Starting a podcast can be a lot of fun, but it’s important to choose the best podcast hosting service to make sure your show is successful. In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 7+ best podcast hosting services, along with our top 3 choices. So whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been podcasting for years, there’s definitely a host here for you!
Do you dream of starting your own hugely successful podcast?
When it comes time to record, not every microphone will do.
You need one that captures crystal-clear audio so listeners can hear every word clearly!
It’s not as simple as recording some audio files and uploading them to iTunes.
There are over 850,000 podcasts in the world right now!
But which service is best for hosting podcasts?
In this guide, you will discover the best podcast hosting options available to you on the market today and a few podcast hosting providers for you to choose from.
What Is The Best Podcast Hosting Services?
Contents
- 1 What Is The Best Podcast Hosting Services?
- 2 What is a podcast hosting platform?
- 3 What are podcast directories?
- 4 What is the best podcast hosting service?
- 5 What is the Best Free Podcast Hosting service?
- 6 Wrapping Up
From tons of podcast-hosting companies on the market today, it is hard to figure out which hosting service will best suit your needs.
1.Red Circle
Best podcast hosting service to monetize content.
With RedCircle, you can quickly and easily launch your podcast with a wide-reaching audience.
It has all of the features that make it easy for podcasters to grow their podcasts while making money in multiple ways including subscription ads or donations from listeners who want more information about certain topics covered on the air.
Podcasters love the freedom and flexibility that comes with owning their own platform especially the ability to produce unlimited episodes.
You can release your content when you want, how often (or not), and who’s listening, there are no contracts or exclusivity!
Key features:
Redcircle comes with a handful of features to help grow your podcasting business.
- All in one platform, easily host distribute and monetize your podcast content.
- Accept recurring subscriptions.
- Cross-promotion marketplace is available.
Pricing:
Red circle offers a couple of plans to choose from. Their core plan allows you to host unlimited podcasts, store audio files, subscriptions, and more.
Growth Plan: $9/Month
Pro Plan: $30/Month
Enterprise plan: Contact
2.BuzzSprout
Best podcast hosting services for beginner podcast hosts.
Why use Buzzsprout?
Maybe you have your own podcast or are thinking about starting one.
Or maybe someone in the business of attracting leads wants to find out how their potential clients feel about them online before bothering with costly marketing campaigns that may not even work!
The good news is that there’s no need for any expensive software installation because all this platform does (so far as paid features go) is let users embed players right onto websites – which means anyone who views those pages will get an instant to listen without ever having gone near any download links.
Also, their analytics dashboard lets you see how many listeners each episode has received in the first 90 days and from which countries.
This helps to give a better understanding of your audience.
Their easy-to-use platform helps you manage your podcast quickly and efficiently so that it can be submitted to all significant directories.
Not only does this save time, but the quality of their service is top-notch!
Key features:
- Advanced podcast statistics to see growth progress.
- Automatic episode podcast optimization so your podcast sounds great.
- Get your content listed on podcast directories.
- Transcription features are available.
Pricing:
If you are serious about getting started with podcasting. Buzzsprout provides a free plan so you can test it out.
- Free: two hours each month and episodes hosted for 90 days.
- $12/Month: upload 3 hours each month with unlimited storage.
- $18/month: More advanced features and 6 hours each month.
- $24/month: All features and 12 hours each month.
3. Podbean.
Easy to use podcast hosting platform.
I recommend Podbean as a great podcast platform.
They’ve been in the business for over 10 years and host 540 thousand of podcasts with ease of use at its core!
Key features:
- Unlimited storage on paid plans.
- Dynamic ad implementation.
- Auto upload to youtube.
- Auto post to social media.
- Accept recurring revenue.
Pricing:
Podbean comes with 3 paid tiers including a free plan to test out.
- Basic ( Free and open-source): 5 Hours of storage
- Unlimited Audio: $9/month: Unlimted storage, audio files, podcast files, advanced design.
- Unlimited plus: $29/month: Features above plus patron program.
- Business: $99/month: Access to all features plus multiple domains, advanced analytics, and live support.
4. Transistor
Best podcast hosting platforms for analytics.
With Transistor’s professional service, you can have everything from analytics to hosting for your podcast.
They provide great sound quality and easy access so that it will be simple on both ends of the process!
Transistor is the only podcast hosting service that provides all of its users with built-in analytics and tools to help grow your audience.
Advanced analytics is where this software stands out. You can easily view trends and states from the number of subscribers to their average viewing times.
Key features:
- Host unlimited podcast episodes.
- Manage multiple users.
- advanced analytics and unlimited uploads.
- Posted in major podcast directories.
Pricing:
Transistor comes with three paid programs to choose from.
- Starter plan: $19/Month – provides unlimited podcast episodes. 10,000 downloads per month.
- Professional Plan: $49/Month – Everything is the starter but more team members are included and 50,000 downloads per month.
- Business plan: $99/Month – All features software has to offer and 10 team members.
You can scale your podcast and pay as you grow with this software, which may typically come down to how many downloads are you receiving per month.
5. Spreaker
Best podcast hosting service for monetization.
If you’re a podcaster looking for ways to monetize your work or grow an audience, then Spreaker is the perfect solution.
The one-stop shop connects listeners with podcasts they love while giving creators opportunities with both online and mobile apps that allow them full control over how their content can be consumed, all in just 5 easy steps!
key features:
- Advanced content management system- allows podcasters to automatically distribute episodes across platforms.
- Manage and schedule multiple podcasts under one account.
- Advanced podcast statistics of podcast audience
- Team management and collaboration.
Pricing:
This podcast hosting provider comes with including a free podcast host plan.
- Free Speech (Free): 5 hours of audio storage, up to 10 episodes.
- On-Air Talent ($8/month): 100 hours of storage.
- Broadcaster ($20/month): 500 hours of storage.
- Anchorman ($50/month): 1,500 hours of storage.
- Anchorman ($120/month): Unlimited storage
This is a great podcast hosting site to try out if you are looking for an affordable option with podcast distribution features.
6. Simplecast
Best podcast hosting platforms for Brands.
With Simplecast’s industry-leading features, they’re able to provide powerful tools needed for podcasting at an affordable price.
The company has been around since 2009 and powers some of the largest brands in this space including Kickstarter, Nike Inc., Facebook Media Lab Monetized Podcasts Department, etc.
This is the best podcast hosting for those who are looking for an affordable and reliable solution with great features.
Key features:
- very reliable podcast hosting service.
- Unlimited uploads.
- Unlimited podcast hosting.
- One-click publish.
- Advanced analytics features.
Pricing:
- Basic Plan ($15/month): Offers unlimited storage and uploads, two member accounts, customizable show websites, 20k downloads per month, embedded web players, and email support.
- Essential Plan ($35/month): Includes all features of the basic plan plus two additional user seats, additional web players, location and technology (apps, browsers) analytics, 50k downloads per month, and chat support.
- Growth Plan ($85/month): Includes everything in previous plans plus 5 extra seats (9 total), comprehensive metro area location analytics, and 120k monthly downloads.
7. Castos
Best podcast hosting WordPress plugin.
Host your podcast on WordPress with Castos!
If you already have a website running through their 14-day trial, here’s how to get started:
Install the plugin from within your account page at castossolutions.com/activate.
Next time when uploading new episodes into WordPress they will be listed under “Podcast” in addition to any existing groups or playlists that are present – no more struggling between what should go where; everything is ready-made thanks for all those hours spent planning ahead.
Next upload your audio file, customize the metadata and that’s it!
Key features:
- Republish to youtube easily.
- Customize podcast webpage.
- Automatic transcriptions.
Pricing:
- Starter ($19/month): unlimited storage and perfect for the beginning.
- Growth ($49/month): Features above, plus YouTube republishing
- Pro ($99/month): Features above, advanced analytics, and video file hosting.
What is a podcast hosting platform?
Hosting companies upload your audio files and generate a feed that can be consumed by listeners through their favorite platforms.
When someone subscribing to the show wants an update, it’s as simple as clicking on one button!
Personal website servers don’t have enough storage space for large files like podcasts.
Hosting sites, on the other hand, offer you ample bandwidth to store all of your podcast episodes and make them easily downloadable via a .mp3 file hosted at their server(s).
In addition, they provide information about what’s new in each episode through a feed from iTunes or Libsy, so listeners can stay up-to-date with developments without waiting until next week!
What are podcast directories?
Directory services are like the central hub for all of your podcast needs. They receive files from you, search through them and send out what they think will be best suited to their audience on a particular platform such as iTunes or Spotify!
How does it work?
Upload your audio and when the directory detects something new it downloads the file and displays it to its users.
What is the best podcast hosting service?
The current landscape of podcast hosting services is so vast that it’s nearly impossible to decide which one you should use.
For example, there are a number of different features available with each service including ease of use and price point!
However the deciding factor may be how much time they offer for your show, Buzzsprout has better deals when compared to other companies in this regard since their free plan includes only two weeks’ worth at once but offers unlimited bandwidth through all eternity if needed.
What is the Best Free Podcast Hosting service?
Hosting your podcast can be free!
There are low-cost options you can pick from if the budget tightens up.
Even some of these plans come with limited functionality, but a great way to test out what they have available while still being able to host an episode or two on here before investing more time into it so that when things get rolling again financially-you don’t lose anything by trying different solutions first hand instead just wasting money renting space elsewhere.
Here are some of the best free podcast hosting services.
1. Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is the best option for beginners looking to start a podcast.
With their free hosting plan, you get up to two hours of upload time and hosted episodes that are available on demand within 90 days!
The dashboard makes it easy with everything from player tools like volume leveling or batch editing your show’s files all in one place – saving yourself valuable minutes during each session recording new content just because there’s no way expertise can efficiently manage such tasks individually anymore.
2.SoundCloud.
SoundCloud is a popular website for uploading and sharing sounds. It has an incredible 12 hours’ worth of content uploaded every minute!
With the Soundcloud hosting service, you can use their embedded players as well as Twitter cards with timing comments so your listeners know when they should listen to more music from you.
The most advanced SoundCloud account is perfect for podcasters who want to release their podcasts on-demand and share them with the world.
We highly recommend SoundCloud for a free podcast website hosting service. With unlimited upload time and scheduled releases that can be set weeks in advance or minutes from now, it’s your choice!
3.Podomatic.
Podomatic offers a platform for podcasts that allows creators to record, upload and promote new audio content all in one dashboard.
They are partnered with Patreon which provides access funding from subscribers as well advertising opportunities through Advertisecast & Weebly website creation services free of charge!
Wrapping Up
Podcasting is a great way to connect with your audience and build a rapport with them.
It’s also an excellent platform to share information, tell stories, and build relationships.
If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, be sure to choose the best podcast hosting service for your needs.
In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 7+ best podcast hosting services, along with our top 3 choices.
So whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been podcasting for years, there’s definitely a host here for you!
Get started today by choosing the perfect podcast host for your show and check out all of our digital resources!
My name is Soren Agassi Yuhaschek and I’ve built AgassiGroup | Modern Digital Solutions to help teach online entrepreneurs how to start, scale, and grow their business, brand, or side hustle.
You can check out all of my work here at Soren Ventures.