When you’re building your own podcast, you want to make sure you’re using the best podcast hosting sites available online to deliver your content and make it accessible to listeners wherever they are in the world.
Podcast hosting platforms can be tricky to sort through, though, so here’s your go-to list of the best podcast hosting sites on the web that can serve all of your podcasting needs!
You can use these podcast hosting services to upload the podcast and make it live on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Index, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Overcast, Castbox, and many more
What Is The Best Podcast Hosting?
1. Buzzsprout
With over 100,000 podcasters all across the globe, Buzzsprout is an excellent hosting site. The service offers an intuitive platform and podcast analytics that can help you analyze your podcasts from different perspectives—such as views per episode, downloads per episode, subscriber count by episode, where people are listening to your podcast, and more.
What’s more interesting is that you have the option to use Buzzsprout free for the first 90 days. That’s a full free podcast hosting for 3 months straight.
The Magic Mastering feature on Buzzsprout is an advanced tech that automatically helps you make your audio file better by various optimizations. As for the maximum audio quality, you can set the audio quality up to 128k stereo optimization, which will not only optimize your audio but also improves the quality.
From an SEO and search engine perspective, the transcription option makes your podcast discoverable on various search engines like Google, Bing, and more.
Buzzsprout Pricing
Below are all the plans of Buzzsprout. The 90 days free plan allows you to upload 2 hours of podcast. Other plans are listed below.
Free
Upload a maximum of 2 hours of the podcast every month for 90 days (3 months).
$12 /month
Upload 3 hours each month, Episodes Hosted Indefinitely, Advanced Stats, Unlimited Storage, Unlimited Team Members, Import Podcast for Free, and more. – Upload more content for ($4 per hour)
$18 /month
Upload 6 hours each month, Episodes Hosted Indefinitely, Advanced Stats, Unlimited Storage, Unlimited Team Members, Import Podcast for Free, and more. – Upload more content for ($3 per hour)
$24 /month
Upload 12 hours each month, Episodes Hosted Indefinitely, Advanced Stats, Unlimited Storage, Unlimited Team Members, Import Podcast for Free, and more. – Upload more content for ($2 per hour)
You can add Magic Mastering to any of these paid plans for $6, $9, and $12 respectively.
2. Spreaker
In addition to hosting, Spreaker Podcast Hosting comes with the option to monetize your uploaded podcasts from day one itself. If you want to monetize your podcasts by inserting ads in the middle and get paid then Spreaker is something you need to consider.
It is one of the most reliable podcast hosting sites that you can use today. With advanced statistics and easy RSS feed integration, Spreaker makes it easy to get started with podcasting.
Their advanced analytics package will show you how many people are listening to your shows, which episode is the best performing, and more. The online dashboard is simple to use and includes a powerful schedule editor so you can easily edit your existing podcast or create new ones.
When compared to other hosting options out there, Spreaker offers great value for money as it offers ad monetization.
Spreaker also comes with an app that you can use to record podcasts on the go. It is a good app for recording podcasts which also comes with features like voice mixing tools with music and sound effects
Spreaker Pricing
Spreaker comes with 5 different plans including a free one.
Free Speech
6-month statistics, upload up to 20 episodes, no credit card needed.
Anchorman – $5/month
1,500 hours storage, 12 months statistics, ads monetization, in-app support, customizable player colors, auto upload, and more.
On-Air Talent – $8/month
100 hours storage and 6 months statistics, customizable RSS feeds, auto upload, and more.
Broadcaster – $8/month
500 hours storage and 12 months statistics, ads monetization, in-app support, customizable player colors, auto upload, and more.
Publisher – $120/month
Unlimited storage, 24 months statistics, ads monetization, customizable player colors, auto upload, priority support, collaboration feature, and more.
3. Transistor
If you are looking for a podcast hosting platform that offers unlimited content upload on all its paid plans then Transistor is what you are looking for. Once uploaded, you can make use of the Distribute feature to send the content to all leading podcast services including Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.
Transistor provides its users with highly in-depth analytics which cover each and every nook and corner. The simple-to-use dashboard provides information/stats like estimated subscribers, average downloads per episode, listener trend bar graph, and a bunch of other information.
The embed option lets you embed the podcast on pretty much any website as well. Another cool thing about Transistor is that it will automatically create a website for your podcasts. All you have to do is just select a design and Transistor will create a website based on that.
Unlike many other services listed in this article, Transistor does not charge you for the number of podcasts you host. All plans come with unlimited podcast uploading.
Transistor Pricing
Starter – $19/month
Create unlimited podcasts, Create private podcasts, Live customer support, Advanced analytics, Built-in podcast website, 2 Additional team members, 15,000 Monthly downloads, and 50 Private podcast subscribers.
Professional – $49/month
Create unlimited podcasts, Create private podcasts, Live customer support, Advanced analytics, Built-in podcast website, Dynamic ad insertion, 5 Additional team members, 75,000 Monthly downloads, and 500 Private podcast subscribers.
Business – $99/month
Create unlimited podcasts, Create private podcasts, Live customer support, Advanced analytics, Built-in podcast website, Dynamic ad insertion, Remove branding from the player, 10 Additional team members, 200,000 Monthly downloads, and 3000 Private podcast subscribers.
4. RSS.com
With unlimited podcast storage, bandwidth, and an easy-to-use interface, RSS.com is a reliable podcast hosting service to use right now.
The automatic distribution system helps you to share the podcast to all podcast directory platforms including Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Samsung podcast, and a lot more. This means all you have to do is just upload your podcast to RSS.com and rest will be taken care of by them.
Understanding how the audience interacts with your podcast and other stats is very important. RSS.com comes with powerful and sophisticated cross-platform analytics to track everything from download trends, geolocation, listening platform, and devices.
Similar to Spreaker, RSS.com too comes with an option to monetize your podcast dynamically. This means if your podcast receives a good number of traffic then you can opt-in for dynamically inserted ads and earn money right away.
RSS.com Pricing
Student & NGO – $4.99/month
Unlimited episodes, Unlimited duration, Cross-platform analytics, RSS feed for your podcast, Free website for your show, Custom embedded player, Episode scheduling, Auto submission, and more.
All in One Podcasting – $8.25/month
Everything in Student & NGO + Monetization via sponsors, 24/7 customer support, and more.
Pro & Enterprise
Opt for this plan if you have more than 10,000 or more downloads a day. Dynamic Ads Insertion, Custom analytics reports, Dedicated 24/7 support, and Special requests welcome.
RSS.com also comes with a 30-days money-back guarantee and you are not required to give your credit card details while trying the features.
5. Podbean
With a generous free plan that offers 5 hours of storage and 100 GB monthly bandwidth, Podbean is a podcast hosting site that you can use to start your podcasting journey right now. At the time of writing this article, Podbean is used by more than 600,000 podcasters across the globe.
With easy publishing options, comprehensive stats, and a distribution option that lets you make your podcast live on multiple platforms, Podbean can be considered as an all-in-one podcasting solution.
You may sign up for Podbean’s Advertising Marketplace and monetize your podcasts or run your own ads as well.
With every plan, Podbean provides you with a custom-made website that can be mapped to a custom domain of your choice. This way, people can easily find you on the internet.
Podbean Pricing
Unlimited Audio – $9/month
Unlimited Storage (audio only), Unmetered Bandwidth, Beautiful Podcast Themes, Map your own domain, Advanced IAB Certified Stats, iPhone and Android App, and Podcast Monetization.
Unlimited Plus – $29/month
Unlimited Storage, Unmetered Bandwidth, Beautiful Podcast Themes, Map your own domain, Advanced IAB Certified Stats, iPhone and Android App, and Podcast Monetization.
What Is Podcast Hosting?
A podcast hosting site is a platform that allows users to upload and share podcasts on the Internet. In simple terms, it’s a hosting space to store your podcast audio file on the Internet. Almost all leading audio podcast hosting services come with a distribution option that will automatically push the podcast to all Podcast Directories (more on this below) including Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.
Apart from the distribution system, it also comes with powerful analytics to track various metrics like user trends, geolocation, devices, number of downloads, subscribers info, and more.
What is A Podcast Directory?
I’m sure you might have heard about names like Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.
A podcast directory, sometimes called a podcast search engine or podcatcher, is a searchable directory that hosts links to hundreds of podcasts. The directories typically include an RSS feed and cover art (via podcast cover art sites), among other features. Most are free to use by anyone and they are easy to add to your site or blog, but if you plan on getting serious about podcasting you’ll need a hosted solution instead.
There are multiple reasons why having your podcasts in a directory is beneficial but most importantly it will make your content more discoverable and encourage people to subscribe with RSS or via iTunes or other platforms
Best Podcast Hosting – Conclusion
As you might have guessed, it is important to use a podcast hosting site when creating podcasts. There are some free hosting sites that you can use and there are others that charge for their services. Ideally, it is best to select a podcast hosting site that offers unlimited bandwidth and storage because these two aspects of a podcasting website are usually what limits how many subscribers you can get.
If possible, find one that has an easy-to-use interface or one with podcast submission tools so that your podcasts can be easily found by visitors through different mediums such as search engines. Be sure to check out our list above for more information about each website if you aren’t sure which one is right for you.
