Podcast hosting · 2026
Best podcast hosting platforms for YouTube 10 tools ranked by verified data
Data checked Oct 14, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify
We scored 10 podcast hosting platforms for YouTube with the same 8-criterion scorecard; 10 have enough verified data to be ranked.
Only tools with verified YouTube support are included.
pigeon-pod ranks first with 86/100, followed by RSS.com (81) and RedCircle (81).
The lowest starting price among ranked tools (the least you can pay for a paid plan, for one user or account) is pigeon-pod's: $6.90 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
The ranking
| # | Tool | Score | Coverage | From, billed monthly | From, billed yearly | Free plan | Public API | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  pigeon-pod | 86/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | $6.90/mo | Not offered | Yes, 1 storage gb | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 2 |  RSS.com | 81/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | Not offered | $15/mo | Yes | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 3 |  RedCircle | 81/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | $14.99/mo | Not offered | Yes, 1 show | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 4 |  Buzzsprout | 79/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | Not offered | $15/mo | Yes, 2 upload hours per month | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 5 |  Libsyn | 74/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $12/mo | Not offered | No | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 6 |  Transistor | 72/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | $19/mo | Not offered | No | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 7 |  Podbean | 69/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | $17/mo | $12/mo | Yes | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 8 |  Blubrry | 69/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | $7/mo | Not offered | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 9 |  Castos | 69/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | $19/mo | Not offered | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 10 |  Riverside | 60/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $29/mo | $24/mo | Yes | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
Each value links the vendor page it was read from (hover for the check date). Coverage is the share of the scorecard's weight with verified data, and "N of M criteria" how many criteria the score is based on; a tool is ranked at 60% or more.
– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.
Why each one ranks where it does
- 1. pigeon-pod 86/100
Service that turns YouTube channels and playlists into private podcast RSS feeds with automatic syncing and content filters.
- Entry price (100/100): $6.90/month billed monthly on Pro (scored on the monthly price)
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
From $6.90 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
Homepage captured Oct 14, 2026 - 2. RSS.com 81/100
Podcast hosting service with a free plan, automatic distribution to directories, analytics, and paid tiers for video, ads and team seats.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 9 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, iab-certified analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $15 per month billed yearly on the Plus plan.
- 3. RedCircle 81/100
Podcast hosting platform with distribution, analytics and dynamic ad insertion, alongside an advertising marketplace for brands and podcasters.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Core)
- Verified features (100/100): 8 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $14.99 per month billed monthly on the Growth plan.
- 4. Buzzsprout 79/100
Podcast hosting service for publishing audio and video episodes to listening apps, with statistics, a podcast website and add-ons.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 8 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, iab-certified analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), transcripts, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $15 per month billed yearly on the Audio plan.
- 5. Libsyn 74/100
Podcast hosting service for audio and video that distributes episodes to listening apps and offers analytics, a website and monetisation options.
- Verified features (100/100): 7 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
From $12 per month billed monthly on the Basic plan.
- 6. Transistor 72/100
Podcast hosting platform that hosts unlimited shows per account, with analytics, private podcasts, video hosting and a built-in website.
- Verified features (100/100): 8 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, private podcasts, podcast website, team access
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
From $19 per month billed monthly on the Starter plan.
- 7. Podbean 69/100
Podcast hosting and monetisation platform offering distribution, analytics, a podcast website, ad tools and AI features for audio and video.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 10 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, iab-certified analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, private podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $17 per month billed monthly ($12 billed yearly) on the Unlimited Audio plan.
- 8. Blubrry 69/100
Podcast hosting service with time-based publishing plans, statistics, a WordPress plugin, ad insertion and distribution to listening apps.
- Entry price (100/100): $7/month billed monthly on Standard 1.5 (scored on the monthly price)
- Verified features (100/100): 7 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $7 per month billed monthly on the Standard 1.5 plan.
- 9. Castos 69/100
Podcast hosting platform covering distribution, private podcasting, analytics, transcripts, YouTube republishing and a WordPress plugin.
- Verified features (100/100): 9 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, private podcasts, podcast website, team access
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
From $19 per month billed monthly on the Essentials plan.
- 10. Riverside 60/100
Browser-based studio for recording video and audio with guests, editing by transcript or with AI, live streaming, and publishing podcasts.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 7 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, transcripts, video podcasts, private podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $29 per month billed monthly ($24 billed yearly) on the Pro plan.
How we picked
Every one of these podcast hosting platforms is scored by the same 8 criteria (scorecard v2). Each criterion gives 0 to 100 from the vendor's published data; the total is the weighted average. A criterion without verified data is left out and the other weights are re-normalised. A tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked, and so is a tool with no verified price and fewer than 2 verified features (“needs a verified price”); each score shows how many criteria it is based on. The core criteria are the same in every category; the category criteria are specific to podcast hosting platforms. Nobody gets custom weights, including our own products.
| Criterion | Weight | Type | What we measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | Core | Price per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other podcast hosting platforms on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Log scale. Billed monthly: $7/month or less = 100, $29 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $6.38/month or less = 100, $25.54 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored. |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | Core | Whether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored. |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | Core | How much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored. |
| Verified features | 15% | Core | How many of the 10 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, iab-certified analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), dynamic ad insertion, transcripts, video podcasts, private podcasts, podcast website, team access). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Linear: verified features / 5 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored. |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | Core | Whether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (30 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored. |
| Shows per plan | 10% | Category | Podcasts included on the cheapest paid plan that states a limit.Log scale: 10 or more (or unlimited) = 100. No stated limit = not scored. |
| Upload allowance | 10% | Category | Upload hours per month included on the cheapest paid plan that states a limit.Linear scale: 10 or more (or unlimited) = 100. No stated limit = not scored. |
| Cost per user (team of 3) | 5% | Category | Monthly price per user for a team of 3, on the cheapest paid plan that is priced per seat or states room for at least 3 users.Log scale: $6.16 per user or less = 100, $24.65 or more = 0. Plans that do not state a user limit are not used. No such plan = not scored. |
Sources are vendor pricing pages, docs and changelogs, each with the date we checked it. We did not test these tools hands-on unless a listing says so. Full formulas: methodology.
Questions, answered from the data
What is the best podcast hosting platform for YouTube?
pigeon-pod, with 86/100 on our scorecard; RSS.com is second with 81/100.
What is the cheapest podcast hosting platform for YouTube?
By entry price among ranked tools, pigeon-pod: $6.90 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
Which of these have a free plan?
6 of the 10 tools have a free plan; the highest-ranked is pigeon-pod.
How did you rank these podcast hosting platforms?
Each tool gets 0 to 100 per criterion from its published pricing, limits and features; the total is the weighted average over the criteria with verified data. Tools with under 60% of the weight covered are not ranked.