Top Hosting Podcast Platforms

Finding the best podcast hosting service company is tricky and never easy. There are many brands available, but which one will suit you best? Knowing how hard this task might be, we want to help podcasters struggling to find their partners. We’ll provide essential information about several companies in the next several paragraphs.

When choosing a hosting provider, the most important criteria are the price, upload potential, features, and platform’s popularity. All of the brands here have something unique to offer but pay attention to what would be worthy to you in particular. Remember, your show needs hosting support.

Buzzsprout

Based in Florida, USA, the company was founded in 2008, and today, it’s perhaps the most preferred podcast hosting platform. Both new beginners and experienced authors prefer its site because of the intuitive navigation, flawless reputation, and a massive number of features. Buzzsprout offers a free trial period!

However, if you are planning to upload more than a few episodes, you’ll need the full package. Rates are fair, and you’ll get a customised built-in transcription integration, an embed player, the Magic Mastering sound tool, and much more. Surprisingly, Buzzsprout isn’t available in Google Play or iTunes, although the site is mobile-friendly.

Libsyn

Libsyn is another hosting provider used by many podcast authors. It stands out with flexible plans and pricing and offers excellent features. The most intriguing tools deliver various stats, including Episode Stats & Breakdowns, User Action, Destination, Social Media, and more. The company offers cutting-edge marketing solutions as well.

Libsyn has native apps available for free download for both Android and iOS devices. The company shares the author’s passion and provides free but limited trials. You can test all Episode Publishing Customisation features and see how useful they could be. If you decide to proceed, you’ll be offered a mini-website for your podcast.

Blubrry

Blubrry is also a well-established hosting partner to thousands of podcast publishers. Recently, the company reported more than 125,000 registered authors. As a hosting service provider, Blubrry attracts with its unique portfolio of flexible features, including a PowerPress plugin, which is available during the trial session as well.

The company offers fast and effective publishing and distribution of your podcast episodes to all major platforms, like Spotify. Authors get free WordPress websites, 24/7 support via phone and email, and statistics. The Blubrry analytics have been rated extremely high by its members.

Podbean

For many podcasters, Podbean is the greatest competitor to Buzzsprout. The company is slightly older, founded in 2006 by David Xu and Henry Zhang. Besides the free trial, Podbean offers some of the cheapest plans. Furthermore, users get great value even if they choose the most basic variants.

Podbean has its own Android and iOS applications available for fast and free download. Authors can take advantage of a diversified portfolio of tools and features, including easy publishing, unlimited podcasting and storage (for annually-paying customers only), comprehensive stats, and much more! Podbean distributes automatically to all major podcast directories.

Castos

Castos is also based in the USA but is a relatively new company. It was created in 2017 and skyrocketed in popularity for less than half of a decade. It’s more recommended for authors who prefer WordPress and release large volumes of podcasts every month. The paid plans include a website and support.

Castos support both audio and video formats similar to Podbean. It also offers unlimited storage, podcast uploading, and bandwidth. New customers can take a full month free of charge and use the WordPress plugin. The Castos list of features is impressive, but the hosting company keeps high prices as well.

RSS

RSS stands on the other side, offering some of the best prices on the market. The provider is rated as one of the top choices for podcasting beginners. The abbreviation stands for Really Simple Syndication, suggesting how easy the whole process can be. RSS is one of the oldest podcast hosting brands out there.

Some of the most significant RSS advantages are:

– Unlimited podcast episodes upload – Personalised URL feed – Free website and tonnes of bandwidth – Special discount deal for annual-paying members

In addition, members can take advantage of many other tools and help all the way up to success!

Captivate

Captivate is the last podcast hosting brand on our list, but not least. The provider is more suitable for podcasters with some experience and well-established shows. At the time of writing, only audio files are supported. Captivate provides all usual benefits and features, including website, statistics, and support.

However, a free trial is usually strictly limited or even missing. The good plans are slightly more expensive, but they are definitely worth the price. For example, the Business package includes up to 150,000 downloads per month, an extensive distribution list, and totally unlimited uploading, storage, and podcasting.

Final Words

As you can see, there are numerous reputable companies providing premium-quality podcast hosting. These operators serve thousands of authors every month, making sure that their content is properly distributed to the hottest podcast portals, including Spotify, Amazon, SoundCloud, and Apple.

Probably the best way to find your partner is to run the trials of a few providers. After a session or two, you’ll know what you need and what could be excluded from your paid plan. We advise beginners to start with a cheaper package and invest more in marketing.

The two scales will balance with time! We hope you had fun with our article and you learned some valuable facts about podcasting. If you like the theme but can’t find essential information, feel free to let us know. We always strive to assist our readers and to be of use!