If you want to reach new audiences, then podcasts are a great way to connect with your audience and reach out to more listeners.
There is a vast range of tools that can help you do this. One of the essential things you need for running your own podcast show is a podcast hosting platform.
Castos and Podbean are two of the most popular podcast websites, and they have their own unique features.
We take a closer look at Castos vs Podbean, what they have to offer, and some interesting features.
There is also a handy guide at the end of this article that tells you everything you need to know about how to choose the right web hosting platform for you.
Best Podcast Hosting Site: Castos vs Podbean
Both Podbean and Castos podcast hosting platforms offer some great functionality for podcast beginners as well as experts.
Here are some of their best features.
Castos Podcast Platform
If you have a website that runs with WordPress, then Castos podcast hosting service is your best choice as a podcast hosting site.
It integrates with WordPress surprisingly easily, and you can manage all your podcasts from within your WordPress dashboard.
This allows you to publish all your episodes and content in one place, and you don’t have to manage a lot of moving parts on the Castos dashboard.
In addition, this also means you don’t need to manage different podcast elements, such as your website and a separate podcast page.
With an additional WordPress plugin, you can also generate different RSS feeds for your individual podcasts.
You can easily create an embedded player to add to your website and on social media.
The integration with WordPress is what makes Castos podcast hosting service truly stand out but there are also a few other features that are promising, such as the unlimited storage capacity.
While WordPress is the exception, many podcast hosting companies don’t allow users to host podcasts because these files take up a lot of space.
This means that usually, you would need a separate podcast platform to upload and share your files from.
This is not necessary with Castos if you have a WordPress website.
A podcast hosting platform that automates ever step in building a successful podcast.
14-Day Free Trial
Podbean Podcast Hosting Platform
Podbean podcast hosting platform has a large range of popular features. It offers a free plan if you want to start podcasting, but you can also opt for a paid plan if you intend to make your podcast grow.
Podbean’s paid plans for podcast creators are some of the cheapest. With a paid plan, you get unlimited storage as well as bandwidth.
CHECK IT OUT: Podbean Discount
You can create your own podcast site, adjust the look of your podcasts and view advanced analytics on your podcasts’ performance.
One great advantage of Podbean podcast platform is that you can use your own domain, so you can integrate your podcasts into your marketing campaigns and website.
- Easily start your own podcast today!
- There is a reason Podbean is used by 570,000+ Podcasters!
Best Podcast Hosting Platforms Guide
When it comes to choosing a podcast hosting provider, there are a few things you need to consider.
Here are the essential features you need to look out for when signing up with a podcast hosting platform.
Number Of Episodes, Shows, And Channels
If you are just starting out making your first few podcasts, then this may not be on your radar yet but many podcast hosting platforms restrict the number of episodes you can upload per month.
Some podcast hosting platforms limit the number of hours you can upload, while others just restrict the number of shows.
If you already know that you will create more than a few episodes per month then it’s a good idea to go for a podcast hosting platform that gives you either a good amount of audio storage for unlimited podcasts or the number of episodes that you want to upload.
If you have an ambitious broadcaster plan, then finding a podcast hosting provider that allows for most of the following features will help you achieve your goals faster:
- unlimited bandwidth
- excellent customer service
- easy to use dashboard
- unlimited downloads
- unlimited upload time
- unlimited episodes
Free website
A great advantage of a podcast hosting platform is that they create a free website for your channel automatically.
Some podcast hosting platforms use their own site builders, while others use WordPress to power these small websites.
It’s a great advantage if you are keen to keep your podcasts separate from your main website.
Use Your Own Domain
Some podcast hosting services only allow you to use their own domain name for the free website. However, with other podcast hosting platforms, you can also use your own domain name.
This will make your podcasts and channel look more professional.
Manage Team Members
If you are the only one producing and managing your podcasts, then this is not an issue.
But if you have a few people on your team or you co-host your podcast, then you will need a multiple users feature to give everyone access to manage your podcasts.
Not every podcast app allows for multiple users, and for some, you will need to pay for this feature.
Being able to manage team members is especially important when you want to run multiple podcasts or channels with the same podcast hosting plan.
Embedding Options
Ideally, you want to share your podcasts far and wide with as many listeners as possible. This means you will need to generate a player that you can embed in your website and social media pages.
Check that your podcast hosting provider allows you to create an embed code for each of your episodes.
The audio player should also look good on mobile, and it should have its own look so you can direct people to a new episode.
Marketing Campaign Tools
You will need to make sure that you market your podcasts as best as possible.
Some podcast hosting platforms have integrated marketing tools, such as automated posts to your social media page.
ALSO SEE: Best Podcast Promotion Services
Podcast Performance Tools
It’s important to understand how each episode is doing, how many listeners a new episode had and how popular your shows are.
Some podcast platforms give you access to custom, powerful analytics dashboards, or even an easy integration with Google Analytics.
Price
For most podcast hosting services, you will need to pay. Paid plans always have much better features.
Saying this, when you are just starting out, you can sign up to a free plan with most podcast websites, and then upgrade to the paid features later.
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Final Thoughts
Both Podbean and Castos are excellent podcast hosting sites that allow you to upload and share your audio files with a wide audience.