The Best Podcast Hosting of 2026 – Compare Pricing & Features

4. BuzzSprout

Buzzsprout’s paid plans start at $19 a month for 6 hours of monthly upload time, with $39 a month for 15 hours and $79 a month for 35 hours. Annual billing runs $199, $399, or $799 and saves up to 19%. Video podcasting is built in now: upload once and Buzzsprout publishes video to Apple Podcasts and audio everywhere else, with Spotify and YouTube video listed as coming soon. Every plan includes multiple podcasts and unlimited team members. Magic Mastering and Cohost AI are optional add-ons priced on top of your plan.

Ideal for: solo and independent podcasters publishing weekly episodes who want a polished, easy-to-use platform and don’t mind monthly upload-hour limits.

PROS

• IAB-certified analytics on every paid plan
• Video podcasting built in: upload once and publish video to Apple Podcasts and audio everywhere else
• Multiple podcasts and unlimited team members on every plan
• Transcripts included free on all paid plans
• Free podcast website and a customizable embedded player
• Visual Soundbites for sharing episodes on social media
• Listener Support and Subscriptions for monetizing your audience directly
• Strong, award-winning customer support

CONS

• No permanent free plan: free episodes expire after 90 days unless you upgrade
• Every paid plan caps monthly upload time at 6, 15, or 35 hours, so long or frequent episodes push you to a pricier tier
• Multiple podcasts share your plan’s monthly upload hours, so running several active shows eats into the same limit
• Magic Mastering and Cohost AI are paid add-ons on top of your plan
• Buzzsprout Ads needs a paid plan and episodes at least 23 minutes long, and pays a modest 0.7 to 1.4 cents per monetized download
• Spotify and YouTube video aren’t available yet; video publishing is Apple Podcasts only for now

Buzzsprout’s Audience Support Programs

A note on Buzzsprout’s listener support setup Buzzsprout lets your listeners support your show through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, PayPal, and Cash App integrations.

The catch: the “Support Podcast” button is hidden behind a small icon in the bottom right of the player. Listeners have to expand it before they can see the support options at all. Useful if your audience knows to look. Easy to miss if they don’t.

RSS.com vs. Buzzsprout: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Buzzsprout
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Episodes stay hosted permanently.	Free plan hosts each episode for only 90 days, then it expires unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	$19 to $79 per month, or $199 to $799 per year (saving up to 19%). Plans cap monthly upload time at 6, 15, or 35 hours.
Video Podcasting	Audio-to-video conversion built in. Publish to YouTube as actual video with one click, no separate editing tool required.	Upload once and Buzzsprout publishes video to Apple Podcasts and audio everywhere else. Spotify and YouTube video are listed as coming soon.
AI Features	AI features like audio-to-video conversion and episode transcripts are included on paid plans at no extra cost.	Transcripts are included on paid plans. Magic Mastering and Cohost AI are paid add-ons on top of your plan.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Buzzsprout Ads (mid-roll) plus Listener Support and Subscriptions. Ads require a paid plan and episodes at least 23 minutes long, paying 0.7 to 1.4 cents per monetized download.

💡 Pro tip: Already on Buzzsprout? Move your podcast to RSS.com and get 3 months free on any paid plan. We handle the migration so you don’t lose a single download.

5. CoHost

Built by Quill, the award-winning podcast agency, CoHost is a podcast hosting and analytics platform for podcasters, brands, and agencies. CoHost has the data you need to understand your audience and measure the reach, growth, and impact of your podcasts.

One of the best things about CoHost is their Analytics Prefix, which provides in-depth audience insights regardless of your hosting setup. The Prefix integrates with your existing hosting platform, with Advanced Audience Demographics and Tracking Links available on the Plus tier and B2B Analytics on Enterprise.

Some of CoHost’s key features include:

• Advanced Audience Demographics: Verify if podcasts are reaching your target audience by gaining insight into your listeners’ age, income, family, lifestyle, hobbies, social media habits, and more.
• B2B Analytics: Discover which companies your listeners work at and their industry, size, location, average revenue, and job role and seniority level through an exportable list.
• Tracking Links: Track clicks to downloads across marketing channels through a single link. Discover top download sources, individual link analytics, and a consolidated LinkTree-style display.
• In-Depth Analytics Dashboards: Dashboards include show and episode consumption rates, growth rates, top episode vs. latest episode insights, and downloads and unique listener data.
• Automatic Transcriptions: An AI-powered transcription tool for effortless editing, distribution, boosted SEO, and accessibility.

PROS

• Unlimited storage and no download limits
• Focus on in-depth podcast analytics and data
• CoHost’s Prefix provides advanced podcast analytics regardless of your hosting provider
• Insert pre and post-roll audio into your podcast to monetize and dynamically edit your content
• Separated downloads and unique listener dashboards to compare listener data
• Unlimited multi-show management and team members within your account
• Customizable websites and embeddable podcast players
• IAB certified

CONS

• No free plan, and paid hosting starts at $31/month per podcast
• Pricing is per podcast, so costs climb fast if you run more than one show
• Video podcast hosting is still in development
• No mobile app
• No mid-roll ad insertion available

RSS.com vs. CoHost: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	CoHost
Pricing	Affordable plans from FREE. Paid plans range from $11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing, with unlimited episodes and audio uploads on every plan.	No free plan. Hosting starts at $31 per month per podcast on annual billing, so costs climb fast if you run more than one show.
Video Capabilities	Audio-to-video conversion built in. Publish to YouTube as actual video on all paid plans, no separate editing tool required.	Video podcast hosting is still in development.
Mobile Experience	Optimized mobile interface for managing your podcast on the go.	No mobile app available.
Included Features	Transcripts and YouTube conversion included on paid plans at no extra cost.	Advanced demographics sit on the Plus tier, while B2B analytics, audience surveys, and human-edited transcriptions require a custom Enterprise quote.
User Interface	Intuitive dashboard designed for beginners.	Analytics-heavy interface with a steeper learning curve.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month, no episode length requirements.	Manual pre-roll and post-roll ad insertion only, with no built-in advertiser marketplace and no mid-roll insertion.
IAB Certified Analytics	Yes	Yes

6. Castos

Castos is a podcast hosting platform built for serious creators and teams, with a reputation resting on two things: deep WordPress integration and an unlimited-everything approach to storage and downloads. Castos is the company behind Seriously Simple Podcasting, the free plugin running on more than 30,000 WordPress sites, so if your show lives inside a WordPress site, few hosts make that workflow smoother.

Every Castos plan includes unlimited episodes, unlimited downloads, no storage caps, a hosted podcast website, automatic distribution to every major directory, and in-depth listener analytics. The catch is where you start and what’s gated. Castos has no free plan and begins at $19 per month, and several features podcasters care about most, like YouTube republishing and video file hosting, sit on the higher tiers.

Some of Castos’s key features include:

• Unlimited everything: Publish unlimited episodes, run multiple shows on a single account, and never hit a storage or download cap on any plan.
• Seriously Simple Podcasting: Run your entire show from your WordPress dashboard using the plugin Castos builds and maintains.
• YouTube Republishing: Castos automatically converts each audio episode into a YouTube video, available on the Growth plan and up.
• Automatic Transcriptions: AI transcripts in 19 languages, metered by plan at 10, 25, or 100 per month, and unlimited on Premium.
• Castos Commerce: Collect listener donations and sell paid subscriptions directly from your podcast website with zero platform fees.
• Private Podcasting: Host gated, members-only audio with private subscriber tiers included on every plan.

PROS

• Unlimited episodes, downloads, and storage on every plan
• Best WordPress integration in the category through Seriously Simple Podcasting
• Free, done-for-you migration, usually finished within 24 hours
• Built-in monetization through dynamic ads plus zero-fee donations and subscriptions
• Multiple shows and a hosted website included at every tier

CONS

• No free plan, and pricing starts at $19/month
• YouTube republishing is locked to the $49/month Growth plan and up
• Hosting your own video files requires the $99/month Pro plan
• Transcripts are capped by tier, and the AI Assistant for titles and show notes is a separate $10/month add-on
• Let your trial lapse and your feed goes offline, since Castos freezes inactive accounts

Castos Podcast Hosting Review

The entry plan, Essentials at $19 a month, comes with 100 private subscribers. Growth at $49 a month raises that to 250 and unlocks automatic YouTube republishing plus Headliner audiogram integration. Pro at $99 a month gets you 500 private subscribers and adds video file hosting on top of everything in Growth.

Run more than one show and a single plan covers all of them. For a solo podcaster with just one show, though, that’s a steep monthly fee for what you get. The exception is private podcasting. If you sell access to a gated show, like a course or a coaching membership, those subscriber limits can earn their keep.

The 14-day trial needs no credit card. At signup you pick your setup: manage everything from the Castos dashboard, or install their WordPress plugin and sync episodes straight from your site. The dashboard feels a lot like Buzzsprout’s, and getting an account going and a first episode uploaded was quick. You can connect Spotify and Amazon Music directly from your account too.

Again though, we couldn’t help feeling that the price was just too high for the features offered.

RSS.com vs. Castos: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Castos
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Your episodes stay hosted permanently.	No free plan. Castos offers a 14-day free trial only, and your account is frozen if you don’t move to a paid plan when it ends.
Getting Started	Publish your first episode with no credit card required. Add a plan only when you’re ready for episode two.	Requires a 14-day trial to begin, with no permanent free option to fall back on.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	$19 to $99 per month, or $190 to $990 on annual billing (two months free). A Premium tier starts at $499 per month.
Video Podcasting	Audio-to-video conversion built in. Publish to YouTube as actual video with one click on every paid plan.	YouTube republishing converts audio to video automatically, but only from the $49/month Growth plan up. Hosting your own video files requires the $99/month Pro plan.
AI Features	AI features like audio-to-video conversion and episode transcripts are included on paid plans at no extra cost.	Transcripts are metered by plan: 10, 25, or 100 per month, unlimited on Premium. The Castos AI Assistant for titles, show notes, and social posts is a separate $10/month add-on.
WordPress	No dedicated WordPress plugin. You manage your podcast from the RSS.com dashboard.	Castos builds and maintains Seriously Simple Podcasting, a free WordPress plugin used on 30,000+ sites. Manage and publish episodes straight from your WordPress dashboard.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Castos Ads for dynamic ad insertion, plus Castos Commerce for listener donations and paid subscriptions with zero platform fees. Castos does not publish a download threshold or ad revenue share.

Prefer to watch? Joe Casabona, podcast expert and host, breaks down the RSS.com vs. Castos matchup in the video below.

7. Libsyn

Libsyn, short for Liberated Syndication, is one of the oldest names in podcast hosting. It’s been around about 20 years, has supported more than 250,000 shows over that span, and has paid creators over $112 million since 2017. There’s a real ad business behind it. Plans start at $8 a month for a bare-essentials tier, with the main lineup running $12 to $150.

Here’s the part to understand before you sign up: Libsyn prices by how many hours of audio you upload each month, not by how big your audience gets. Basic at $12 gives you 3 hours of new uploads a month. Advanced at $25 gives you 10. Go over your hours and you’re bumped to a pricier tier. For a weekly show with longer episodes, that ceiling shows up faster than you’d expect.

Some of Libsyn’s key features include:

• Audio and video distribution: One upload reaches Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and 20+ platforms, with audio-to-video conversion for YouTube on every plan and Spotify video on Advanced and up.
• IAB-certified analytics: Basic stats on the entry plans, advanced stats and exports higher up.
• Automatic Podcast Ads: Programmatic ads open to any show regardless of download count, plus a host-read ad marketplace used by big-name podcasts.
• Apple Podcasts Subscriptions: Sell premium content with no add-on fee, and Libsyn takes no cut of that revenue.
• Built-in Canva and multi-user: Design cover art inside your workflow, with up to five users per podcast.
• WordPress plugin: Publish episodes straight from your WordPress site.

PROS

• One of the most established hosts, with two decades of track record and a large ad marketplace
• Audio-to-video and YouTube distribution on every plan, Spotify video on Advanced and up
• IAB-certified analytics, long a Libsyn strong suit
• Automatic Podcast Ads open to shows of any size, plus Apple Podcasts Subscriptions with no Libsyn cut
• 30-day free trial on every plan

CONS

• No free plan, and the 30-day trial requires a credit card up front
• Plans are capped by monthly upload hours (3, 10, or 55), so volume or long episodes push you to pricier tiers fast
• The pricing model is confusing, built around upload hours instead of a flat unlimited rate
• No native transcript generation. You upload your own or rely on Apple’s auto-transcripts
• Ad revenue share tops out at 50% under 50,000 monthly downloads, and 60% above that, below what some competitors pay

Libsyn Podcast Hosting Review

The thing to wrap your head around with Libsyn is the upload-hours model. Your plan isn’t limited by your audience size, which is genuinely nice, but it is limited by how much new audio you publish each month. Basic at $12 gets you 3 hours. Run a weekly show with hour-long episodes and that’s four episodes before you hit the wall. Advanced at $25 opens it to 10 hours, and Max at $150 goes to 55.

Where Libsyn earns its reputation is monetization and analytics. The Libsyn Ads marketplace works with major shows, Automatic Podcast Ads are open to creators of any size, and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions carry no add-on fee and no cut taken by Libsyn. The analytics are IAB-certified and genuinely strong.

Creating an account and uploading episodes is easy enough, and video is a first-class part of the platform now: audio-to-video for YouTube on every plan, Spotify video on Advanced and up. The friction is the pricing. Picking the right tier means estimating your monthly upload hours, and it’s easy to guess wrong. For anyone who publishes regularly, those hour caps are the real cost, not the sticker price.

RSS.com vs. Libsyn: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Libsyn
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Your episodes stay hosted permanently.	No free plan. Libsyn offers a 30-day free trial on every plan, but a credit card is required to start it.
Getting Started	Publish your first episode with no credit card required. Add a plan only when you’re ready for episode two.	A credit card is required up front to begin the 30-day trial.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	$8 bare-essentials tier up to $150 per month, billed monthly: Basic $12, Advanced $25, Max $150. Professional and Enterprise plans are quoted by sales.
Upload Limits	Unlimited audio uploads on every plan, with no monthly hour cap.	Plans are capped by hours of new uploads per month: 3 on Basic, 10 on Advanced, 55 on Max. Video gets a separate 100GB monthly allowance on all plans.
Transcripts	Free, built-in episode transcripts included on paid plans.	No native transcript generation. You upload your own or rely on Apple Podcasts’ auto-generated transcripts.
WordPress	No dedicated WordPress plugin. You manage your podcast from the RSS.com dashboard.	Offers a WordPress plugin for publishing episodes directly from your WordPress site.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Automatic Podcast Ads open to shows of any size, a host-read ad marketplace, and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. Ad revenue share is 50% under 50,000 monthly downloads and 60% at 50,000 or more.

Prefer to watch? Joe Casabona breaks down the RSS.com vs. Libsyn matchup in the video below.

8. Podbean

Podbean is one of the older all-in-one platforms in podcasting. It’s been around more than a decade, claims 600,000+ creators, and packs a lot into one place: hosting, a built-in AI suite, video, live streaming, and several ways to make money. There’s a free plan, and paid tiers run $12 to $99 a month on annual billing.

One of its more distinctive features is the Patron Program, a paywalled RSS feed that lets you charge listeners for bonus content that isn’t public. Podbean has also leaned hard into video and live streaming, so if you want one platform that does a bit of everything, it’s worth a look.

The flip side of “does everything” is complexity. There’s a lot crammed into the interface, and costs climb once you stack video, extra channels, and AI usage. The free plan is genuinely limited: it caps you at 5 hours of total storage, and that storage doesn’t reset, so it works better as a trial than a home for an ongoing show. If your main goal is simple, reliable hosting, you may end up paying for capabilities you won’t touch.

Some of Podbean’s key features include:

• Unlimited storage on paid plans: Total storage is unlimited on every paid tier, though monthly uploads are capped, from 1GB up to 40GB depending on the plan.
• Built-in AI suite: AI transcripts, titles, show notes, chapter markers, audio cleanup, and a text-to-podcast creator, all drawing on a monthly credit allowance.
• Video and live streaming: Video hosting from the Unlimited Plus plan up, plus built-in live streaming with virtual gifts and Fan Club income.
• Multiple monetization paths: Ads Marketplace, PodAds dynamic ad insertion, Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, and Patron crowdfunding.
• Free podcast website and mobile app: A customizable site with free themes, plus a well-rated app for recording and publishing on the go.
• IAB-certified analytics: Advanced stats on paid plans, basic stats on the free tier.

PROS

• Genuinely all-in-one: hosting, AI tools, video, live streaming, and monetization under one roof
• Free plan to test the platform, no credit card required
• Unlimited total storage and unmetered bandwidth on paid plans (Network is capped at 3TB)
• Strong built-in monetization, including Patron crowdfunding and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions
• Well-reviewed mobile app for recording and publishing from your phone

CONS

• The free plan’s 5-hour total cap doesn’t reset, so it’s really a trial, not a long-term home
• More features means a busier, more complex interface than hosting-only platforms
• Paid pricing climbs fast once you add video, extra channels, or heavy AI use
• AI tools run on monthly credits, so heavy users can run out
• Video hosting is gated to the $29 Unlimited Plus plan and up, with no native video recording or editing

Podbean Podcast Hosting Review

Paid plans start at $12 a month (billed annually) for Unlimited Audio: one audio podcast, unlimited total storage, unmetered bandwidth, advanced stats, the Ads Marketplace, and 600 monthly AI credits. Move up to Unlimited Plus at $29 and you can host video and run two shows. Network at $79 and Business at $99 add multiple channels, bigger upload allowances, team seats, and, on Business, private podcasting with SSO and SOC2.

Worth understanding before you commit: paid plans give you unlimited total storage, but they cap how much you upload each month, from 1GB (about 16 hours) on the entry plan up to 40GB higher up. For most audio shows that’s plenty. If you’re publishing long video episodes, keep an eye on the ceiling.

Signing up is easy, and the dashboard is straightforward once you get past how much is in it. One nice touch is automatic social sharing: connect Facebook, LinkedIn, and other accounts and new episodes post on release. You can also record and publish right from the Podbean app, though for better audio I’d still record into something like GarageBand or Audacity and upload the finished file.

So it comes down to what you’ll actually use. If you want the video, live streaming, and monetization stack, Podbean delivers a lot for the money. If you just want clean, simple hosting, you’re paying for a pile of features you’ll never open.

RSS.com vs. Podbean: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Podbean
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Your episodes stay hosted permanently.	Free Basic plan capped at 5 hours of total storage, which does not reset, plus 100GB monthly bandwidth, a limit of 3 episodes per day, and basic stats only.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	$12 to $99 per month on annual billing: Unlimited Audio $12, Unlimited Plus $29, Network $79, Business $99. The entry plan is audio-only.
Upload Limits	Unlimited audio uploads on every plan, with no monthly cap.	Total storage is unlimited, but monthly uploads are capped by plan: 1GB (about 16 hours) on Unlimited Audio, 10GB on Unlimited Plus, 40GB on Network and Business.
Video Podcasting	Audio-to-video conversion built in. Publish to YouTube as actual video with one click on every paid plan.	Video hosting starts on the Unlimited Plus plan ($29/month). Podbean stores and distributes video but has no native video recording or editing.
AI & Transcripts	Free, built-in episode transcripts included on paid plans.	A full AI suite (transcripts, show notes, audio cleanup) runs on monthly AI credits, starting at 600 on the entry plan, so heavy use can run them out.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Ads Marketplace (subject to a content safety check), PodAds dynamic insertion at $1 CPM (free on Network and Business), Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, and Patron crowdfunding.

Want to see it in action? Podcast expert Joe Casabona walks through how RSS.com and Podbean compare side by side in the video below.

9. Simplecast

Simplecast built its name on analytics. It’s a polished, well-established host, around since 2013 and now part of the SiriusXM family through AdsWizz, that leans toward data and monetization over creation tools. The catch shows up fast: the best analytics sit on the higher tiers, and the entry plan only includes “basic analytics.”

There’s no free plan. Simplecast offers a 14-day trial with no credit card, but it isn’t a full test drive. You can explore the interface and set things up, but you can’t actually publish your show until you pick a paid plan. Plans start at $15 a month, or $13.50 on annual billing.

The part worth understanding before you commit is downloads. Simplecast meters them. Basic includes 20,000 downloads a month and Essential includes 50,000, with higher caps only on the custom-quoted Professional and Enterprise plans. If your show takes off, you climb tiers to keep up, which is a strange thing to charge more for.

Some of Simplecast’s key features include:

• Unlimited storage and uploads: No caps on how much you upload or store, on every plan.
• Audience analytics: Listener, location, technology, and web-player data, though the deeper reports start on Essential ($35) and up.
• Customizable show website: A built-in site builder with custom domain and HTTPS on all plans.
• Smart web players: Embeddable players that report listening speed, share points, and drop-off.
• Multiple shows and team seats: Manage several shows from one account, with 2 to 4 seats depending on plan.
• AdsWizz monetization: Dynamic ad insertion and the AdsWizz marketplace, on the Professional and Enterprise plans.

PROS

• Unlimited uploads and storage on every plan
• Polished, reliable platform with genuinely strong audience analytics
• Customizable website with custom domain and HTTPS included
• Backed by AdsWizz and SiriusXM, so it’s a stable home
• Smart, shareable web players with their own listening data

CONS

• Monetization is limited to the custom-priced Professional and Enterprise plans
• No free plan, and the 14-day trial won’t let you publish until you pay
• Downloads are capped by plan (20,000 on Basic, 50,000 on Essential), so growth pushes you to pricier tiers
• The best analytics are gated behind Essential and up, despite analytics being the main pitch
• No built-in transcripts or AI tools; you’d need a third-party service

Simplecast Podcast Hosting Review

Pricing starts at $15 a month ($13.50 annually) for Basic: unlimited uploads and storage, a custom website, smart web players, basic analytics, and 20,000 downloads included per month. Essential at $35 ($31.50 annually) adds the analytics Simplecast is known for, location, listener, and technology data, plus more team seats and 50,000 monthly downloads. Beyond that, Professional and Enterprise are custom-quoted and unlock dynamic ad insertion through AdsWizz, customizable download caps, and advanced reporting.

The download metering is the thing to sit with. Most hosts let your audience grow without touching your bill. Simplecast ties your plan to monthly downloads, so a show that takes off can mean a bigger invoice just for being popular. For a hobby show, fine. For anyone with growth ambitions, do the math early.

The platform itself is clean and easy to navigate, and the analytics really are a strong suit. Just know what you’re signing up for: a data-and-monetization platform that expects you to move up tiers as you grow, without the transcript or video tools some competitors bundle in.

If you live in your stats and plan to monetize at scale, Simplecast is built for you. If you just want to publish and grow without watching a download meter, the math gets uncomfortable.

RSS.com vs. Simplecast: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Simplecast
Free Plan & Trial	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Publish your first episode with no credit card required.	No free plan. The 14-day trial needs no credit card, but you cannot publish your show until you choose a paid plan.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	Basic $15/month ($13.50 annual), Essential $35/month ($31.50 annual). Professional and Enterprise plans are custom-quoted.
Download Limits	Unlimited downloads on every plan. Your bill never changes as your audience grows.	Downloads are metered: 20,000 per month on Basic and 50,000 on Essential. Higher caps require the custom-priced Professional or Enterprise plans.
Analytics	Analytics included on every plan.	Basic includes basic analytics only. Location, listener, and technology analytics start on the Essential plan ($35/month) and up.
AI & Transcripts	Free, built-in episode transcripts and audio-to-video conversion included on paid plans.	No built-in transcripts or AI tools. Transcription requires a third-party service.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month, on regular paid plans.	Dynamic ad insertion via the AdsWizz marketplace with a 70/30 split (70% to creators), but only on the custom-priced Professional and Enterprise plans.

Want to see it in action? Podcast expert Joe Casabona walks through how RSS.com and Simplecast compare side by side in the video below.

10. Spreaker

Spreaker is an all-in-one platform owned by iHeartMedia, which picked up Spreaker’s parent company Voxnest in 2020. That ownership is the whole story. Spreaker is built around monetization, with its own iHeart-backed ad marketplace, and it leans toward podcasters who want to earn from ads more than those chasing the newest creation tools.

There’s a real free plan, which counts in its favor. The Free Speech tier costs nothing, takes no credit card, and gives you unlimited episodes with ad monetization from day one, though you’re capped at one podcast and six months of stats. Paid plans climb from there: Broadcaster at $20 a month, Anchorman at $50, and Publisher at $250, each adding more shows, deeper stats, and finer monetization controls.

One thing worth knowing: Spreaker built its early reputation on live broadcasting, but it’s no longer listed as a feature on any current plan, and recent coverage disagrees on whether it still exists at all. If live is your reason for picking a host, confirm it with Spreaker directly first.

Some of Spreaker’s key features include:

• iHeart-backed ad monetization: Earn from programmatic ads on every plan, including the free one, through Spreaker’s own ad marketplace.
• Certified statistics: IAB Tech Lab certified and Nielsen-partnered, with history scaling from 6 months on free up to 24 months on Publisher.
• Apple Podcast Subscriptions and Supporters Club: Charge for premium content and take listener support, with the Supporters Club fee dropping from 20% on free to 0% on paid plans.
• Unlimited podcasts on paid plans: Run a whole network from one account, with unlimited collaborators from the Anchorman plan up.
• Spreaker Studio: A recording and publishing app for desktop and mobile.
• Auto-distribution: One upload pushes to iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.

PROS

• Genuine free plan with ad monetization and unlimited episodes, no credit card
• Strong built-in ad monetization backed by iHeart’s marketplace
• IAB and Nielsen certified statistics
• Unlimited podcasts and collaborators on the higher paid plans
• Apple Podcast Subscriptions and a 0% Supporters Club fee on paid plans

CONS

• The free plan is capped at one podcast, six months of stats, and a 20% Supporters Club fee
• Paid pricing jumps steeply, from $20 to $50 to $250 a month
• It’s a monetization-first platform, so it’s more than a podcaster who just wants simple hosting needs
• No transcripts or audio-to-video bundled into the hosting plans
• Live broadcasting, once its signature feature, is no longer listed on any plan

Spreaker Podcast Hosting Review

Spreaker makes the most sense when monetization is your priority. It’s owned by iHeartMedia, it runs its own ad marketplace, and ads are switched on from the free plan up, which is rare. The certified stats, IAB and Nielsen, are a genuine strength too, and they matter when you’re pitching advertisers.

The pricing is where you feel the jumps. Broadcaster at $20 a month unlocks unlimited podcasts, advanced stats, and a 0% Supporters Club fee. Anchorman at $50 adds collaboration and full stats. Publisher at $250 hands you a campaign manager to sell and traffic your own ads. That top tier is built for networks, not solo shows, and the gap between $50 and $250 tells you who Spreaker is really chasing.

Setup is simple, and the Spreaker Studio app handles recording and publishing from your phone or desktop. Just go in clear-eyed about what Spreaker is: a monetization-first platform under a media giant. If you want straightforward hosting with transcripts and one-click video built in, Spreaker is pointed in a different direction.

RSS.com vs. Spreaker: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Spreaker
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Publish your first episode with no credit card required.	Free Speech plan: free with no credit card and unlimited episodes, but limited to one podcast, six months of statistics, ads only, and a 20% Supporters Club fee.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	Broadcaster $20/month, Anchorman $50/month, Publisher $250/month. Higher tiers add longer stats history, collaboration, and ad controls.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Ad monetization on every plan through Spreaker’s iHeart-backed marketplace, plus Apple Podcast Subscriptions and the Supporters Club (20% fee on free, 0% on paid).
Statistics	Analytics included on every plan.	IAB and Nielsen certified statistics, with history that scales by plan: 6 months on free, 12 on Broadcaster and Anchorman, 24 on Publisher.
Transcripts & Video	Free, built-in episode transcripts and audio-to-video conversion included on paid plans.	No transcripts or audio-to-video bundled into the hosting plans. Spreaker offers transcription through a separate free web tool.
Live Broadcasting	Live streaming built in through the Live Item Tag (LIT), with the broadcast saved as a standard episode afterward.	Once a signature feature, but no longer listed on any current plan.

Want to see it in action? Podcast expert Joe Casabona walks through how RSS.com and Spreaker compare side by side in the video below.

11. Transistor.fm

Transistor is a business-focused host built around one idea: host as many shows as you want on a single account, with unlimited team members, on every plan. Founded in 2018, it now powers more than 27,000 podcasts. If you run a network or manage shows for clients, that unlimited-podcasts model is the draw.

The tradeoffs are price and download caps. There’s no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and plans run from $19 a month to $99. More to the point, every plan caps your monthly downloads: 20,000 on Starter, 100,000 on Professional, 250,000 on Business. Transistor won’t cut your audio off if you go over, but they’ll move you up a tier, so a growing audience means a growing bill.

Some of Transistor’s key features include:

• Unlimited podcasts and team members: Host as many shows as you want and invite unlimited collaborators on every plan, with no per-show charge.
• Multi-show management: A clean dashboard built for running several podcasts, each with its own RSS feed, website, and analytics, plus a network website.
• Built-in websites: A one-click site for each podcast and one for your whole network.
• Private podcasts: Subscriber-gated feeds on all plans, from 50 subscribers on Starter up to 3,000 on Business.
• Dynamic ads and YouTube auto-posting: Insert your own ads and auto-post to YouTube on the Professional plan and up.
• AI transcription: In-dashboard transcripts with speaker detection and timestamps, available as a paid add-on.

PROS

• Unlimited podcasts and unlimited team members on every plan, no per-show fee
• Clean, reliable dashboard built for managing multiple shows
• Built-in website for each podcast plus a network website
• Private podcasts and API access on all plans

CONS

• No free plan, only a 14-day trial
• Every plan caps monthly downloads, so a growing audience pushes you to a pricier tier
• Pricing runs higher than many hosts, from $19 to $99 a month
• Transcription costs extra, a $5 to $20 monthly add-on on top of your plan
• Analytics follow IAB guidelines but aren’t officially IAB certified

RSS.com vs. Transistor: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Transistor
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Publish your first episode with no credit card required.	No free plan. Transistor offers a 14-day free trial, then paid plans start at $19/month.
Paid Plans	$11.99 to $18.75 per month on annual billing. Unlimited episodes and unlimited audio uploads on every plan.	Starter $19/month, Professional $49/month, Business $99/month (two months free on annual billing). Enterprise is custom above 250K downloads.
Download Limits	Unlimited downloads on every plan. Your bill never changes as your audience grows.	Plans are capped by monthly downloads: 20K on Starter, 100K on Professional, 250K on Business. Going over means moving up a tier.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	Dynamic ad insertion tools on the Professional and Business plans, but no built-in ad marketplace. You bring your own sponsors.
AI & Transcripts	Free, built-in episode transcripts and audio-to-video conversion included on paid plans.	AI transcription is a paid add-on, $5 to $20 per month for 5 or 20 hours, on top of your plan.
Certified Analytics	IAB certified analytics.	Follows IAB guidelines but does not hold the paid IAB certification.

Want to see it in action? Podcast expert Joe Casabona walks through how RSS.com and Transistor compare side by side in the video below.

12. Riverside

Riverside built its name on recording and editing, and deservedly so. For high-quality remote video interviews, it’s one of the best tools going. More recently it added podcast hosting, but only as a feature bundled into its paid plans, not as a standalone product.

If you already record and edit in Riverside, built-in hosting removes a step: you can go from final edit to published without leaving the platform. Judged purely as a podcast host, though, Riverside has real limitations worth understanding first. Hosting isn’t on the free plan at all. It comes with the paid Pro plan ($24 a month on annual billing) and the custom-priced Business plan.

Best for: podcasters already using Riverside to record and edit who want to publish without switching tools.

Some of Riverside’s key features include:

• All-in-one recording, editing, and hosting: Record studio-quality separate tracks, edit with AI tools, and publish without leaving the platform.
• AI production suite: Auto-generated transcripts, show notes, and Magic Clips that turn episodes into social-ready video.
• One-click publishing to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
• Snapshot analytics: Total streams plus top countries, top episodes, and listening apps.

PROS

• Strong recording, editing, and AI repurposing tools
• One-click distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube
• Ready-made transcripts and show notes for each episode

CONS

• Hosting requires a paid Riverside plan; there’s no free hosting option
• If you downgrade and your account sits inactive for 120 days, your podcast and its content are deleted
• Analytics are thin: total streams plus 24-hour and 7-day windows, with no long-term trend data
• You can’t replace an episode’s audio or video after scheduling; you delete it and re-upload
• No clear way to host multiple shows except on the custom-priced Business plan
• No built-in monetization program

Riverside Podcast Hosting Review

Riverside is excellent at what it was built for: recording and editing. For remote video interviews it’s hard to beat, and the AI tools for clips, transcripts, and show notes are legitimately useful. The hosting side is thin.

Start with analytics. You get total streams plus 24-hour and 7-day windows, top countries, top episodes, and top apps. That’s a snapshot, not a growth picture. Knowing how a show builds over weeks and months is what informs decisions about content, cadence, and monetization, and a 7-day window won’t show you that. RSS.com goes well past that with city-level location data and a listening heat map, and it’s IAB certified.

Then there’s the file lock. Once an episode is scheduled, you can’t swap the audio or video. Catch a mistake after upload and your only option is to delete the episode and start over. Riverside support confirms this is how it works.

The biggest risk is what happens if you stop paying. Hosting only comes with paid plans, and if your account goes inactive for 120 days after a downgrade, your podcast is deleted along with it. That’s a real threat to your back catalog if your situation changes.

So it comes down to fit. If you already live in Riverside for recording and editing, the built-in hosting is a handy add-on. If you’re choosing a host on its own merits, there’s little reason to pick Riverside. RSS.com’s free Local and Niche plan gives you unlimited episodes, unlimited audio, a podcast website, analytics, and distribution to every major directory, with no risk of your show vanishing if life gets in the way.

RSS.com vs. Riverside: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	RSS.com	Riverside
Free Plan	Free Local and Niche (FLAN) plan with unlimited episodes and unlimited audio storage. Publish your first episode with no credit card required.	No free hosting. Podcast hosting comes only with paid Riverside plans (Pro from $24/month, or the custom-priced Business plan).
Analytics	Advanced analytics including a listening heat map, city-level location data, and long-term trends. IAB certified.	Snapshot analytics only: total streams plus 24-hour and 7-day windows, top countries, top episodes, and top apps. No long-term trend data.
Content Safety	Your content is never deleted due to inactivity.	If your account goes inactive for 120 days after downgrading, your podcast and all its content are deleted.
Media Management	Upload and replace episode files at any time.	You cannot replace an episode’s audio or video once it’s scheduled. To fix a file, you delete the episode and start over.
Multiple Shows	Manage multiple podcasts from one account.	Multiple shows are limited to the custom-priced Business plan.
Monetization	Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically (PAID) with a 70% revenue share. Qualify with just 10 downloads per month. No episode length requirements.	No built-in podcast monetization program.

How to Choose a Podcast Hosting Platform That Perfectly Meets Your Needs and Budget

We’ve covered a lot in this post, and we understand you have options when choosing a podcast host.

Here are a few steps to take to assist you in making your choice:

Step 1. Open a word processing document or get out a pen and paper.

Step 2. Write down what your short-term and long-term goals are for your show.

Step 3. Write down how often you plan to release episodes, and how long you intend for them to be.

Step 4. Decide if you plan on hosting just one show or multiple shows?

Step 5. Decide if you plan on video podcasting?

Step 6. Write down your budget.

Let your answers help guide who you ultimately choose as a podcast host. For example, if video hosting is a top priority, many options on this list will be instantly removed.

We will say that we believe RSS.com has changed the podcast hosting game by offering the industry’s most generous free plan. With unlimited episodes and storage on the free Local and Niche plan, new podcasters can start without any financial risk.

As your show grows, you can upgrade to access programmatic advertising, Apple Subscriptions, and multi-show management for as little as $11.99/month (paid annually). It’s hands down one of the most flexible and affordable hosting options at every stage of your podcasting path.

That said, you can always take advantage of free trials and offers to test the features and functionality of the podcast hosts on this list before making your final decision.

With a little searching, there are coupon codes and links for free trials for nearly every podcast host listed above.

In fact, RSS.com has a coupon code for a full free month. Just use RSSFREEMONTH at checkout. 

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