Podcast hosting · 2026
Free podcast hosting platforms 13 tools ranked by verified data
Data checked Oct 14, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify
We scored 14 tools with a free plan among podcast hosting platforms with the same 8-criterion scorecard; 13 have enough verified data to be ranked.
Every listed tool has a free plan; the table shows exactly what each free plan allows, as the vendor states it.
pigeon-pod ranks first with 86/100, followed by ZenMic (82) and Podomatic (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.
Free plans compared
| # | Tool | Score | Coverage | Free plan allows | From, billed monthly | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  pigeon-pod | 86/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | 1 storage gb | $6.90/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 2 |  ZenMic | 82/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | – | Free | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 3 |  Podomatic | 81/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | $9.99/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 4 |  RSS.com | 81/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | Not offered | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 5 |  RedCircle | 81/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | 1 show | $14.99/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 6 |  Buzzsprout | 79/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | 2 upload hours per month | Not offered | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 7 |  Podfan | 76/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | $12/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 8 |  Soundtrap | 75/100 | 65%4 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | Not offered | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 9 |  Spreaker | 72/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | $20/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 10 |  Acast | 70/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | 1 show | $25/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 11 |  Podbean | 69/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | $17/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 12 |  Riverside | 60/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | No limits stated | $29/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 13 |  Squadcast | 57/100 | 90%7 of 8 criteria | 1 show | $24/user/mo | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  Vatis Tech | Not ranked | 25%2 of 8 criteria | – | – | 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. ZenMic 82/100
AI audio studio that turns text, documents or links into editable multi-speaker scripts and voiced audio, with MP3 download and podcast RSS feeds.
- Entry price (100/100): Free: the pricing page lists no paid plan
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan
- 3. Podomatic 81/100
Podcast hosting service offering recording, publishing, one-click directory submission, listener statistics and donation tools.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Basic)
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
From $9.99 per month billed monthly on the Pro Plus plan.
- 4. 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.
- 5. 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.
- 6. 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.
- 7. Podfan 76/100
Platform for podcasters that provides a podcast page and sells paid memberships, donations and private member-only feeds, with payments handled through Stripe.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
From $12 per month billed monthly on the Essential plan.
- 8. Soundtrap 75/100
Online music studio for recording, mixing and collaborating, with sound libraries, vocal tools and podcast upload on some plans.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Soundtrap Free)
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 5 of 5 plans have a public price
From $9.59 per month billed yearly on the Sound Starter plan.
- 9. Spreaker 72/100
Podcast hosting platform for creating, distributing and monetizing shows, with statistics, ad tools and subscription options.
- 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, iab-certified analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), transcripts, private podcasts, team access
From $20 per month billed monthly on the Broadcaster plan.
- 10. Acast 70/100
Podcast hosting and monetisation platform that distributes shows to listening apps, provides listener analytics and sells ad and sponsorship placements.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Starter)
- Verified features (100/100): 7 of 10 tracked features verified: one-click distribution to podcast apps, listener analytics, monetisation (ads or listener support), transcripts, video podcasts, podcast website, team access
From $25 per month billed monthly ($14.99 billed yearly) on the Essential 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 free podcast hosting platform?
pigeon-pod, with 86/100 on our scorecard; ZenMic is second with 82/100.
What is the cheapest free podcast hosting platform?
By entry price among ranked tools, pigeon-pod: $6.90 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
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.