Podcast hosting is different from hosting websites as it offers specific tools designed to optimize the experience of subscribers, as discussed later in the article.
The selection of a reliable hosting platform for Podcast is essential because it will help you market your podcast, grow the audience faster while making managing your Podcast files easier.
There are many hosting podcast platforms and it’s challenging picking which one to go with?
Some companies are around for a long time, and new companies frequently arise.
The best part is whether you are interested in starting a podcast, saving money or moving towards a better hosting platform – we got your back!
You need to sign up with a hosting company to store your.mp3 and create your podcast feed if you want to start a podcast. Like starting a website or blog requires a web host, you need a media host when beginning a podcast.
Or if you want a better place to host your podcast, the best podcast hosting sites make relocating to their system super easy.
Here are our picks for the best podcast hosting services:
Starting with the top 7 podcast hosting platforms and their details. (We’ll further in the article also tell you about other best podcast hosting platforms)
1. BuzzSprout
BuzzSprout is one of the easiest to use podcasting hosting providers for beginners. They have been in the business since 2009 and have built a strong community of podcasters which includes some top podcasters around.
If you are just getting started, then you’ll find it to be incredibly easy to use. Just upload your media file and it automatically takes care of the rest.
They will also automatically submit your episodes to all the top podcast directories which ensures that your podcast is available on all devices and apps.
Their embeddable podcast player looks great and works well on all screen sizes. It shows the cover art, social sharing buttons, forward and backward skip controls, and more.
They also offer a free WordPress plugin which makes embeds even easier.
If you don’t want to make a website, then BuzzSprout can make one for you. You can customize its design and use your own custom domain name.
The downside is that even their paid plans have storage and bandwidth limits.
Pricing:
Limited free plan for 90 days. Paid plans start at $12 / month for 3 hours upload.
2. Transistor
Transistor is a powerful yet easy-to-use podcast hosting service for professionals and beginners. They offer unlimited podcast hosting plans which means they don’t charge you for hours of upload as some other hosts do.
They make it incredibly easy to simply upload your podcast media and publish it. They also offer podcast analytics, so you can see how each episode performed.
Their embed code allows you to easily add each episode to your WordPress posts and pages. If you don’t have a website, then they can quickly create one for you.
One thing to watch out for is that their plans do limit the number of downloads. Which means you need to upgrade your plan as your podcast grows.
Pricing:
Starting from $19 per month for upto 10,000 downloads each month.
3. Smart Podcast Player
Regardless of which podcast hosting service you choose, you will need a media player to properly embed and display podcasts on your website.
Some podcasting companies have their own embedded players and some don’t. The problem is that they don’t look anywhere as good as smart podcast player, and they definitely don’t have the same customization options.
Smart Podcast Player is the best media player for podcast websites.
It allows you to display a beautiful media player on your website. You can display on individual episode pages for your podcast or on your homepage. Users can browse the episodes, use on-screen controls, share your podcast, and more.
It looks beautiful on all devices and screen sizes. You can also customize its colors to match your website and make it sticky on top or bottom.
Apart from helping you find new listeners, it also helps you grow your email list and increase return visitors to your website.
This tool is used by every top podcaster in the world, and it’s created by Pat Flynn’s team.
Pricing:
Starting from $8.09 per month (billed annually)
4. Podbean
Podbean is the best podcast hosting service provider on the market. They offer unlimited podcast hosting plans with unlimited bandwidth.
It also includes beautiful design tools to host your website with customizable themes. You can also easily embed the Podbean podcast player directly into your WordPress posts and pages.
Aside from that, they also have podcast promotion tools which automatically submit your episodes to all top podcast directories. This allows your audience to use their preferred tools to listen and download podcasts.
Podbean also offers an advertising marketplace which provides opportunities for podcasters to monetize their content. They also have a huge community of podcasters already using Podbean as their podcasting platform.
Pricing:
Free Plan with limited storage, paid plans starting from $9 / month with unlimited storage.
5. Blubrry
Blubrry offers flexible podcast hosting plans for new and experienced podcasters alike. They offer a popular WordPress podcasting plugin called PowerPress which makes it super-easy to manage a podcast directly from your WordPress website.
Using Blubrry with PowerPress makes it easy to upload your podcast episodes directly to your podcast hosting provider. It also allows you to easily submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts (previously iTunes) and Google Podcasts.
This makes your podcasts easily discoverable on Google Home, Assistant, and Google Podcast app on Android devices.
Blubrry also offers monetization options, podcast statistics, social sharing features, and more.
Pricing:
Starting from $12 per month with 100 MB storage each month.
5. Libsyn
Libsyn is another reliable podcast hosting service provider. They offer an easy to use platform that puts your brand in the center and helps you promote your podcast across different platforms, apps, and devices.
Libsyn started in 2004, which makes it one of the very first podcast hosting service providers. It was created by podcasters for other podcasters and has a large community of users including some of the most influential podcasters.
They offer podcast hosting plans with different storage limits each month but with unlimited bandwidth. They offer monetization options, detailed analytics, and WordPress integration with their plugin called Libsyn Publisher Hub.
Pricing:
Starting from $5 per month with 50 MB monthly storage.
7. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a popular music and podcast hosting platform. The good thing is that you can embed any podcast episode from SoundCloud by simply placing the URL anywhere in your WordPress posts and pages.
SoundCloud is free for up to 3 hours of uploads. Their free plan gives a good starting point for beginners who want to test the waters first.
Their paid plans come with more storage, bandwidth, advanced statistics, monetization and distribution options. It is easy to use but not the most flexible or customizable podcast hosting plan.
Pricing:
Free plan with 3 hours of upload limit. Paid plans start from $6 per month.
Other Podcast Hosting Companies:
Captivate
Captivate is an amazing podcast hosting platform – and it’s by the same team that has been running Podcast Websites for years (mentioned further down the page) so their experience in the podcast industry definitely shows!
You can tell they carefully considered everything in the dashboard:
- The analytics are advanced, yet easy to understand the podcast player and website look amazing.
- There are built-in CTA’s (calls to action) to help direct people anywhere you want
- Add as many team members as you need (no limits)
- Private podcasting on every plan
Here’s a little preview before you try it out:
There are a bunch of other useful things like batch uploading, smart UI features like default schedule time, WordPress integration with their custom plugin, and a ton more.
One cool thing they just added was a great looking and easy-to-generate podcast sponsorship kit PDF that lets you highlight recent episodes and shows key download numbers.
Of course, you get a great-looking mobile-friendly website that automatically uses your colors – or you can choose your own.
You can host an unlimited number of podcasts starting at $19/month for 12K downloads – more than enough for 97% of podcasters.
They also don’t limit core features by the plan you’re on, which is something that can’t be said for others.
Castos
Castos Podcast Hosting has some excellent features and integrates seamlessly with WordPress. They own the Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress plugin where you can manage your feed and upload new episodes right from WordPress.
You’ll get unlimited upload volume and download bandwidth for $19/month, along with an excellent customizable player to embed on your website.
Castos has a 14-day free trial, but if you use the coupon code PI2018, you’ll get a free month! And if you pay for the year upfront, you also get 2 months free.
Simplecast
Their embeddable players are some of the best-looking (and smoothest). You also get detailed analytics for anyone who uses it.
Starting at $15/month, you’ll get unlimited uploads, analytics, a website, the ability to have multiple people manage your podcast, and a bunch more.
For $35/month, you get a bunch more customization, additional team members, advanced analytics, the ability to use a custom domain, 50K downloads/month, and more.
Companies like Slack and Shopify host with them, as well as many podcasts both large and small.
They just updated the look of their entire platform and brand, along with tons of new features.
Resonate
Resonate Recordings has been one of my favorite podcast production companies for years now, and they recently added a hosting platform.
That means you can use a single platform to get professional editing and production and then seamlessly host your show.
But of course, you can use Resonate Hosting separately as well.
You’ll get your own podcast website, great-looking embed player that helps to track how people are listening, detailed analytics, and more.
Pricing starts at $25/month for unlimited shows, episodes, and bandwidth.
Check them out and start with your 14-day trial here!
bCast
bCast is designed “for marketers, by marketers”.
Features like Audio Inserts allow you to put in CTAs to sign up for your email list, webinar, or anything else.
Other cool features include:
- A unique email opt-in feature
- automatic transcriptions
- automated guest notifications when their episode goes live
- Headliner integration
Things like this show they really thought about the experience of marketers using podcasting as a platform to grow and generate revenue.
Pricing starts at $15/month, but they also have $35 and $75/month plans.
Spreaker
Spreaker has been around since 2010 and has a handful of unique features and software for podcasters.
One stand-out feature is that they have a Live Podcasting option. You can let listeners interact with you with the included chatbox and there are other integration options.
They have both a desktop app (for Windows and Mac) and a mobile app (for iPhone and Android) for recording, live-streaming, viewing stats, and more. Features vary depending on the device, but they’re both included free with your account.
There is a free plan to test things out, but the $20/month Broadcaster option is the sweet spot.
Podcast Websites
Podcast Websites is an all-in-one platform that includes a WordPress website, web hosting, unlimited podcast hosting, domain name, email address, and a bunch more.
You can easily build your email list as they connect to many of the top email service providers too.
They also recently included their Academy membership to help you learn with their video library.
Two long-time (and well-known) podcasters created this, so they have a great understanding of what new podcasters need.
Checkout Podcast Websites here.
PodServe.fm
PodServe.fm lets you host unlimited podcasts with 2,000 GB bandwidth per month. That’s enough for over 60K downloads per month so most people will be just fine.
What really sets them apart is that you will get free promotion on PodParadise, a podcast directory that gets thousands of visitors per month.
They also make everything really easy to set up and get listed everywhere.
Pricing is $19/month and if you do happen to have a ton of downloads, you can pay $20 per 3,000 GB.
Podiant
Podiant “makes it incredibly easy to start and grow a podcast” – with unlimited storage all for $12.99/month.
Some of the features include:
- Website with blog posts and pages
- Podcast analytics
- Auto-posting to YouTube
- Dropbox connection
- Social sharing
PodcastGIANT
If you need a platform that does podcast hosting, website hosting, and will handle your needs whether you’re just starting out or have thousands of listeners, PodcastGIANT is perfect.
If you don’t want to spend time dealing with hosting and website tech, this is the solution for you
Backtracks
Backtracks claims to have “the world’s most advanced podcast analytics and hosting platform”.
Their price and set of features are probably overkill if you’re just starting out, but if run a decent size media company or brand, having easy access to advanced analytics is invaluable.
Many large brands use them and they have a really nice embeddable player with clickable transcripts. You can see an example on their site.
Have a look at Backtracks here.
audioBoom
audioBoom lets you “host, distribute, and monetize” your podcast. They have a couple different hosting tiers depending on how many downloads you get:
The “New podcasters” option is $9.99/month that allows you to publish up to 5 episodes per month with up to 10,000 plays per month.
Once you surpass 10K monthly downloads, you’ll get access to their targeted ad network, sponsorships, and branded partnerships. This is a great way to easily monetize your podcast once you start getting some traction.
They also have another tier for podcast networks and radio groups with additional monetization and management options.
Megaphone
Megaphone by Panoply is a podcasting platform designed for larger, enterprise-level podcasts.
They also serve advertisers looking to reach these popular podcasts.
Their suite of features for podcasters include dynamic ad insertion, ad management, sales, and more.
You’ll need to request an invite to get your podcast hosted on their platform – although it appears they’re developing a plan for smaller podcasts soon.
Whooshkaa
Whooshkaa is an Australian based podcast company that has partnered with some large brands like Wondery and WNYC.
A lot of their focus seems to be on their dynamic ad platform that customizes ads based on listener location and podcast genre.
They also have text-to-speech features, customizable players, sharing tools, and a lot more.
Fireside
Fireside was created by Dan Benjamin of the 5by5 network. He and his peers create a lot of podcasts and know the industry well. Fireside is an all-in-one platform in that you get podcast hosting, a nice looking website, and podcast statistics.
They keep things simple: there is 1 plan for $19/month – unlimited everything.
Pippa
Pippa was recently acquired by Acast, another podcast hosting platform.
Pippa no longer exists and existing customers have been migrated to Acast Open.
FAQs related to Podcast Hosting:
What is Podcast Hosting?
A podcast host is a place to store and distribute your podcast’s audio files. They provide a podcast RSS feed (basically a listing of all your episodes) that you will submit to Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories.
They also provide analytics, web players, scheduling tools, and other features to make publishing and growing your podcast easy.
Some of them also integrate ad networks, social sharing features, and additional distribution options.
How do I choose a Podcast Host?
Not all podcast hosting platforms are the same. Some are designed for beginners, brands, or enterprise customers – with pricing to match.
I’ve looked at ease of use, pricing, customer service, audio quality, embed players, analytics, storage options, and more to help you choose the right host for your needs. I would recommend starting with the Best Podcast Hosting section at the top of this page.
How much does Podcast Hosting cost?
On average, pricing for podcast hosting ranges from $5/month to $50/month.
Pricing varies depending on which company you go with, how many episodes you produce, and how many downloads you get.
To make things slightly more complicated, different companies base pricing on Megabytes (MB), hours, downloads, or bandwidth.
Most people don’t spend more than $19/month when starting out. If you have a popular podcast, you could easily pay much more.
Can I Use A Free Podcast Host?
Of course, you can, but we don’t recommend it. If a service is free, that means you or your data is usually the “product”.
I mean, just look at Facebook and all the issues with data privacy (or lack thereof) lately.
There have been many cases of free podcast hosting platforms shutting down (and your podcast along with them!), so I would play it safe and go with a paid service.
Where Should I Publish My Podcast?
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts are the “big 3” services you should start with.
You can see in the graphic above that there are many other places people listen to podcasts. Many of the popular apps like Overcast and Castbox use Apple Podcasts as their source of shows, which is why it is so important.
Other helpful marketing material: