1. Podcast.co

We might be a little biased here, but we believe Podcast.co is the best choice for podcasters.

Built with simplicity in mind, you can upload and distribute your shows in minutes without wasting time reading boring tutorials. Whether you're a first-time podcaster or seasoned pro, there's something for everyone.

Get more out of your podcast with incredibly handy tools. Turn audio into text for blog posts with automatic transcriptions or easily convert your shows to video for places like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Nobody's perfect, and neither are we. Features missing, like custom mobile apps or embeddable players on socials are already on our minds or in development. What we lack in features, we make up for in high-end quality services and personal support.

Pros

• Unlimited episodes and storage.
• One-click distribution.
• Advanced features available on all plans.
• Friendly and personal support.

Cons

• Spotify statistics are not included in analytics. (This is on the roadmap).

2. Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout keeps things simple. With a good design, intuitive interface, and mobile-friendly dashboard, it’s ideal for newcomers looking for a stress-free solution.

In comparison to old school providers like Libsyn, Buzzsprout feels like a more modern service with a handful of useful tools like episode chapter markers for easy accessibility.

At its core, uploading and publishing episodes are a breeze. There’s no technical stuff to learn and shows are handled automatically like ID3 tagging, audio optimisation, and your RSS feed, but not everything comes as standard. Better audio quality of up to 192k and episode transcriptions are available at a price.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The base plan encourages you to move up to higher ones by forcing restrictions. Episodes are hosted for 90 days before being deleted and are limited to 2 hours each month. Storage overage comes at a price, charging $4 per hour for uploaded episodes. Plans are strictly monthly, so there are no one-off annual payments or discounts.

Pros

• Simple and easy to use.
• Free, but limited.
• Good allrounder for newcomers.

Cons

• Restricted base plan.
• Enoucrages upgrades to higher plans.
• No annual plans.

3. Simplecast

Simplecast offers a clean, well designed, and easy-to-use interface, but has enough tools and features to let you grow your audience. Nothing says this more with their stylish, but in-depth analytics.

Keep prying ears away from your shows. Go private by hiding your RSS feed so it won’t appear on places like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Share episodes with Recast, Simplecast’s own podcast to video tool. Perfect for uploading to YouTube or sharing on Instagram to get yourself noticed.

Episodes are re-encoded at 128kbps, which might not be good enough if your listeners expect better audio quality. You might be discouraged if your podcast has a back catalogue of episodes and a big audience. Monthly downloads are capped with a limit of 10,000, so you might want to think twice when importing a large volume of episodes.

Pros

• Streamlined UI for newcomers.
• Unlimited storage and bandwidth.
• Share podcasts as videos with Recast.
• In-depth detailed analytics.

Cons

• Advanced features only available on higher plans.
• Monthly downloads are capped.
• Audio quality restricted.

4. Podbean

Along with Libsyn and Blubrry, Podbean are old school. Having been in the industry for over a decade, they’ve survived on their arsenal of ways you can monetise your podcast.

Connect your shows with advertisers via the Podbean sponsorship marketplace. When you meet a minimum of 1,000 downloads a month per episode, your podcast gets matched with advertisers. There’s also the option of making money with dynamic ad insertion. Although not as lucrative, you can monetise your back catalogue of shows.

It goes without saying, all podcast monetisation options do require you to have an audience. Podbean runs its own version of Patreon with a crowdfunding revenue model for those with low download numbers. Setup reward tiers, pledges, and raise funds so your listeners can support you.

The biggest drawback is the platform feels clunky, outdated, and lacks advanced features that others offer.

Pros

• Monetise podcast with ads.
• Crowdfunding so listeners can support you.

Cons

• Clunky platform design.
• Advanced features only available on higher plans.

5. Blubrry

Since 2005, Blubrry have been behind the scenes helping podcasters. Often compared to other veterans like Libsyn and Podbean, Blubrry stands out for its rock-solid reliability and ease of use.

Most notable for PowerPress, a WordPress plugin that lets you upload and host shows on your site without needing a hosting provider. It goes without saying that nothing comes for free, so expect restrictions when managing shows on your own website.

Advanced features include video uploads, but are only available on higher plans. Same goes for storage; lower plans offer very little space to try and get you paying more.

Pros

• Free WordPress plugin.
• Reliable and quick platform.

Cons

• Limited monthly storage uploads.
• Locked features only available on higher plans.