The Basics of Podcast Hosting | Everything You Need to Know
What podcast hosting service should you use for your podcast?
When you start a podcast, you must have space on the web where the podcast lives and breathes. This is a very important choice since you don’t want your podcast to live on an island that’s isolated and inconvenient. You don’t want the landlord to charge you too much. You want a beautiful, convenient place with a great community and great support so that your podcast can thrive. This is your podcast hosting service; your podcast host.
Therefore, this article is dedicated to helping you navigate through the often confusing journey of finding the best podcasting host for you. Here are our top 5 picks for hosting services for 2019, and other good and not-so-good options, all up to date.
#1 Spreaker
Spreaker is often underrated because it’s newer in the lineup, but it is our absolute favorite. Here is why: Spreaker is easy to navigate, has the best analytics, and is reasonably priced. For just $6 a month, you get 100-hours of audio storage (that’s 200 30-minute episodes) and podcast monetization. The pricing is clear with no additional fees, and you can upgrade or downgrade your plan whenever you want.
Their mobile app is amazing. It lets you record, edit, publish and manage your podcast all from your phone. It’s simple enough for podcast newbies to jump in, and satisfying for veterans as well. Not to mention their UI makes things easy to navigate.
#2 Libsyn
Libsyn has been around for a long time, and it is a popular, reliable option for anyone who is planning to continue and grow his or her podcast. Their platform and the website might look a little outdated, but you can easily list your show on different platforms and share episodes on social media.
They don’t have a free plan, but their $5 plan gives you 50MB storage and many of the main features, and is enough to get started. When you have the Advanced Plan, you have the option to pay additional to get a custom mobile app for your show, get the paid subscription option, and get more storage.
#3 Podbean
Podbean has some helpful features such as customizable themes and your own podcast site, but the available features vary widely depending on the plan. The free plan does not get you far (only 5-hours of storage), but if you have a plan that is $9 or more per month, you get unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth, which is very generous compared to other hosting services.
They have a variety of monetizing supports. You can add ads, make paid premium content, get recurring revenue from patrons, and have PodBean add their ads using their dynamic ad insertion technology.
#4 Blubrry
Blubrry (pronounced as “blueberry”) is one of the longest-running in the podcasting hosting field along with Libsyn, and ranks high in most of the podcast host comparison articles. Their websites are full of useful resources and step-by-step guides, and you can even call them to ask questions. All of their plans have unlimited bandwidth, and if you go over your storage a little bit (up to 25%) you don’t have to pay a fee or upgrade.
Blubrry is known for its free PowerPress plugin, the #1 podcast plugin for WordPress. If you already have a WordPress blog or website or have experience with WordPress, Blubrry will be the right match. If you don’t have a WordPress website, you can even get a free one to start, or you don’t have to use WordPress at all.
#5 Buzzsprout
You will like the neat, modern-looking website and platform of Buzzsprout. Their dashboard, statistics, and custom podcast websites are all aesthetically pleasing and very easy to navigate. Their free plan lets you upload 2 hours of audio each month, but the episodes are deleted after 90 days. If you don’t care about that, this is one of the best free options.
If you pay $12/month or more, you can get unlimited storage with indefinite hosting. You can pay extra to get episode transcription. No other major hosting services offer episode transcription, and it is reasonably priced ($0.10/minute). Transcription is great for SEO and repurposing, and this is a feature worth utilizing.
Other options to consider…
Other great options you might consider include Omny, Squarespace, Audioboom, Simplecast, and *Anchor. Anchor offers unlimited free hosting. It is an attractive new option for podcasters, but keep in mind that it is still growing. We recommend staying away from these guys for your host though... They are cool, sure, but didn't quite make the cut.
Avoid…
A lot of new podcasters try *Soundcloud because it has such a low price, but if your podcast is spoken word, not music, Soundcloud might not be a great option. The service is heavily focused on music and has less support for spoken-word podcasts.
*Soundcloud and Anchor work as platforms as well. You can use other hosting service and list your podcast there to get more traffic.