Discover the best podcast hosting platforms in 2024, compare their features, and find the right fit for your show. Learn about storage, monetization, analytics, and more.
Choosing the right podcast hosting platform in 2024 is crucial for your show's success. Whether you're just starting or looking to grow, here are the top 10 platforms with their key features:
Quick Comparison:
| Platform | Unlimited Storage | Monetization Options | Private Podcasts | Analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podbean | Yes (on higher plans) | Ads, donations, subscriptions | No | Yes |
| Acast | Yes | Ads, sponsorships | No | Basic |
| Spotify for Podcasters | Yes | Limited | No | Yes |
| Buzzsprout | No (free plan available) | Ads, donations | No | Yes |
| Captivate | Yes | Donations, ads, private content | Yes | Yes |
| Castos | Yes | Ads, donations | No | Yes |
| Hello Audio | Yes (on paid plans) | Through third-party services | Yes | Basic |
| Libsyn | No | Ads, sponsorships, premium content | No | Yes |
| Megaphone | Yes | Advanced ad targeting | No | Advanced |
| Transistor | Yes | Ads, donations, Patreon | Yes | Advanced |
This list helps you quickly see which platforms might be right for your podcast based on storage, monetization, private podcast capabilities, and analytics.
Looking at these things helps you figure out which podcast hosting platform is the best fit for what you need, both now and as your podcast gets bigger. It's all about finding the right balance of features, flexibility, and price.
Podbean gives you unlimited space and lets lots of people listen without extra cost on its bigger plans, starting at $29 a month. The free version lets you store up to 5 hours of shows. If you pay $9 a month, you don't have to worry about how much you store.
With Podbean, you can make money through:
Podbean sends your show to big platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It also lets you put a player on your site and gives you a website for your podcast.
Podbean shows you basic stats about your listeners on all its plans. The most expensive plan, at $79 a month, offers more detailed stats.
Podbean has cool features like:
Podbean's prices:
The more you pay, the more storage and special features you get, like your own branding and a page for donations.
Acast lets you store as much as you want for free, but each episode can only be up to 150MB. This is usually enough for good quality episodes. You get one link for your podcast, which works well for most new podcasters. If you need more options, you can pay for a better plan.
Acast helps you make money right from the start, even without paying. You can earn through ads and finding sponsors. If you choose a paid plan, you get better tools to show sponsors why your podcast is worth investing in, and ways to get direct support from your listeners.
Acast sends your podcast to all the big places like Apple Podcasts and Spotify without you having to do anything. The free plan gives you a simple website, and paying more lets you make the website look how you want. You can also turn your podcast episodes into videos for social media easily.
The free plan gives you basic info on how many people are listening, from where, and on what platforms. If you pay, you get more detailed info that can help you understand your audience better and see where your money is coming from.
Acast makes it easy to turn your podcast episodes into videos for social media. If you're on a paid plan, you can also use their API to create custom stuff for your podcast. As Acast keeps adding new tech, being on this platform means you'll get to try new things first.
Acast has:
Spotify for Podcasters lets you upload as many episodes as you want, and lots of people can listen, all for free. There's no cap on uploads or listeners.
Making money on Spotify for Podcasters is a bit limited:
But, you won't find fancy ad tools here.
Your podcast goes out to Spotify and other big platforms easily. You also get:
You can see stats like:
But, for deep dive stats, other paid services might offer more.
Some cool features include:
However, for things like full episode transcripts, you might need to look at other platforms that charge.
Spotify for Podcasters doesn't cost anything. You get unlimited uploads, places to send your podcast, and basic stats without spending a dime. The main thing is, it's a bit basic on making money and some of the fancy extras.
Buzzsprout lets you store as much as you need if you pay starting at $12 a month. If you don't want to pay, you can still use it for free but you only get 2 hours to upload each month, and your episodes go away after 90 days. No matter what plan you're on, you don't have to worry about how many people listen to your podcast.
Buzzsprout helps you make money by:
If you pay more, you get better tools to show off your podcast to potential advertisers.
Buzzsprout sends your podcast to all the big places like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It also gives you:
The free plan tells you how many people are downloading your podcast. If you pay, you get more info like:
This helps you know what your listeners like.
Buzzsprout is working on new stuff like:
They're always trying to add more useful features.
Paying extra for things like better audio quality is optional. The more you pay, the more audio time and features you get.
Captivate lets you store as many podcast episodes as you want and doesn't limit how many people can listen. However, the price you pay each month depends on how many times your episodes are downloaded, starting from 30,000 downloads a month to 300,000.
Prices range from $17 to $90 a month, depending on how many downloads you expect:
Every plan includes all the features Captivate offers.
Castos lets you store as many podcast episodes as you want and doesn't limit how many people can listen. This is part of their paid plans, which start at $29 a month.
With Castos, you can:
Castos shows you how your podcast is doing, like how many people are downloading and listening, where they're from, and what devices they're using. If you choose a more expensive plan, you get even more details.
Castos has different plans:
You get unlimited storage and most features no matter which plan you pick. The more you pay, the more extra stuff you get.
Hello Audio lets you store as much as you want and doesn't limit how many people can listen if you're paying them starting at $14 a month. If you're not paying, you can still use it, but you won't be able to store as much or have as many listeners.
Hello Audio doesn't help you make money directly. But, you can use other services to make money from private podcasts.
You can send your episodes out with a public or private link. For private shows, you give special links to your listeners. Public shows go out to all the usual places.
You get basic info on who's listening and how much they're listening on all plans. If you pay more, you get better details on how engaged your listeners are.
Hello Audio has some cool tools like managing who listens, sending episodes to specific people, and setting up automatic stuff based on what listeners do. You can also add custom tech stuff.
If you pay more, you get to do more things like customize your shows, have more private shows, and get better info on your listeners.
Libsyn gives you all the listening space you need, no matter your plan. You start with 162 MB of space for your episodes each month on the cheapest option and can go up to 540 MB on the pricier plans. If you need more space, you can buy it.
Libsyn lets you make money from your podcast through ads, finding sponsors, and offering special content for paying subscribers. They also help you show potential sponsors who's listening and how engaged they are.
Libsyn makes sure your podcast gets on all the big platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. They give you tools to make your podcast look good on your website, like customizable players and ways to help people find your podcast online.
You get basic info about your listeners with any paid plan. If you choose a more expensive plan, you'll learn more about where your listeners are, how much they listen, and when they stop listening.
Libsyn introduced Libsyn Studio, a tool you can use right in your browser to edit and record your podcast. They also work with other tech like Descript and Squadcast, making it easier to do cool stuff with your podcast.
Libsyn's plans start at $5 a month for the basics and go up to $75 a month for everything they offer. While there's no free plan, all the paid ones help you with making money from your podcast.
Megaphone doesn't set limits on how much content you can store or how many people can listen. It's designed for big podcasts that get over 20,000 downloads per episode. They don't share specific details about storage limits.
Megaphone helps you make money by:
Megaphone sends your podcast to all the big listening apps. It makes scheduling and publishing your episodes easy.
Megaphone uses data from Nielsen to give you detailed info about your listeners, like what they like to buy and where they're from.
Being part of Spotify, Megaphone works well with Spotify's tools, giving you access to a bunch of helpful features for your podcast.
Megaphone's prices aren't listed because they work with big podcasts and offer custom services. They focus on providing special features for large-scale podcasters.
Transistor lets you upload as many episodes as you want and doesn't limit how many people can listen. This is true for all their paid plans.
Transistor helps you make money from your podcast by:
Transistor makes sure your podcast can be found on big platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It also offers:
Transistor gives you info on where your listeners are, what devices they use, which episodes they like the most, and more. This info helps you know what your audience enjoys.
Transistor focuses on giving you good listener data rather than new tech like polls or AI tools. It's really good at giving you useful information about your audience.
Transistor has plans starting at $19/month. If you want more downloads or to have private subscribers, you'll need to choose higher plans at $49/month or $99/month. The main things that affect the price are how much you store, how many people download your episodes, and extra features like automatic ads and making your podcast look unique.
Here's a simple breakdown of what's good and what's not so good about the top places to host your podcast:
| Platform | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Buzzsprout | <ul><li>Easy to use</li><li>Good listener stats</li><li>Shares your podcast easily</li><li>Different payment options</li></ul> | <ul><li>Not great for ads in your episodes</li></ul> |
| Blubrry | <ul><li>Works with PowerPress plugin</li><li>Comes with a free WordPress site</li><li>Lets you go over your storage limit by 25% without extra cost</li></ul> | <ul><li>You pay based on how much you store</li><li>Could be easier to use</li></ul> |
| Podbean | <ul><li>You can store and share as much as you want</li><li>Good ways to make money</li><li>Customizable</li></ul> | <ul><li>Basic listener stats</li><li>Adding to iTunes could be easier</li></ul> |
| Libsyn | <ul><li>Well-known and trusted</li><li>Reliable sharing</li><li>Good money-making tools</li><li>New editing tool in Libsyn Studio</li></ul> | <ul><li>You pay based on storage</li><li>More expensive plans</li></ul> |
| Simplecast | <ul><li>Unlimited storage</li><li>Can put ads in your episodes</li><li>Detailed stats</li><li>You get your own website</li></ul> | <ul><li>Costs more</li></ul> |
| Transistor | <ul><li>Unlimited storage and sharing</li><li>Ads can be added automatically</li><li>Stats on your listeners</li><li>Private shows for certain listeners</li></ul> | <ul><li>Not many new tech features</li></ul> |
In short, the main things to think about are how much storage and sharing you get, how you can make money, where your podcast can be heard, how well you can understand your listeners, what new tech is available, and how much it costs. Looking at what you need for your podcast and where you want it to go can help you pick the best place for it.
Botcast AI is a cool tool that makes your podcast more interactive and can help you make more money. It works well with all the big podcast hosting platforms we've talked about.
With Botcast AI, you can make your episodes more fun and engaging. Here's how:
Also, you can share your episodes on social media directly from your dashboard, which is super handy.
Botcast AI gives you extra info about how your audience interacts with your podcast. You can see:
This detailed info helps you understand your audience better. You can use it to make your podcast even more interesting for your listeners.
Botcast AI also offers new ways to make money from your podcast:
These tools help you show potential sponsors exactly how engaging your podcast is. This could help you make more money from your podcast.
In short, Botcast AI adds some great features to your podcast hosting platform. It makes your podcast more interactive, gives you useful data about your audience, and helps you make more money.
Picking the best place to host your podcast means thinking about what you need now and what you'll need as your podcast grows. Here’s how to break it down:
By thinking about these points, you can find a hosting platform that fits what your podcast needs now and can grow with you.
Picking the right place to host your podcast is a big deal. It can really change how well your show does. There are lots of choices out there, so you want to find one that fits what you're trying to do with your podcast.
Here's a quick look back at some of the main strengths of the platforms we talked about:
The best choice for your podcast depends on a few things like:
If you're just starting, you might like easier, cheaper options like Buzzsprout, Blubrry, or Spotify. If you're more experienced and want detailed stats, different ways to make money, and new tech features, you might lean towards Podbean, Simplecast, or Transistor.
No matter what platform you go with, adding tools like Botcast AI can make your podcast even better. It lets you do fun stuff like polls and live Q&As, makes summaries of your episodes, and shows sponsors how great your podcast is. This can help you get more listeners, learn more about them, and make more money.
It's smart to keep checking if your podcast hosting is still right for you as your podcast grows. What works now might not be the best later. Keeping an eye on new features and being open to changing platforms can help your podcast do even better. Start with what fits now, but be ready to move to something else as you grow.
PodBean is at the top of the list when it comes to podcast hosting platforms in 2024. It's easy for people to start using, doesn't cost too much, and is packed with features that help podcasts of all sizes do well. Here's why a lot of podcasters like it:
Overall, PodBean is a great choice because it's user-friendly, offers lots of ways to earn money, and helps you understand your audience better.
For making money, Podbean stands out. It has everything you need to start earning, such as:
Podbean makes it easy to make money from your podcast in multiple ways and shows off your podcast's value to potential sponsors.
Podbean is a bit better than Buzzsprout because it offers more features, lets you customize your show more, and has better tools for making money. Buzzsprout is very user-friendly and a good starting point, but Podbean provides more opportunities for growth.
Here's why Podbean might be a better choice:
Buzzsprout is great for beginners, but as your podcast grows, Podbean's advanced features can be more beneficial.
Captivate offers something Buzzsprout doesn't: private podcast feeds on all its plans. This means you can create special content just for people who pay or subscribe.
Buzzsprout doesn't have a way for you to do this, so you can't offer exclusive content to certain listeners.
Also, Captivate's prices are based on how many downloads you expect, while Buzzsprout charges based on how much content you upload each month.
If you're looking to offer special content to subscribers, Captivate is the better choice over Buzzsprout.
Turn your podcast into a conversation
