Last Updated on May 17, 2022
This is a list of the Best Podcast Hosting Platforms in 2022.
Podcasts are becoming popular every passing day as more and more people are inclining toward audio-based content.
Audio content is easy to consume and requires a minimum level of your attention as compared to video or text-based content. No doubt why Clubhouse (a social network based on voice) is surging in popularity these days. (everyone wants an invite)
Whether you’re going for a jog, cycling around in the complex, or driving to work, podcasts can be consumed effortlessly and provide useful knowledge on the go.
Now it makes sense more than ever to create your own podcast as there’s already an audience looking for such content.
The thing is if you want to start your podcasting journey, you will need a podcast hosting company that will store your .mp3s and create your podcast feed.
A podcast hosting platform acts as a media host for your podcast somewhat similar to what a web host does for your website. They both store as well as host your data on the internet.
Although podcast hosting is different from website hosting as it provides audio-specific tools and features to enhance your podcast quality and user experience.
A podcast platform needs to be reliable as it plays a fundamental role in defining the success of your podcast by helping you grow your listeners faster and effectively managing your podcast files.
So, whether you plan to start a podcast, save money on podcast hosting, or migrate to a better hosting platform, in this post, we have searched and compared the most popular podcast hosting platforms that you can use.
The best part is most of them are free to use or come with a free trial so you can easily choose the best platform for your audio content.
Let’s get started.
Here’s a list of the best podcast hosting platforms in 2022.
1. Anchor.fm
Anchor.fm is hailed as being wholly free and decries the decision of the other services to charge their users to host their podcasts via them.
As is the case with many other service providers, this one too is a comprehensive package of podcasts that are intended for persons of varying levels of skills and audiences.
Having said that, we wait with bated breath to see what will happen going forward now that it was taken over by Spotify in February 2019.
Moreover, this platform aroused public outcry when they stated in 2018 that they own the contents that are uploaded on their sites, which in essence, is your own content.
They have since revised their terms and conditions to eliminate any claim of ownership of the contents going forward.
This platform came to be on the premise of ‘democratizing the audio.’ It believes that each person should have a fair chance to air his voice.
To make this possible, it endeavors to eliminate any subscription services that may impose a limit on the number of hours of bandwidth you may employ per given time in a month.
By and large, this platform gives you leeway or opportunity to generate and distribute an unlimited volume of content as well as tools you may use to accrue some profits.
Anchor does not charge anything like many other purportedly free services does. Also, it confers to its users unlimited storage spaces besides imposing no cap on the various shows you may want to host.
It enables you to distribute your content via just about any channel ranging from Apple to Google and Spotify. The tools you may use to monetize are also top-notch given that they do not demand any monthly subscriptions from you to generate income from your podcasts.
Via this platform, the podcasts are availed in two main ways. These are:
- Payments for the number of the episodes played
- Collection of the monthly payments from the listeners who subscribe to the platform
- A combination of these twin methods
On the whole, this platform is mainly good for collaborating with a number of speakers who participate in a given show. Moreover, it also allows listeners to interject and issue forth their comments.
It makes this collaboration possible via its app that is supported by both iOS and Android, which is truly a great feature.
Its analytics are basic and way quite straightforward. Nonetheless, they still confer some deeper insights as regards what works or not with the new podcast.
2. Spreaker
Spreaker is in a nutshell a one-stop shop for the podcasters. It is relevant for just about every other cadre of users; from the newbie who is barely getting started to the professional publishers who are developing tons of awesome content.
To these persons, it provides some great solutions for making the paths followed quite profitable and smooth. The platform provides some connections to the advertisers, creators of the podcasts, and listeners.
This is done via mobile and web apps. On the same note, it greatly cheapens the entire exercise by making it for the creators of the content easier to convert their podcast catalogs into money.
It does have a content management system that makes it possible for podcasters of just about any skill level to trigger the distribution of their content automatically to the major listening platforms.
Examples of these platforms are the Deezer, Alexa, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Spotify, and the Apple Podcast.
By use of this platform, it is possible for you to easily schedule and manage numerous podcasts under one account. At the same time, you can strategically set your desired levels of monetization that is provided via a dynamic ad section both at the show and episode level.
Further to the above, the platform confers effective team management features which enable you to add collaborators as well:
It provides the following options:
- Free speech (free) – 5 hours of free audio storage and 10 episodes
- On-air talent ($5.50 per month) – 100 hours of storage
- Broadcaster ($16.50 per month) – 500 hours of storage
- Anchorman ($14.25 per month) – 1,500 hours of storage
By far its most popular plan is the Broadcaster which costs around $18 per month. With this plan, you get a whopping 500 hours of audio storage monetization features and advanced statistics.
3. Libsyn
Libsyn is at present one of the most popular monetization platforms for your podcasts. The platform contains features like double opt-in advertising as well as premium paywalls.
Further to the above, the platform also focuses on aiding the promotion of brands and podcasts across numerous distribution platforms and mobile apps.
Moreover, it has a speedy and reliable customer service team that is always on standby to help the front-end clients to make the most of the platform altogether.
Via this platform, it is also possible for you to generate a customized podcast app for your Android or iOS gadgets.
All of its plans are available with unlimited bandwidths. The pricing of its services mainly hinges on the monthly storage amount you are in need of.
The plans typically cost $5 for 50 MB per month and may spike to $15, $20, or $40 per month with the increase in your storage needs.
4. Podbean
As of now, Podbean is the best provider of podcast hosting services in the market. It provides unlimited podcast hosting plans that also come along with unlimited bandwidth.
Also, the plan incorporates a host of beautiful design tools that are intended to host your site using customizable themes.
Further to the above, you may also embed the Podbean podcast player directly to the posts and pages of your WordPress themes.
The platform also comprises promotional tools that automatically upload your content to all the leading podcast directories. In this way, it is possible for your audience to make do with their tools of preferences to listen to and download their contents of choice.
Other than merely letting you upload and download content, this platform also confers some excellent advertising solutions that ultimately confer to you some opportunities to monetize your content.
In addition to all these, the platform also has a huge community of podcasters who are already making use of it. Its free plan has unlimited storage and paid options start from around $9 per month with unlimited storage.
5. Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout commenced operations in 2009. To date, it has around 100,000 active users. At the time we incorporated it into this list, it seemed as if it was still ‘Works in Progress.’
However, taking into consideration how rapid technology has been evolving of late, and the new features it keeps adding, we can confidently state that they shall soon be a force to reckon with for starters and the all-rounders.
The platform’s main desire is to manage smoother experiences for its new podcasters. Its interface is pretty simple and straightforward to make do with.
To submit content to Spotify or iTunes, all you have to do is to follow some clearly laid step-by-step guidelines. These are somewhat easier to follow. Moreover, you can also make do with their free site or the active link to the WordPress site for greater control.
Ever since I first came in contact with Buzzsprout, I have noted that they have incorporated tons of exciting paid features. Chief of these is the ability to have your episodes transcribed for around $0.25per minute.
On top of that, the platform also provides “Magic Mastering,” which according to them, serves the purpose of filtering audio contents much like Instagram does to the pictures.
Put simply: the platform makes maximum use of the audio compression technique and levels to pair and match the best practices for the respective platform you pick to use.
On the whole, expect to part with around $6-$12 per month mainly depending on the plan you choose. Apparently, this platform has no free plan.
It has given its standard features some nice polish. These include the brand new embedded players, an updated text editor to display the notes, and the ability to bookmark the chapters, to name but a few!
Some of the latest additions and innovations include podcast locking and soundbite tags that work to prevent your content from getting stolen.
This platform pushes new features quite often. To keep pace with them, you are asked to pay a visit to its blog every now and then. While there, you will also come across hundreds of useful tips and tricks for the starters.
What are its downsides, you may ask? First and foremost, there are caps for the bandwidths and the uploaded audio contents.
The pricing plans for this platform include the following:
- Free – up to 2 hours of exclusive audio content per month, zero adverts, contents deleted automatically after 90 days
- $12 per month – 3 hours of audio content per month, unlimited bandwidth, and the leeway to introduce new content at $4 per hour
- $18 per month – up to 6 hours of free audio, ability to introduce new content at $3 and $24 per hour and month receptively, lasts 12 hours per month and accepts additions for $2 per hour.
6. Acast
Acast provides a vast range of awesome benefits. These include the seamless integration with like-minded tools such as IBM’s Watson which generates free transcriptions to the contents automatically.
The platform also confers the Snipper Tool which gives you the leeway to generate similar video content with absolute ease.
It also confers some free plans that make it a suitable choice for those who are uncertain how long the experiment might last.
On the flip side, the platform does not provide for the use of custom domains. Thus, if you are inclined to a specific uniform resource locator, you might have to set your eyes elsewhere.
7. Simplecast
Simplecast hosting platform lives true to its meaning. It makes simple the task of hosting a podcast. In a nutshell, this platform is some kind of the refurbished version of all the platforms that host podcasts.
Generally, it caters to the needs of the more knowledgeable, younger, and hungrier audiences who are always on the lookout for more engagements.
To date, this platform has powered podcasts from some of the world’s most notable brands. Examples of these are Harper’s Bazaar, TechCrunch, Facebook, and Nike, to name but a few!
Yet still excited? You may join the platform by paying up a paltry $15 monthly. We nonetheless suggest attempting their free trials first and foremost to gain a rough feel of the platform.
All of its paid-up plans are available via one-click publishing, more powerful technical support, and a data analytics dashboard.
Moreover, the platform narrows down the data in such ways as what times your audiences are most active, the most popular device kinds, top countries, and the loads, to name but a few!
Of course, the site is not here for you to fool around with. It is as a matter of fact on the path to becoming one of the leading platforms to host the platforms.
With the passage of time, it will be possible to tell if they shall succeed in dethroning the leading podcasting giants like Buzzsprout and the Libsyn.
8. Megaphone
The Megaphone platform is conferred by Panoply. It is in a nutshell, a platform that is intended for the wider, entry-level podcasts. In addition to this, it also provides advertisers with the ability to match the popular podcasts.
Its suite of features for the podcasters comprise dynamic advert insertion, sale and advert management, and indeed, more besides!
You will need to make a request for the invitation for hosting your podcast on the platform, even though it so happens that they are coming up with a plan for the smaller podcasts sooner.
This platform also aids with the monetization of your content via dynamic insertion. At the same time, it enables you to scale up in a reliable manner without any outages or downtimes.
Further to the above, it confers some access to world-class support via its customer service team. What’s more? The site also confers engaging craft ads that are designated exclusively for the listening of the podcasts.
9. SoundCloud
With this platform, it matters not whether you are a starter or an expert podcaster. Its most outstanding trait is the fact that it allows for free uploads of content and in starting out.
SoundCloud is Swedish-founded and has made tremendous impacts in the music scene ever since its inception in 2007. Even though it started out as a music-sharing site, it has of late veered off to the podcast hosting services.
Just like the Podbean, this platform has the intention to double down as a podcast directory over and above being merely a platform to host the podcasts.
It is only sensible hence that the platform emphasizes heavily the social sharing aspect in the attempt to grow the podcast channels.
This is largely made possible by the existence of the embeddable players and an RSS feed that is somewhat easier to make use of to share the platforms such as the Stitcher, iTunes, and indeed, more besides.
As a plausible way forward, we suggest that you double down on the use of this platform if interactivity is more of a priority to you than just about anything else.
Here, you get to connect with the listeners of the podcasts instantly. You do this via a series of comments, shares, and likes.
All these combine to make the platform one of the few hosting services that can evoke social media engagements over and above your own.
10. Podomatic
If you are a creator rather than a consumer of content, you may wish to set your eyes on the Podomatic.
The platform basically grants you the leeway to generate, upload, and promote your new audio content, all of these in one dashboard.
The main strength of this platform is the ability it gives you to advertise your podcast and crowdsource funds via the Advertisecast and Patreon sites.
Additionally, the platform contains some social sharing options not to mention being able also to play your content directly via Twitter and Facebook feeds.
It has further partnered with Weebly to confer to you the ability to generate a site to play free podcast apps for the Android and iOS operating systems respectively.
Other than their free plans, the site also comprises four pro plans that range from $9.99 to around $24.99 per month.
11. Audioboom
AudioBoom is a site that hosts podcasts while also providing a host of quality tools. This site empowers you to share your content via like-minded platforms such as Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and the Apple Podcasts.
Complementing these is the existence of embeddable players for your sites and other social media accounts. BY far its most outstanding feature is the capability of collaborating with a co-host or inviting others to come and offer help to run the podcast.
As soon as your podcast hits more than 10,000 plays per episode, the platform will let you monetize it thanks to its dynamic adverts and sponsorship resources.
It does have a series of analytic tools that confer useful details concerning your audience like the apps and gadgets they use to listen.
Its plans commence at $9.99 monthly and incorporate unlimited uploads and well over 10,000 plays on a monthly basis. In case you already garner more than 10,000 plays per content, you may be eligible for a custom price quote.
12. Blubrry
Just if you are seeking some free plan for your personal podcasting service, Blubrry unfortunately is not the one to look up to. On the other hand, if you want to make the most of the podcasting services, this is by far the most outstanding.
The platform has captivated the imaginations of people for quite some time now. It is notable mainly for its seamless and relatively simpler to make do with integration with the WordPress sites. This is over and above it also creating its own managed site!
It does possess a plug-in tool going by the name Powerpress. The tool enables your podcasts to be worked on via numerous RSS feeds. At the same time, it also streams content directly from WordPress without necessarily using the Blubrry dashboard.
In a nutshell, this implies that you have the ability to upload your Podcasts from the WordPress platform itself. Instead of scouring tons of dashboards and interfaces, you have the ability to operate directly from the one you are used to on a daily basis.
Sounds cool, right? The platform further emphasizes the accessibility of the user thanks to an interface that is somewhat easier to make use of. It is this that is credited with its success in the podcasting space.
Be this as it may, the platform lacks free services like other competing services. Given also that their tools comprise many WordPress plug-ins it is nonsensical for you to use them if your site is hosted elsewhere.
It goes without saying hence that the platform is the best if your site is hosted on the WordPress platform. Many people who have used it in the past recommend it over and over again for the role.
Its most affordable monthly fee is a paltry $12. This notwithstanding, the cheapest plan comes along with many attractive, direct, and easy-to-use sets of features that have the ability to bolster your podcasting games to the very end.
13. Transistor.fm
Transistor.fm gives you the power and the resource tools you need to grow your listener base. The platform provides assistance to podcasters in shoring up their subscribers with a host of tools.
Other than conferring excellent analytics the platform also goes ahead to confer to you the tools that have the ability to host an unlimited number of shows, manage many accounts well, promote, and distribute the podcasts.
It avails different plans and gives the users the leeway to pick the most suitable one as per their requirements upon attempting the 14-day free trial. Thereafter, the platform accords two months of the free trial on the annual payments as well.
14. Fireside.fm
Fireside.fm is a platform that is fast gaining currency and acceptance. It was founded in 2016 and is striving to widen its network by providing a series of competitively-priced unlimited plans as well as a 1-click hosting platform throughout the transfer process.
Its standard plan is $19 per month for the unlimited storage option which nonetheless caps the number of downloads at 75,000 per month.
By all standards, this plan is definitely worth attempting more so if you are seeking a plan that also incorporates a robust and customizable website builder.
On top of the standard plan, there is also the $9 monthly starter plan and a further $49 monthly professional plan. The latter provides unlimited downloads while also supporting 10 collaborators.
15. Captivate.fm
Captivate.fm is a brand new podcast host that is very much focused on growing the audience. It was created by Rebel Base Media which also operates Podcast Websites.
Its new edition is its most outstanding product yet. It incorporates every concept learned over the years. All of its plans are availed via unlimited podcasts, team members, podcast players, marketing tools, and advanced analytics.
Some growth features stand out. These are the call to action and the automatic product website. Moreover, each plan comes about with customizable, built-in donation support, and a mobile-friendly website.
Also, it lets you build your email list and create new ideas with the call to action feature of the podcast player. For instance, if someone is listening to your podcast player, he can sign in via the opt-in form to your email.
The platform is also always upgrading its analytic software. This, they do, by working in collaboration with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and aim at creating greatly intelligent performance monitoring outcomes for your show.
You may additionally import shows from like-minded sites such as Blubrry using the simple import tool. Thanks to its podcasting marketing tool, you are able to generate links to places like the Pocket Casts and Overcast automatically. These enable the subscribers to identify your content easily.
By and large, this platform confers the following pricing plans:
- Podcaster plan ($19 monthly) – up to 12,000 downloads monthly
- Audio influencer plan ($49 monthly) – up to 60,000 downloads monthly
- Podcast brand plan ($99 monthly) – up to 150,000 downloads monthly
With many excellent features in every plan coupled with a simple pricing plan, this platform is just about to impose waves as a new player in the podcasting spaces.
In case you are intent on leveraging the benefits of the growth-oriented podcasts that have plenty of marketing features, tap your hands into the free 7-day trial version.
16. Castos
Castos provides excellent features for the podcasts that host through the WordPress plug-in. It automatically publishes your content across all the main distribution networks like Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Moreover, it also confers video podcasting hosting while also enabling republishing of the episodes to YouTube. One of its outstanding aspects is automatic transcription.
Each time you upload content, the platform generates a transcription and posts the same on your dashboard in a couple of minutes. You may also download the PDF version or simply copy and paste the same to your site.
This platform provides discounts for not-for-profit entities and editing services. All of its plans come about with unlimited downloads, podcasts, and uploads/
The pricing plans start at $19 monthly. To gain access to the republishing feature of YouTube, you have to upgrade to the growth plan that costs $49 monthly.
To access the advanced analytics and video file hosting, on the other hand, you have to sign up for the Pro plan which starts at $99 monthly.
17. Omny Studio
If you’re into enterprise podcasting, Omny Studio is a tremendous audio management solution for podcasters and radio stations. You can either start a new podcast or just migrate the existing one in just minutes.
You get the functionality from going on-air to online in a few clicks. Not to forget, you also get unlimited episode hosting, publishing, editing, and audio processing.
Omny Studio also provides seamless integration with Apple Podcasts. The hosting platform also allows you to capture and store every talk break directly to the cloud.
Talking about the monetization opportunities, with Omny Studio you can easily generate revenue from a range of podcast monetization solutions.
18. RedCircle
RedCircle is one of the few completely free podcast hosting platforms.
You don’t get charged upfront in the form of subscription fees but rather the company provides tools for podcasters from which they earn their revenue.
With RedCircle you get unlimited storage to host your podcasts, so you never have to worry about running out of space.
The podcast platform also offers features such as the ability to take donations, subscriptions to premium content, host read ads, and programmatic ads.
19. Whooshkaa
Next on our list of the most popular podcast platforms is Whooshkaa.
It is an Australian-based podcast company having partnerships with some big brands like Wondery and WNYC.
The hosting platform primarily focuses on the development of a dynamic ad platform that is capable of customizing ads based on the listener’s location and the genre of the podcast.
Whooshkaa also offers text-to-speech features, customizable players, sharing tools, and a lot more.
20. Podigee
If you’re looking for a highly modern-looking, advanced, powerful, and customizable podcast player for your website, Podigee Podcast is the way to go.
You get the functionality to optimize your audio content for various podcast platforms and the content is always accessible at all times.
Plus the content created complies with local data privacy regulations, like the GDPR.
Podigee lets you easily integrate with your website or CMS. And also provides powerful analytics that presents realistic and downloadable data.
The podcasts created are validated automatically and are compatible with all podcast platforms.
21. Podiant
The best part about Podiant is the fact that it offers truly unlimited storage and bandwidth.
Also unlike many other podcast hosting platforms, Podiant doesn’t charge you more or increase the subscription rates as your listenership and following grow.
Podiant also offers stellar statistics and analytics for your podcasts.
Plus you also get access to free podcast websites to begin with, and these websites not only look professional but also have more of an aesthetic focus than some competitors.
The benefits just don’t stop here, but the platform also offers a powerful production system that can help with scripting, reviewing, and adding notes to edits and more all from your Podiant dashboard.
Podiant is one of the ideal solutions for large podcasts that have precise scripts, lots of ongoing guests, or hosts in different locations.
The basic plan starts at $12.99/month. You can also switch to professional plans that give you more functionality like it allows you to host more than one podcast in a single account and provide one on one technical support.
22. Backtracks
Backtracks is said to have the world’s most advanced podcast analytics and hosting platform.
Although the advanced features and slightly high pricing make it a misfit for beginners.
But if you run a mid-large size media company or brand, these advanced functionalities and analytics can be really helpful.
In fact, many large brands use Backtracks as it also offers a professional-looking embeddable player with clickable transcripts.
What is Podcast Hosting and Why is it necessary?
Podcast hosting is a type of hosting service that is primarily dedicated to storing and delivering media/audio files associated with a podcast.
For say you need a website hosting service to host all your website files on the internet, but with podcast hosting instead of storing the complete website data, it works only for hosting your podcast media files.
These hosting companies specialize in storing and delivering large media files. Also, they are specifically made for podcasters and have specialized tools to handle media files.
A podcast host provides a podcast RSS feed (listing of all your episodes) of the content that you will submit to Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories.
They also provide analytics, web players, scheduling tools, and other features to make publishing and growing your podcast easy.
Now you might wonder why can’t we just host our podcasts using our website hosting service.
Well, you can certainly do that. And some web hosts have also started providing podcast hosting services as well.
The only drawback of using a shared web hosting is the limited available resources and bandwidth.
Podcast episodes are generally large audio files that can take up a huge amount of space on the servers, ending in high resource allocation.
Now if you host podcasts on your website server it may result in slowing down of your website or even crash when more people start downloading your podcast at the same time.
And this is not the kind of experience you want to give to your listeners.
Hence, you need a podcast hosting service to store, deliver, and manage your podcasts.
Conclusion – Best Podcast Hosting Platforms
There were the top podcast hosting platforms ideal for beginners as well as professionals.
Almost all of these platforms come with a free trial version so you can test the waters before going all-in.
And not only do these podcasting companies offer services at affordable prices but also provide you with advanced tools and features that can help you enhance your podcast quality, promote it to a larger audience, and also provide a seamless user experience to listeners.
I hope you found the list of the best podcast hosting platforms in 2022, useful.
And if you did, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, and also do subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay updated on all our latest resources on digital marketing, growing business online, startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurship.
