17 Best Podcast Hosting Sites of 2023 (Free And Paid)

This is the complete guide to the best podcast hosting services and sites for 2023.

Are you getting ready to launch a podcast? 

Or do you want a better podcast hosting service that will save you money?

Are you looking to move to a better podcast host?  

It doesn’t matter how you currently grow your audience, either via webinars, email marketing, virtual summits, or blogging, starting a podcast can expose your brand to a new audience.

You have several options to consider when it comes to podcast hosting solutions, including Buzzsprout, Podbean, Libsyn, and more.

Each host has its set of features, pros and cons, and capabilities. We’ll cover everything you need to make your show a success.

Truly, your podcast hosting service is very essential to your podcasting success. Your podcast host is your storage facility. 

Whenever you need to add something to your podcast feed, you can do so at the host level, and from there, the changes are effected across multiple platforms at once.

What about analytics? Okay, your podcast hosting service helps you track your podcast stats, which include:

• Number of episodes published
• Number of downloads for specific episodes?
• Number of overall podcast downloads within a period
• Where your podcast is being listened to

And more.

I review each provider based on ease of use, monthly upload volume, cost, technical support, reliability, compliance, integrations with apps, marketing features, etc. 

In the end, you want to start a podcast that will make money or grow your brand. 

What Are The Best Podcast Hosting Platforms?

Here are my top picks for the best podcast hosting sites for 2023:

1. Buzzsprout
2. Transistor.fm
3. PodBean
4. Libsyn
5. Castos
6. RSS
7. Captivate
8. Simplecast
9. Spreaker
10. Podcast Websites
11. Audiobloom
12. Fusebox.fm (formerly Smart Podcast Player)
13. Blubrry
14. Soundcloud
15. Anchor
16. Squarespace
17. Wix Podcast Player

Alright, let’s dive right in. Here are the best podcasting hosting services and platforms out there.

1. Buzzsprout

The Best Podcast Hosting for Beginners (Free – $12/month).

Buzzsprout is my #1 choice for podcast hosting. And it’s absolutely free for 90 days.

Buzzsprout is the easiest way to host, promote, and track your podcast performance. 

It’s great if you’re new to podcasting and wants to launch your first show, or you want to switch from your existing podcast hosting solution that’s expensive or difficult to use.

So both beginners and expert podcasters can use it. Since 2019, Buzzsprout has helped more than 100,000 business owners to launch their podcasts. 

Users have testified of how user-friendly Buzzsprout is. If you’re ready to get your podcast off the ground, you should consider this platform. Above all, you can get started for free.

You’ll have access to advanced podcast analytics. This will show you the audience demographics of your listeners from around the world, how much time they’re spending on your content, and where they’re listening.

Do you want a platform that has one of the easiest distribution features? If yes, then Buzzsprout can serve you well. 

Simply upload your individual podcast episode, relax, and watch the powerful distribution tool share your audio with the major podcast directories.

Buzzsprout uses hours to measure the storage space allocated to podcasters, not megabytes. Thanks to its seamless optimization process.

What about cost? Well, you can start using Buzzsprout today at no cost. Yes, you can upload 2 hours of audio clips each month and have the episodes hosted for up to 90 days.

You can also qualify for a $20 Amazon gift card after signing up for a paid plan with Buzzsprout, which starts at $12/month. 

With this paid plan, Buzzsprout allots unlimited storage and will host your audio files indefinitely. You also enjoy 250GB of bandwidth each month. These hosting features are enough for 20,000 to 40,000 downloads.

Who Is BuzzSprout For?

Buzzsprout has simplified podcast hosting for content creators, podcasters, bloggers, and eCommerce brands.

So it’s totally worth it for beginners to podcasting, experienced business owners, and brands that want to host, promote, and track their podcast performance. 

I love Buzzsprout, Pat Flynn at SPI Podcast, Jared Easley (co-founder Podcast Movement), and tens of thousands of digital entrepreneurs use it to host their podcast episodes and distribute across multiple directories.

Key Features

• Get your podcasts listed on major podcast directories (e.g., Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Alexa, Castbox, Podchaser, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, etc).
• Track your listeners with advanced podcast analytics
• Embed a beautiful podcast player to your website using a snippet of code.
• Automatic episode optimization enables Buzzsprout to optimize your episodes instantly.
• Transcribe your episodes so they rank in Google for their targeted topics. This also makes it possible for speed readers and the hearing impaired to enjoy it.
• Manage multiple podcasts with all of your team members (there’s no limit).
• Monetize your podcasts: Buzzsprout has tools that help you to make money.
• Easily create chapter markers from within the Buzzsprout dashboard.
• The Visual Soundbite allows you to promote your podcast
• Fast-response customer support that will answer all your questions.
• A private Facebook community for podcasters (you’ll love it here).
• Buzzsprout seamlessly integrates with other podcast tools (e.g., chartable, Alitu, PodTrac).

Pros

• Trusted and reliable customer support
• Easy to use
• Free to start, host your episodes for 90 days
• Add a fancy podcast player to your website/blog
• Beginner-friendly.

Cons

• Most beginners may have issues with the advanced analytics dashboard.
• Some of the advanced features, such as Dynamic ad insertion requires a learning curve. 
• Third-party ads are placed on your podcast website if you’re on the free plan.

Pricing

Here’s the breakdown of Buzzsprout’s plans and pricing:

• Free: With this free plan, you can upload 2 hours worth of episodes every month. Your audience can subscribe, download, and listen to your podcasts for 90 days. 

There’s no magic mastering for free users.

• $12/month plan: Once you upgrade or start off with the $12/month plan, you can upload 3 hours worth of episodes each month. 

These episodes are hosted indefinitely. To upload even more episodes, it costs $4 per hour. 

Access to advanced stats, unlimited storage space, unlimited team collaboration, quickly import podcasts at no additional cost, and you have an option to add Magic Mastering for $6/month.

• $18/month plan: This premium plan comes with 6 hours upload every month. The episodes are hosted indefinitely, and uploading more content is cheaper (at $3 per hour). 

Advanced stats, unlimited storage, team members, and the ability to import podcasts for free. It costs an extra $9 to add Magic Mastering.

• $24/month plan: This premium plan comes with 12 hours upload every month. The episodes are hosted indefinitely, and uploading more content is way cheaper (at $2 per hour). 

Free podcast imports, unlimited storage space, advanced stats, and unlimited team members are some of the added features. Adding Magic Mastering costs an additional $12.

2. Transistor.fm

• Save

Transistor is a robust podcast publishing and hosting platform.

Here’s what Transistor helps you achieve:

Once you record your audio files and upload to Transistor, the software will help you distribute your podcast across multiple directories at once.

Some of the podcast directories your podcast will be shared are Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and several others.

It works great for hosting both private podcasts and multiple shows. And you’re not charged extra for creating more than one show. 

To engage your blog readers, Transistor allows you to embed a beautiful podcast player within your blog post using a code snippet. 

What a great way to reach an entirely new audience?

The beauty of Transistor is its simplicity. All of the standard tools a podcaster needs at the beginning or in the future are available.  

An excellent feature is the private podcast feed, coupled with good-looking players you can embed on your website to suit your website’s theme and feel.

You know that private podcasting has always been a great way to make money from your show. It’s also recommended for engaging your community. 

On the flip end, you now have the opportunity to run a public show where you offer a premium content option. 

You’ll not only make money when your fans and listeners pay you, but you can build a trusted brand in the process.

It doesn’t matter the style or size of your show, Transistor is great. Just invite your listeners, then relax and watch the platform do the rest.

A new feature from Transistor is the multi-episode player. Now, you can easily showcase your back-catalog.

It’s the easiest and most effective way to highlight your recent podcast episodes, plus your most recent episodes. Your listeners will be engaged, as they binge-listen to your older episodes. 

All in all, Transistor helps you build loyalty with your target audience. This is a rare feature that’s hidden or absent in other podcast hosting services. 

Don’t forget to view average downloads per episode, trends, subscribers, and other performance indicators via the rich analytics that Transistor offers.

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Who Is Transistor For?

You can expect to transform your podcasting adventure with Transistor. But who is it for?

According to the official website, it’s mostly recommended for professional podcasters, creatives, and businesses that want richer audio hosting and analytics.

Since Transistor has some of the most advanced features for launching, distributing, and monetizing your podcast, it may require a learning curve for beginners.

So get started if you’re already in the podcasting game. Pricing starts out at $19/month.

Better yet, if you’re looking to migrate to a more user-friendly but advanced podcast hosting solution, why not try Transistor?

Key Features

• Tools to start as many podcasts as you want
• Publish your podcast everywhere
• Embed customizable player on your website
• View clean and detailed podcast analytics
• Prompt email and live chat support
• Advanced tools for established musicians and artists
• Personalized podcast page
• Easy monetization features 

Pros

• It’s easy to create unlimited podcasts
• A 14-Day free trial to see if Transistor is ideal for you
• Easy-to-use podcasting hosting tools
• Distribute your episodes on major platforms
• Beautiful built-in podcast website
• An insightful Podcast analytics
• Live customer support that answers your questions

Cons

• No private podcasting on the Starter plan
• No phone support
• No clean user interface

Pricing

Transistor has plans and pricing that are based on ‘downloads per month.’ There’s no limit to how many shows you can post in one account.

You just have to pay a specific fee for the total downloads accumulated by all your podcasts. 

• Starter: Pricing starts at $19/month. It allows 10,000 downloads each month
• Professional: This plan costs $49/ month for up to 50,000 downloads monthly.
• Business: A $99/month plan that allows up to 100,000 downloads per month.

3. PodBean

PodBean keeps things simple so that you can quickly get your podcast up and running within a few minutes.

It offers a powerful way to start your podcast even if you’re a complete newbie.

PodBean is a podcast hosting platform that will serve you well today and supports your show as it grows. It’s been around for more than 10 years. 

In fact, it’s one of the top-rated podcast hosting services for podcasters.

I highly recommend PodBean because it’s easy to use. It offers unlimited hosting solutions with seamless integrations. 

With PodBean, you can share your podcast episodes and promote them on Google Podcasts, Amazon Alexa, iTunes, and other major podcast directories and apps.

You can get started with PodBean for free. With the free plan, you can upload up to 5 hours of content each month. 

If you’re just getting started, the 100 GB bandwidth transfer is more than enough. Of course, you can upgrade as soon as your show starts to grow.

When it comes to podcast analytics, you can get simple stats with the free plan. You have to upgrade to a $9/month plan to have access to more comprehensive analytics.

PodBean currently has more than 600,000 podcasters, millions of episodes hosted, and 7.1 billion+ downloads. 

If you’re serious about starting and growing your show, you should consider the $29/month plan, which offers Unlimited capabilities, including audio hosting and video storage features.

You may also like to add your own sponsored ad campaigns in each new episode you record. This is a great way to monetize your podcast quicker. 

There’s even more, this premium plan allows you to accept recurring income from listener support via the Patreon program. Most podcast hosting companies don’t do this.

Automatically post your episodes to Facebook and Twitter. 

So if you’re interested in a podcast hosting service that has awesome YouTube features, PodBean should come to mind.

PodBean is full of exciting features. Your podcast episodes also come with free YouTube versions, which auto-uploads to your YouTube channel. Make sure you properly sync your channel when publishing.

When it comes to analytics, PodBean is way ahead of the competition with its robust and easy-to-understand analytics reports. 

Who Is PodBean For?

PodBean is suitable for digital marketers, nonprofit organizations (e.g., Churches), educational bodies, business coaches, advertising agencies, bloggers, and eCommerce brands.

In fact, both beginners and professionals can use PodBean. 

The clean user interface coupled with great features makes it the go-to hosting solution for podcasters.

Key Features of PodBean

• Easy-to-use Podcast publishing tools
• Your own branded domain name
• Unlimited podcast hosting at affordable price
• Scheduled publishing features that help you drip-feed your episodes
• Get a professional podcast website with a clean theme
• Quickly publish podcast episodes on the go (via mobile)
• Distribute your podcast episodes on major directories and apps
• Customize and embed beautiful podcast players on your website
• Automatically share your podcasts automatically on Facebook and Twitter 
• Your new episodes are available on Amazon Alexa 
• Capture email addresses of listeners and send to your autoresponder
• Track your podcast performance with the detailed analytics
• Monetize your episodes through advertising, premium, and patreon
• Live streaming tools help you engage users in new ways.
• Excellent customer support (with quick response)
• The PodBean podcast app provides tools and opportunities for engaging your listeners via mobile.

Pros

• It’s affordable (pricing starts at $9/month, billed annually or $14/month)
• Clean and user-friendly interface
• Dedicated podcasting features
• Great mobile app 
• Several monetization options for the podcasts
• Built-in player for embedding podcasts on website
• Ready-made themes and site builder on all plans

Cons

• No phone support (only live chat and ticket system)
• There’s no SSL certificate and other security options available for the Podcast website.
• You can’t use your own domain name on the free plan

Plans And Pricing

Here’s the pricing breakdown:

• Basic: This plan is for starters. It costs $0.00, allots 5 hours storage space, 100 GB bandwidth monthly, embeddable players, etc.

• Unlimited Audio: This plan begins at $9/month when billed yearly. It’s an unmetered bandwidth. There’s no limit to audio podcasting, storage space is unlimited.

• Unlimited Plus: If you pay annually, it costs $29/month otherwise the monthly price is $39/month. It’s best for video podcasts and monetizing shows. 

• Business: It’s a $129 per month plan. It’s cheaper at $99/month when billed annually. This package is suitable for business podcasts and podcast networks.