9 Best Podcast Platforms (2023)

Dec 16, 2022

In order to help you with the search, we've created a concise introduction to the platform. We've highlighted its key characteristics, and provided the pricing options for nine of the most popular platforms for podcasts. We've evaluated the platforms according to costs, uploads limits and bandwidth, monetization tools and many more. Let's get started!

We have compiled a checklist of the top 9 podcast hosting platforms:

  1.       PodBean
  2.       Buzzsprout
  3.       RSS.com
  4.       Captivate
  5.       Transistor
  6.       Audioboom
  7.       Resonate
  8.       Castos
  9.       Libsyn

     PodBean

With over 10 years of experience, PodBean boasts an impressive 650,000 registered podcasters on its platform. PodBean provides users with simple-to-read statistics like downloads by date and times, trending and popular podcasts' characteristics, listener counts as well as retention rates of listeners. This platform also lets you live stream your show to your viewers as well as allow guests and listeners to join in for a participation or to listen to the broadcast.

Key characteristics

  • Free plan available
  • Podcasting site you can customize to suit your needs on any plan
  • A podcast player with a customizable and embeddable player to your website
  • Native tools that make it simple to podcast monetization
  • Auto-sharing is available on many social media profiles.
  • Live streaming that allows for users to make calls and listen

Price price range:

PodBean is one of the few websites that offer a no-cost plan. Their free plan supports the mp3 format and offers 5 hours of storage (500MB) and 100GB of bandwidth per month.

In addition to the no-cost plan PodBean has three plans for paid customers including Unlimited Audio ($9), Unlimited Plus ($29) in addition to Network ($79). Unlimited Audio and Unlimited Plus plans offer unlimited storage space and bandwidth. However, the Network plans limit bandwidth to 3TB. It also gives the option to purchase additional bandwidth.

     Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout is the platform for hosting that is used by more than 100,000 podcasters. It offers sophisticated analytics that let you track the number of people who download your podcasts, and where they're coming from, and the amount of listeners to your show. It also gives you access to several options, such as an embeddable player on web pages as well as transcripts of your shows that are optional as well as "Dynamic Content" allows you to alter episodes and pre-rolls after posting.

When you upload your podcast using Buzzsprout it allows you to showcase your podcast on all of the top directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Alexa, Castro, Podchaser, and many more. Furthermore, the platform is able to automatically optimize uploaded files to make your podcast the most efficient possible.

Important Features

  • Free plan available
  • A podcast site which you can personalize on any plan
  • Podcast player that can be embedded into your website
  • The ability to design chapter markers to mark episodes
  • Advanced statistics that monitor your progression
  • Dynamic content allows you to alter pre and post-roll segments at the time of publication.

Price Band:

Buzzsprout is one of the very few platforms with no-cost plans. In their paid plan the company offers three options including $12, $18 and $24 monthly. The pricing is not annual at this time therefore it is necessary to use the monthly price. The only major difference between paid plans, which is the amount of uploads each plan allows.

     RSS.com

RSS.com has a user interface that is renowned for accessibility and ease of accessibility and. The site gives users access to features such as complete analytics, schedulers for the episodes, embeddable players for podcasts, social media sharing, as well as an integrated podcasting website.

Apart from being distinct in comparison to other platforms for podcast hosting, RSS.com offers a donation button that you can turn either off or on. You can use it to get access to money outside of ways of advertising and sponsorship. If ads or sponsorships prefer your taste there are other options. Podcasters are able to find sponsors through RSS.com's Podcorn marketplace.

Important Features

  • Unlimited audio and episodes for all plans
  • A podcast website which you can personalize on any plan
  • Embeddable podcast player for your website
  • Native episode scheduler
  • Donation button with donation option
  • Ability to build episode chapters including soundbites and chapters as well as transcripts, inside the platform.

Price band:

While it looks like RSS.com provides three plans however, the majority of users will be able to avail one plan, which is called the All in One Podcasting plan priced at $12.99 each month. Students, non-governmental groups and students may benefit from a separate program that's specifically designed available for $4.99 per month. The Student plan includes all the features of the All in One plan, however, you'll need to be certified. If you download more than 10,000 times daily will qualify to join The Podcast Networks plan, but you'll also have to contact the platform prior to joining.

     Captivate

Captivate is a great alternative for those who are just starting out as podcasters. The hosting dashboard of Captivate is well-known throughout the podcasting industry due to its easy interface. This platform will help users distribute their podcasts across all the major podcast directories, market your podcasts with the built-in marketing tools, and make money with private podcasting.

Key Features

  • Podcast Website that is made to be customized to suit all plans
  • Unlimited podcasts with uploads, storage and podcasts for every plan.
  • A customizable and embeddable podcast player can be embedded to your website
  • Extra Add-on Captivate Sync(tm) WordPress Plugin for flexible hosting control
  • Podcasting Premium/Private for all plans.
  • Unlimitable team members and flexible roles

Price band:

Captivate provides three plans: Professional ($19) and Professional ($49), and Professional ($99). There isn't any free plans but there's seven-day free trial for every plan. The major difference between the two plans is in the number of podcasts that are connected to networks and private podcasts in addition to the number of subscribers to private podcasts which you are able to access. Apart from these distinct attributes, both plans are the same.

     Transistor

Transistor is a premium podcast hosting platform , which includes popular podcasts like Cards Against Humanity. Transistor offers complete analytics and private podcasts with 1-click distribution to the various popular directories. They also offer 1-click delivery of podcasts to Listen Notes and The Podcast Index Two popular search engines dedicated just for podcasts.

Transistor is a great choice for podcasts with multiple episodes. Transistor lets you download unlimited episodes for any plan. The platform does not limit podcasters on storage or bandwidth, but only by monthly downloads. This makes understanding limitations simpler.

The most important features

  • A podcast site that you can customize on any plan
  • Unlimited podcasts are included in every hosting plan
  • Dynamic Ad Tool to facilitate and automated ad placement
  • Automatically upload every episode on YouTube. YouTube
  • Unique RSS feeds for each show that you are a part of.
  • Embeddable podcast player for your website

Price range for price:

Transistor provides three pricing plans that include the Starter ($19) Professional $49) as well as Professional ($99). The three features are the only things that vary from plan to plan. The three are: the amount of people who can join on your team, the amount of podcast listeners who are private you are allowed to include in addition to the limit on monthly downloads. The good news is that the Starter program lets you download unlimited monthly downloads in the amount of 10,000. That's plenty for many podcasters that are just beginning their journey in the field.

     Audioboom

Audioboom is a typical platform appropriate for the majority users. Offering distribution to the most popular directories along with unlimited episodes. The capacity to download 15,000 monthly files on their entry-level plan. The way they approach monetization is what differentiates it from other platforms. Podcasters can access the marketplace to monetize their show once they have reached 10,000 monthly downloads. For those with a substantial audience, this should not affect the quality of your podcast. But if you're a smaller show, this could result in not having the chance to make money once you've hit the critical stage.

The key characteristics

  • Unlimited episodes per month
  • 15,000 downloads per month on entry-level plan
  • Distribution to the most of the most popular directories
  • IAB compliant analytics dashboard
  • The possibility to become part of the largest market for advertising once you've reached 10,000 downloads per month.

Price range for price:

The plans for pricing of Audioboom are easy to understand! There are two monthly plans accessible, both of which comprise Standard Plan ($9.99) and Plus plan Standard Plan ($9.99) and the Plus Plan ($19.99). The Standard plan offers an unlimited number of 15,000 downloads per month. If you're looking for greater, the Plus Plan allows up to 50k. And if that still isn't enough, connect with them to request a customized Podcast Pros Account.

     Resonate

Resonate is an outstanding podcasting platform that is ideal users who want a complete solution. While their hosting plans offer some of the most popular features, they're noticeably missing an adaptable site, premium or private podcasting as well as the customer support on the lower priced plans. But where Resonate is lacking in traditional hosting It could be able to make up the difference with extra services.

Resonate offers a wide range of services for podcasting. These include producer, launch and production video, as well as marketing and enterprise service. These services enable podcasters to make a professionally produced and well-produced shows on the same platform.

The main Features

  • Automatically built a podcast microsite
  • Embeddable podcast player for your website
  • Complete analytics and stats of embedded player
  • Built-in Dynamic Ad insertion that is time-sensitive and includes targeted campaigns that are timed

Price range:

Resonate has two month-long pre-installed plans that are Standard ($25) and Premium ($49). Both of these include unlimitted episodes, downloading, and show users. The microsite, however, can only be found with the Premium plan and separates Resonate from other platforms which include websites within their simplest plans. If neither the Basic or the Premium plan fits your requirements, you should consider the Professional plan, which offers additional microsites and assistance capabilities.

     Castos

As opposed to other podcasting platform, Castos is an WordPress plugin. It's built to integrate to Seriously Simple Podcasting and allows podcasters to manage their podcasts on their WordPress site. Castos allows users to create specific websites specifically for podcasts, with precise analysis.
   
    When compared to Buzzsprout for transcription of audio, their services are significantly less costly, at just $0.10 for each minute. If you're looking to start the process of creating an audio podcast using YouTube, Castos will also immediately upload the episodes to YouTube with certain plans. The company is working on improving its services and implementing unique features that give you analytics reports specific to potential sponsors in addition to playback duration metrics to let you know how long the listeners are enjoying your podcast.

Key aspects

  • Customizable podcast website on all plans
  • Unlimited podcasts episode uploads
  • Private podcasting feature for premium content
  • Website templates which are built in advance
  • Automatic podcast transcriptions (optional)
  • YouTube is republishing

Price Band:

Castos offers four pricing options including Starter ($19) as well as growth ($49) Plus ($99) plus ($499) monthly. If you pay annually, you can save about 17% over the course of the contract. The starter plan does include the basic features, only the growth plan and higher include YouTube publishing.

     Libsyn

All the way to 2004, Libsyn has been a reputable market leader in podcasts. It's a great platform for hosts beginning their journey, hosts with short episodes that have a limited number of episodes or for podcasts with advertising. Be aware that this platform has a limit on uploads as well as bandwidth. This can cause problems with podcasts with a large quantity of content or plenty of listeners. If you want to expand capacity or storage then you'll need to sign up to pay for more plans. This is the reason this system is ideal for podcasts that have a small audience, or those producing revenue.

Important Features

  • Podcasting sites that you can customize on every plan
  • Ads-based monetization built in, as well as podcasting in private
  • Integrated visual-builder that integrates with Canva
  • Make a unique iOS as well as Android application for your show
  • Distribution to the most popular podcast directories

Price Band:

Libsyn provides a broad range of six plans. Three are audio podcasts while 3 are designed to video podcasts.

Audio Podcasts

Prices for audio start at $5 and goes up to $20 or $15 each month. But, Libsyn limits the number of hours of audio can be uploaded per month and total storage space, which is different than other choices that are on this list. A plan with a high price will get you more of both.

Videos Podcasts

The plan for video podcasts starts at $40, then go up to $150 or $75 every month. When you pay this amount, the parameters remain the same, only the upload and bandwidth limitations vary with every month. They also increase as you pay more.

Last thought

Here you are! Nine of the most popular podcasting platforms. The choice of the perfect platform is just one of the crucial decisions you'll have to make when you're a podcaster. As you research the ideal platform, you should consider your unique podcasting needs. Start by looking at your basic requirements, such as uploading, bandwidth download, as well as your budget. Think about things like your monetization strategy as well as the integration of social media after having reduced the options down to your top choices.

Are you looking for more information on how to start an audio podcast? Check out our podcasting related articles:

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