Today there are more than 50 different podcast hosting sites. We compared the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to get your show online and into listening apps today.
What is the Best Podcast Hosting Site?
- Buzzsprout — best of the best
- Castos — best for WordPress
- Captivate — best for marketers
- Spreaker — best bang for the buck
- Spotify for Creators — best free alternative
- Podbean — best for video podcasts
- Transistor — best for multiple podcasts
1. Buzzsprout
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: Starts at $18/month
Buzzsprout is the easiest way to get a podcast out the door and keep it there. We think it's the best of the best because it hands you distribution, analytics, a podcast website, transcripts and monetization in one place — and paid plans now include high-quality transcripts with no separate transcription bill.
The Best Part:
Transcripts at no extra cost. New paid plans add high-quality transcripts to your RSS feed and your Buzzsprout website, so searchable text ships with the episode instead of on its own bill.
The Worst Part:
No rollover, and a 90-day clock. Upload hours don't roll over from month to month, and the Free plan removes hosted episodes after 90 days. Multi-Podcast also comes in two sizes: five shows or 10.
Get it if you want publishing to stay simple long after your first episode is live.
I recommend you start on Free for a short test, then move to Audio at $18/month before the 90-day limit removes your episodes.
(free plan)
Best For
Buzzsprout is best for independent podcasters who want an easy workflow more than deep technical controls.
Top Features
Get listed once, then stop thinking about it. Buzzsprout walks you through the first submission to each major podcast app from one screen, and once an app approves the show, every new episode arrives there through the feed.
Know where the downloads come from. Advanced statistics show downloads, where your listeners are, which apps and devices they use, and how each episode performed.
Let the words do the searching. Automatic transcripts add searchable text to new episodes on current paid plans, so you never type one out yourself.
Cut a clip for the feed. Visual soundbites turn a piece of an episode into something you can post socially.
Get paid for the show. Add subscriptions and listener support, and run Buzzsprout Ads once your show is eligible for them.
Pricing
Buzzsprout offers five pricing plans:
- Free: Free forever, for one podcast with two upload hours a month.
- Audio: $18/month for one audio podcast with six upload hours a month.
- Audio + Video: $30/month for one audio and video podcast with six upload hours a month.
- Multi-Podcast: $36/month for up to five podcasts with 15 shared upload hours a month.
- Archive: $5/month for an inactive podcast.
Annual subscriptions provide a 17% discount.
Try Buzzsprout today on the free plan.
2. Castos
Our Verdict — Best For WordPress
Price: Starts at $19/month
Castos is the host WordPress publishers already run their shows from. The Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin puts the feed, the episodes and the posts inside the dashboard you open every day. We think it's the best for WordPress because you publish from WordPress while Castos hosts and delivers the files — and private or video podcasting is waiting there when the project grows.
The Best Part:
Run more than one show. Every standard plan carries unlimited podcasts and unlimited episodes, so a second or third feed costs you nothing extra in storage or per-show fees.
The Worst Part:
Video only on Pro. Video hosting only opens up on the $99 Pro plan, and when your private audience outgrows the included limit, the next 500 subscribers cost $50/month on top.
Get it if WordPress is already where you publish and the show should live there too.
I recommend Essentials at $19/month unless video or a bigger private audience forces Pro.
(free trial)
Best For
Castos is best for WordPress publishers and agencies that want the show beside the site.
Top Features
Run the show from WordPress. The Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin keeps episodes, feeds and posts in the dashboard you already log into.
Every feed on one account. You can run multiple RSS feeds side by side, and Castos prices the plan instead of the podcast, so storage never gets billed per show.
Lock the audio to a list. Private podcasting hands gated episodes to members, customers or employees, with no public feed sitting anywhere.
One upload, every app. Publish once and Castos sends the episode out to the major podcast directories from a single account.
Bring the old show with you. Free migration imports a podcast that already lives somewhere else, feed intact, so nobody rebuilds a back catalogue episode by episode.
Pricing
Castos offers four pricing plans:
- Essentials: $19/month for one user and 10 transcripts a month.
- Growth: $49/month for up to five users and 25 transcripts a month.
- Pro: $99/month for up to 10 users and 100 transcripts a month.
- Castos Premium: Starts at $499/month for unlimited users and transcripts.
Annual subscriptions provide a 17% discount.
Try Castos today with the 14-day free trial.
3. Captivate
Our Verdict — Best For Marketers
Price: Starts at $19/month
Captivate charges by monthly downloads, never by feature. Every standard plan carries the same core feature set — promotion tools, private feeds, network management — and nothing you need to grow an audience is locked one tier up. Call it best for marketers: the growth kit comes inside the plan you already bought.
The Best Part:
The same tools on every tier. The main difference between plans is the monthly download allowance, so a $19 show gets the same tools as a $99 one — you upgrade for size, not for access.
The Worst Part:
No permanent free plan. After the 30-day trial, even a small or experimental show needs a paid subscription — there is no tier you can sit on while the audience is still tiny.
Get it if audience growth matters more than finding the cheapest host.
I recommend you get started with the 30-day free trial, then upgrade to Personal for $19/month.
(free trial)
Best For
Captivate is best for serious independent podcasters who want growth tools inside the host.
Top Features
Every show, one account. Podcasts and storage are both unlimited, so a second or third show lives in the account you already pay for.
Land where people listen. Captivate sends each episode to the major listening platforms, so you publish once instead of uploading the same file everywhere.
A website for each show. Captivate Sites publishes a web page for each podcast — somewhere to send listeners who are not in an app yet.
Private feeds included. Private podcasts come with the host, so a paid feed or a members-only feed runs through Captivate instead of a separate platform you buy, pay for and wire up.
Growth coaching included. Growth Labs gives you podcast-growth courses, workshops and community support for the weeks when downloads stall.
Pricing
Captivate offers four pricing plans:
- Personal: $19/month for up to 30,000 monthly downloads.
- Professional: $49/month for up to 150,000 monthly downloads.
- Business: $99/month for up to 300,000 monthly downloads.
- Custom: Custom pricing, for shows that need more than 300,000 monthly downloads.
Annual subscriptions provide up to an 11% discount.
Try Captivate today with the 30-day trial.
4. Spreaker
Our Verdict — Best Bang For The Buck
Price: Starts at $20/month
Plenty of podcast hosts stop at the feed. Spreaker records, hosts, distributes, measures and monetizes from one login — five jobs, one bill, which is the whole best bang for the buck argument. Ads start paying on the cheap plans; running your own ad desk waits for Publisher.
The Best Part:
Monetization built in. Spreaker's ad marketplace and monetization tools live in the same platform that hosts and distributes the show. You turn earnings on from the screen you publish from, with no second account to open.
The Worst Part:
A free plan for starting, not staying. It carries one podcast and six months of statistics, and longer history plus network controls sit behind the paid tiers.
Get it if advertising is part of your podcast plan from the start, not something you add later.
I recommend you start on Free Speech, then move to Broadcaster at $20/month.
(Free Speech)
Best For
Spreaker is best for creators and publishers who want podcast hosting and advertising tools together.
Top Features
Publish everywhere in one click. Each episode goes out to the major listening platforms from a single button. Upload the file once and you are done.
Record wherever you are. Spreaker Studio handles recording, editing and live broadcast on desktop or mobile, and the episode never leaves the platform to get made.
Earn without a second tool. Spreaker puts your open ad slots in front of buyers through its own marketplace. Move up to Publisher and you sell and manage the campaigns yourself.
Numbers you can show a sponsor. Certified analytics hand a buyer download figures they already trust, instead of a screenshot from your own dashboard.
Unlimited shows on paid plans. Podcast management covers unlimited podcasts on the paid creator plans, so a second and third feed do not need a second and third account.
Pricing
Spreaker offers five pricing plans:
- Free Speech: Free forever, for one podcast.
- Broadcaster: $20/month for unlimited podcasts.
- Anchorman: $50/month for unlimited podcasts and collaborators.
- Publisher: $250/month for unlimited podcasts and direct ad sales.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, for an enterprise podcast platform.
All plans come with unlimited episodes and automatic distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio.
Try Spreaker today with the Free Speech plan.
Our Verdict — Best Free Alternative
Price: Free
Spotify for Creators is what Anchor became, and it still costs nothing. We think it's the best free alternative because the audio and video hosting, the RSS distribution, the analytics and the audience tools all sit on one free plan. Start here when the budget is zero.
The Best Part:
Free hosting with no ceiling. You upload as many audio and video episodes as you want, and you can push the RSS feed out to podcast apps well beyond Spotify, all on the plan that costs nothing.
The Worst Part:
Monetization has gates. Ads, subscriptions and some video revenue features run on eligibility rules, so what you can switch on depends on your format and the market you publish from.
Get it if your hosting budget is zero and you want to start today.
I recommend you start on the free plan, publish three episodes, and only then price other hosts.
(free plan)
Best For
Spotify for Creators is best for new podcasters and video-first creators who want free hosting plus Spotify's audience tools.
Top Features
Upload without a subscription. Audio and video episodes go up on the free plan, so nothing about your publishing schedule waits on a hosting bill.
Your feed reaches the other apps. The show ships with an RSS feed you can send to the major podcast apps, so your episodes still land in front of listeners who never open Spotify.
Video ships alongside the audio. You publish the video version on Spotify and keep distributing the audio everywhere else, off the same upload, with no second host to pay for.
See who stayed. The analytics cover performance, demographics, discovery and retention: where listeners found you, and where they dropped.
Apply when you qualify. Ads, subscriptions and the Partner Program are there to opt into, though eligibility and revenue share shift with the market you publish from.
Pricing
Spotify for Creators offers one pricing plan:
- Free: Free forever, for unlimited audio and video episodes.
Every plan comes with unlimited hosting, RSS distribution to the major podcast apps and the option to apply to the Partner Program.
Try Spotify for Creators today with the free plan.
6. Podbean
Our Verdict — Best For Video Podcasts
Price: Starts at $17/month
Some shows start as a simple audio feed and end up as video, private episodes, or a whole network. Podbean absorbs that move without a change of host. You upload a video episode the same way you upload audio, keep private feeds on the same account, and collect the money in the same dashboard. Best for video podcasts, and best for whatever the show turns into next.
The Best Part:
Every format on one account. Publish audio, video and private episodes from the same account, then run your ads, subscriptions and network management from the same dashboard.
The Worst Part:
A dense plan matrix. Upload limits, podcast counts, branding, and private features all shift between tiers, and you have to read the whole grid before you pick.
Get it if your show may grow into video, live, or private publishing.
I recommend you open the free account first to learn the dashboard with audio, then move to Unlimited Plus at $39/month, the plan where video episodes actually upload.
(free plan)
Best For
Podbean is best for creators and organizations that want room to grow from audio into video or a network.
Top Features
One host, both formats. Audio and video run through the same uploader — pick the plan that matches what you publish and the upload volume you need, remembering that video starts on Unlimited Plus.
Give your show an address. Publish a customizable website next to the RSS feed, so listeners land on a page you own instead of a raw feed URL.
The whole show from your phone. Record an episode, publish it, and manage the back catalog in the Podbean app, without ever opening a laptop.
Get paid more than one way. You can run ads, take patron support, sell premium episodes, and turn on dynamic insertion once the show is big enough.
An AI pass before you publish. Plan credits cover audio cleanup, transcripts, show notes, chapters, and text-to-podcast tools in Podbean AI.
Pricing
Podbean offers five pricing plans:
- Free: Free forever, for one podcast with five hours of storage.
- Unlimited Audio: $17/month for one audio podcast with 16 hours of uploads a month.
- Unlimited Plus: $39/month for up to two audio or video podcasts.
- Network: $99/month for unlimited podcasts and 50 team members.
- Business: $129/month for unlimited private podcasts and 100 private members.
Annual subscriptions provide up to a 29% discount.
Try Podbean today on the free plan.
7. Transistor
Our Verdict — Best For Multiple Podcasts
Price: Starts at $19/month
Transistor never charges you per show. One subscription holds unlimited shows, episodes and teammates, and your bill moves with downloads and private subscribers instead. Launch the fourth podcast and the price stays where it was — that is what best for multiple podcasts looks like on the invoice.
The Best Part:
One plan, every show. Unlimited podcasts, episodes, team members, and storage come with every standard plan, so a second or fifth show costs you nothing extra.
The Worst Part:
Extras on the higher tiers. Dynamic ads, YouTube auto-posting, branding removal, and higher private-subscriber limits only arrive on the pricier plans. If you need any of those on day one, Starter will not carry you.
Get it if you run several shows, or a private one, and want them under one bill.
I recommend you start on Starter at $19/month and move up only when downloads pass 20,000 or a locked feature blocks you.
(14-day trial)
Best For
Transistor is best for companies, agencies, and creators that run several podcasts from one account.
Top Features
Launch as many shows as you want. Spin up a separate show with its own RSS feed whenever you need one, and keep every episode under the same subscription.
Add the whole team. Give every producer and editor on the show their own account access, without a per-seat charge.
Analytics that compare. Line up shows, episodes, listening apps, and listener activity side by side so you can see which one is actually growing.
Give members a feed of their own. Send a secure feed to members, customers, or employees — the same account handles your public shows and the internal ones.
One site for the network. Present several shows together under a single brand instead of scattered pages.
Pricing
Transistor offers four pricing plans:
- Starter: $19/month for up to 20,000 monthly downloads.
- Professional: $49/month for up to 100,000 monthly downloads.
- Business: $99/month for up to 250,000 monthly downloads.
- Enterprise: Starts at $199/month for shows that need more than 250,000 monthly downloads.
Annual subscriptions provide a 17% discount.
Try Transistor today with the 14-day free trial.
Our Top Three Picks
Here's a quick summary of our top three picks:
- Buzzsprout — best of the best
- Castos — best for WordPress
- Captivate — best for marketers
Here's a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Buzzsprout | Free plan | Starts at $18/mo |
Castos | 14-day trial | Starts at $19/mo |
Captivate | 30-day trial | Starts at $19/mo |
Spreaker | Free plan | Starts at $20/mo |
Spotify for Creators | Free plan | Free forever |
Podbean | Free plan | Starts at $17/mo |
Transistor | 14-day trial | Starts at $19/mo |
Here are the 50 podcast hosting sites we considered in this review:
- Buzzsprout
- Castos
- Captivate
- Spreaker
- Spotify for Creators
- Podbean
- Transistor
- SoundCloud
- Resonate Hosting
- Casted
- Libsyn
- Soundwise
- Podomatic
- Simplecast
- Omny Studio
- bCast
- SquadCast
- Acast
- Audioboom
- Ausha
- Blubrry
- Podcast Websites
- Backtracks
- Megaphone
- ART19
- AudioStaq
- BlogTalkRadio
- Fireside
- Hipcast
- Pinecast
- Podcast.co
- Podcast Giant
- Podigee
- PodServe
- RedCircle
- RSS.com
- Shortwave
- ZenCast
- Podcasts.com
- ShoutEngine
- Messy.fm
- Podmio
- PodPoint
- Sounder
- FeedPress
- Iono.fm
- uStudio
- Fusebox
- CircleHD
- CastDesk
Frequently Asked Questions About Podcast Hosting Sites
What is a podcast hosting site?
A podcast hosting site stores your episode files and creates the RSS feed that listening apps read. When you publish, it distributes your show data and the new episode to those apps, and it gives you the publishing and audience analytics tools you need to run the show. A regular website host does none of that for you.
Which podcast hosting site is best overall?
Buzzsprout is our top pick overall, and it is the one we point independent podcasters to first. Castos is the stronger choice if you publish through WordPress, and Transistor suits you better when you run a portfolio of shows.
How do free and paid podcast hosting sites differ?
Free plans are the entry tier, and Buzzsprout and Podbean both keep theirs limited. Spotify for Creators is the exception: audio and video hosting is unlimited at no cost. Paid plans lift the upload and download ceilings, and that is where you should choose on features instead of price.
Which podcast hosting site is best for multiple podcasts?
Transistor is our pick when you run more than one show. Choose it when you are managing a portfolio of podcasts rather than a single feed, because one account holds them all on a single bill. Reach for it if a second show is already on your list.
What is the best free podcast hosting site for a new show?
Pick Spotify for Creators when you want to publish without paying. You get unlimited hosting for audio and video plus RSS distribution, so your show still reaches the apps. Buzzsprout and Podbean run smaller free plans.
Which podcast hosting site is best for video podcasts?
Podbean handles both formats, so reach for it when your show is not audio only. You publish video episodes alongside the audio ones from the same host, and video uploads open up on the Unlimited Plus plan.
What should I look for when choosing a podcast hosting site?
Start with the show itself: how many podcasts you run, what the upload and download limits are, and whether you need video or a private feed. Then look at what sits around the show — analytics, website tools, team access and migration help if you are moving in. Last, check the monetization model you will actually use.
Can I move my podcast to a different host later?
Yes, and it is routine. Your show lives at an RSS feed: you import the back catalogue to the new host, then point the old feed at the new one with a redirect, and your subscribers come across without doing anything. Most hosts here will run the import for you.
Buzzsprout vs Castos: which one should I choose?
Buzzsprout is the better default: it is our top pick for independent podcasters and its free plan lets you start today. Choose Castos when WordPress is where your show already lives — you publish from the dashboard you open every day, and Castos hosts the files.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best podcast hosting sites to try this year:
- Buzzsprout — best of the best
- Castos — best for WordPress
- Captivate — best for marketers
- Spreaker — best bang for the buck
- Spotify for Creators — best free alternative
- Podbean — best for video podcasts
- Transistor — best for multiple podcasts