Best Platforms for Hosting a Podcast: 10 Best Services

Before you decide which of the best podcast hosting services to employ, there are a few key things to remember regarding podcasting. The first is bandwidth since podcast audio files tend to be large. Thus, you’ll need lots of bandwidth to ensure uninterrupted broadcasting to listeners. The second is storage space because most podcast hosts put a limit, especially on starter plans. Therefore, you’ll need more if your show becomes popular.

The third thing to consider is the ease of use. A good podcast hosting should come with built-in tools to help you publish your show and track its performance. Finally, think about the price. Many podcast hosts offer free plans, but some charge a monthly fee. With that in mind, let’s press on.

List of the Best Podcast Hosting Platforms

Hosting a podcast can be very expensive. You should also make sure to provide the best listening experience to your users. With all these in mind, let’s have a look at the list of the best podcast hosting platforms:

1. Podbean

Podbean is our preferred choice among services for podcast hosting. Premium plans offer unlimited bandwidth and storage space, as well as a wide variety of tools to help you get your show out there and monitor how it performs.

It also has a beautiful design suite that allows you to build your website with various themes. Aside from this, the service provides built-in promotion tools that automatically submit your episodes to all major podcast directories.

The free plan, which is great for beginners, has a limited storage capacity of 5 hours, as well as 100 GB of bandwidth. In contrast, the paid ones, Unlimited and Business plans, cost between $9 and $99 per month with annual plans, or from $14 to $129 for a monthly commitment.

2. Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout is a popular podcast hosting choice across the globe. It offers unmetered bandwidth and unrestricted storage space, plus a wide array of tools to help you publish your podcast and review the analytics. Simply upload your media file, and the program will take care of the rest.

They’ll also distribute your episodes to all well-known podcast directories, ensuring that your podcast is accessible on all platforms and devices. The user interface is straightforward to use.

Moreover, the Easy Embed plugin gives you control over various features, including cover art, social sharing buttons, forward and backward skip controls, and more. In addition, you can personalize the site’s appearance and utilize a custom domain name. The limited free plan lasts 90 days with 2 hours per month. Whereas, paid subscriptions begin at $12 per month for three hours of uploading monthly.

3. Blubrry

Blubrry provides podcast hosting options tailored to both beginners and experienced podcasters and has been active since 2005. They also allow you to use the popular podcasting plugin PowerPress, making it simple to start a podcast right from your WordPress site. The service also allows you to publish your show to Apple Podcasts (previously iTunes) and Google Podcasts with ease.

Blubrry also has several revenue options, podcast analytics, social sharing features, unlimited downloads, and even phone and email support.

Their Standard plan starts at $12/month and offers 100 MB of storage, but you can also pick the Advanced one. The latter starts at 250 MB/month for $20/month and lets you expand storage as you go and access detailed tracking tools.

4. Acast

Acast is one of the podcast hosting services renowned worldwide. The basic analytics, limitless episodes, and simple podcast website are all available in the free version.

Unfortunately, you can’t use Acast on the free plan to link with Patreon, customize your website, monetize with advertising, or distribute to Amazon Music, Spotify, or YouTube. Instead, you’ll have to submit your RSS feed to listening sites manually for the time being.

There’s no limit to the number of episodes you can post on the free plan, nor do you need to provide your payment information. However, all plans have a 150 MB file download restriction to match Apple Podcasts’ file size limitations.

Acast lets you have lots of podcasts, but each is tied to a separate plan on the free tier. This isn’t an issue if you’re a listener, but it makes upgrading more costly if you host a plethora of podcasts.

5. Transistor

Transistor is one of the sophisticated yet simple-to-use podcast hosting services suitable for both experts and novices. They have a variety of podcast hosting solutions, so you won’t be charged by hours uploaded.

Instead, uploading your content is straightforward, and you don’t get charged for making extra podcasts. They also offer podcast analytics, so you may examine the performance of each episode and support integration into WordPress posts and pages.

There are some drawbacks to using Transistor but one stood out—they limit the number of monthly downloads. While you’ll need to upgrade your plan as your podcast grows, the provider promises not to cut off delivery in the meantime. The base plan, Starter, begins at $19 per month with a maximum of 15,000 downloads.

6. Captivate

The creators of Captivate have plenty of expertise, making it an outstanding solution for your podcast. One notable benefit is the 7-day free trial, as well as their flexible plans that give you all features from the get-go.

You also get a knowledgeable Customer support team and in-depth analytics that are simple to comprehend, as the company owner has been a podcaster since 2013. Captivate’s websites and the podcast player are, shall we say, captivating.

However, they’re also functional, with built-in CTA (calls to action) techniques to assist you in directing people. You can also add as many team members as you like to podcast management. Of course, there’s a lot more to it. For instance, they launched a feature that lets you make a podcast sponsorship kit PDF, permitting you to highlight current episodes and show key download counts.

7. Libsyn

Libsyn (Liberated Syndication) is one of the longest-running services for hosting a podcast. They offer several monetization options, advanced social media sharing, and a simple uploading system with a drag-and-drop interface.

There’s even a WordPress plugin for effortless website integration. Libsyn also has an app for both iOS and Android devices and supports all leading podcasting platforms. Though everything looks incredible, one thing to note is their subscription packages. Because of the limits they impose, you’ll need to upgrade your plan as your podcast expands.

Libsyn plans begin at $5 per month for unlimited downloads and up to 162 MB each month. You can pay $2 per month for optional access to basic statistics.

8. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a music and podcast hosting service you surely heard about. The good news is that you may embed any episode by inserting the URL into your WordPress posts and pages. For up to 3 hours of uploads, SoundCloud is free for all users.

Paid plans come with extra storage, bandwidth, sophisticated analytics, and monetization and distribution choices. It’s simple to use but not the most configurable or adaptable podcast hosting service. If you’re looking for a service that can better adjust to changes, consider Libsyn as a superior alternative.

9. Spreaker

Spreaker’s plans offer comprehensive audio storage capacity, which is beneficial if you’re uploading a lot or focusing on long podcasts. The Broadcaster plan, which costs $20 per month, provides 500 hours of storage, while the Anchorman plan, the most expensive one, expands that to 1,500 for $50 per month. It’s simple to move from one plan to another, too. If you use all your space up, you may simply level up.

Spreaker’s key differentiator is the ability to manage numerous podcasts using a single account. They’re also one of the few podcast hosts to have IAB-certified statistics, which is becoming more common in the sector. It works as a revenue-sharing model in which podcasters get 60% of ad income, and Spreaker keeps 40%.

10. Castos (Formerly Podiant)

Castos is one of the few podcast hosts that provide unlimited storage and bandwidth, and won’t charge you extra or raise your rates as your following grows. Furthermore, it has a fantastic statistics page and provides a 14-day free trial for paid plans.

heir Production Assistant tool, for example, can assist with scripting, reviewing, and adding notes to edits and other tasks from your dashboard.

For longer podcasts with complex scripts or many cast members, or shows with hosts in various locations, this can be quite beneficial management-wise. Castos also deserves kudos for providing aesthetically appealing podcast-oriented websites. Finally, their professional plans allow you to host multiple podcasts with a single account and get direct technical assistance.