You dream of being the next sensational podcaster the world will remember. That’s great! This is what you need to succeed.
What more do you require?
Podcasts are more than just recording audio and uploading it to iTunes. A platform that can store your audio recordings is also necessary. A podcast hosting platform is essential.
Many businesses have been around for many years, and others are constantly growing.
There are many options available to you if you’re looking to start a podcast, reduce costs, or switch to an easier-to-use hosting platform.
It can be difficult to choose from among the many podcast hosting options available.
We have compiled a list of 25 reliable and best platforms to make your life easier.
What are you waiting to find out? Take a look at the list to see what each company has in store.
Alright, lets get started.
#1. Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout was designed to simplify podcasting without any restrictions or limitations.
You will find the dashboard to be one of your most intuitive and user-friendly. This allows you to focus on creating podcast content, rather than wasting time uploading files or doing administrative tasks.
You will appreciate the fact that they constantly release updates and other features.
A podcast player can be embedded on your website using Buzzsprout. They allow embedding. You can highlight one episode or add a whole playlist.
They also provide an easy-to-use dashboard to analyze data, including an algorithm that can predict how many listeners your podcast episodes will receive in the first three months.
You can also see the countries your listeners are from. This will give you valuable information to help you understand your target market better.
They make it easy to upload podcasts and schedule them. They can also offer transcription services if you require it. As an add-on service, it is available to all.
You can also improve the audio quality by upgrading to 128k stereo optimization to provide a more immersive listening experience.
Did I mention that your podcast can be submitted to all major directories using Buzzsprout
You can also include chapter markers for each episode. This tool helps listeners to better understand the episodes by giving them more information. They are not necessary, but they can be helpful.
Pricing
Buzzsprout offers a free plan which allows you to upload up to two hours of audio each month. Podcasts uploaded to Buzzsprout will be kept on the platform for 90 days.
Upgrades are possible at any time to their paid plans. They cost $12 per month for the beginning plan. This allows you to upload 3 hours per month, with unlimited storage and indefinite hosting.
Want more? The next plan costs $18 per month and includes unlimited storage, indefinite hosting, and 6 hours of podcasts each month.
Their highest plan costs $24 per month and allows you to upload 12 hours of audio each month. Unlimited storage and indefinite hosting are included.
#2. Captivate
Captivate is a podcast website that has been running for years. They bring all of their experience together to make sure you have the best podcasting experience.
The dashboard is very clean and easy to use. You can add call to action in various locations and both the website and player will look stunning.
Captivate doesn’t limit the number of people you can have on your team. They even allow private podcasting, regardless of what plan you choose.
You also get many useful features like bulk uploads, clever user interface elements, default scheduling time, WordPress connection via their plugin, and many more.
A podcast sponsorship kit PDF is an attractive new feature that’s easy to create. It allows you to promote the latest episodes and also displays important download statistics.
You will be able to create a mobile-friendly website that reflects your personal colors. You can also use your custom colors if you wish.
Pricing
Captivate doesn’t offer a free plan. However, they do offer a 7-day free trial. You can upgrade if you’re satisfied with the trial. The basic plan costs $19 per month and covers 12,000 downloads per month.
The next plan is $49 per month and offers 60,000 monthly downloads. Their most expensive plan is $99 per month and includes a download limit of 150,000 each month.
#3. Spreaker
Spreaker provides a complete solution for podcasters. Spreaker is a one-stop shop for podcasters, from novices just starting out to those with an extensive podcasting portfolio to the more experienced podcasters who have a lot of material to share.
Podcast hosting providers bring together listeners, producers, and advertisers in one location, regardless of whether they are on the web platform or mobile apps. This makes it easy for podcasters to monetize their podcasts.
Spreaker can be used by podcasters at any level. It allows them to publish new episodes to their main listening sites, as well as enabling the publishing of existing episodes. You can distribute your content quickly to many platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast and Deezer.
Multiple podcasts can be scheduled and managed from one user account. Dynamic ad insertion can be used to monetize your content. Insert ads at show or episode levels. You can also use the team management feature if you have collaborators! You can also access IAB-certified stats to gain vital information about your listeners and shows.
Pricing
You can upload up to 10 episodes and 5 hours of audio. At $5.50 per monthly, you can upgrade to their paid plan that offers 100 hours storage. You can choose their next higher plan, which costs $16.50 per month and allows you to store 500 hours. The highest plan is $41.25 per month and offers up to 1500 hours audio storage.
#4. Transistor
These podcasts are popular on Transistor.fm. This service is designed to help you distribute your podcasts on Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Transistor’s analytics platform is what makes them stand out. It gives you all the information you need. You can see trends and statistics, such as the average episode downloads, total subscribers, and total downloads over the time, from the Transistor analytics dashboard.
And what else?
You can host unlimited shows, set up custom domains for your brand, manage multiple users from one account, and create custom sites.
You can import your podcast feed quickly using Transistor’s various import tools if you use hosting platforms such as Anchor or Libsyn.
Pricing
Transistor does not offer a free plan. However, you can enjoy a 14-day free trial and if you are satisfied with what they have to offer, you can always upgrade to one of their three paid plans. Their basic paid plan is called Starter Plan that will cost you $19 a month and offer unlimited podcasts, 10,000 downloads a month, and up to two users.
If you want more, their Professional Plan is up next at a price of $49 a month and offers 5 team members, 50,000 downloads a month, and unlimited podcasts.
Finally, you will get the Business Plan that will cost you $99 a month and give you 10 team members, 150,000 downloads, and unlimited podcasts.
#5. Simplecast
Simplecast is another industry-leading podcast hosting provider. In case you are not aware of, Simplecast is the platform that some of world’s most popular brands use for podcasting, and they include the likes of HBO, Facebook, Nike, Kickstarter, and so on.
Some of their incredible features include multiple podcast players and web players, single-click publishing, team collaboration, a fully functional and mobile-responsive website, advanced analytics and more.
Of course, you can expect the analytics to be extremely powerful because the type of companies that use Simplecast are known for making data-driven decisions. So, weak analytics is something that Simplecast cannot afford to have.
Simplecast has something called Recast tool that will allow you to share podcast clips on social media. You can even use it for scheduling your podcasts.
Pricing
Simplecast does not offer a free plan. However, they offer a 14-day free trial, after which you will need to upgrade to one their three paid plans. The Basic plan costs $15 per month and includes 20,000 downloads, embedded web player, two members of the team, unlimited uploads, and storage.
The Essential plan is next at $35 per month. It offers 4 team members and 50,000 monthly downloads. Additional web players are available. Analytics for apps and browsers can also be used. Unlimited uploads and storage are all included.
For $85 per month, you can get their Growth Plan that includes everything the Essential plan offers plus 120,000 downloads per month, five additional team members, ISP analytics, and much more.
#6. PodBean
PodBean is a podcast hosting company that has been around for more than ten years. It has hosted over 540,000 podcasters and is one our most user-friendly providers.
They include features such as dynamic ad insert, YouTube auto-upload and social media auto-posting. Patreon is a program that allows you to earn recurring revenue from your listeners.
You can listen to podcasts from your mobile device with their dedicated mobile apps.
Pricing
PodBean offers a free plan that gives you 100GB storage and up to five hours of audio storage. You can upgrade to Unlimited Audio for $9 per month if you wish. This plan provides unlimited bandwidth and storage, as well access to advanced designs, pro themes, and the ad market.
Unlimited Plus, the next higher plan, will cost $29 per month. This plan includes all the features of the Unlimited Audio plan, plus dynamic ad insert and Patreon.
The business plan costs $99 per month and covers unlimited Plus features. You also get access to private podcasts, advanced statistics and live chat support.
#7. Libsyn
Libsyn hosts one of the most enduring podcasts. The platform was created in 2004 and is still used by both pros and noobs. In 2016, they reported 62 million users and 4.6 billion downloads. Libsyn has severe storage restrictions. The maximum monthly storage is limited to 1500 MB. 50 MB is the minimum storage you can get.
Libsyn’s storage is not as large as other providers. The company offers advanced analytics, mobile apps and premium content.
Pricing
Libsyn doesn’t offer a free plan. Their paid plans start at $5 and make them one of today’s most affordable podcast hosts. Upgrade to their highest plan, which costs $75 per month.
#8. Podomatic
Podomatic allows producers to record, publish and market new audio content from one interface. Their ability to help you increase your podcast advertising revenue as well as crowdsourcing revenue through the use of Advertisecast or Patreon is one of their strengths.
Podomatic allows you to share podcasts across different social media platforms. You can also play it directly on your Twitter or Facebook feeds. A partnership agreement with Weebly allows you to create a website for free and also gives you access to the iOS and Android apps for your podcasts.
Pricing
Podomatic offers a free plan and their pro plan is $2.99 per month. Annual payments cost $2.49 per month. The free plan gives you 15GB bandwidth per monthly and 500MB storage. However, the paid plan offers 100GB bandwidth per month with 2GB storage.
9. Fusebox
Fusebox was created by Pat Flynn, a well-known podcaster and creator of Smart passive income. He spent years podcasting and was searching for the best podcast player to use on your website.
A podcaster is the best person to create the perfect podcasting product.
Fusebox offers a variety of amazing features, including email capture (one the few podcast players that allows this), and other top-notch options.
The transcript plugin has SEO-friendly livetext and automatically adds podcast transcripts on your website.
It’s also very easy to understand how the player works.
Install the Fusebox WordPress plugin. Next, add your RSS feed. Next, enter your subscription URLs in order to push your show into the major directories. You can then customize the color scheme of your podcast player and add it to your pages and posts.
Fusebox is a great option if you need to store your files, send them out to podcast networks and then display them on your WordPress site.
Pricing
Fusebox has 2 plans, the free version and the Fusebox Pro plan. The free plans allows you limited features, 10k monthly view and just 3 free shows. Pro version gives you access to a wide range of features and comes at the price of $15.83 monthly billed annually OR $19 per month.
This concludes my list with the top 9 podcast hosting sites for 2022. Let’s do a quick FAQ before we wrap up.
Podcasting FAQ
Is it easy to earn money with podcasts?
No, it is not! Podcasting requires a lot of skills. To start with, you must be a great speaker. However, this is one skill that you can develop over time. There are many podcasters who started slow and were shaky at the beginning, but now they have bloomed into speakers that people love to listen.
You must also know how to entertain people and above all, you should know how to market your podcasts. As for marketing, you must spend a lot of time in marketing your audio stuff, and that is not going to be easy. You must learn digital marketing tactics to put your podcasts in front of people and earn an audience.
Why do I need podcast hosting?
Your podcasts are essentially audio files. People who listen to your podcasts will stream your content much like videos minus the visuals. This requires bandwidth, and of course, a place to store the audio files. This is where podcast hosting comes in.
Additionally, podcast hosting platforms will aid you in publishing your podcasts on different platforms, which is essential for grabbing an audience. With no audience for your podcasts, you cannot earn money!
Is it possible to host podcasts for free?
Yes! There are several podcasts hosting platforms that will give you a forever free plan for hosting your podcasts. As a beginner, you should start using those free options. However, once you start getting followers, it will be a wise decision to upgrade your hosting package. Do not forget that free podcast hosting comes with some serious limitations such as limited bandwidth and limited storage.
How to make money using podcasts?
Podcasts allow you to make money in two different ways. The first and the most basic method is affiliate marketing wherein you promote certain products and urge your listeners to purchase them. Anyone purchasing products through your affiliate link will earn you a sales commission from the company.
The other method is to sell sponsorships. In short, you will create slots in your podcasts where you will mention different companies. This method can generate high revenue only if you have a sizable audience. Companies will not come and buy ad slots in your podcasts if you do not have a big fan following.
What should be the podcast publication frequency?
There is no golden rule here. Many factors come into play. The first and most important thing is the niche you are working in. If your niche dictates daily podcasting, you must go for that. If it requires once-a-week podcasting, that is what you should opt for.
Do not forcibly change stuff!
Again, never forget the audience that you have. The routine of your target audience should determine the frequency of your podcasts. If you are targeting working people, they will perhaps listen to your podcasts during the weekends. Students, on the other hand, may prefer to listen to your podcasts every night.
It all depends! So, no one can set a golden number. You must discover the frequency by yourself. Of course, study your niche thoroughly and the popular podcasters in your niche and see what they are doing. This should be your starting point.
Another important factor you should consider seriously is the podcast episode duration. If your episodes are really lengthy, there is no point publishing podcasts too frequently. People might not have the tenacity or time to listen. Shorter episodes can happily do away with more frequent publications.
Conclusion
Whenever you are looking for podcast hosting solutions, makes sure that you are going through all their features properly and understand whether they have everything that you are looking for, or not!
Remember that all that a company has to offer might not be what you need. So, you must have a clearly defined set of requirements and then compare them with the offerings of different companies.
Also, do not upgrade without a reason. If your current package is good enough for you, you should stick with that.
Here are a few things you should look for:
- Ability to create a website.
- Detailed analytics.
- Advertising opportunities.
- Crowdfunding opportunities.
- Support.
The last one is quite important. If you run into some problem, the company offering the hosting should be available to fix the technical issues so that your podcast shows and episodes remain accessible to your followers.
I strongly recommend opting for Buzzsprout as they are one of the best providers you will come across. They have a full free plan so that you can get started without spending anything on hosting. Of course, you need to spend money on equipment for recording your podcasts and that is something that the no hosting platform can help you with.
Finally, if you really want to step into podcasting, I recommendation will be to take it very serious and approach it as your new business. If you have a callous attitude, you are not going to success. Afterall, success never comes easy!
