9 Best Podcast Platforms (2023)
To aid you in your search We've prepared a concise introduction, highlighted the most important features, and covered the pricing options for nine of the best podcast platforms. The platforms have been ranked according to cost, upload and bandwidth limitations, tools for monetization, and more. Let's get started!
Our top list of 9 top podcasting platforms:
PodBean
With more than ten years of experience, PodBean boasts an impressive 650,000 podcasters on its platform. PodBean offers users simple-to-read statistics like downloads by date and time, trends and top 10 podcasts audience demographics, listener numbers, and retention of users. It also allows you to live stream live to your audience as well as allow guests and listeners to connect to your stream to take part or listen to your broadcast.
Important Features
- Plan available for free
- A podcast site that you can customize on all plans
- A customizable and embeddable podcast player for your website
- Native tools for easy Podcast monetization
- Auto-sharing on connected accounts on social media
- Live streaming that allows for users to make calls and listen
Price band:
PodBean is one of the very few platforms offering an affordable plan. The free plan is compatible with the mp3 format and offers 5 hours of storage (500MB) as well as 100GB of bandwidth per month.
Apart from the free plan, PodBean provides three paid plans that include Unlimited Audio ($9), Unlimited Plus ($29) as well as Network ($79). Unlimited Audio and Unlimited Plus plans offer unlimited storage space and bandwidth, while the Network plans limit bandwidth to 3TB, with the option of purchasing greater bandwidth.
Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is the podcast hosting platform of choice for more than 100,000 podcasters. It offers sophisticated analytics which allow you to track how many people download your shows, the countries they're coming from, as well as the number of users access your podcast. They also give you access to several options, such as an embeddable player on websites, an the option of a transcript for your episode, as well as "Dynamic Content" that lets you edit posts and pre-roll segments after publishing.
After uploading your audio via Buzzsprout the platform, you'll be able to promote your podcast in all of the top directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Alexa, Castro, Podchaser, and much more. It will also optimize uploaded files, making your podcast the most effective it can be.
Key Features
- Free plan available
- Customizable podcast website on every plan
- Embeddable customizable podcast player on your site
- The ability to create chapter markers to mark episodes
- Advanced statistics for tracking your progress
- Dynamic content allows you to alter pre and post-roll segments immediately after you have published
Price price range:
Buzzsprout is also among the few podcast platforms to offer a trial plan for free. As for their paid options, they offer 3 plans that include $12, $18 and $24 for a month. They do not offer any annual prices at the moment therefore you'll need to stick with their monthly prices. Only difference between these paid plans is the available upload times that each plan offers.
RSS.com
RSS.com offers a user-friendly interface well-known for its simplicity of usage. The platform provides users with access to features including extensive analytics, scheduling of episodes and embeddable episodes as well as social media sharing as well as a podcasting site that is included.
In addition to being different from other podcast hosting platforms, RSS.com offers a donation button you can enable/disable. The donation button lets you get funding in addition to the traditional ads and sponsorship options. But if sponsors and ads are your thing, they have that too. Podcasters will find sponsors using RSS.com's Podcorn marketplace.
Important attributes
- Unlimited episodes and music for every plan
- Podcast website that can be customized for all plans
- Embeddable podcast player for your website
- Native episode scheduler
- Donation button with donation option
- Ability to create episodes, chapters, soundbites and transcripts within the platform
Price band:
Although it appears that RSS.com provides three plans, most users will only be able to avail one plan, which is the All in One Podcasting plan priced at $12.99 each month. Non-governmental organizations, students and students may avail a special plan for them for $4.99 each month. The Student plan includes the same features as the All in One plan, however you'll need to get approved. If you have more than 10,000 daily downloads is eligible for The Podcast Networks plan, but you'll need to reach out to the platform first.
Captivate
Captivate is a good option for new podcasters. The dashboard for hosting is widely known by the podcast industry due to its simple user interface. It will allow users to distribute their podcast episodes across all of the top podcast directories, market with integrated marketing tools and make money with private podcasting.
The key features
- Podcast website that can be customized for all plans
- Unlimited uploads and podcasts and storage space on all plans
- Embeddable customizable podcast player for your website
- Additional Captivate Sync(tm) WordPress Plugin for flexibility in hosting control
- Premium/private podcasting with all plans
- Unlimited team members , with different roles
Price band:
Captivate has three plans available: Personal ($19) and Professional ($49) and business ($99). There isn't a trial plan for free, you can enjoy the free trial period of 7 days on any plan. The primary distinction between the paid plans is in the number of networked podcasts as well as private and subscribers for private podcasts you can have. Other than these diverse options, all plans are the same.
Transistor
Transistor is a top-quality podcast hosting platform , which includes major-name shows like Cards Against Humanity. They offer complete analytics, private podcasts as well as 1-click distribution for all of the most popular directories. They also provide 1-click delivery via Listen Notes and The Podcast Index Two popular search engines dedicated just to podcasts.
Transistor is a great option when you've got multiple podcasts. Transistor allows unlimited episodes for any plan. They don't restrict podcasters on bandwidth or storage but only monthly downloads. This helps to understand limits more easily.
Key features
- Podcast website that can be customized for every plan
- Unlimited podcasts with every hosting plan
- Dynamic Ad tool for an intuitive and automated insertion of ads
- Automatically upload each episode to YouTube
- Unique RSS feeds that are unique for each show you own
- Embeddable podcast player for your website
Price band:
Transistor has three price plans: Starter ($19) and Professional ($49)) as well as the Business plan ($99). The only features that change from plan to plan. The three are: the amount of team members you can add and the amount of private podcast listeners you can have, and the monthly download limit. Luckily, the Starter package allows for unlimited monthly downloads of 10,000 and is enough for podcasters just starting out.
Audioboom
Audioboom is an acceptable platform that is suitable for the majority of users. with distribution through popular directories with unlimited episodes and the capacity to download 15,000 files per month for their basic plan. Its approach to monetization is what sets this platform apart from the other platforms. Podcasters can access the market for monetization when they've reached the 10000 monthly downloaded. For those with a substantial audience, it won't impact your blog's performance in any way. If you're a small podcast, you could be not having the chance to make money once you've reached the crucial milestone.
Key attributes
- Unlimited episodes per month
- 15,000 downloads per month on entry-level plan
- Distribution to most well-known directories
- IAB compliant analytics dashboard
- You will be able to join the world's largest advertising marketplace once you reach 10,000 monthly downloads
Price range:
The pricing plans of Audioboom are easy to understand! There are two monthly plans available which include the Standard Plan ($9.99) and the Plus Plan ($19.99). The Standard plan permits the possibility of up to 15,000 downloads each month. If you need more then the Plus Plan allows up to 10,000. If that's not enough, you'll have to contact them for a custom Podcast Pros Account.
Resonate
Resonate is a great podcast hosting platform for those looking for a complete solution. While their hosting plans offer certain standard options, they're missing the ability to customize their website, private/premium podcasting and support for customers in their less expensive plans. However, where Resonate is lacking in standard hosting features, it may compensate with additional features.
Resonate provides a variety of services for podcasts, such as producer, launch, production, video production, podcast marketing, and enterprise services. These services enable podcasters to make a premium production, highly-produced shows all on the same platform.
The key features
- Automatically generated podcast microsite
- Embeddable podcast player for your website
- Comprehensive analytics and statistics from embedded player
- Built-in Dynamic Ad insertion with time-sensitive announcements and timed campaigns
Price band:
Resonate has two ready-to-go month-long plans The Standard ($25) as well as Premium ($49). Each of them comes with the ability to download unlimited episodes and show users. However, the microsite is available only for Premium subscribers which separates Resonate from other platforms that offer websites as part of their most basic plans. If neither the Basic nor the Premium plan meets your requirements, you should consider the Professional plan which gives you more microsites and assistance options.
Castos
As opposed to other podcasting platforms, Castos is a WordPress plugin. It's designed to sync with Seriously Simple Podcasting and allows podcasters to control their podcasts directly on the WordPress website. Castos also allows users to build custom podcast sites and detailed analytics.
Comparatively with Buzzsprout for audio transcription, their services are much cheaper than Buzzsprout, costing the low of $0.10 every minute. If you're looking to start an audio podcast with YouTube, Castos will also automatically upload episodes to YouTube with certain plans. It is focusing in improving its services and implementing new features that will deliver analytic reports tailored to potential sponsors as well as playback duration metrics that will let you be aware of how long your listeners remain listening to your podcast.
Key features
- A podcast site that you can customize on all plans
- Unlimited podcasts episode uploads
- Private podcasting feature for premium content
- Templates for web pages that are pre-built
- Automatic podcast transcriptions (optional)
- YouTube republishing
Price range:
Castos offers 4 pricing plans including Starter ($19), Growth ($49) Pro ($99) and Premium ($499) each month. If you choose to pay annually, it will save you around 17% overall. The starter plan does include your general features, only the plan for growth and beyond come with YouTube republishing.
Libsyn
All the way back to 2004, Libsyn is a long-time player in the world of podcasts. It's an excellent platform for new podcasters or hosts with short segments with low episodes as well as podcasts that are monetized. It's important to note that this platform limits upload speeds and bandwidth. This may lead to issues when podcasts have a huge collection of content or lots of listeners. To increase storage and bandwidth, you'll need to select larger plans, that's why this is the best platform for shows with small audiences, or those generating profit.
Important attributes
- Podcast website that can be customized for every plan
- Inbuilt monetization using ads as well as private podcasting
- Integrated visual-builder that integrates with Canva
- Custom iOS and Android app for your show
- Distribution to the most well-known podcast directories
Price band:
Libsyn provides a total of six plans. 3 are for audio podcasts, and 3 videos podcasts.
Audio Podcasts
Pricing for audio starts at $5 before increasing to $15 and $20 each month. Unfortunately, Libsyn limits the number of audio hours you can upload each month as well as the total storage capacity, in contrast to other options on this list. If you choose to go with a higher-priced package will give the most of both.
Videos Podcasts
The video podcast plan starts at $45 and increase to $75 and $150 per month. When you pay this amount, the metrics remain the same and only the upload and bandwidth limits change and increase as the cost increases.
Final thought
And there you have it! Nine of the most popular podcasting platforms. The choice of a platform is only one of the most important decisions that you'll face as a producer. When you're attempting to find the most suitable platform, be sure to take into consideration your particular needs in the field of podcasting. Consider your primary requirements including uploading, bandwidth downloading, and your budget. Consider things such as your monetization strategy and the social media connection once you've narrowed the list down to your top choices.
Want more resources on starting an audio podcast? Check out our other podcasting articles: