7 Best Platforms for Podcast Hosting

Podcast hosting sites can facilitate lots of different needs - whether that’s distributing your podcast to a variety of platforms, housing your content or providing a storage device. They also open up doors and to reach a wider audience and ultimately monetize your audio. But what are the best platforms for podcast hosting? If you're looking to monetize your podcast or just get it to more ears, we'll take you through some options.

• Consider your budget
• Think about how you engage with audio
• What are your ambitions and goals
• Who are you trying to reach? 
• What key features do you require? 

Think about what your budget is before you get started, there are ways you can host independently for free which can be ideal if you're just starting out and don't have a large following. It's also worth considering how you engage with audio as a listener, where are some of your favourite podcasts housed and what do you like about that? Also consider your ambitions and goals, who you're trying to reach and what key features you need?  These will all help you decide what is best for your podcast. 

Audioboom hosts some of the world's most successful podcasts and is easily accessible to beginners. It has all the essential features you might need to ensure that your podcast is in the best position possible to get those play clicks! Whether that's distribution onto leading platforms like Apple and Spotify - or providing analytics so you can see where to focus your energies, what works and what doesn't work for your content.

How much does it cost? $9.99 per month 

What's included?

• Unlimited episodes per month
• Up to 10,000 plays per month
• Distribution onto Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Stitcher
• Advanced analytics with breakdowns
• Embeddable Players for your website and socials

Libsyn is a popular choice among podcasters across the world. This hosting site offers a load of super handy features, such as that's options to monetize your audio like premium content subscriptions and opt-in advertising. Other features include slick and easy distribution and detailed audience statistics so you can analyse what's working well and what isn't. This is ultimately an all-in-one hosting and distribution site.

How much does it cost? From $5 per month 

What's included?

• Podcast Page Mini Site
• Podcast Source App Listings
• Unlimited Audience
• Wordpress Publisher Hub
• Basic Statistics

Bluebrry places an emphasis on streamlining your podcast publishing workflow and takes care of all your content distribution needs. Like other podcast hosting sites we've seen so far, basic features include in-depth statistics and analytics, access to the big-hitting platforms like iTunes. You'll also get access to a free WordPress site, website options and a modern player interface which will allow plays, shares and subscriptions. This is essentially all you'll need to take your podcast into professional territory. There's good reason why Bluebrry is one of the world's largest podcast hosting sites.

 How much does it cost? From $12 per month 

What's included? 

• Unlimited bandwidth
• Web upload
• Website options
• Modern Media Player
• Statistics
• iTunes upload

Buzzsprout aims to put user experience first as a podcast hosting site. The main joy with this platform is that it offers up a ninety-day free trial - a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with the host before investing any money. If you do like it however, it's still reasonably cheap. It also offers up other handy support features like what equipment to use. Don't worry too much about that though, we've already compiled a handy Essential Podcast Equipment guide here at PMT!

How much does it cost? Free for ninety days then $12 per month

What's included? 

• Advanced stats (easily readable)
• Unlimited storage
• Unlimited team members
• Import podcasts for free
• Custom embeddable players

Acast simply had to make this list of the best podcast hosting platforms. It's super user friendly and also used by some of the most trusted journalism platforms in the country - whether that's BBC, The Guardian or Vice. We love the simple and structured breakdown of packages, ranging from free starter options through to Influencer and Ace tiers which boast even more features and functionality. This ranges from advanced analytics through to episode transcriptions and advanced web seminars. A great option if you're looking to tailor functionality to whether you're a beginner or professional.

How much is it? Ranges from free to $29.99 per month

What's included?

• Advanced analytics
• Customisable website
• YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud
• Unlimited episodes and downloads
• Professional Webinars

Next up in our list of best hosting platforms for podcasts we have Podbean. This is one of the most popular choices in the world of podcasting mainly due to its flexibility with unlimited bandwidth. The other reason why Podbean are great as a hosting site is because they do all the hard work for you. You can sit back as they send your audio to all key distributors. There's an excellent free starter option which allows you to have up to five hours of audio stored. Once you're familiar with the site and require more, upgrading is incredibly easy.

How much does it cost? 

Free up to $99 per month (package dependant)

What's included?

• Mobile app and podcast player
• Your own podcast site
• RSS Feed and iTunes support
• Comprehensive stats
• Monetization options

Soundcloud is the perfect place to get started if you're just testing the water in the world of podcasting. This is because it won't cost you anything and still offers up the chance to see your playcount. It's more of a streaming platform than a host but Soundcloud is also one of the busiest platforms in the world of music. This means there's already a large community of other creatives on the platform ready to engage, comment, like and share audio that resonates with them. You also have the chance to follow and like other podcasts on Soundcloud. 

How much does it cost? Free 

What's included?

• Unlimited episodes, streams and plays
• Social Platform - engage with listeners, liking, commenting, reposting
• Basic Embeddable player for websites
• Basic stats
• Opportunity to upgrade for more perks such as scheduled releases, in-depth stats

7 BEST PODCAST HOSTING PLATFORMS - IN SUMMARY

To summarise - all of the podcast hosting options we've highlighted here are brilliant no matter what level you're at. Ultimately, we think some of the best hosting platforms are as follows:

1. Audioboom
2. Libsyn
3. Bluebrry
4. Buzzsprout
5. Acast
6. Podbean
7. Soundcloud

Shop a full range of studio equipment at PMT Online or at your nearest PMT Store.