Podcasts are a good medium for sharing knowledge, networking with professionals in your field, and marketing your business. It takes only a decent headset to get started. You can host your podcast using one of the best free podcast hosting sites and get started without having to pay for them.
If you want to start a podcast, there are many different podcast hosting providers out there. Before choosing a podcast hosting provider, you’ll need to think about what type of podcast you plan to create.
You’ll also need to consider how much you’d like to spend on your podcast hosting. Most podcast hosts come with a free option, but some can include charging monthly fees.
Finally, you’ll need to figure out where you want people to listen to your podcasts.
In this article, we look at the best podcast hosting options to host your podcast for free.
What are the Best Free Podcast Hosting Platforms?
Here are some of the best free podcast hosting platforms out there:
- Buzzsprout
- Podbean
- Spreaker
- Anchor
- Podomatic
- Acast
1. Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is a complete podcasting solution designed specifically for beginners. This podcast hosting platform helps you easily create and publish podcasts without having to know anything about audio editing software. With Buzzsprout, you don’t even need to know how to edit audio files. You just need to upload your voice recordings and start creating your podcast episodes.
With Buzzsprout, you’ll never miss a beat while recording your podcast. This app automatically detects pauses in your speech and seamlessly continues recording, making it easy to produce professional-quality podcasts.
Once you’re done recording, you can preview your podcast and make sure everything sounds great. If you want to add music or sound effects, you can do that too. For those times when you want to spice up your podcast, there are tons of cool filters and transitions included.
There’s no limit to what you can do with Buzzsprout. You can record multiple episodes at once, and add photos, videos, text, and links to social media accounts. All you need to do is choose a template, customize it however you like, and publish your podcast.
You can even post your finished podcast directly to iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Google Play Music. See out Buzzsprout’s review to learn more.
Buzzsprout’s Free Plan Features
Here is what you get from the Buzzsprout free plan
- Automatic deletion of old episodes after 90 days.
- Upload 2 hours per month, although audio files are automatically deleted within 90 days.
- Advanced analytics and stats on your podcast performance that are IAB compliant.
- Accepts almost all audio file formats.
- Distribute to major listening platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Casto, and more.
- WordPress plugin so that you can quickly and easily publish your podcast directly into WordPress.
Buzzsprout Pricing
Buzzsprout’s free plan gives you 2 hrs of storage per month and hosted episodes get deleted after 90 days. you can upload 3 hours of audio per month for $12/month and get advanced analytics, free podcast imports, and unlimited storage.
2. Podbean
Podbean is a cloud-based podcast publishing tool that helps you create, edit, upload, and manage your podcasts.
With Podbean, you can quickly set up a podcast, add episodes, record audio files, review and approve your episodes, publish your podcast, and even sell sponsorships.
It is another popular free podcast hosting platform that gives you the option to build a website for your podcast even on their free plan. It’s an ideal all-in-one free podcast hosting platform with a lot of storage, a mobile app, and more.
Podbean’s Free Plan Features
Podbean offers a free plan called Podbean Basic which includes 5 hours of storage space.
- You get five hours of storage for every month.
- 100GB monthly bandwidth.
- Ability to use both iOS and Android apps.
- An embeddable player so that you could put a podcast player on your website, for instance.
- A dedicated podcast site with several themes but branded with Podbean’s logo.
- A limited number of the team working on the project.
- Post to major podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.
Podbean Pricing
The Podbean free plan gives you up to 5hours of podcast storage. To get unlimited audio podcasting with no limits you can upgrade to their unlimited audio plan for $9/month when billed annually.
3. Spreaker
Spreaker is a podcasting platform from iHeartRadio It offers tools far beyond just podcast publishing, including tools for creating, live podcast broadcasting, advertising, and more. Some of these features aren’t available in Spreaker’s free plan. It’s free plan has some limitations, but if you’re starting, it might be the right plan for you.
Podcasters can create and publish their podcast episodes without any technical knowledge for free, thanks to Spreaker. This online audio hosting platform allows anyone to upload, edit, manage, and publish their podcast episodes via a web browser. To make it easy for listeners to find the best podcasts, the platform offers a variety of features including automated episode discovery, social media sharing, and comments.
Listeners can discover new podcasts by browsing the latest releases, listening to popular ones, or searching for specific topics. They can also subscribe to podcasts directly from within the app, and listen to them on mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. You can check out our Spreaker review to learn more about the platform and its features.
Speaker Free Plan Features
- Unlimited Access to their online Recording Studio
- Unrestricted Uploading & Publishing
- Unlimited bandwidth.
- Up to 5 hours of audio and up to 10 episodes.
- Livestream allowed for only 15 minutes
- You get basic stats and analytics that are IAB-compliant.
- Automatically post your podcast to iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.
- You cannot monetize your podcast unless you upgrade to a paid plan
Spreaker Pricing
Spreaker’s free plan comes with 6 months of statistics on your podcast performance for only 10 podcast episodes. You won’t have the option to monetize your podcast with ads on your free plan, but it is a good place to start and try the platform. Upgrading for only $8/month gives you this option.
4. Anchor
Anchor is a Spotify company and is completely free, unlike the above platforms which charge for their services. Their entire purpose is to make podcasting easy for everyone. Anchor is a podcasting platform that offers a lot to beginners and pros alike.
You can easily distribute your podcasts through platforms like Spotify, but you also gain access to unlimited hosting, podcast advertising tooling, and more. Recently Spotify has also launched videos on its streaming service and Anchor followed suit.
With Anchor’s partnership with Riverside, you can now easily record on Riverside and publish directly to Spotify.
Anchor’s Free Plan Features
- You don’t need to worry about uploading too many episodes at once.
- Limited to one podcast per account.
- You own the copyright for all of your content.
- One-click uploads to Spotify and other major streaming services.
- IAB certified metrics & engagement insights.
- Monetize podcasts with ads from Anchor and be paired up with advertisers who want to reach your audience.
- Add full tracks from Spotify to your podcast.
Anchor Pricing
Anchor is completely free!
5. Podomatic
Podomatic makes it easy for anyone to create podcasts. It’s especially good for beginners. It’s relatively easy for people to use and allows them to record podcasts using its mobile application. Overall, the free version is pretty basic but might be a decent starting place for some people.
This free podcast hosting platform is an easy way to create, edit, and publish podcasts from anywhere. It also offers embeddable player software for a wide range of social media platforms and websites.
You can either use one of the two methods available for monetizing your podcast on a free account. You can get sponsors for your podcast by using the Podcorn program. You can also use What for Apparel to sell merchandise like t-shirts and mugs directly to your listeners.
Podomatic’s Free Plan Features
- Up to 500 MB Storage.
- Up to 6 hours/20 episodes.
- 15GB of outbound bandwidth per month.
- Some basic podcast stats like daily analytics, tracking of performance, and easy podcast distribution through podcaster network apps.
- Easy podcast distribution through podcaster app networks.
- Monetize your podcast with Podcorn, Patreon, and What For Apparel.
Podomatic Pricing
If you have plans to eventually upgrade to a paid account, it’s worth noting that Podomatic Pro is incredibly affordable, with plans starting at $2.49/month (when billed annually).
Free accounts are limited to 10 episodes per month. Paid accounts give you unlimited episodes monthly.
What is Podcast Hosting?
A podcast host is a place where you can upload your audio files and make them available for download. This way, people can listen to your show whenever they want without having to go through iTunes or another app. You can even embed your podcast into other sites if you wish.
Podcast hosting offers many useful features. For example, you can track how many times your listeners downloaded your episodes, see what countries your audience lives in, and much more. Some hosts even allow you to integrate your RSS feed directly into your site, making it easier for visitors to subscribe to your podcast.
Most hosts offer a free plan, though some require a paid subscription. If you decide to sign up for one, most hosts offer different plans based on your needs. For instance, some offer unlimited storage space while others limit you to 10GB per month.
How Free Podcast Hosting Works
Free podcast hosting services are booming. They provide unlimited storage space and bandwidth and often include ad revenue-sharing options. But there are some downsides to using one of these services.
Hosting providers like Libsyn, Anchor, and Podbean offer free plans. These services make it easy to start a podcast, but they don’t always give you everything you need.
For example, most free podcast hosts limit the number of episodes you can upload each month, and many restrict how long those files can be. While many free hosting services let you add ads to your show, they usually require you to pay additional fees if you want to sell ads directly to listeners.
In Summary: The Best Free Podcast Hosting
Ultimately free podcasting hosts are good only for those ‘casters who don’t know if their show will stick around. If you’re on a tight budget, I’d suggest checking out Buzzsprout. They offer a 30-day trial period where you can try out their podcast hosting services without committing to anything.
Once you’ve signed up, check out what they have to offer. You’ll find plenty of features like RSS feeds, automatic uploads, and a mobile app. But if you want something extra, take advantage of their premium plans.
If you decide to go with the latter option, you’ll still receive some benefits, including the ability to add custom tags, such as “podcast,” “audio,” and “video.”
Now that you’ve got Buzzsprout set up, let’s talk about how to make money off your podcasts. To start, you’ll need a separate email address just for your podcast. This way, you won’t accidentally send emails to your inbox.
Then, once you’ve uploaded your episodes, you can use the built-in RSS feed feature to automatically post your latest episode every week. Finally, you’ll want to promote your podcast via social media, forums, and anywhere else you think people might be interested.
