Last Updated on July 16, 2022 by Arif Chowdhury
Those who do not know what podcast hosting is. It is a new way to share your music, audio, and radio to billions of listeners without hassle from publishers, sponsors, etc.
Podcast hosting is a kind of website hosting; however, they are specially designed for audio files, music sharing, and displaying.
The USA has more than 100+ million podcast listeners and millions more audiences globally. Generally, if you search for Podcast hosting providers, you will find plenty of them, and most of them provide similar features. Finding the best is subjective, as you need to look for what will suit your need.
Starting a podcast is not hard, but professional podcasters take a long road to achieve fame and success. And some of the primary factors you should be aware of is selecting the right podcast platform with advanced analytics feature, unlimited bandwidth, adequate audio storage, monetization option, etc.
I have handpicked several podcast hosting platforms for you from hundreds out there. My ranking factors are always based on some basic needs.
- Affordable service.
- Have all basic and advanced features.
- Accessible from any device.
Of course, other factors include monetization, ease to use, reliability, technical support, etc.
So, if you want to know what is the best hosting platform for podcast, let’s get started.
1. Buzzsprout.
Trusted by 100k podcaster – free forever plan.
Buzzsprout is the best podcast hosting platform started its business in 2009 and is now trusted by over 100,000 podcasters and millions of listeners.
They have a free plan for you to get started. First, however, Buzzsprout will store each of your audio files on their website for 90 days.
You can reach even more audiences by listing your podcast to other popular directories like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc.
Moreover, just like a website, they have advanced podcast statistics, so you can see your total performance worldwide by how many people are listening and from which country.
Distribute to other popular podcast directories.
One of the best features of Buzzsprout probably is “Magic Mastering.” Using expensive software, you do not have to edit, tune, or retouch your music manually. Instead, this unique feature has advanced technology to automatically adjust your raw music and transform it into a professional industry standard.
Another feature is “Automatic Episode Optimization,” no more bothering to manually take care of file types, bitrate, or ID3 tags; upload your audio files, set the publish schedule date, and Buzzsprout will take care of the rest.
You can also make your audio files more SEO optimized by transcribing the entire episodes inside the Buzzsprout, more organic traffic and more profit.
Become a master of music by transforming raw music.
What about their subscription plan? Alongside a free account, they have three other plans. There is a drawback in their free plan, as Buzzsprout will not store your audio files in their clouds after 90 days have passed. However, you can keep your files indefinitely in the other three paid plans.
Besides, it is best to try out their free plan; to start a podcast, first, you do not need to show credit card information; no risk, only gain.
2. Podbean.
Simple & one of the best hosting platforms for the podcast – free trial available.
Why is PodBean getting popular day by day? Simply because they are, they take care of their creators and audience with respect. They have served more than 450K podcasters and over 10 million episodes worldwide for ten years.
Their free plan is not just for display; it is enough for a newbie podcaster.
Their paid plans have no limitation in storage or bandwidth, so podcasters have access to limitless freedom.
Publishing a podcast does not require much technical knowledge with PodBean; it is like writing an MS Word file, creating your audio file, publishing, and share.
Moreover, every podcaster has access to their website provided free from PodBean. There are hundreds of professional website templates for you; just pick and edit one you like.
Live streaming – becoming popular is now accessible.
You can even set up your domain and become an entirely professional podcaster. PodBean also provides you fully-featured “Status Dashboard” to track your performance.
Live streaming is now becoming a trend; PodBean offers you this feature to go on air and interact with your audience in real-time. You can take the listener’s call and chat with them directly.
Next, I should talk about the monetization of your podcast. They are offering you a full array of dynamic advertising systems. You can give your audience a chance to become your patron on your podcast host. You may also provide Premium podcast service to your audience.
Advance monetization – let them become your patron.
Now let us talk about the subscription plan of PodBean. They have Unlimited Audio and Unlimited Plus available, and these two plans are popular among podcasters based on their affordable price and unlimited storage and bandwidth features.
Unlimited audio costs $9 per month, while Unlimited Plus costs $29. The last one is the Business plan for large businesses or teams.
If you are unsure about choosing a paid plan, then go for the free one.
3. Transistor.
Create an unlimited podcast with a built-in website.
The Transistor is known among podcasters for its best services, including unlimited podcast creation and excellent customer support.
Try Transistor free 14-days, no-risk investment so far.
Hosting an unlimited podcast is one of the popular features of Transistor offerings within a single account as long as your monthly download limit is not crossed.
It gives you an advantage as the different audiences have different podcast duration appetites. For example, some groups of podcast listeners usually like 1-2h duration while some like 5-10 minutes. Therefore, you have no problem satisfying your audience.
No limit to publishing your podcast.
Transistor has a built-in website and status analytics; thus, you must share your RSS feed to other popular podcast directories, i.e., Apple podcast, Spotify, etc.
With status analytics, you can track your podcast performance on how many people listens or download.
Talking about the website, you can build awesome-looking, stylish websites according to your genre and host your podcast within it.
Moreover, using another hosting provider, you can easily import the existing feed to Transistor using a simple migration tool.
Now let us see their subscription plan. The Transistor is offering three plans ranging from $19 to $99. The starter plan is for casual podcasters, and the Business plan is for an organization or large team. The only difference between these three plans are Business plan has a more significant download limit, and they will operate under their brand.
If you are a severe podcaster, consider choosing a business plan; otherwise, Starter and Professional would be great.
Moreover, if you want to test their service before purchasing one of their plans, choose a 14-days free trial.
4. Simplecast.
One-click publishing podcast – free 14-days run.
The name suggests that Simplecast is one of the most simple and easy to publish and manage podcast-hosting services.
Always safe to know there is a 14-day free Run available to try out.
Unlimited storage and uploads are a prominent feature for every podcaster, with no limit and ultimate freedom with only $15 per month. It is cheap compared to other podcast hosting services except for PodBean, which has $9 per month.
One-click easy publishing podcast to share around the globe like Apple podcast, Spotify, or whatever your audience listens to.
Built-in powerhouse for podcaster & listeners.
Simplecast is a robust framework specially built for audio; thus, it is vital for audio streaming infrastructure with industry-leading technology; whatever your business with podcast casual or serious organization, Simplecast can easily handle it.
They are providing their podcaster with powerful built-in analytics tools to track performance like how many downloads, how many listen, or even from where they are listening. With this tracking feature, you can quickly get an idea of where your audience is coming from and which location you are doing great or not.
Moving from other podcast hosting services is also easy 1-2-3 with their flexible migration tool.
Quick Note: A WordPress website offer powerful monetization options for your podcast host. Because of many open customization options with different plugins, you don’t need to worry about anything. If you spy on your competitors, you will realize that top podcasts always use WordPress. You can leverage the WordPress platform if you want to start audio or video podcasts.
Modern or classic website for the podcast – the choice is yours.
Simplecast has three different subscription plans, from Basic to Essential and Growth, ranging from $15 to $35 and $85 per month.
A team of two members can quickly get the job done with a basic plan, whereas four team members need an essential plan. Therefore, the growth plan is for a severe big team with all the features of basic and crucial plans.
If you want to test them before purchasing, go for their 14-day free trial.
5. Captivate.
One of the top podcast hosting platforms – 7 days free run.
Why do I say shockingly excellent? Because Captivate has some stunning features build-in that only a few other podcast hosting services have at a much higher price.
What is even better? Their free 7-day trial has it all, with nothing holding back.
Do what you do best, and Captivate will care for the rest. With their powerful website feature, you will be able to build a professional website with ease. No coding, no hassle. They do all.
And, not just that, you will have your dashboard full of detailed podcast analytics reports to track your podcast performance.
Built-in website for podcaster – become professional.
If you already hosted your podcast somewhere else, then you can easily migrate to Captivate within a moment.
Now, what if I tell you that you will get your podcast player and not only that, it will change itself automatically based on your podcast theme or cover. Sound stunningly excellent. Yes, it is.
Your intelligent podcast player has its link to promote; just copy-paste to social media or email to let everyone know.
You can also embed it anywhere with just a few simple codes.
Powerful & intelligent podcast player.
There are so many other features I did not cover in this article; better go there and see action for yourself. Now let me show you their subscription plan. Three plans are available: Podcaster, Audio Influencer, and Podcast Brand.
If you just started with 1-2 members, then the Podcaster plan should be sufficient for you, while a big organization or team needs a much bigger plan, and Podcast Band would be best.
Why don’t you try their 7-day free test run and see for yourself?
6. Spreaker.
A marketplace of podcasters & listeners – free forever.
Spreaker is slightly different from other podcast hosting providers as it has a marketplace for podcasters and listeners.
Free Forever plan has the limitation but enough to demonstrate their feature.
It is so evident if it is a marketplace, then podcasters get a chance of free promotion and free audiences in their hosting ground.
Your podcast will even feature on their homepage if you are an excellent podcaster. Enough boost to get started from zero.
Easily organize your all podcast using CMS.
You can go live with a live streaming feature, chat with your audience, and become more popular. In addition, you have the option to manage all of your podcasts using a single tool called Content Management System (CMS). You can upload and schedule a podcast with a few clicks of your mouse.
Easy to use marketing tool can automatically share your podcast to social media.
With an RSS feed, you can share with other popular podcast directories like Apple podcast, Spotify, etc.
The monetization option is even more flexible, as it gives you complete control over ads and an analytics tool to track your podcast’s performance.
Spreaker has three subscription plans apart from the free plan. The free plan has limitations; only able to upload multiple podcasts without getting other features.
They have an On-Air Talent plan that starts from $6 per month, Broadcaster has $18 per month, and Anchorman’s cost is $45 per month. So if you are serious about podcasting and need all available features, then Anchorman should be best.
If you want to try it out before purchasing, then go for the free plan; it has no trial period.
7. Castos.
Unlimited podcasting with Castos – free 14-day trial.
Castos has an unlimited option for upload, download, and the number of podcasts you can create. Podcasters have complete freedom as they can make the way they want without limit.
Test out Castos with their 14-day free trial, no credit card, no string attached.
More than 20,000 podcasters are using the WordPress plugin to build a professional and boundary-less website to display their podcast.
You can upload podcast episodes just like a simple WordPress post; if you are already familiar with WordPress, it will be a piece of cake for you.
WordPress plugin makes it even simpler for you.
You can create multiple RSS feeds for other popular podcast directories like Apple, Google, Spotify, etc.
With WordPress’s built-in dashboard traffic analysis, you can easily measure your podcast performance, how much listener and from where they are listening, and how much they are downloading.
Your audience can share your podcast on social media by embedding a simple sharing button. And you can even have a personal podcast player embedded on your website to make it even more professional.
Casto’s plugin can simplify many other heavy workloads for you, like automated YouTube Republishing and podcast transcription.
You can set the whole process in automation; thus, it will transcribe your podcast, publish it in YouTube publication, create multiple shows, and finally distribute it to other popular channels in autopilot mode.
Automate the whole process even when you sleep.
Let’s go to see their subscription plan next. Castos have three plans, Starter, Growth, and Pro, ranging from $19 to $99 per month. In addition, you can select for annual payment option and get a 20% automatic discount.
All plans have unlimited download and upload features and no limit on podcast creation. Finally, if you are unsure, test a 14-days free run with no risk whatsoever.
8. Fusebox.
Ultimate solution all-in-one podcasting – free plan.
Fusebox is not just a podcast hosting service; behind the scene, it has all the modern professional website building tools to make a Podcast Powerhouse.
On top of that – It has a Forever Free plan with some limitations, of course, for you to try out risk-free.
Like other websites, you can capture subscribers and send them newsletters; however, you may embed your podcast in the newsletter.
Unique podcast player – embedded & customizable.
Maybe the vital feature of all is SPP (Smart Podcast Player). It is uniquely designed to meet your needs. It has three options available; it can act as a full-featured podcast player with a cover photo of the track.
You can embed it in blog posts or notes to display in blog feeds.
Finally, it can be a floating player all over the website, so visitors can access it while searching or reading your post.
It is not just a podcast player, but you may use it to leverage your marketing by inviting them directly to your player to build more reputation.
The transcription plugin is another beautiful feature; with their innovative technology, you won’t have to worry about accuracy.
Make more SEO-friendly posts with your automated transcription plugin.
With the transcript plugin – make it automated.
How about we take a look at their subscription plan? They have two simple plans, One is free forever with some limitations in features, and the other is a Pro plan with all the features available.
Pro Plan costs you $12 per month; it is cheaper than most podcast hosting services, given that they have many valuable features.
If you don’t want to purchase their Pro plan immediately, I suggest trying their free plan and testing it out.
9. Podcast websites.
Complete solution of podcast career with 7-day’s money back.
Podcast Websites is a One-Stop solution for your podcast career. You need a powerful podcast hosting service and a good-looking and well-designed website to display your podcast; they have your back.
Though they do not have any free trial plan, you can test their service, and they have a 7-days money-back guarantee.
Now, what benefit can you get from them? First, they have already pre-designed website templates for you to get started; all you have to do is edit them with a simple, easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor and upload your podcast. That’s it; your professional podcast website is ready for action.
Learn from legend – become part of the podcast academy.
I have never seen other podcast hosting services providing any Academy-like learning feature. It’s incredible; it’s not just a community you will learn from podcasters who became successful in real life.
As a new podcaster, you have so many questions to ask, but the grim truth is nobody around you can help you with that. Unfortunately, it’s a prevalent issue for any new online start-up.
You want to build a podcast brand from day 1, increase your website rank in various search engines like Google by optimizing SEO, know how to improve your reach and influence among the podcast audience and get thousands of subscribers.
Yes, they have everything you want regarding a podcasting career. And it is entirely free to join. Do you need anything more? I don’t think so.
Ever-expanding pre-designed website templates.
They have many valuable features, but how about their subscription plans? Is it affordable? Yes, it is competitive and featured rich. However, a casual podcaster who needs to start with a cheap subscription plan might not satisfy because their starter plan is $77 per month. In contrast, other podcast hosting service has a much cheaper rate for a beginner (see above reviews).
Their advance plan is Popular, and the cost is $97 per month for advanced users. And you get a 7-days money-back guarantee in case of disappointment.
10. Audioboom.
Simple, cheap podcast hosting for a starter.
Audioboom is a relatively cheap and straightforward platform for podcast starters with some powerful features along the journey.
There is NO free trial option, a wrong impression for the whole brand.
Apart from this disappointment, they have simple podcast upload and hosting solutions for you but no website building option.
You can embed your podcast there if you already have a website.
Simple & easy podcast hosting and distribution.
You can distribute your podcast among popular channels like Google podcast and Apple podcast, as usual, no problem with that.
You will also have a detailed analytics report inside your Audioboom account to learn and track your performance.
Now let’s go to a subscription plan. Unfortunately, they have only two plans; for a beginner, the podcaster’s plan costs you $9.99 per month, while Podcast Pros is for established podcasters & pricing; you have to contact them.
As they have no free trial option, therefore you have no way to test their service with any investment.
Executive Summary.
If you are a singer, YouTuber, or audio episode maker, podcasting can be your best option. But things have changed a lot; today, even a singer has a beautiful & professionally designed website that even outclassed the large organization’s website back in early 2000.
Don’t believe it? Just google “early 2000 web design” and see for yourself.
More digitalized, we become more competitive it gets. Because in early 2000, making a website would require hiring web developers, and the cost would be more than thousands of dollars, while now you can easily do it within 10 minutes with and few clicks.
Recording software has also become available and cheap; thus, anyone can start podcasting with a professional-looking website.
So, you have been blessed with today’s technology; why wait and waste time? Back then, maybe, if your grandfather would try to start a podcasting business, they had to invest thousands of dollars, and it would take more than 1-2 months to finally start, while you can do it now within 10 minutes.
So what do you think about it? After reading my guide, do you have any questions or suggestions? Or perhaps you might need more help regarding podcasting services. In any case, ask me in the comments section below. I will try my best to help you out.
Further readings: if you are going to start podcasting soon, then my advice, start marketing your new business on social media first & in that case, I think you should read my other guide – “Best Social Media Management Tools for Small Business (Reviewed)” & also this guide – “Best Photo Editing Software” because after you start your new business soon, you will begin to look for this, trust me.