When hosting your podcast, one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make is deciding where you’ll host it. As in, which platform or website are you going to host with?
After all, while you could choose just any old website, you’ll want to work with a platform that sets you up for success and works within your budget. You’ll want access to features like a straightforward interface, excellent RSS feed capabilities that help you get your show on all the major podcast platforms, and marketing and promotional features.
You’ll also want access to all the tools that will help you grow your podcast, manage your quality, and ultimately will enable you to reach your desired audience.
The success of your podcast literally depends on your choice of hosting site.
With this in mind, we’re going to dive into the 30 best podcast hosting sites for 2022, giving you everything you need to know when finding the hosting site that will work best for you and your show!
Let’s get right into it.
Best Podcast Hosting Sites for 2022
- RSS
- Buzzsprout
- Spreaker
- Simplecast
- Captivate
- Soundcloud
- Zencast
- Other 20+ honorable mentions
RSS.com is regarded by many as the #1 way to host, grow, and monetize your podcast. With the standard subscription, you’ll have access to unlimited audio storage, which means you can upload an unlimited number of episodes of unlimited duration, easy uploading to all major platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, Google, Apple, and more, and you can even create a free website with the on-platform builder.
Pros
- Completely unlimited audio storage
- Upload to all major platforms
- Create an RSS feed for custom hosting and easy sharing
- Opportunities to connect with sponsors
Cons
- The free version is limited
If you’re looking for a free option to help you get started, BuzzSprout makes an excellent choice. You’ll have access to all the tools you could ever want or need when creating and publishing your podcast, as well as additional learning materials to help you become an even better podcaster and content manager. The world-class customer support teams are also on-hand to help you quickly resolve any issues you may come across.
Pros
- Over 1,000 5-star customer reviews showcase how positive this service is
- Your podcast episodes can be available on all listening platforms from Spotify and Podcast Index to Pockets Casts and Pandora
- Integrated tools to create podcast graphics and other branding assets
Cons
- Free to use, but the content is only available for 90 days
Spreaker is one of the longest-standing podcast hosts, established back in 2010, and has developed itself to be an all-in-one podcast hosting solution. You can manage every aspect of your podcast through the platform, from getting stuck into the recording and editing process to distributing on all major platforms and even being sent monetization opportunities as you grow.
Pros
- An easy-to-use and learn interface
- Allows episodes to be pre-recorded or streamed live to major platforms
- Contains tools to help you market your podcast and improve your reach
- Some powerful, industry-level analytical tools available as standard
Cons
- Support is only available via email
Simplecast is not a hosting platform you can afford to ignore. Trusted by some of the biggest brands in the world, including Facebook, Twitter, Nike, Shopify, Kickstarter, Medium, Target, and many more, Simplecast makes it easy to upload on all the popular platforms in just one click.
This puts your podcast in the ears of potentially millions of listeners and grants you access to the enterprise-level analytics dashboard that provides statistics about your podcast in a way that no other platform can.
Pros
- An affordable pricing structure with a 14-day free trial
- One of the most detailed and scalable insight platforms in the world
- Import every episode of your show from another platform in just one click
- Create your websites and fully manage your online presence, all through your dashboard
Cons
- The quality of the customer support team leads a lot to be desired
- Uptime can be buggy at times
Captivate.FM is a clean, beginner-friendly option for podcast hosting, a platform that has been designed to give you access to a range of powerful features, all available through an intuitive dashboard that won’t overwhelm or confuse you.
Captivate aims to simplify everything, with all your analytics broken down, an effortless content management system, and even offers a library of learning materials to help you improve as a host and master the tools available to you.
Pros
- Offers affordable pricing with a 7-day free trial
- A complete integrated marketing suite for podcast promotion
- Offers a no-contract approach where you get every single feature for one fixed price; no upgrades are necessary
Cons
- Plans are more pricy than other hosting options
While not a dedicated podcast hosting platform, Soundcloud is certainly a great place to host your podcast due to its large listener base, accessible content management features, and analytical tools.
Sure, your podcast won’t be hosted on the major platforms, and you’ll need a premium plan after uploading the first few episodes, but this is a great place to get started if you’re experimenting with the direction you want your podcast to go.
Pros
- Free to get started up to 180 minutes of uploaded content
- Listeners can tune in on any device through the dedicated apps
- An active audience of over 175 million listeners
Cons
- Your podcast won’t be available on other hosting platforms like Spotify
- The premium plan is a little expensive
Zencast is a popular, high-end, trusted podcast publishing platform used by large brands like BBC, ESPN, and VMWare, which should just go to show how capable this platform is.
The tools you need to publish a successful podcast can be found here, including unlimited uploads, no ads, an RSS feed link, distribution to every major platform, and even a custom website.
Zencast is known for being reliable and easy to use and basically alleviates any complexity that may come with getting your podcast online and into the ears of your listeners. However, the platform doesn’t support video podcasts.
Pros
- Very easy to use with a minimal learning curve
- Publish your episodes to all major platforms with one click
- You can record and upload your episodes from within the dashboard
Cons
- A lack of integrations into third-party growth tools
- Premium plans are costly compared with other platforms
Other Honourable Mentions
As you can see, there is a fantastic range of podcast hosting platforms out there to choose from, and which one is best for you will really depend on what you’re looking for, what features you want access to, and how much you’re willing to spend.
However, in addition to the seven main platforms above, here are the rest of the podcast hosting platforms you may want to consider.
- Anchor
- Transistor
- ACast
- Libsyn
- Castos.com
- Castro
- RedCircle
- Podbean
- Podcast Blastoff
- Resonate
- PodServe.FM
- audioBoom
- Fireside
- Blubrry
- Backtracks
- Pinecast
- Whooshkaa
- Squarespace
- PodOmatic
- Megaphone
- OmnyStudio
- Podcasts.com
- Shoutcast
Common Podcast Hosting Questions
When you’re getting into the world of podcasting and trying to find a hosting website that works for you, it can feel a little overwhelming when there’s so much new information and features to onboard and learn, but this section is designed to help you understand what you need to know to make this process a little easier.
What is an RSS Feed?
An RSS feed (which stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication) is basically a link that a podcast hosting platform will assign your podcast show to create a feed of all the episodes you upload.
Think of it as an Instagram or Facebook timeline link, but just for your podcast and the episodes you upload.
Every time you upload a new episode, the feed will be updated, and then any website, online embed, or platform displaying your RSS feed will be updated almost instantly with the latest episodes. It’s how you can one-click upload your podcast episodes to all the major podcast platforms.
When you’re searching for a podcast hosting platform, you must opt for a platform that creates an RSS feed and link because you’ll want the opportunity to distribute your podcast to as many potential listeners as possible, and having such a feed is one of the best ways to do just this.
Which podcast analytics are essential to know?
Nowadays, there are a lot of vanity metrics out there, so which ones should you be focused on when choosing your preferred platform?
Listeners (or downloads) are the most important because they show how many people are listening to your podcast, thus allowing you to see your growth over time. You may also want to see which platforms these listeners are on so that you can focus your attention on the platforms your audiences are using the most.
You’re also going to want analytics that provide a breakdown of the listening duration for each listener, kind of like how YouTube shows channel managers how long users have watched their videos and when the drop-off points are.
This analytic can help show you how long your listeners stay on each episode, where they stop listening, and where they return. This is a great way to help you break down your content to help you see what works and what doesn’t.
Can’t I just use a free podcast hosting platform?
Yes, you surely can use a free podcast hosting platform, but they will never come without limitations.
Most free platforms will limit how much content you upload or will run ads on your content that you won’t get paid for.
Premium plans typically provide you with essential features that will help you grow your podcast, access marketing/sponsorship opportunities, create branding tools, and sometimes even give you access to communicate with your audience. With this in mind, while a free platform might be a great place to get started, you won’t want to stay on one forever if you want to be fully successful with your podcast ventures.
What are the most important podcast hosting platforms to be on?
It’s important to pay attention to which platforms you upload your podcast episodes to and you need a platform that helps you experiment and control this easily. After all, you don’t want to waste your time promoting your podcast on Apple Podcasts if all your listeners are on Stitcher.
It’s worth finding a hosting website that will allow you to upload your podcast to all platforms so you can see which is best for you and allows you to discover where your active audience is
Spotify is by far the biggest podcast directory to date, which currently sits around the 28.3 million monthly listeners mark (as of February 2022), which is around 200,000 more listeners than the second biggest directory, Apple Podcasts, which was first for the last few years.
Other popular platforms you’ll want to make sure you get your show on will include Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, Amazon Podcasts (Audible), the Podcast Index, and iHeartRadio.
