unique plan where you can create a podcast website and host it via the Weebly platform. While it doesn’t show how much it costs, it offers both unlimited podcast storage and bandwidth, so you can expect that it will cost you quite a bit.
The platform recommends using just the Pro plan if you’re just starting out. You can use the other three plans if you manage to cap the Pro plan.
The site is partnered with Weebly to offer podcasters website hosting services. Weebly is a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy to build podcast websites with no coding experience needed. This is useful if you’re a solopreneur that specializes in blogging, e-commerce, or social media marketing. The builder comes with integrated podcast feeds for visitors who wish to listen to your content.
Podomatic offers a free app, available to download from the Google Play Store or iOS. On top of that,
the site is also one of the premier free podcast hosting services perfect for beginners and true to its word.
12. Spreaker
Spreaker originated in 2009, hosting more than dozens of shows under its name. The details on the platform seemed sparse at first until we clicked on the tabs to give additional information.
What differentiates Spreaker from other podcasting sites is that it has an abundance of features that it offers for free once you sign up. This includes important stuff such as the ability to auto-publish to different podcast websites, social media platforms, unlimited bandwidth, direct podcaster contact, and free live recording apps for iOS and Android phones.
Best of all, it comes with a free starter plan for people who are interested in starting podcasts.
The platform has four different plans available for you to choose from:
- Free Speech – Doesn’t cost anything and offers a podcast hosting service for multiple podcasts
- On-Air Talent – Costs $6 per month when billed annually or $7 monthly only. Includes the Free Speech features plus RSS that are customizable along with monetized programming
- Broadcaster – Costs $18 per month when billed annually or $20 monthly only. This plan is the most popular plan on the site and adds features from the previous two plans, including advanced stats for your podcasts’ advanced analytics as well as limited access podcasts.
- Anchorman – The most advanced plan available on Spreaker, which costs $45 per month if you’re paying for an annual plan or $50 monthly. It tacks on the features of the previous three plans, including the ability to customize your podcast player’s colors, and provides full stats on how your podcasts are doing worldwide.
13. Soundcloud
Soundcloud is one of the best podcast hosting platforms in use today. The site made its debut back in 2015 and boasts more the 150 million visitors.
It also averages 12 hours of content uploaded per minute daily, serving as a testament to the platform’s popularity. Not only is it utilized to host music from professional and indie creators, but it also serves as one of the best podcast hosting services available on the internet space.
Their podcast hosting platform offers the use of their embedded players via their subscription plans, where you can embed your player through WordPress if you own a page on that site.
Purchasing an account with Soundcloud Pro Unlimited will give you access to scheduled releases, unlimited upload time, embed controls, and the option to pin five podcasts into your profile.
The Pro Unlimited plan only costs a very modest $12 per month (or $10.80 a month if you’re buying a yearly plan). Access to the plan also provides you with other useful utilities such as podcast spotlight, savings on extra tools, and Soundcloud Go+ for $4.99.
If you still have cold feet about opting for Soundcloud Pro Unlimited, you can sign up with a free account on Soundcloud. The free account gives you access to the site’s basic features, where you can upload up to three hours of audio content for listeners. The audio is lossless and gives users the option to download podcast files and listen to them on the go.
Soundcloud also provides basic stats but lacks the more advanced features of Soundcloud Pro Unlimited.
14. libsyn
Officially known as Liberated Syndication, Libsyn was founded in ‘04 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. Libsyn also has a large customer base, where more than 30,000 podcasts are hosted on-site, spanning 62 million customers around the world.
The podcast hosting service offers four different subscription plans, where all four plans are differentiated based
of the following:
– Classic 50 (50MB monthly storage for $5/month)
– Classic 250 (250MB monthly storage for $15/month)
– Advanced 400 (400MB monthly storage for $20/month)
– Advanced 800 (800MB monthly storage for $40/month)
All of the above podcast host plans include RSS compliance for podcast directories or RSS feed like Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, Libsyn Podcast Directory Listing, Podcast Source App Listing, Secure RSS Feed, and other features to round out your podcasting. The plans also offer
a file manager to manage your podcasts, along with text, PDF, video, and audio hosting. The $5 plan makes this a bargain if you’re just starting out.
For businesses that are looking to spread audio content to their audiences, there’s also Libsyn Pro.
The Libsyn Pro plan is ideal if you’re leading a professional company that’s looking to share its podcasting content with a willing audience.
There’s multiple user account management support, exclusive mobile apps for smartphone users, 24/7 telephone support, ad campaign management, and unlimited uploads of new content for your listeners. Some of the most notable individuals that use Libsyn Pro include financial expert Dave Ramsey and entrepreneur Gary Vee.
15. Fuzebox fm Hosting – Ex Smart Podcast Player
Smart Podcast player (SPP), rebranded as fusebox fm is the brainchild of entrepreneur Pat Flynn (who also owns Smart Passive Income). Smart Podcast Player is the result of his years of podcasting, where he shares his love of the hobby with other podcasters through his own product. SPP is the only platform that offers smart email capture via a WordPress site plugin, which essentially persuades listeners to sign up via email newsletter. Making Smart podcast player ideal for podcast websites.
Using SPP is quite easy and makes perfect sense why its used by many podcast hosts. All you need to do is install it via the Smart Podcast Player WordPress site plugin, and the player will be ready to go. You’ll still need to add on the RSS feed once the player finishes installing, and then enter URL subscriptions in order to link your podcast directories and an RSS feed like Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts. The player also offers color customization and allows you to add it to whatever pages and posts you share online.
Fusebox 2.0 now offers an updated user interface and features along with an option for hosting your podcast now.
Grow your podcast using the Fusebox Podcast player, developed by Pat Flynn and his SPI team.
Maximize your show’s exposure today!
| Best Overall  | Best Hosting  | Growth  |
| Primary Rating: 4.9 | Primary Rating: 4.6 | Primary Rating: 4.4 |
| Receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card | Exclusive Offer 35% OFF | Starting at $17 a month |
Podcast Hosting FAQs
What is a podcast hosting service?
A podcast hosting service is a platform that allows you to store, distribute, and manage your podcast episodes. It provides the necessary storage space and features to upload, organize, and promote your podcast.
Why do I need a podcast hosting service?
You need a podcast hosting service to ensure that your podcast episodes are available for streaming and downloading. It also provides essential features like podcast analytics, distribution to different podcast directories, and the ability to monetize your podcast.
What should I look for in a podcast hosting provider?
When choosing a podcast hosting provider, consider factors like pricing, storage space, analytics, ease of use, monetization options, customer support, and integration with podcasting platforms and directories.
Which are the best podcast hosting platforms in 2024?
The best podcast hosting platforms in 2024 include Buzzsprout, Podbean, and Captivate. Each platform offers different features and pricing plans, so you can choose one that suits your needs and budget.
Is there a free podcast hosting option available?
Yes, some podcast hosting platforms offer a free plan that allows you to host a limited number of podcast episodes with a certain amount of storage space. However, free plans usually have limitations, and you may need to upgrade to a paid plan for additional features and more storage capacity.
How do I start a podcast?
To start a podcast, you need to plan your podcast content, set up a podcast hosting account, record your episodes, edit them, upload them to your podcast hosting platform, and promote your podcast on various platforms and directories.
How Much Does Podcast Hosting Cost?
The cost of hosting varies between platforms. Generally, you can upload your podcasts for free (limited either by subscriptions or free by design). Different platforms offer premium plans to give podcasters access to extra features. The amount of money you pay is dictated based on how many downloads occur each month and how much your budget can support.
What are the benefits of using a podcast hosting service?
Using a podcast hosting service allows you to easily manage your podcast episodes, store them securely, distribute them to major podcast directories, track your podcast analytics, and monetize your podcast through sponsorships or advertising.
Can I distribute my podcast across multiple platforms with a podcast hosting service?
Yes, most podcast hosting services allow you to distribute your podcast to major podcast directories and listening platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more. They provide the necessary tools and integration to reach a wider audience.
How do I monetize my podcast with a podcast hosting service?
Podcast hosting services typically offer monetization options like dynamic ad insertion, sponsorship opportunities, premium content subscriptions, and donation support. These options allow you to generate revenue from your podcast.
Don’t Just Take Our Opinion:
Here is what other websites data has concluded as being the best hosting for podcasters:
- Elegant Themes identifies the top podcast hosting platforms as: 1. Buzzsprout, celebrated for its ease of use; 2. Blubrry, favored by WordPress users; and 3. Podbean, renowned for its monetization capabilities. Source.
- WPBeginner’s top picks for podcast hosting platforms are: 1. Podbean; 2. Buzzsprout; and 3. Blubrry. Source.
- On Reddit, users often praise established platforms like Podbean and Libsyn. One user highlighted, “For me, rss.com was the best option. It’s within my budget and offers unlimited uploads.” Source.
- According to G2 scores, Storyboard is the easiest-to-use podcast hosting software, followed by SoundCloud and RSS.com. Source.
- Hostinger ranks premium podcast hosting services as: 1. Libsyn; 2. Blubrry; and 3. RSS.com. Source.
Summary of Top Podcast Hosting Platforms
Notable mention to Rss.com
Cut! That’s a wrap, my list of the best podcast hosting platforms. Select the best host based on your requirements such as storage, distribution, ease of use, and analytics. You also need to evaluate features such as growth, monetization, and support.
As your channel grows, you need a podcast hosting platform that can scale and grow with your podcast. Whether you’re starting a new website or looking to switch providers, this guide has you covered.
- Buzzsprout is recommended by Podcasters from beginners to experts.
- Podcast Hosting made easy!
