Podcasts are a great way to share your knowledge and expertise, network with others in your industry, expand your audience, and even generate revenue.
But with so many podcast hosting sites and platforms out there, it can be challenging to choose one that will provide all the features and functionalities you need without breaking the bank.
Fortunately, there are many free podcast hosting sites to choose from. You can store and host your show on these platforms and distribute them to leading podcast directories to market them to an audience of millions.
You can also analyze listener metrics and access data that will help you grow your show and reach more people.
Read on for a deep dive into the five best free podcast hosting sites to help you get started in podcasting.
#1 Buzzsprout
Launched in 2009, Buzzsprout is one of the oldest and most popular free podcast hosting sites out there.
This web-based podcast hosting software provides podcasters with a free plan with a wide range of powerful tools to launch, upload, market, and monetize their shows.
Using this platform, you can safely store and host your episode files. Moreover, you can distribute them to leading podcast directories such as:
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Google Podcasts
- Stitcher
- TuneIn
- Amazon Music
- PocketCasts
- Castro
- Castbox
- iHeartRadio
- Overcast
- Podcast Index
Here are the other features that you get with Buzzsprout’s Free plan:
Features
- Work with an easy, user-friendly design and layout
- Store your episodes securely for 90 days
- Maintain RSS feeds easily
- Publish your show directly to your WordPress website using the WordPress plugin
- Add unlimited team members to your account
- Access automatic episode optimization and a podcast player
- Analyze podcast audience metrics and growth using its advanced podcast analytics tool
- Integrate your website with all relevant social media accounts
- Insert ads into episodes with the Dynamic Content Tool
- Partner with affiliate companies on Buzzsprout’s Affiliate Marketplace
- Solicit one-time donations from your listeners via a PayPal button on your podcast site
Pros
- Great for new and seasoned podcasters alike
- Used by more than 300,000 podcasters globally
- Seamless and intuitive user interface
- Easy podcast management
- Supports audio and video file formats
- Valuable learning resources
- Excellent customer support
- Advanced audience analytical data
- Various marketing and monetization tools
Cons
- Only 2 hours of uploads every month
- Automatically removes podcast files after 90 days
- Limited options for podcast website customization
- Multiple podcast channels are only available with paid plans
- Ad-free podcast websites are only available with paid plans
- Episode transcriptions must be paid for
- No membership plan with unlimited audio podcasts
- Buzzsprout is recommended by Podcasters from beginners to experts.
- Podcast Hosting made easy!
#2 Podbean
Podbean is a leading free podcast hosting site that provides podcasters with tools and features to help them grow their shows and listener base.
This powerful podcasting service allows new and experienced podcasters to securely record, upload, publish, scale, and monetize their shows.
With Podbean, you can send your show to top podcast directories such as:
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Google Podcasts
- Amazon Music
- iHeartRadio
- YouTube
- Pandora
- Stitcher
- TuneIn
- PlayerFM
Podbean’s Basic plan is free for all podcasters. You only have to sign up on the platform to start using the following features:
Features
- Host 5 hours of episodes or around 500 MB of files
- Use up to 100 GB monthly bandwidth for free
- Access a Premium podcast recording mobile app for iOS and Android devices to create professional-sounding episodes
- Livestream your shows
- Create a user-friendly podcast website with an embeddable podcast player
- Access basic IAB-certified podcast statistics and analytics
- Distribute your show to leading podcast listening apps and directories
- Use beautiful, mobile-friendly website templates and podcast themes for your website
- Connect social media accounts
- Take listener calls and receive comments in real-time
Pros
- Used by more than 600,000 podcasters worldwide
- Suitable for beginners and experienced podcasters alike
- Up to 5 hours of storage space
- Monthly bandwidth of 100 GB
- Create pro-sounding podcast episodes using the recording app
- Podcast livestreaming
- Create podcast website
- Embeddable podcast player and podcast themes
- IAB-certified podcast stats
Cons
- Unlimited storage space and unmetered bandwidth require a paid plan
- No video podcasts, custom design, domain mapping, or multiple podcast channels on the free plan
- Access to monetization and business podcasting tools requires a paid plan
- Easily start your own podcast today!
- There is a reason Podbean is used by 570,000+ Podcasters!
#3 Spreaker
Spreaker is a popular podcast hosting software from iHeartRadio that rolled out in 2010. Best for new and established podcasters, it is a one-stop shop for everything you need to create, upload, distribute, and market your show.
Best for new and established podcasters, it is a one-stop shop for everything you need to create, upload, distribute, and market your show.
Its Free Speech plan allows you to distribute your show to major distribution platforms:
- iHeartRadio
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Google Podcasts
- Amazon Music
Here are some of the other features and functionalities that you can access with Spreaker’s Free Speech plan:
Features
- Store up to 10 podcast episodes
- Host multiple shows on a single account
- Access the premium mobile app to produce your podcast
- Livestream your show for up to 15 minutes at a time
- Access basic IAB-compliant podcast statistics and analytics to measure your growth and expand your reach
Pros
- One of the best free podcast recording studios available for free
- Broadcasting software and mixers for advanced production tools
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Live broadcasting for 15 minutes per episode
- Basic IAB-certified stats
- Host and manage multiple podcasts on one account
- Available for Android and iOS devices
Cons
- Upload only ten podcast episodes
- Statistics only cover six months of listener data
- Only paid users can monetize their shows
- No advanced features and tools such as auto uploads, customization, collaboration, and priority customer support
- Episode size of only 300 MB for all pricing plans
#4 Anchor
Anchor is another popular free podcast hosting site that is used by millions worldwide. And unlike most leading podcasting platforms, this one is entirely free. It has no hosting fees, paywalls, or hidden charges.
Once you join, you can use all of the offered features without worrying about upgrading to a paid plan when your needs change.
Spotify owns anchor, so there is no doubt that its team knows all about the inner workings of podcasting.
It is fantastic for beginners and professional podcasters alike because it provides a wide range of powerful tools for hosting, distributing, marketing, monetizing, and analyzing podcasts.
With Anchor, you can easily distribute your show to major platforms such as:
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Google Podcasts
- Overcast
- Castbox
- Stitcher
- Pocket Casts
- RadioPublic
- Breaker
Here is a list of Anchor’s best features:
Features
- Use unlimited storage for all of your podcast episodes
- Easily produce your show on the app
- Access its powerful advertising tool Ads by Anchor to find sponsors and monetize your show (US residents only)
- Access IAB-certified metrics and engagement insights to understand how to grow your show
- Integrate full audio tracks from Spotify into your show
- Seamlessly record audio and video podcasts on Riverside and publish them directly on Spotify
- Create a basic podcast website.
- Upload files up to 250 MB
- Combine multiple files into a single episode
Pros
- Upload unlimited episodes
- One-step distribution to leading podcast directories
- Maintain all ownership rights to your content
- IAB-compliant analytical metrics and engagement insights
- Monetize your show (US residents only)
- Add full tracks from Spotify to your episodes
- Quick and seamless video podcasting
- Basic podcast website
- No limit on episode size
Cons
- Technical issues
- Host only one podcast per account
- Upload files only up to 250 MB each
- Monetization options are limited to US residents
#5 Acast
Acast offers a lot of unique features with its free Starter plan. Acast offers a lot of unique features with its free Starter plan. You can record, edit, upload, publish, promote, and monetize your show on a single platform.
Getting started with podcasting or migrating your existing show to this service is incredibly easy.
You can send your show to every podcast directory, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music.
Check out the best features of Acast’s Starter plan:
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- YouTube
- Amazon Music
Check out the best features of Acast’s Starter plan:
Features
- Access unlimited hosting, bandwidth, uploads, and downloads regardless of the size of your show
- Record and edit unlimited hours of studio-quality podcasts
- Record content in separate tracks, add music, sound effects, and audio tracks
- Create a free RSS feed
- Create a beautiful podcast website that automatically updates when you publish new episodes
- Embed Acast’s sleek custom web player on your website, blog, and social media accounts
- Access IAB-certified metrics, such as episode downloads, episode performance, new listeners, geography, app listens, and web player data
- Connect with your audience via Acast+ memberships and offer custom subscriptions and one-time payments
- Monetize your podcast through ads and sponsorships
- Migrate all episodes of your show to Acast seamlessly, without your listeners noticing any changes
- Access an AI episode transcription tool
- Use Snipper to create audio and video clips for social media promotion
Pros
- Studio-quality recording and editing
- Unlimited podcast hosting, bandwidth, and episode uploads and downloads
- Free RSS feed
- Easy import from another platform
- Beautiful, intuitive podcast website
- Custom embeddable web player
- Advanced IAB-certified metrics
- AI episode transcription service
- Monetization through ads and listener support
Cons
- Manual submission of the RSS feed to podcast listening platforms
- Ads on the podcast website
- Only one podcast per account
How to Choose the Best Podcast Hosting Site
Your choice of podcast hosting platform is crucial to your show’s long-term growth.
To continuously expand your listener base and grow your following, you must choose a podcast hosting site that will provide everything you need for uploads, distribution, analytics, monetization, and marketing.
With so many podcast hosting sites offering attractive features for free, it can be difficult to decide which one is the best for your show. The truth is, there is no single, perfect platform for every podcaster.
The best free podcast hosting site depends entirely on your current needs and where you want your show to go in the future.
Here are the main features you should consider:
#1 Bandwidth and Storage
Bandwidth refers to how much content you can stream monthly from your website. If you have unlimited bandwidth, thousands of listeners can stream all your available episodes simultaneously—you won’t have to worry about throttled quality or download speeds.
As for storage limits, you must think long-term. If you plan to produce and share hundreds of episodes for years to come, you need unlimited storage so your listeners can access all of your older content.
But if you are creating a limited podcast series, 1 or 2 GB of storage should be more than enough.
#2 Podcast Analytics
The best way to grow your audience is to keep giving them what they want. And the best way to get objective feedback from them is to track as much listener data as possible.
Your choice of free podcast hosting site should provide Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Certified analytics that will help you create content that your audience is sure to engage with and respond to.
#3 Monetization Options
Again, it’s essential to keep an eye on the future of your podcast. If you foresee your show as a long-term endeavor, you may want to make money from the content you create.
You can leverage podcast hosting site features such as premium subscriptions, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and ads.
Conclusion
A free podcast hosting site is a great way to try out a platform’s features and tools before deciding if it is the right fit for your show.
The podcasting platforms we mentioned on this list offer free plans, so you don’t need to worry about upgrading to a paid subscription later.
We hope you find a free podcast hosting site that meets all your needs and helps you save money down the line.
Check out our website for more podcasting guides if you found this article helpful.
