Which Podcast Hosting Platform is Right for You? (Free and Video Options)

Are you starting a podcast in 2025? After content ideation and storyboarding, the next step of your podcast production journey is choosing the right software to turn your audio recordings into published podcast content – and finding the best podcast hosting platform is a major step in that process.

Podcast hosting platforms will differ on bonus features like analytics and third-party app integrations, but they should all do the same rudimentary functions. A basic hosting platform will publish and distribute your podcast episodes across platforms while measuring download numbers. 

Beyond that, you will need to research the different capabilities of each hosting site. Lucky for you, our podcast experts at The Podglomerate have compiled this list with information to help you choose the best hosting platform. Additionally, we also break down pricing and features, giving you an overview of eleven different options – including some free hosting platforms.

And don’t worry, video podcasters. We’ve thrown in some ideas for you, too. 

Before Choosing a Podcast Hosting Platform, Do Your Research

When choosing a podcast hosting platform, there are several elements you should consider:

1. What is your podcast production budget?
2. Will you be adding video to your podcast content?
3. What sort of listener demographic metrics do you want to measure?
4. How will you be monetizing your podcast?
5. Do you need a hosting platform that is beginner-friendly?

Once you’ve considered these fundamental questions, you can dive into this list with a better understanding of the sort of podcast hosting platform you’ll need.

Any questions? Contact us for a free consultation. We’re here to help you launch your podcast.

What is a Podcast Hosting Platform?

A podcast hosting platform is a site that hosts and distributes your podcast episode across all the major podcast apps. They are essential for making sure people can listen to your podcast on any platform and are enabled by RSS technology.

As podcast production experts, The Podglomerate ensures that all our clients’ podcasts are available on every major podcast app (including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and beyond) – and we use RSS to do it.

A great hosting platform will provide enough bandwidth to support an archive of podcast episodes. We recommend checking the number of hours of audio recordings you are allowed to upload every month, as some plans limit this to less than a weekly podcast would produce.

Once you have a hosting platform, you can customize it with your podcast description, cover art, and any relevant links. These will be added automatically to your podcast bio on every platform, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Before settling on a plan, we would look for a hosting site that will support your ambitions; if you want to monetize your show at some point in the future, make sure that your hosting platform can do dynamic ad insertion or subscriptions. Otherwise, you may want to look to sites like Patreon to build a community.

What is the Best Podcast Hosting Platform in 2025?

Podcasting has come a long way since the days of Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and Audioblog.com. In October 2004, Libsyn launched the first Podcast Service Provider, which set the precedent for what we understand today as a podcast hosting platform.

There are dozens of podcast hosting platforms on the market. Figuring out which one is the best fit for your audio project can be a daunting prospect!

As for the best podcast hosting platform, it depends on the services you’re looking for. Some platforms are better for beginner podcasters and side hustlers, while others support podcasting professionals with a large, monetized portfolio. 

Ultimately, we recommend speaking to the podcast hosting platform’s sales team if you have questions about specific features – or speak to experienced podcast producers, like us! We can advise the best platform for your unique requirements and help you with podcast launch services.

Which Podcast Hosting Sites Does The Podglomerate Use?

As leading experts in podcast production, marketing, and monetization, we have experience with a wide variety of hosting platforms that fit the goals and budgets of our clients. 

If you’d like help choosing a platform and launching your show, contact us for free, and we can discuss your podcasting goals. With that said, here is a round-up of podcast hosting platforms that are worth considering:

16 Great Podcast Hosting Platforms for Beginners to Experienced Podcasters 

CoHost

Best for: Podcasters, brands, agencies, and networks who are looking for insights to measure podcast reach, growth, and impact. Plus, If you’re not keen to change your current hosting setup, CoHost offers Tracking Links, Advanced Audience Demographics, and B2B Analytics on their prefix, so you can have access to advanced audience insights regardless of where your show is hosted.

Basic Features:

1. Podcast hosting: Including one-click publishing, multiple user permissions, custom media player, and multi-show management.
2. CoHost’s Tracking Links: Track clicks to downloads across multiple marketing channels all through one single link. Discover top download sources, individual link analytics, and a consolidated LinkTree style display.

Bonus Features:

1. Advanced Audience Demographics: Verify if your show is reaching your target audience and tailor your content to their needs by gaining insight into your listeners’ age, household income, family members, lifestyle, hobbies, social media habits, and more.
2. B2B Analytics: Discover where your listeners work and their seniority level. Plus, view their company’s industry, size, location, and average revenue through an exportable list. 

Pricing: 7-day free trial available. Hosting plans start at $31/month and Prefix plans start at $13/month.

Megaphone

Best for: Maximizing your podcast’s potential with great tools for monetization. Megaphone is a good option for podcasters at the enterprise level and is a favorite of podcast networks. Megaphone typically works for larger publishers, professional podcasters, and media networks. And, FYI, this hosting platform is a Spotify product.

Basic Features: 

1. Megaphone provides podcasters with hosting options that scale with their podcast.
2. Keep track of your progress with nuanced analytics and audience data.
3. Megaphone meets the hosting industry standard by distributing to all major platforms and podcast apps.

Bonus Features: 

1. Take advantage of advanced advert insertion called “Megaphone Targeted Marketplace,” ensuring your podcast’s monetized placements are dynamic.
2. If security is a concern for your show, Megaphone provides reliable security.
3. Megaphone provides team collaboration tools for podcast networks or teams with more than one person.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on needs.

Simplecast

Best for: Intermediate and network podcasters who are looking for professional-level analytics but with an easy-to-use interface. Simplecast describes itself as a complete “end-to-end” podcast service.

Basic Features: 

1. Get unlimited storage and bandwidth for your podcast.
2. For podcasters low on time, Simplecast provides one-click distribution to all major podcast platforms.
3. Simplecast gives you a customizable podcast website that you can share across marketing materials.

Bonus Features: 

1. Make the most of “Recast,” a tool that allows you to share clips across social media for discovery purposes.
2. Use detailed listeners’ insights to learn more about your audience’s demographics.
3. Simplecast provides several user roles to support team collaboration on projects.

Pricing: Plans start at $15/month.

Dovetail

Best for: Podcasters seeking premium audio analytics tools. Dovetail by PRX is popular for professionals who want to monetize their content.

Basic Features: 

1. Easy and professional distribution to all major podcast platforms.
2. Dovetail provides a customizable podcast website as part of its plans. You can drive traffic to your site.
3. Make the most of an analytics dashboard.

Bonus Features: 

1. Dovetail has audience measurement tools to help track your listener’s behavior.
2. Like many of its competitors, Dovetail provides dynamic ad insertion, so play around with different options and pricing tiers to find the platform that works for you in this area.
3. This podcast hosting platform is scalable as your podcast grows and works for enterprise-level podcasts.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on needs.

Art19

Best for: Professional podcasters or large media networks who earn their bread and butter on advertising. Art19 is an Amazon company that focuses on giving you control of your revenue generation.

Basic Features: 

1. Hosting designed for large-scale publishing.
2. Advanced listeners’ insights to support marketing campaigns.
3. Distribution to all major podcast platforms that promises to be fast and secure.

Bonus Features: 

1. Get targeted adverts to the right audience with Art19’s dynamic ad insertion capabilities.
2. Make the most of listener data and audience segmentation to help you target your ads better.
3. Speaking of ads, Art19 integrates with all major networks.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on needs.

Spotify for Creators (Formerly Anchor)

Best for: Beginner podcasters who want seamless integration with Spotify’s ecosystem (if you haven’t heard, they’re pretty big in podcasting) and audience analytics. Formerly known as Anchor, Spotify acquired the hosting platform. If you find most of your audience coming from Spotify, then this is the most obvious option for your hosting needs.

Basic Features:

1. As with other platforms, you get distribution to Spotify and other podcasting apps, like Apple Podcasts.
2. You can see in-depth data and analytics on Spotify listeners (great if you have lots of listeners on the app), such as listening habits.
3. Spotify for Creators also promises an easy submission process for your podcast when you first upload.

Bonus Features: 

1. You can integrate with Spotify’s ad platform, known as Spotify Audience Network (SPAN), for easy monetization.
2. Spotify for Creators allows you to publish video podcasts, but only in selected regions.
3. Make the most of listener interaction tools, like Q&A and polls, that are built into Spotify’s app.

Pricing: Completely free.

RSS.com

Best for: This podcast hosting platform is a great option for podcasting beginners who are looking for a straightforward, not to mention affordable, option for their first project. 

Basic Features: 

1. RSS.com boasts unlimited episodes and bandwidth for users, meaning that you can host an extensive archive on their system.
2. If you didn’t already know, RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” (yes, really) or “RDF Site Summary”, and is the distribution system that has powered the entire podcasting industry for decades. It allows users and apps to read updates in a standardized format, which is why you can access the same podcast episode across numerous apps with a single hosting platform. All of the podcasting hosting platforms in this article do this, but RSS.com was bold enough to make it the entire brand.
3. This podcast hosting platform allows users to read advanced metrics, track downloads, and see listener demographics – which is helpful when you are learning about your audience for organic marketing purposes.

Bonus Features: 

1. RSS.com, like many of its competitors, offers discounts for annual payments. 
2. If you already have a podcast, you can switch your hosting platform to RSS.com for free for six months. Not bad!

Pricing: Starts at $12.99/month.

Acast

Best for: Veteran podcasters seeking advanced monetization options and wide podcast distribution. Acast has been the hosting fuel behind many household names in podcasting.

Basic Features:

1. Acast is one of the most well-known and popular podcast hosting platforms in the industry, and hosts top shows like Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place and WTF with Marc Maron.
2. They distribute to all major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
3. Acast provides unlimited storage and episodes, allowing you to host your entire podcast episode archive.

Bonus Features: 

1. Acast supports dynamic ad insertion for monetizing your podcast. 
2. Make the most of Acast+ to create premium podcast subscriptions, perfect if you have a loyal community of listeners willing to pay for early or additional content.

Pricing: Starts at $14.99/month

Buzzsprout

Best for: Beginner podcasters who want accessible support and an easy-to-use platform. Buzzsprout is a popular option for many in the industry due to its usability.

Basic Features: 

1. Buzzsprout provides a friendly user interface, as well as a weekly newsletter to keep you up-to-date on your podcast’s download metrics.
2. If you don’t want to pay for your own domain or site hosting, Buzzsprout provides a customizable podcast website that you can send to listeners directly. The site provides links to all major podcast hosting sites.

Bonus Features:

1. Buzzsprout provides “Magic Mastering” for automatic audio optimization, aka. AI audio services, when you upload your podcast audio file.
2. Need a transcript? Buzzsprout provides one.

Pricing: There’s a free plan available. Paid plans start at $12/month.

Libsyn

Best for: Libsyn (aka. Liberated Syndication) is a top choice for experienced podcasters who are looking for a reliable podcast hosting platform. Along with flexible pricing options and smart integrations, Libsyn might be the platform for you if you like to create everything in one place.

Basic Features:

1. Libsyn provides fast publication and distribution to all major podcast platforms.
2. If you’re interested in data, this hosting platform provides detailed analytics and download stats.

Bonus Features:

1. For the financially minded, Libsyn has plenty of monetization options, including ad partnerships.
2. A WordPress plugin makes for simple integration into your website.
3. Libsyn has an integrated Canva app, making it easy to create your podcast episode art while uploading your audio file.

Pricing: Paid plans start at $5/month with storage limits.

Captivate

Best for: As the hosting platform favored by big podcasts like The News Agents and Full Disclosure with James O’Brien, Captivate is a great choice for podcasters who are focused on growth and marketing tools.

Basic Features:

1. Captivate.fm provides an unlimited number of podcasts and team members under a single account.
2. As with most competitors, it provides distribution to all major directories. 

Bonus Features:

1. Captivate.fm is committed to advanced analytics and growth dashboards, going beyond basic listener demographics and download numbers.
2. This hosting platform provides useful marketing options, such as custom call-to-action tools. 

Pricing: Plans start at $19/month for up to 12,000 downloads.

Podbean

Best for: The podcaster with big ambitions. Podbean promises to take the “podcast newbie to podcasting professional” with its hosting platform that provides a budget-friendly solution that supports monetization.

Basic Features:

1. Podbean provides unlimited storage and bandwidth for your podcast episode archive.
2. Grab your own customizable podcast website to help you promote and share your show.

Bonus Features:

1. Podbean supports dynamic ad insertion to help you monetize and generate revenue for your podcast.
2. Here’s something you might not have considered: Podbean is a podcast hosting platform that supports live streaming.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $9/month.

Transistor

Best for: Transistor has an easy interface and a tech-forward look, which aligns with their current podcast clientele, including Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal. It has some great options for podcasters working on multiple projects.

Basic Features:

1. Transistor provides an unlimited number of podcasters under one account, which is a great option if you produce lots of limited series.
2. This hosting platform gives you in-depth listener analytics as part of their plans, which is invaluable for improving and marketing your podcast.

Bonus Features:

1. Transistor gives you an elegant and customizable podcast website that you can share instantly with your network. 
2. If you’re looking for private podcast hosting, Transistor has options.

Pricing: Plans start at $19/month for us to 10,000 downloads.

Spreaker

Best for: If you’re a podcaster who wants to experiment with live streaming and has a plan to generate ad revenue from your audio project, then you should give Spreaker a try. This hosting platform supports lots of cult shows and fiction podcasts, so you might want to consider it if you have a similar vibe.

Basic Features:

1. Spreaker supports in-app recording and live podcasting, which makes a great option for podcasters who respond to live or current events.
2. As with other platforms, Spreaker provides distribution to all major platforms.

Bonus Features:

1. This hosting platform has an option for programmatic ad insertion, helping you monetize your podcast.
2. Spreaker gives you detailed listener analytics.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $6/month.

Castos

Best for: Tools that will help you scale and monetize your podcast with seamless integrations and great analytics options.

Basic Features:

1. Castos provides unlimited storage and bandwidth for your podcast episode archive on all of their plans.
2. Of course, you get distribution to all major podcast platforms.
3. Customize your own podcast website to help market your show.

Bonus Features:

1. Castos offers “private podcasting”, which is great for podcasters who offer a subscription-based show – or want to produce an internal podcast for your company.
2. Integrate with your WordPress site through an easy-to-use plugin.
3. Publish your podcast on YouTube for growth and SEO benefits.
4. Castos offers advanced audience analytics and demographics.

Pricing: Plans start at $19/month.

Omnystudio

Best for: Podcasters who are either working professionally in the industry or podcast networks who need enterprise features.

Basic Features:

1. Omnystudio provides hosting tools that are scalable and work for professional networks.
2. This hosting platform has extensive analytics and reporting.

Bonus Features:

1. Make the most of dynamic ad insertion to monetize your shows.
2. Omnystudio helps you organize podcast campaigns with easy management tools.
3. Unlike other podcasting hosting platforms, Omnystudio has advanced collaboration solutions for teams who work together on the same project.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on needs.

What Do Podcast Hosting Companies Actually Do?

What is the Best Free Podcast Hosting Platform?

We’ve given you plenty of podcast hosting platform options, and there are some great options in there for podcasters who are publishing on a budget. If you need a quick breakdown of the best free hosting options, we recommend checking out Buzzsprout, Spotify for Creators, Spreaker, and Podbean – but most of the sites on this list have free or low-cost plans.

What is the Best Hosting Platform for Video Podcasts?

Many podcasters are turning their shows into video podcasts in 2025, so their requirements for hosting sites now include video capabilities or integrations. And since YouTube has become one of the biggest platforms for listeners to consume their podcasts, this is an important element to consider on your journey.

Many of the hosting platforms on this list will facilitate video publishing. Some options include Transistor, Podbean, and Castos. If you’re looking for livestream capabilities, Spreaker is a great place to start.

Have questions? Interested in having The Podglomerate help you with production, hosting or video podcasts? Learn more about our podcast production capabilities, or email us to learn more about our services.