In 1950s sci-fi, lasers were tools of destruction. Today, in 2024, the laser is a much more humble and helpful technology. That is, of course, unless you’ve ever been stuck for 45 minutes trying to scan a bag of frozen peas at a self-service checkout. But I digress.

So why are we discussing lasers at all on a podcasting website? The reason is that I’ve been playing with a new mic called the Lewitt RAY. And it has a laser built into it!

This laser keeps track of where you are when you’re talking into the mic, and it can make adjustments to your audio based on your distance. Not charismatic supervillain-taking-over-the-world stuff, I know. But certainly an interesting feature that might come in handy for your podcasting ventures. So let’s get into it.

Lewitt RAY Review: The Lowdown

• The Lewitt RAY is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone
• It’s an XLR mic
• It has a Cardioid polar pattern
• It has a frequency range of 20 – 20,000Hz
• It has a self-noise of 8dB
• And it has a max SPL (Sound Pressure Level) of 131 dB

So, ultimately, it’s a mic suited to solo podcasters or streamers who have access to an audio interface, mixer, or digital recorder.

It’s also a classy-looking mic. There’s something both futuristic and retro about it. I can’t really articulate it, which is unfortunate as that’s exactly what I’m paid to do.

“Elegant” might be the word I’m looking for. Does that work for you?

Cost of the Lewitt RAY

At the time of writing, you can buy the Lewitt RAY brand new on Amazon for $350 and on Amazon UK for £300.

Our link to the Lewitt RAY is an affiliate link, meaning we’d earn a commission if you buy through it. Affiliate income helps support all of our free content, though it never clouds our judgment when reviewing products or services. You’ll always get our honest opinions, no matter what!

This price point definitely puts it in the “Premium Mic” camp. So, is it worth it?

A good starting point would be to take a look at the things it does that other mics don’t…

Unique & Interesting Features

I’ve reviewed scores of microphones over the years, and, in my experience, most are decent, but all are pretty similar. There’s rarely anything new under the sun. So it’s cool to be able to write about a couple of features that I’ve genuinely never come across before. Both involve the aforementioned laser, so let’s find out more:

AURA Technology

When you record into a microphone, there’s a Goldilocks zone of distance between your wagging tongue and the mic capsule. Get too close, and you’ll have issues. Get too far away, and you’ll have even more.

The Lewitt RAY bucks this trend. Here, our friendly laser (they call it a “sensor”, which doesn’t sound half as impressive) realises you’ve moved and adjusts the audio accordingly. Think of it like a metaphorical thermostat. Your audio gets too hot (you are closer), and it cools it down. Your audio gets too cold (you are further away), and it heats it up.

AURA uses a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor to measure your distance from the microphone. This information is used to adjust your tone and level to compensate for the change in distance. 

Lewitt

The AURA working range is from 5-100cm. 

When I tested this feature, it definitely managed to maintain a consistent signal, even when I was about 80cm away from the mic. The sound of my voice did change slightly due to the gradual change in the environment (I was literally in a different location, after all). This is totally understandable and not a mark against the feature. It’s just a fact of recording audio.

MUTE by Distance

Lewitt’s engineers probably thought, “Now that this laser can keep tabs on where its user is, what other cool features can we add in?” And once the idea to fire a raygun at a wandering podcaster was floated and rejected, they likely settled on this more user-friendly and less painful MUTE by Distance feature.

MUTE (capitalising random words is a trend in audio) by Distance is fairly self-explanatory. Once you get a certain distance (adjustable) away from the mic, it automatically mutes you.

What Problems Do These Features Solve?

These are cool, interesting, and unique features, for sure. But how useful are they to podcasters in the real world?

I think the AURA autofocus is the biggie. Poor mic technique and inconsistent volume levels are still an issue for many podcasters. Of course, this generally stems from people not knowing what they’re doing. And I don’t think anyone would invest in a mic like this unless they had a decent idea about recording audio. I could be wrong. In fact, I usually am.

If I were running an “I just can’t seem to stay in one place” podcast, I’d probably opt for a wireless lavalier mic. That said, if I were doing a remote interview and could pick any mic in the world for my guest, it’d undoubtedly be the Lewitt RAY. Imagine never having to say, “Can you get a little closer to that mic?” again.

The MUTE by Distance feature might come in handy if you often need to step away to argue with your dog or shout at the Amazon guy outside playing keepie-uppie with your parcel. Maybe you’re in a livestream or interviewing someone who’d almost certainly take your dog’s side. In any case, you’d like to keep what’s being said private, and pressing the mute button is beyond you.

And sometimes, pressing the mute button is beyond me, to be quite honest with you. You know those sudden coughing fits that spring from nowhere? In the future, I can simply step back or turn away from the mic, and my audio will cut out. (I could also stop eating deep-fried pies for my lunch, but instead, I’ll continue to blame my two-year-old daughter for my ruined immune system.)

Lewitt RAY Sound Quality

The focal point of any Lewitt RAY review is obviously going to be its unique features. However, it’d be a shame to overlook the mic’s performance in its most important duty of all – capturing a nice vocal recording.

I’m impressed with its sound quality, and the Lewitt Control Centre software’s presets enhance the audio in their own ways. Even if it weren’t for all the laser-based novelty of this mic, it’d still be a strong candidate for any podcaster looking to up their audio game. But then again, at that price, you’d hope so, eh?

Connections & Compatability

The Lewitt RAY is an XLR mic, so you’ll need some sort of audio interface, digital recorder, or mixer to plug it into. Your device will need Phantom Power (+48v) to run the mic.

I’m using the Lewitt Connect 2 USB audio interface and the Lewitt Control Centre software, which lets me toggle effects and save presets. A full review is on the way!

What’s in the Box?

Apart from the Lewitt RAY itself, you get a shock mount, pop filter, foam windscreen, and transport bag. I’m actually fascinated by the wee pencil case-style transport bags you get with almost every mic. Has anyone ever seen one of them being used out there in the wild? Has anyone ever literally used it as a pencil case instead? Are pencil cases still a thing?

Stickers, too. You get stickers. Or at least, I did. My daughter was there when I opened it and was delighted to see them. I told her I’d be sure to mention it in my review. Who needs lasers, eh?

Lewitt RAY Review: Conclusion

As I mentioned in the sound quality section, the mic itself performs well, and I’m impressed with the sound quality. The novel features are fun and interesting, too.

The autofocus is certainly useful for keeping your audio consistent. It would be brilliant if every inexperienced remote podcast guest had a Lewitt RAY. But that’s going to take a fair bit of organisation and expense to achieve. Maybe you could exclusively interview millionaires? There’s an idea.

The MUTE by Distance is a nice touch, too. It’s not solving any earth-shattering problems, but you’ll find situations where it’s convenient, for sure.

The price point of $350/£300 definitely puts it in the premium mic range, and if you’re just starting out, you shouldn’t be spending anywhere near that amount. You can pick up a solid starter mic for less than half the price of the Lewitt RAY. And if you love the sound of this one, add it to your birthday list and make sure you know you’re going to stick at this podcasting malarky before all that money changes hands.

• Sound Quality: 4.8/5
• Price Point: 3/5
• Unique Features: 5/5

Oh, and thanks again to Lewitt for the review opportunity. And thanks for the stickers, too!

• Podcasting is long-form content. Don’t compare podcast download numbers with YouTube plays, social media “likes”, or follower counts.
• Potential audience sizes are totally dependent on show topics. There’s no single podcast download numbers gauge here.
• However, statistically, if you get over 30 downloads for a new episode in the first week of its release, you’re in the top 50% of all podcasters.
• Read on to find out more…

Download numbers are one of the most obvious metrics for measuring the success of your podcast.

Download stats are immediately accessible from the minute you launch your first episode. Watching the numbers climb can be rewarding—some might even say addictive.

But after the initial novelty has worn off, it’s natural for podcasters to begin asking the question, “Are my average podcast downloads good?”.

So, are your podcast download numbers “good”? Let’s take a look.

How Many Podcast Downloads Should I Be Getting?

In a world of YouTube views and Twitter/X followers, we’ve become accustomed to figures in the hundreds of thousands (and even millions!).

It’s important to realise, though, that these numbers are completely irrelevant to podcasting. The time and effort it takes to click ‘Follow’ on social or watch a few seconds of a YouTube video should never be compared to listening to podcast episodes.

Podcast listening is a commitment and an investment. It’s long-form content that isn’t immediately accessible via shiny sidebars and viral social media clickbait.

So, comparing your average podcast downloads to someone else’s Instagram followers is like comparing the number of rooms in your house to the number of trees in the Amazon. It’s completely irrelevant and utterly pointless.

Does it (as Usual) Depend on Your Content?

Of course it does.

Could a show about breeding Russian white dwarf hamsters realistically expect to see the same average podcast downloads as a show about Game of Thrones? Absolutely not.

Does this mean that the podcast with more downloads is the more successful one? Again, absolutely not.

If you run a podcast about a topic that was only interesting to literally ten people in the world, and you were getting seven downloads an episode, statistically, you’d be running the most popular show in history.

The big factor is the size of your potential audience. Here are a couple of things to consider.

Firstly, how many folks out there are interested enough in your topic to actually want to consume content about it?

Secondly, how many of those people are current podcast listeners?

Case Study – Board Game Design Lab

Gabe, who runs the Board Game Design Lab Podcast, shared some great words of wisdom on a recent episode of Podcraft.

“The ceiling for board game design is pretty low. It’s not like Joe Rogan; it’s not like Tim Ferriss, where the whole world is kind of potential, right? And so, you have to be more intentional about not overspending. It’s like, how many people are there? How many people are in your industry and listen to podcasts and care about what you’re doing?”

Thinking along these lines will help bring you closer to seeing what those cold hard download stats tell you. They can help you set realistic goals that don’t involve drawing comparisons with viral videos, celebrity social media accounts, and behemoth podcasts like the JRE.

Audience Quality & Engagement

An audience might seem “small” in a numerical sense. But with long-form content like podcasting, shows with smaller but more niche hyper-targeted audiences are often considered the more successful.

I’ve given this example before. If you ran a podcast about the technology needed to fly people to Mars, and your only listener was Elon Musk, would you consider this a successful show?

Granted, it’s a far-fetched example. But it’s always more about exactly who is listening rather than how many of them there are.

And, it’s about the engagement. This isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. But, if you’re creating good content, over time, you’ll begin to hear from your listeners.

This could be because you’ve asked them a question or recommended they check something out. Or it could be because you’ve talked about a subject that resonated with them so much that they felt compelled to reach out.

Measuring engagement requires a little more digging than simply staring at your download stats dashboard. But often, they can tell you a lot more about the impact your show is having.

If your podcast host provides this data, take a look at the geography of your podcast downloads. Are you suddenly getting a burst of downloads in a particular region or country? If so, you might want to check the news and find out what’s happening there. It’s all about measuring podcast engagement.

I Still Want a Gauge on Average Podcast Downloads per Episode

Buzzsprout is one of the biggest podcast-hosting platforms in the world. In fact, with well over 124,500 active shows, it’s arguably the biggest.

Hosting this many podcasts means Buzzsprout has plenty of useful data to analyse. This gives them an accurate picture of podcast downloads on an industry-wide level. The good news is that Buzzsprout makes their global data available to everyone on their Platform Stats page.

Here’s one of the key sections that’ll interest any podcaster.

How Many Podcast Downloads Is Good?

If your new episode gets, within seven days of its release:

• more than 30 downloads, you’re in the top 50% of podcasts.
• more than 115 downloads, you’re in the top 25% of podcasts.
• more than 470 downloads, you’re in the top 10% of podcasts.
• more than 1,100 downloads, you’re in the top 5% of podcasts.
• more than 4,782 downloads, you’re in the top 1% of podcasts.

[Updated May, 2024]

And here are some other interesting stats from this page, at the time of writing.

Podcast Downloads on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, & Google Podcasts

36.6% of listening takes place on Spotify, with 33.8% on Apple Podcasts.

Buzzsprout

Podcast Download Locations

44.1% of downloads come from the USA, with 6.4% from the UK, and 4.5% from Canada, and 4.4% from Australia. Germany are in fifth place with 3.1% of the share.

Buzzsprout

Podcast Download Devices

Mobile accounts for 85.4% of all podcast downloads, with 61.9% of those coming via the Apple iPhone.

Buzzsprout

Want More Podcast Statistics?

If you’re a fan of podcast stats, then be sure to check out our podcast industry trends post. We regularly update this article with all the latest data to help you keep your finger on the pulse. You’ll find everything, from podcast listenership stats (like the most popular podcast genre) to the latest Edison research.

What About Monthly Podcast Listeners & Downloads?

Some creators might say, “Oh, I get 10,000 downloads a month, ” but that doesn’t tell you anything about their average podcast download numbers. Instead, it suggests that they’ve published a lot of episodes to date.

For example, we run a daily show called Pocket-Sized Podcasting, which has hundreds of published episodes. Subscribers get one quick ‘how-to podcast’ tip each day, from Monday through to Friday. When new listeners find the show, they tend to binge through the back catalogue. This means our total monthly downloads can get pretty high, even if the new episode downloads are in the “modest” range.

Podcasting Numbers: Downloads & Listens FAQ

We are often asked about podcast download numbers in our IndiePod Community. Here are a few of the most frequent questions.

Do I Need to Share My Download Numbers With Anyone?

Nope, not at all. Though you might be asked for them if you’re talking to potential sponsors about podcast ads, or, if you’re in discussions with any podcast networks. Some potential guests might even want a gauge of your numbers before agreeing to come on. If this is the case, it’s best to create a media kit where you can optimally present this data. Also, be sure to explain that audience engagement is just as (if not more) important than hard numbers. As we’ve said so many times in this guide, download numbers never tell the whole story.

Can I See How Many Downloads Other Podcasts Are Getting?

Not unless the podcast host makes their stats publically available.

That said, it might be possible to find an approximate guide using a third-party analytics tool like Chartable or Podtrac. You can search for the podcast in question and see if it’s listed in their directory. If it is, you may see some basic metrics, such as the number of downloads, subscribers, and podcast audience demographics. It’s worth taking any numbers you find with a pinch of salt, though, as they may not be wholly accurate.

Do More Podcast Reviews Equate to More Downloads?

Having lots of ratings and reviews on podcast apps can make a show seem like it has a big audience. Often, this is the case, and the show has reached a critical mass of listeners leaving reviews. It isn’t a rule without exception, though. Some shows have numerically small but super engaged audiences, whilst other podcasters may actively seek out reviews using various methods. Again, this approach can give you a hint, but it’ll never tell the whole story.

Do All Successful Podcasts Have “Big” Download Numbers?

Definitely not. Some of the most successful podcasts out there have numerically small audiences because the topic is extremely niche. Niche audiences are some of the most engaged and fanatical, though. There’s nothing to say that a podcaster in a certain niche might not work full-time on their show with an audience of “only” 100 people.

Can My Hosting Provider Get Me More Downloads?

Podcast hosting platforms are not responsible for your show’s growth or download numbers. In our article on changing podcast host, we talk about how these services set you up with podcast feeds, give you the tools and report the facts, but the rest is up to you.

Podcast Downloads vs Listens: What’s the Difference?

The end result is typically the same: the audience hears your content. However, there are some subtle differences between podcast listens and podcast downloads.

A download is when the episode is—funnily enough—downloaded onto a device such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone. From a listener’s point of view, this makes it more flexible to consume because you’re no longer reliant on an internet connection.

But from a podcaster, network, or advertiser’s point of view, it makes it harder to “prove” that a listen has happened. After all, someone might download an episode but never actually hear it.

A “listen” can be playing a previously downloaded episode, or it can be someone streaming an episode via the web or a podcast listening app. This can make it easier to see that listening has actually happened. That said, it’s a mistake to try and force your audience to stream rather than download. Let folks make up their own minds about how they prefer to consume your content.

If you need to demonstrate to sponsors, advertisers, etc, that your download numbers accurately reflect your listener numbers, you can show engagement via factors and strategies such as audience surveys, and your Calls to Action.  

Summary: Average Podcast Downloads Guide

Ultimately, asking, “What’s a good number of downloads for a podcast?” is similar to asking, “How long is a piece of string?” Every case is unique, and no two podcasts are the same.

By all means, keep track of your download stats. But this isn’t going to help grow your show.

Instead, spend your time on the things that do move the needle. Here’s our pillar guide to growing an audience, which can help form the basis of a solid and effective podcast promotion plan:

Podcast Promotion: From Your First 100 Listeners to Your Next 100K!

And finally, a few questions for you:

Based on your topic, what do you feel your podcast’s potential audience is, and how does that stack up against your existing audience numbers? How much growth do you have left on the table? And what are your next steps for reaching those new listeners?

Hop into the IndiePod Community and let us know!

Transcription: Top Promo & Growth Lessons

Obviously, social media can play a big part in this, and we’re going to hear about what platforms and strategies have worked well for some of our creators (as well as which ones haven’t!). But social media is only one aspect of podcast marketing, and you don’t even need to use it at all if you don’t want to.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the ultimate low-hanging fruit of podcast growth because it lets your listeners find and come to you in their own time and on their own terms.

Creating special or unique content alongside your usual episodes is another growth strategy that’s yielded great results for some of our podcasters, and we’re going to hear some tips for replicating that, too.

Another recurring strategy in this episode is collaboration. Being on or working with other podcasts is a proven way to build your audience. As Andrea puts it, “People who listen to podcasts listen to podcasts”. Some useful tools for finding other podcasters to link up with are Podchaser, Rephonic, and Tink Media. And here are some tips on how to get booked as a guest on a podcast.

Workflow, Content & Longevity Lessons From 14 Top Indie Podcasters | Podcraft Season 20

Meet Our Indiepod Legends

“A lot of the people who might be interested in this topic, they have no clue what Spotify is or what Apple Podcasts is. So I just give them a regular URL, and it takes them to a player on my website.”

Paul – The Joy of Cruising

“When the person you’re interviewing shares your content, it’s huge. That is really big. That’s when I get the waves of people listening when they do. I totally see a difference between when someone doesn’t do it and when someone does do it.”

Susan – Lush Life

“The other week I did an episode where I made a plea to my audience to say make sure you do subscribe, because it helps me. And within about ten days, suddenly I was number one in the Apple ranking for my keywords. I’ve been number one before, but normally I’m sort of two, three, four, and suddenly I was number one. And I don’t know if it was coincidence or whether it was genuinely because maybe just a handful of listeners had subscribed and that tipped the balance to promote me higher than everybody else. So that surprised me.”

Paul – Fighting Through

“And the TikToks that sent us over the edge, or quote unquote, made us go viral were the ones where we were being like, okay, this is who we are, and this is what we’re about. And these are the type of people we’re looking for. Kind of like the, like, get to know me type videos by using trending sounds and audio.”

Alana & Samra – She Well Read

“I tried to make every title easy to find. I know a lot of shows, they try to be clever, you know, they try to be funny, they try to do these creative things with their titles, but then nobody knows what the heck the show is even about. And it’s impossible to search, impossible to find later. And so I wanted to make sure that every episode I did was specific in nature. That way it was evergreen. Anytime someone is working on something that relates to that topic for the next decades upon decades, they can go back and listen to that and they’ll still find value.”

Gabe – Board Game Design Lab

“Back in the heyday when we were all just making stuff because nobody had made that kind of stuff before, we were doing tons of cross promotion. We’d throw trailers at each other and have each other on each other’s shows.”

Mur – I Should Be Writing

“I’m trying to do more blogs because I find that’s just another way for people to find the content, if the podcast links to the blog and the blog post links to the podcast episode. This year, my goal is to think hard about what I’m doing and rather than doing, perhaps, more promotion, to do a better job of it.”

Vicki – Bring Your Product Idea to Life

“Being on other podcasts, I think is one of the best ways I’ve seen to grow my show. Again, it’s really hard to track this, but my theory is that people who listen to podcasts listen to podcasts, and if they listen to one, they listen to multiples. And so that has been a really great way for me to grow my show.”

Andrea – The Savvy Social Podcast

“Social media definitely helps, but you need to understand how social media works. Treating your social media content as separate content and not just as a promotional tool. So a lot of people, they go, oh, I’ll promote it on my social media, or make a social media account for their podcast, and all they do is promote the episodes, and they just go, here’s the album art, go listen to the episode everyone – link in bio. That may have worked back in 2015, 2016, but now it’s so hard.”

Daren – The One Percent Better Runner

“Gradually, we have made a real concerted effort to improve our social content. So, you know, we might ask questions like who was your favorite Eurovision winner? Or what’s the one song that you think should have performed better in the contest? And that is still engaging an audience. It’s getting our brand name out there, but it’s not necessarily intrinsically linked to the podcast. But equally, if we do get some really good stories from prompter questions like that, then we can discuss them on the episode and that then almost becomes content that we can take onto the podcast.”

Rob & James – The Euro Trip

“Once you kind of start settling into a routine, it gets very scary to do something different because you don’t want to put anyone off or surprise your accustomed listeners by doing something that they’re not used to or they didn’t expect. But I actually think we can challenge our listeners a bit more, and we should be confident in our own vision enough and bold enough in our skills to challenge our listeners and produce something that we think maybe just goes a little beyond what they had expected.”

Kathi – Wild for Scotland

• Auto-Level test
• Plosives test
• De-noise test
• Tone Switch test
• And more!

The Shure MV7+ At a Glance

Much like its predecessor, the Shure MV7+ is a dynamic microphone that doubles as a USB and XLR microphone.  The ShurePlus MOTIV software seems to be retiring and is being replaced with the Shure Mix desktop software. This software is required to access all of the DSP features, which only works when the MV7+ is used as a USB microphone.

At a glance, not much has physically changed with this microphone. The connections on the back are the same – XLR port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB-C connection for the cable that runs from the microphone to the computer. 

Speaking of USB-C, this is the only connection available out of the box. With a USB-C to A adapter, it was a bit wonky. The computer could see the microphone, but I was unable to access many of the DSP features within the Shure Mix software. I ran into similar problems using a USB hub. So, this microphone seems to work best with its software when it’s plugged directly into a USB-C port on the computer. The microphone itself still sits in a swing stand. It doesn’t really have shock absorption, so be careful not to knock it, as you may get a slight resonance in your recording.

Shure MV7+ Pricing

Our link to the Shure MV7+ is an affiliate, so we earn a small commission should you buy through it. Affiliate income helps support all of our free content, though it certainly never clouds our judgement when it comes to giving honest opinions on products and services!

At time of writing, the Shure MV7+ comes in at $279 on Amazon, which is competitive against other hybrid USB-XLR microphones. It’s also £279 on Amazon UK.

 Check prices on Amazon

Shure MV7+ Review: Testing

Now that you know a bit more about what the mic is, as well as how much it costs, let’s get to the crucial stuff: What does it sound like?

Auto Gain

Except for the compressor test, all of my recordings using the auto gain feature of the MV7+ outputted healthy recording levels of -24LUFS, and a true peak of -4dBFS.  That’s the perfect sweet spot for a raw recording!

Plosives

I think microphone companies’ marketing teams are starting to take the hint that a foam sock/built-in pop filter is not really a pop filter. There’s no mention of a built-in pop filter from Shure for the MV7+.  What they did do was add a “Popper Stopper” as a DSP feature in the Shure Mix software. Let’s take a listen:

There are definitely popping plosives with the Popper Stopper disabled.  Once I enabled the Popper Stopper, the plosives were tamed significantly.  I was a bit skeptical about how well this feature would work but it seems to work quite well.  Well done Team Shure!

Tone Switching

Much like the original MV7, the MV7+ in USB mode has three tone profiles to pick from: Dark, Natural, and Bright.  Take a listen to me switching in real-time:

To my ear, there’s been a slight improvement to the Dark tone profile. Voice is not muddy, but has a hint of warmth.  Bright is still too bright for my voice. With the improvements to the tone profiles, you’ll be able to shape the tone of your voice a bit better at the recording stage.

Noise Reduction

The MV7+ has the bonus protection from environmental recording factors naturally just by being a dynamic microphone.  However, I’ve noticed its noise rejection without using any de-noise was pretty good. Rather than listen, take a look at this spectrogram:

I recorded this test with a ceiling fan turned on high, and the image above was boosted to -16LUFS. The noise still wasn’t overly prevalent in the recording, especially with constant speaking.  Where it darkens in the above image is where the noise reduction is enabled. I didn’t notice any damage to the tone from having noise reduction. People with less-than-ideal recording spaces may have a bit more leeway with the MV7+.  However, that doesn’t mean you should record with your window open or music on in the background!

Compression

This effect is only available while the MV7+ is being used as a USB microphone and in manual mode (auto gain is turned off).

Less is more, which is usually the case with compressors. Light is best, medium is okay, and hard is quite noticeably crushing my voice. 

MV7+ as an XLR Microphone

It’s becoming commonplace for microphones to be a hybrid of USB and XLR.  However, the MV7+ made no improvements from its predecessor to be any less gain-hungry when used with an interface.  As with its predecessor, I tested it on an SSL2+, and it still required the gain knob to be at almost 80% to set a decent signal level. But that introduced distortion from the interface itself, having the gain that high. Unless you have a Rodecaster Pro II, which has a bit more power in its preamps, you’ll need a cloud lifter.

Shure MV7+ Review: Some Other Thoughts

I’m not a fan of the Shure Mix software. It feels like it needed a bit more time prior to public release.  I can only attest to a Windows experience, however. Yes, it has a “beta” slapped on it but, and again this is only my opinion, a beta shouldn’t be released with a commercial product. It’s less user-friendly than ShurePlus Motiv.  It’s trying to act like a DAW on top of controlling the DSP features, but it’s very restrictive in its current stage. I’m unable to change recording pathways and recording specs like sample rate and bit depth. 

However, I see the potential of the Shure Mix software with the virtual routing it offers.  Hopefully, it’ll provide a better experience once some kinks are ironed out.

Currently, there is no support for mobile devices like cellphones and tablets like there was with the original MV7.  I feel like this is a step backwards, but perhaps this will be added in the future. I have recommended the original MV7 to many clients because of its mobile support. Some people just aren’t computer savvy, and it was easier for them to do everything with a mobile app as they were learning podcasting from the ground up.

Conclusion: Shure MV7 Vs Shure MV7+?

The biggest change with the MV7+ is that it utilizes new software to control it.  The tonal profiles and noise reduction features slightly improved over the original software.  The lack of mobile support is currently a bit of a letdown. 

Is it a good microphone? As a USB mic, it definitely is.  At its price point of $279, if you only need an XLR mic, you may be better suited to go with something like the Shure SM58 or the Rode PodMic.  It all depends on your needs. The MV7+ didn’t make as big of a splash as its predecessor, but time will tell if it receives any further improvements.

Check out our full guide to The Best Podcast Mics on the Market if you’d like to do some more shopping around.

• Build Quality of Microphone: 4/5
• Features for a USB Microphone: 5/5
• Flexibility as a USB Microphone: 3.5/5
• Price Point for a Hybrid Microphone: 5/5 

Podcast events are great for learning about podcasting technology and content creation ideas. It’s a networking opportunity for independent podcasters, whether at in-person events or virtual events. As the industry grows, podcast events can range from a day of webinars to a multi-day conference taking over huge convention centers and hotels.

Whether you think of yourself as an introvert, an extrovert, a hobbyist doing it for love, or an entrepreneur building a brand, there’s always something you can learn as long as you keep an open mind. On top of that, nothing beats getting together in person with folks who share your passion and enthusiasm for the podcasting medium.

As event coordinators update their events, we’ll update this page. Pack your headphones; here’s The Podcast Host’s Guide to Podcast Events in 2024.

Run a podcasting event and don’t see it mentioned here? Please give us a shout so we can include it.

January Podcast Events in 2024

Outlier Podcast Festival

• Outlier Podcast Festival
• Date: Jan 11-12, 2024
• Cost: $27.59 
• Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Join us at the Outlier Podcast Festival for an unforgettable experience filled with keynotes, workshops, panels, and live shows! Meet industry experts and your favorite podcasters, and gain insights into the latest trends and techniques in podcasting. Whether you’re a seasoned podcast professional or just starting out, the Outlier Podcast Festival has something for everyone.

From hands-on workshops to thought-provoking panels, from inspiring keynotes to electrifying live shows, you’ll leave the festival with a wealth of knowledge and a newfound passion for podcasting. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with the Outlier podcast community!

She Podcasts Unplugged

• ShePodcasts Unplugged
• Date: Jan 24-26, 2024
• Cost: $147 
• Location: Wyndham Orlando Int’l Drive, Orlando, Florida USA

She Podcasts Unplugged is the ultimate experience designed exclusively for women podcasters, offering expert-led workshops and unparalleled networking opportunities. Don’t miss this chance to elevate your voice and amplify your impact—secure your spot today!

(This event overlaps somewhat with Podfest Expo.)

PodFest Expo 2024

• Podfest Expo 2024
• Date: Jan 25-28, 2024
• Cost: $99-$599
• Location: Wyndham Orlando Int’l Drive, Orlando, Florida USA

Podfest Expo is a community of genuine people who are interested in and passionate about sharing their voice and message with the world through the powerful mediums of audio and video. They’re proud and famous for uniting as many people as possible to learn, get inspired, and grow better together. Reach out to andrew@podfestexpo.com if you have any questions about the event.

February Podcast Events in 2024

On Air Fest

• On Air Fest
• Date: Feb 28-March 1, 2024
• Cost: $140-$700 Early Bird pricing ends Dec 25, 2023. 
• Location: Wythe Hotel, Brooklyn, NY, USA

On Air Fest returns to Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel for its annual flagship festival, bringing together the vanguard of storytellers, audio creatives, multimedia artists, musicians, industry leaders, and inspired listeners who are shaping the culture of sound. Led by a lineup that places media powerhouses alongside emerging voices and visionary thinkers, On Air Fest brings the medium far beyond the limits of personal listening devices through an array of real-life experiences that give talent the opportunity to step forward and people the chance to connect. 

March Podcasting Events in 2024

Podcast Movement: Evolutions

• Podcast Movement Evolutions 2024
• Dates: March 26-29,. 2024
• Cost: Ticket prices start at $164, discounts available if you sign up for their mailing list
• Location: JW Marriott at LA Live, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Each year, Podcast Movement events unite and educate thousands of podcasters and industry professionals to grow their shows, the podcast community, and the podcast industry.

The topics at Evolutions all focus on the latest research, tools, technology, and cutting-edge information that podcasters and professionals need to stay at the top of their game.

Podcast Movement: Evolutions features educational and informative breakout sessions and panels spread across three distinct content tracks, enlightening and encouraging keynote talks, and podcasting’s best networking events and parties.

Radiodays Europe 2024

• Radiodays Europe
• Date: 17-19 March, 2024 (Podcast Summit on Sunday 17th March)
• Cost: 100 EUR- 649 EUR
• Location: Munich, Germany

Radiodays Europe is the event in the Radio, Podcast and Audio World, bringing together over 1,300 visitors from 65 countries over three days. The event is organised into sessions, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, interactive sessions, summits, workshops and networking events.

April Podcasting Events in 2024

NAB Show 2024

• NAB Show 2024
• Date: April 13-17, 2024
• Cost of Admission: TBA. In 2023, they were $109-$1099
• Location: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

NAB Show is produced annually by the National Association of Broadcasters at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. NAB is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.

May Podcasting Events in 2024

The Podcast Show 2024

• The Podcast Show 2024
• Date: 22-23 May, 2024
• Cost: £49- £295
• Location: Business Design Centre, Islington, London, England, UK

The Podcast Show is a unique global gathering of the broad and diverse podcasting community. By day, the show will welcome industry pros, independent creators and business leaders to masterclasses, workshops and over 100 global brands. By night, The Podcast Show is proud to present a week-long line up of live podcasts, bringing some of your favourite voices and shows to life in theatres across London.

June Podcasting Events in 2024

Podcast Power-Up Summit

• Radiodays North America Podcast Power-Up Summit
• Date: Sunday, June 2, 2024, 11:00 am-7pm
• Cost: Early Bird rate: $75, ends May 10. Regular price: $100. 
• Location: Regatta Room, Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto, Canada

The Podcast Power-Up Summit isn’t just an event; it’s a chance to hear from, and network with, some of the top experts and podcasters from across North America. It’s a community where you can exchange ideas, gain insights, and forge meaningful connections that can propel your podcasting journey forward. Don’t miss this must-attend Summit during CMW and Radiodays North America! We can’t wait to welcome you to The Podcast Power-Up Summit!

August Podcast Events in 2024

Podcast Movement 2024

• Podcast Movement 2024
• Date: August 19-22 2024
• Cost: $239-$539 (payment plans and discounts available) 
• Location: The Gaylord Rockies Resort, National Harbor, MD, just outside of Washington D.C., USA

Every year since 2014, Podcast Movement has gathered thousands of passionate podcasters and industry professionals from around the world under one roof to learn, grow professionally, and, most importantly, evolve and improve the podcast community. In August 2024, Podcast Movement will make its debut in the nation’s capital! Join the world’s largest gathering of the podcast industry for four days of 100+ educational sessions and workshops, the best networking events and parties, plus podcasting’s biggest and best expo and trade show!

October Podcast Events in 2024

Afros & Audio 2024

• Afros & Audio 2024
• Date: Oct 18-20, 2024
• Cost: $100-$375 (Pre-Sale ends March 1, 2024)
• Location: Baltimore, MD

Afros & Audio is a community of Podcast Creatives and Professionals that come together annually for our Flagship event. Our primary mission is to shift the conversation beyond the issues of diversity, inclusion, limited resources, and industry barriers. As a collective of creatives and professionals, we are change agents for real strategies that will transform the current landscape of the Podcast Industry. Together, we will design and maintain infrastructures of sustainable resources and consistent support.

Podcast Events in 2024 And Beyond

New podcast events are constantly planned and announced, so this list will always be a work in progress.

We’ll update this page as promoters inform us that they’ve added or changed events. You might also want to bookmark pod.events (run by the excellent Podnews email newsletter), which gives you a comprehensive rundown of everything happening in the next few months.

If you’re promoting a future podcast event, contact us directly so we can include it here.

Well, I can’t change your voice, but I can tell you the best hosting options! There are some fantastic services out there; it’s not one-size-fits-all. But here, I’ll give you the pros and cons and help you find the best podcast hosting for your own unique needs.

Below, you’ll find 17 of the best hosting platforms out there, with a full breakdown of features, price and special offers. Plus, further down, you’ll find four free podcast hosting options, just in case you want a no-risk dabble, first…

If you’re short on time and looking for more of an at-a-glance guide, then check out our handy new podcast hosting chooser tool instead. Click here to jump straight in and find your ideal podcast hosting provider in less than a minute.

And remember, if you’re still at the start of the journey, check out our full guide to getting launched:

Learn How to Start a Podcast: Every Single Step

So you know, this article contains some affiliate links, which help support our site at no extra cost to you. Thanks for the help!

Captivate

Huge, Excellent Feature-Set incl. Powerful Website, Network Features, Growth Tools & more

Captivate’s Notable Features

• Calls to action in the podcast player.
• Unlimited team members – share the burden of running your show.
• Run a private podcast on all payment tiers.
• Extensive listen/subscribe link options, incl. Attribution Links & Single Promotional Link.
• Well-designed, highly customisable and mobile-friendly website, built-in
• Transcription feature
• WordPress plugin option for connecting to your own website.
• Tools to connect and grow your email list.
• Custom trackable Attribution Links for your sponsorships, social media, or affiliates.
• Collections feature – hand-pick episodes to create shareable playlists
• Guest booking tool
• Captivate doesn’t make any changes or alterations to your episode files.
• Audio mastering and Dynamic Ad insertion
• Run a podcast network inside your normal account

Captivate is a hosting platform that concentrates on helping you to grow your audience. Their tagline is ‘the only growth-oriented’ podcast host, and they have a feature set built to live up to that.

Captivate’s growth and monetisation tools include their ‘One-Click Sponsor’ kit, ‘Calls to Action’ in their podcast players and an excellent Single Promotional Link that you can link to anywhere. They also enable you to easily connect and grow an email list so you can stay in touch with your audience in various other ways.

You can also run private (or members-only) podcasts with Captivate. You can start one for your team, business, or organisation even if you’re on Captivate’s lowest payment plan of $19 a month.

Captivate Pricing

Captivate’s competitive pricing is based on ‘downloads per month.’ You can host as many shows as you like on one account and pay based on the total downloads accumulated by all of them.

• $19 per month ($204 when paid annually) for up to 30,000 downloads per month
• $49 per month ($528 when paid annually) for up to 150,000 downloads per month
• $99 per month ($1,080 when paid annually) for up to 300,000 downloads per month

See How many downloads do podcasts get? for a rough guide here, but the lowest tier will be more than enough for the vast majority of podcasters.

Sign up below for a 7-day free trial to look around the Captivate dashboard.

Sign up for Captivate

Alitu

Recording, Editing, Production, Hosting (& More!) All in One Single Place

Alitu’s Notable Features

• One login and one subscription fee for everything you need to podcast
• Call recording for remote conversations
• Solo recording
• Podcast editing – quickly and easily chop out mistakes
• Text-based podcast editing – edit audio directly from transcripts
• Episode builder – add in music, transitions, and other segments
• Merge double-ender recordings from alternative call recording software
• Automatic post-production – Alitu cleans up your audio, fixes the volume levels, and optimises your sound
• Free podcast music library
• Auto-generated podcast transcripts
• Publish to Apple Podcast, Spotify, and all other podcast listening platforms

Looking for the least possible amount of subscription plans and tools to streamline your workflow? Then look no further than Alitu. This podcast maker tool has everything you need to record, produce, and publish your show, with regular new feature releases, too.

Whether you run a solo show, co-host show, or do remote interviews, you can record directly into Alitu. Editing is easier than navigating your average social media app, and audio cleanup (noise reduction, levelling, etc.) happens for you automatically. Once you’re happy with your episode, you just hit publish, and you’re done.

Whilst Alitu has everything you need, it also plays well with other services. If you still want to use one of the other podcast hosting platforms here, then it’ll automatically connect to most of them, so you can still publish from within Alitu’s interface. Or, you can easily download your finished episode and upload it elsewhere manually.

If you prefer to use other remote recording software, it’ll automatically merge double-enders, too, and give them the usual audio cleanup TLC.

Podcast transcription is essential for audience accessibility, and Alitu will auto-generate transcriptions of your episodes. This helps you to deliver written versions of your episodes at no extra cost.

You can also edit your podcast directly from your transcripts with Alitu’s text-based audio editor. This is a perfect on-ramp for folks short on time, or with little experience working with audio.

Alitu is an all-in-one tool that suits busy people, non-techy folks, and people looking to save money on their overall podcast spend.

Alitu Pricing

With Alitu, you get access to ALL of its features for a flat rate of $38 per month. If you pay annually, you get two months free.

On the podcast hosting front, pricing allows for up to 1000 total downloads per month, which is typically more than enough for most podcasters. But if you’re lucky enough to be getting a few thousand per month, then the cost would rise by $10.

Get a 7-day free trial to test out Alitu for yourself.

Sign up for Alitu

Free Podcast Hosting Chooser Tool

If you already have a basic understanding of how hosting works, as well as a rough idea of your needs and wants, then our podcast hosting tool can help you choose a service quickly and easily.

With just a few clicks, you can see exactly what platforms and tiers have what you need and how much they’ll cost.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a deeper dive into these offerings, jump forwards towards our main post.

PS We’d love to hear your feedback on our new hosting picker.

Transistor.fm

Private Podcasting & Flexible Player Options

Transistor’s Notable Features

• Private podcasting tools built-in to create a members-only podcast for your members or your company team.
• Single episode, latest episode, multi-episode & dark mode players.
• Publish your show to YouTube automatically.
• Invite multiple team members to manage your show.
• In-built website integrates with many email providers (Convertkit, Drip, etc).
• Free podcast website builder tool

Transistor is another host that aims to make things easy and offers all of the normal tools a podcaster might need. One area in which they excel is their private podcast feed feature, and in the range of players they offer.

Private podcasting has long been an effective way to monetise your show or to engage an existing community. Imagine running a public show, with a ‘premium content’ option alongside, which your real fans pay for. Or, create a community-based show, only available for members. Or an internal staff podcast which updates your company’s team on a weekly basis. Transistor makes it really easy to run a private show, in any form. You simply invite your users, and they do the rest.

Transistor recently released their multi-episode player, which is a great way to showcase your back catalogue. You can show off your most recent episode alongside your 25 latest episodes. It’s a great way to entice listeners into your older episodes, encouraging a bingeing session and increased loyalty.

Transistor.fm Pricing

You can host as many shows as you like on one account, and pay based on the total downloads accumulated by all of them.

• $19 per month for up to 20,000 downloads per month
• $49 per month for up to 100,000 downloads per month
• $99 per month for up to 250,000 downloads per month

See How many downloads do podcasts get? for a rough guide here, but the lowest tier will be more than enough for the vast majority of podcasters.

Sign up for Transistor

RSS.com

RSS.com is an easy-to-use podcast hosting platform. They offer unlimited episodes and unlimited downloads with no alteration to audio files. They are fully localized in three languages (English, Spanish, and Italian), which includes their customer support.

 RSS.com’s Notable Features

• Cheaper than many of their competitors, without a reduction in quality.
• Free episode transcripts you can use to enhance and promote your podcast.
• Ability to convert your audio-focused episodes into videos and upload them directly to YouTube from your dashboard.
• Detailed podcast analytics to help you grow your podcast.
• Option to host multiple podcasts from one account.
• Sponsorship opportunities, Apple Podcast Subscriptions integration, and Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) for approved podcasts.
• Privacy features like the removal of your email address from your public RSS feed.
• Ability to add collaborators (Admins and Analysts) to simplify how you manage your podcast.

RSS.com Pricing

You can sign up and upload one episode for free without a credit card. After you’ve tested the water though, you’ll need to sign up fully to keep on podcasting.

RSS.com have a great value tier for students and educators costing only $4.99 per month. Their general podcaster tier costs $14.99 per month, and you can save 20% by paying annually.

RSS.com Special Offers

Use the promo code THEPODCASTHOST to get two free months on the standard monthly subscription.

Sign up for RSS.com

Castos

Great for WordPress Integration & Their Podcast Editing Service

Castos’ Notable Features

• Integrate with WordPress via the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin.
• Create unlimited podcasts with no cap on downloads.
• Built-in episode transcriptions.
• Option to create private podcasts.
• Option to outsource your editing to Castos Productions.

Castos are the media host behind the popular Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress plugin, which you can use to integrate Castos hosting with your own WordPress website.

You simply install the WordPress plugin; from then on, you can upload and publish podcast episodes directly from inside your website. No need to log into your hosting. Read our full guide on how to set up your own podcasting website for more details.

The Complete Guide to Podcast Websites (with Dinosaurs)

Another thing Castos specialises in is tools for private or “membership” podcasts and premium content. This can be run inside your Castos Dashboard and integrates with Seriously Simple Podcasting to run a private or members-only show directly from your WordPress site.

Castos has a handy tool in the form of their transcription service. This helps you create a more accessible podcast and offers a text version of every show for listener revision or skimming.

Castos even offer a podcast editing and production service, which you can add to your hosting.

Regarding your files, Castos doesn’t alter your bitrates or metadata in any way.

Castos Pricing

You can podcast on Castos from $19 a month, giving you unlimited podcasts, downloads, and episodes. There are two higher tiers at $49 a month and $99 a month. With the middle one, you can republish your show to Youtube, whilst the higher one lets you host video podcasts.

Castos Special Offers

Get a free month by using our coupon code TPH22

Sign up for Castos

Other Great Podcast Hosting Services

With our top recommendations done, here’s a roundup of some of the most popular hosting platform alternatives.

Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout offers a few unique features built around automation, all of which can save you, as a podcaster, a lot of time. If you’re into clipping for social media, for example, Buzzsprout allows you to select parts of your audio to turn into video clips.

Buzzsprout can also automate adverts or cross-promotions, too, through it’s dynamic ad capabilities. This means you can easily add up-to-date and relevant ads to the beginning and end of all of your existing episodes.

They also offer the option to add chapter markers. This gives listeners the ability to quickly navigate through an episode to review the content. Great for learning shows, in particular!

Buzzsprout Pricing

You need one paid account per podcast, and pricing is based on how much you upload, every month. You can upload two hours of content per month for free, but episodes are deleted after 90 days. Their paid plans store your episodes so long as your account is active, priced at $12/month (3hrs), $18/month (6hrs), and $24/month (12hrs).

Visit Buzzsprout

Podbean

Podbean have made huge strides in recent years to provide a range of brilliant tools to help Podcasters grow and monetise their shows. Their hosting is great quality, and can be easily tied in with their sponsorship marketplace, their dynamic ad insertion and their premium content service.

Podbean Pricing

Their flagship plan is the $14 per month (or $9 per month if paid annually) ‘Unlimited Audio Plan’, which would suit most podcasters. From there, you can upgrade for extra design options, their Podads and Patron programmes.

Read our full Podbean Monetisation Guide here for more info.

Podbean Special Offers

Get a month’s free hosting with Podbean when you sign up using the coupon code podcraft

Visit Podbean

RedCircle

RedCircle promises unlimited storage to host your podcast, and supports running multiple shows. Their features include the ability to take donations, subscriptions to premium content, cross-promotion with other RedCircle podcasters, dynamic ads, and YouTube distribution.

RedCircle Pricing

RedCircle has a free tier, which includes unlimited storage, exclusive content, and the ability to take donations. Upgrading to their $20 a month Growth plan though (annual savings are available), will let you host unlimited podcasts (actual shows, not episodes), get advanced statistics, and ad-free webpages.

Visit RedCircle

Spreaker

Spreaker is a podcasting platform that offers a lot more tools than most, with apps for live broadcasting, offline recording and some parts of production. You can see more about them, and other options, in our best podcast-making apps article.

Spreaker have a great distribution platform, which publishes you to all of the main directories without leaving the Spreaker platform. Finally, they have a good monetisation option in the form of dynamic ads insertion, if you’re happy to outsource the ad content.

Spreaker Pricing

Spreaker has a free tie, though opting for the $20 monthly plan gets you advanced stats, enhanced private podcasts, in-app support, and more.

Visit Spreaker

Blubrry

Blubrry have been part of the podcasting world since the early days, providing quality hosting to tens of thousands of users. They’re also well known for their excellent Powerpress plugin which allows anyone to run a podcast from their own website. You can learn how to set up Powerpress or a new podcast website here.

Blubrry were one of the first independent podcast hosting services to be given IAB certification, meaning they comply with official podcast measurement guidelines. That can be a help if you’re looking for sponsorship.

Blubrry doesn’t alter your uploaded files in any way.

Blubrry Pricing

If your show is on the short side, you might get away with their $12/month plan, for 125MB of uploads every month. Otherwise, their $20/month 400MB storage plan should suit longer shows.

Blubrry Special Offers

Get a month’s free hosting with Blubrry when you sign up using the coupon code: podcraft

Visit BluBrry

Libsyn

Libsyn is one of the old-guard of the podcast hosting world – similar to Blubrry, serving tens of thousands of happy customers, with a quality, reliable and extremely knowledgeable service.

Libsyn pride themselves on empowering you to be found anywhere that podcasts are consumed, and with their Destinations you can publish to any day/time in the future to the minute to each directory, independently of each other.

Also, what you upload is what your listener downloads. They don’t change your files at all – though they do provide tools to add metadata to your episodes if you choose to.

Libsyn Pricing

Libsyn starts at $5 a month for 162MB of uploads per month (approx three hours).  Their 324MB plan is more suitable for most weekly podcasters, though, and runs at $15 per month.

Libsyn is also well known for its Enterprise offerings, catering to professional podcasters, podcast networks, celebrities, government agencies, and big media companies. You’ll have to get in touch to get a quote based on what exactly you’re looking to do.

Libsyn Special Offers

Get a month’s free hosting with Libsyn when you sign up using the coupon code podhost

Visit Libsyn

Podcast.co

Podcast.co is a company, like their name, that aims to make things as simple as possible. They offer a platform with lovely design and great ease of use, including all the standard tools you’d expect in your hosting.

One unique feature is that Podcast.co also offers launch, growth and production services. So, if you think you’ll need extra help at any stage, you can add this on to your package.

Finally, they also offer a private podcasting service, but only on the $49 package and upwards. If you’re looking to do a members-only or internal team podcast, though, it could be a nice add-on.

Podcast.co Pricing

Podcast.co follows the ‘monthly downloads’ model and starts at $19 per month and 15,000 downloads. That ramps up to $49 for 75k downloads and $99 for 200k. Podcasts.co now offers unlimited podcast feeds on all tiers.

Visit Podcast.co

Acast

Acast is a well-known podcast hosting platform with some handy monetisation, promotion, and transcription features.

Acast’s interface is clear, clean, and straightforward. They offer embeddable podcast players and snippets which make it easy to promote your show. On top of that, you can add dynamically inserted adverts into your episodes, too!

Acast Pricing

Acast offers a free tier with all the basics. Unlimited uploads, basic analytics and a basic podcast website.

The $25 a month “Influencer” tier offers advanced analytics & website, integration with Patreon, as well as other monetization options.

On Acast’s $ 40-a-month “Ace” tier, you get transcriptions, along with professional workshops, more customer support, and team and network management.

You can save on the $25 and $40 monthly payments by paying annually.

Visit Acast

Podcast Websites

Podcast Websites is a service built on the Captivate podcast hosting platform I mentioned above. It’s the highest-priced product here at $97 per month (or $77 annually), but it sets you up with what amounts to your own self-hosted WordPress website, equipped with a range of really powerful plugins to help you engage your listeners and grow your show. If you want to run a powerful, customisable podcast website, but you’d like someone else to take care of it, Podcast Websites could be well worth the extra cost.

Podcast Websites Pricing

Podcast Websites likes to keep it simple, with just one unlimited premium tier, at a monthly cost of $97. But, you can pay annually, at $77 per month to save $240 over the year.

Podcast Websites Special Offers

Use our coupon code – HOSTME – to get $10 OFF the monthly cost for life.

Visit Podcast Websites

Simplecast

Simplecast markets itself as “the modern independent podcast hosting and analytics platform”. They offer great stats and sharing options for podcasters, giving you the tools to help you grow your show and to track the progress of that growth.

File-wise, Simplecast will re-encode MP3s that are over 128kbps to that bitrate, but they won’t alter anything uploaded at a rate of 128kbps or lower. Stereo/mono encoding is kept as-is at all times. If you’d really like to run your podcast at a higher bitrate though, they’re happy to discuss that with you.

Simplecast Pricing

You can run an account from $15 a month, which puts a soft limit of 20,000 total monthly downloads on your show. You can upgrade to their 50,000 package for $35 a month, or their 120,000 package for $85 a month. Discounts are available when paying annually.

Simplecast Special Offers

Get 50% off your first two months on Simplecast when you subscribe with the promo code ONSIMPLECAST.

Visit Simplecast

Ausha

French podcast hosting platform Ausha has recently expanded to the US and is now IAB Tech Lab Podcast Measurement 2.1 certified. Founded in 2018, they had become the leader in hosting and broadcasting native podcasts in France by the beginning of 2020.

Ausha Pricing

Their “Launch” tier costs $156 a year or $15 when billed monthly. This gives you unlimited storage, episodes, and downloads, along with a newsletter feature of up to 1000 contacts. If you upgrade to their “Boost” tier ($35/month, annual savings available) you can get 5000 newsletter contacts and distribute to YouTube.

Visit Ausha

CoHost – Podcast Hosting for Brands & Agencies

CoHost is built specifically for brands and agencies to better measure the impact of branded podcasts. Their primary focus is on providing valuable, actionable data that helps a brand better understand what is and isn’t working in their audio efforts.

CoHost Pricing

CoHost has launched with a $59 package, but if you’re an agency or network, they’ll create a custom, discounted rate depending on the number of shows you’re looking to onboard. Get in touch with their team for a demo and to discuss pricing! 

Visit CoHost

Free Podcast Hosting: Is it a Good Idea?

The eternal question! Yes, there can be a place for free podcast hosting, as long as you know the downsides and it suits the stage you’re at.

Using a free hosting platform can be a decent way to test the waters when you’re starting out. Podcasting isn’t for everyone, after all, so being able to try out the medium for a month or more, for free, can be nice.

But, you know what they say – if you’re not paying, then you’re the product. The upside is obviously saving some money. But, here are the downsides:

• Often adds advertising to your show, for the hosting co. or others.
• May add advertising to your podcast website, or players
• Options for analytics or customisation tend to be limited
• You may give up a lot of control (eg. Anchor owning your feed on Apple Podcasts.)
• Free podcast hosts may struggle to monetise. Historically we’ve seen them change their approach rapidly or go out of business.
• Support can be limited
• Free hosting has created some podcast piracy issues

The upsides of paying for podcast hosting are huge, such as features to grow your show, full ownership over your feed and content, detailed analytics, reliable support, and all the other things we’ve talked about in the recommendations above.

But, there are four free options, which can be a good starter – as I said, to test the waters – and that’s Podbean, Spreaker, RedCircle and Buzzsprout. Plus, there’s Spotify for Podcasters, which I don’t necessarily recommend, but I’ll let you know why, below.

Podbean’s Free Podcast Hosting

Podbean‘s free package has the following limits:

• 5 hours of audio, maximum, forever
• 100GB monthly bandwidth

And that’s it! This is interesting because it means that you could run short episodes for a few months, inside that limit. Let’s say 15 episodes of 20 minutes each.

If you decide, at that point, that you don’t like it, you just stop. But, because of the limits here, your show is still available, forever.

RedCircle’s Free Podcast Hosting

RedCircle have a great free tier which lets you host one podcast with unlimited storage and distribution. Instead of charging a fee upfront, they provide tools for podcasters to earn revenue and then take a cut if/when they do. You can learn more about this in our dedicated RedCircle review.

Buzzsprout’s Free Podcast Hosting

Buzzsprout offers a free package, with the following conditions:

• You can upload up to 2hrs of audio each month
  (enough for a weekly 30min show).
• But episodes go offline after three months of publishing

The 3-month episode shutdown means it’s not a viable option for running a long-term podcast. You’ll want your back catalogue available permanently.

But this works as a great free trial for Buzzsprout, and can help you decide if you want to keep going with them and sign up to their $12-per-month plan.

Spotify for Podcasters’ Free Podcast Hosting

Spotify for Podcasters (Anchor) is the big dog of free podcast hosting. Their platform has made it easy and accessible for ‘toe-dippers’ trying podcasting out to see if it’s for them or not.

The downside of this is that it has created a lot of ‘one-episode then gone’ clutter in the podcasting realm. That said, almost half of the podcasters we surveyed said they didn’t care about this (though a third of them did). The Podcast Index also re-evaluated what they considered to be a valid podcast, too, as their total number was grossly inflated by a lot of 20-second “hey, is this thing on?” shows.

Of course, if you’re simply curious about podcasting then none of this will matter much to you. But if you want to test the water with free podcast hosting on a platform that can grow with you, then opt for RedCircle, Spreaker, or Podbean.

Spreaker’s Free Podcast Hosting

Spreaker have a decent free plan if you only want to run a single podcast. You’ll get up to 6 months’ worth of basic stats. Upgrading to their paid tier will give you access to features like enhanced private podcasting, Apple Podcasts subscriptions, advanced statistics, and in-app support.

Podcast Hosting FAQs

If you’re still deciding, here are a few questions you might have about finding the best podcast hosting.

What is Podcast Hosting?

Podcast hosting does two things. First, it’s the place on the web where you upload your podcast episodes. Second, it generates the RSS feed which you submit to listening platforms – eg. Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc – and which allows people to subscribe to your show.

Podcast hosting is generally a subscription service. You sign up for a monthly fee, and you can upload your new episode files every week. There are a bunch of extra features that come with hosting, such as stats, marketing tools, podcast websites and more, but the basic principle is that it’s a place to put your audio files.

Go Deeper: What is a podcast host, and why do I need one?

How Do I Choose the Best Podcast Host?

Good question! There isn’t a one-size-fits-all, so it’s worth going through the strengths and weaknesses of the best in the business.

For this roundup, we’ve run through all of our experiences with every host and drawn thoughts from many others we know and trust. Our top picks are all hosts that we actively use, either with our own shows or with other shows we work on. And, the ‘best of the rest’ are all hosting platforms we’ve at least used in the past.

Can I Host My Podcast on My Website?

The short answer is: no. With caveats. It’s all about bandwidth. Audio files can be pretty big: let’s say 30mb for an average kind of episode. Then, if you do well, you might get a few thousand downloads of your new episodes, every week. 3000 x 30mb is nearly 100,000MB per week, not counting downloads of your back catalogue too.

While most web hosts claim they run unlimited, unmetered bandwidth, they generally have fair use policies that disallow this volume. So, it’s common for self-hosting podcasters to be kicked off their hosting, or forced to upgrade.

Worth knowing, that you can still treat your main website as the home of your podcast (maybe a category within it), but you’ll upload audio files to the podcast host, and then embed the player on your own episode blog posts.

Remember, you do get a basic website as standard with your podcast hosting account (some of them look pretty good, too), and you can even get custom domains to point to them. For some, this is a quick and easy alternative to setting up a WordPress site.

Go Deeper: Can I just host my podcast on my website?

How Does Podcast Hosting Storage and Bandwidth Work?

It depends on who you opt for. But there are two common ways of working.

The first is that a hosting provider will charge you a monthly fee and limit the amount of content you can upload that month. BUT, you could suddenly become the most famous person on the planet and get a billion downloads the next day, and you’d still be golden.

The second is that a hosting provider will charge you a monthly fee and you can upload as much content as you like. BUT, there will be a cap on how many times it can be downloaded.

A caveat on this is that, firstly, the download ‘cap’ number is usually set very high. Far higher than the average new podcaster is going to have to worry about hitting any time soon (and if they do, what a nice worry to have, eh?).

Secondly, no decent podcast hosting platform is likely to cut you off the minute you reached such a limit. Instead, they’ll tend to reach out to you to discuss upgrades to your account. If you’re doing really well, they will want to take good care of you!

Podcast Host Pricing: Is It Better to Be Charged for Uploads or Downloads?

The promise of “unlimited bandwidth” can be confusing, because it might mean uploads, downloads, or both.

But the good news is that few podcasters need to worry about upload or download limits in their podcast hosting account.

Libsyn is a host that charges by uploads. Their lowest tier of $5 a month still allows for around three hours of monthly storage to be added. So if you’re running a weekly show of 30-45mins, you should be totally fine. They don’t put any cap on downloads either.

If we take Captivate, by contrast, you have unlimited storage space. You can host as many podcasts and publish as many episodes as you like for $19 a month. Captivate charges based on downloads, so your limit here is 30,000 per month, spread across all of your shows and episodes.

30,000 monthly downloads is massive. Even if you have a few popular shows with big back catalogues, they might not quite hit that lofty number.

In summary, upload or download limits probably aren’t a reason to choose one particular podcast hosting provider over another.

Does Hosting Handle Podcast Distribution?

Not directly, but most of the good hosts give you a lot of help when it comes to distributing your podcast. For example, both Captivate and Transistor have a podcast distribution page for every show you host with them.

These pages give direct links to the top podcast directories, so you can list easily. And, in some cases, they can submit for you. Captivate and Transistor registers your show on Spotify with one click. They’ll also help you submit to Apple, whilst Google Podcasts just finds you automatically (that’s what they do, after all!).

Once you have your podcast hosting set up, head over here for our complete podcast distribution guide to make sure your podcast gets found by potential listeners.

Go Deeper: Complete Guide to Podcast Distribution

Can I Upload Video Podcasts to My Podcast Host?

Video podcasts can be confusing. The vast majority of podcasters who run a video component to their show will upload their episodes to YouTube, and a YouTube channel technically isn’t a podcast feed.

That said, YouTube has now rolled out a dedicated “podcasts” section to US-based users, so things are changing. But video podcasting in the technical sense (where you can subscribe to shows inside many major listening platforms) is a bit more niche.

Podbean is a podcast host that lets you upload videos and run a video podcast. Whether you should run a video show alongside the audio version is another matter. Some argue that this can split your downloads and subscribers over two different content streams, and this can affect your “searchability” in podcast apps.

As it stands, it’s probably best just to create a YouTube channel and upload your video episodes there. Whether YouTube’s official venture into podcasting comes to anything or not is irrelevant. Tonnes of people are “listening to podcasts” on there, even if that’s often not technically correct.

Do Podcast Hosting Providers Offer Transcriptions?

Some podcast hosts have advanced features where they can auto-generate transcripts of your episodes for you. Alitu and Castos do this.

Many other hosting providers will provide a space to upload or copy in transcriptions, but you’ll need to use another service to create them. Here’s how and where to get your podcast transcribed.

Which Hosting Provider Has the Best Embeddable Podcast Player?

Your podcast hosting provider will offer an embeddable player for your episodes. This means you can add them to your website and blog posts.

Most of these players are pretty customisable in terms of their colours, and the buttons you can add to them. There are a lot of nice attractive options out there these days, too. Check out our full guide to podcast players right here.

Do Hosting Providers Have Podcast Production Tools?

Alitu is one of the few “all-in-one” services that has both podcast hosting and editing and production built-in. It’s important to differentiate between “editing” and “production” because the latter can be used as a term to describe enhancing your audio, but not necessarily chopping out mistakes and unwanted segments.

Captivate and Buzzsprout are two podcast hosts offering mastering tools that fall into the “production” bracket. These can help sharpen up the sound of your uploaded files. But if you’re looking for full editing and production options, opt for Alitu or Spotify for Podcasters.

Can I Have Separate Hosting Accounts for Team Members?

If you have a team of people working on your show then some hosting providers give you the ability to have individual logins and accounts for each one. The most notable options here are Captivate and Transistor.

Are Podcast Hosting Sites the Same as Podcast Networks?

No, in almost all instances, they are different things. Some podcast networks may have criteria that their podcasts are hosted on a particular platform, but your host is your host, and your network (if you are on one) is your network.

Many hosting providers do have special tools and features allowing you to create and run a full podcast network on their platform. Notably, Libsyn and Captivate.

What’s the Best Podcasting Hosting for You & Your Content?

Loads of information there, but hopefully that’s helped you to find a service that looks like a great fit for your show. Or, at the very least, helped you to whittle all the options down to a shortlist! Here, again, are our top choices for podcast hosting solutions right now:

If you’re looking for growth tools, private pods, network features & a great site:

Choose Captivate

If you’d like recording, editing, and hosting all in one place:

Choose Alitu

If you’re a native Italian or Spanish speaker, or, are looking for a lower subscription cost without a reduction in quality:

Choose RSS.com

If you’re looking for simplicity & automation:

Choose Castos

If you’d like private podcasting feeds & a variety of players:

Choose Transistor

Let’s face it: There are few tasks AI can’t do, and it’s only going to get better. But there’s one thing it’ll never replicate, and that’s living human experience.

On Season 20 of Podcraft, we wanted to build the content around the hard-won experience of some of the best independent podcasters on the planet. We’re talking well over a century of combined experience, thousands of episodes, and millions of downloads. There’s so much wisdom in the following episodes. And the good news is that you can listen to them freely, at your own convenience, and as many times as you like.

We’ll cover every aspect of podcasting, from workflows and pitfalls to promotion and monetisation. If there’s something to be learned, then our indiepod legends have lived it. And, over the next eight episodes, they’re going to be your mentors!

From Doubt to Determination: Pushing Through the Podcasting Dip #1

What keeps successful podcasters going when others around them are quitting? A lot of it has to do with why they started in the first place.

Full Shownotes: From doubt to determination

How Consistency Leads to Podcasting Success #2

Almost all the benefits of podcasting stem from one thing – and that’s consistency. Meet the podcasters reaping the rewards of playing the long game.

Full Shownotes: How consistency leads to success

Balancing Time, Workflow, & Content. The Nuts & Bolts of Podcasting #3

We bring you real-world examples of how long it actually takes to run a successful podcast, including seasonal and content-stacking formats.

Full Shownotes: Balancing time, workflow & content

Meet Our Indiepod Legends

Here’s a rundown on all of the amazing Indie Podcasters involved in this series. Each and every one of them has succeeded in their podcasting endeavours in their own way, and we’ve learned so much from them over this season.

“The world’s a big place. Eight billion people is a lot of people. More than likely, you’re not the only one feeling a thing or thinking a certain thing. There’s a lot of other people out there that probably have the same opinion or idea or need or want.”

Gabe – Board Game Design Lab

“I feel like it’s just so easy to compare yourself, especially when you’re trying to push yourself forward. Of course you want to look around and see, like, okay, where is the bar? But also, it’s not about other people running their race at all. If you get too focused on that stuff, I think you end up doing a bunch of stuff that’s not productive. And we definitely did a lot of that.”

Alana & Samra – She Well Read

“I remember getting a rejection and being absolutely sure that not only did they reject my story, but they put my story up on the wall as a guide of what not to buy and never to buy from this author. And even though feeling all of that, I knew it wasn’t reality. I didn’t set out to chronicle my rising career because I didn’t know I would have one, but I just wanted to let people know… look, it sucks. I’m experiencing it too. It’s okay.”

Mur – I Should Be Writing

“I just thought, you know what? I can’t find this podcast. But I still think it would be a really good thing for people to have. So I’m going to start it myself.”

Vicki – Bring Your Product Idea to Life

“A lot of my potential clients would go back and listen to podcast episodes before hiring me for social media. So, I started talking about my strategies and my skills and interviewing other people in the space. It really just started off as a curious way to create content outside of YouTube. And then I completely put all of my energy into my podcast. Now, it’s just my favourite medium.”

Andrea – The Savvy Social Podcast

“Make the episode good. That’s what you need to start with: Why it should exist and who is it going to serve? Who is it going to help? What’s the point of it?”

Daren – The One Percent Better Runner

“Yes, we weren’t the first Eurovision podcast, but we were probably the first Eurovision podcast that reached out to do feature-length interviews with previous artists and contestants. We were the first ones that kind of dove a bit deeper into kind of the journalism and the news side of things as well. And we’ve evolved the podcast more into that direction as we’ve gone on.”

Rob & James – The Euro Trip

“The thing that made it the easiest for me to be consistent is to do themed seasons. Not to put the pressure on myself to produce a new episode every week or every month, but really thinking about a season, making a plan for ten episodes that are all somehow related and then just producing those, and then that way the listeners know that they will get ten episodes and then they’ll have to wait again. I’m setting up the expectation for that to be the case so they’re not disappointed, and it makes it more manageable for me…”

Kathi – Wild for Scotland

“I learned so much in my first two or three episodes from just listening and being self-critical. Sometimes, feedback from different sources, and you suddenly think, oh gosh, I shouldn’t be doing that at the end of the episode, or I shouldn’t be doing that at the beginning, or I should change the way I introduce myself or any number of things that you want to fine-tune. And if you’ve gone ahead before you go live with, and you’ve got twelve episodes in the can, then you’re stuck with whatever mistake you’ve made.”

Paul – Fighting Through

“The goal of the show is for me to creatively express myself. A byproduct of that just so happens to be that I can bring other people along with the content that I am interested in.”

dCarrie – Travel N Sh!t

“I started interviewing bartenders, how they got where they did, and how someone went from working in the back bar or working in a kitchen to becoming a really famous bartender, where they’re winning awards. That journey really interested me, so I just thought, I’m interested in it, someone else might be interested in it. So let’s just go crazy.”

Susan – Lush Life

“But all I know is I have gained traction, and I like to believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that I do editing and I try to make my program tight. So, yes, that is another common mistake that I see new podcasters make – to think that they could just throw things out there without editing.”

Paul – The Joy of Cruising

And despite this, awards promotion still dominates a lot of the podcast newsletters (I’ll admit, I gloss over those bits, too). 

We surveyed 1,005 independent podcasters to find out how engaged they are with the awards world, and how they think the programs could be improved.

Do Indies Get Involved in Podcast Awards? 

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the number of independent podcasters who told us they’d submitted their podcast for an award was really low.

Just 8% of the 1000+ podcasters we surveyed said they’d submitted their show for an award at some point in its history.

Side note: it’s worth mentioning that many of our readers (and therefore respondents to the survey) are early-stage or beginner podcasters, so this is likely to have an impact on the numbers being so low.

However, what was really interesting about the data was this: Of those podcasters who said they had submitted their show for an award, 66% got past the submission stage to get either a nomination or win.

I think a lot of creators will be surprised by that result. Could this mean your chances of winning a podcast award are higher than you think? Clearly, the content is good enough to win.

Which begs the question: what puts so many podcasters off submitting their podcast for awards in the first place?

Why Podcasters Don’t Enter Awards

For the second part of our survey, we asked respondents to tell us what specific factors or barriers put them off entering their shows in podcast awards. Here’s what they told us.

Some award entry fees are too high

There’s no dancing around the fact that award submissions are a costly business. And yes, there are some podcast awards that don’t charge you to enter, but most do. This makes them inaccessible to a lot of independent podcasters – particularly those who don’t monetize their show.

Some companies likely even use the entry fees to discourage smaller podcasts from applying. For example, a single submission to the Webby’s costs between $175-500. Presumably, raising the financial barrier means judges have fewer submissions to get through and (they think) higher standards – which isn’t the case.

Last year, the British Podcast Awards also came under fire when it announced there would be a £318 ticket fee just to attend the event. If you pay the entry fee and make the shortlist, it’s a major blow to be told you need to shell out £300 to receive your award. It’s hardly surprising that a lot of indies feel these awards ceremonies aren’t created for them.

It’s worth mentioning that the Independent Podcast Awards only charges £30 for your first entry (£5 for any additional entries) and they have a couple of categories that are free to enter too. Submissions are open until May 31st.

Time-consuming application processes

When you ask to be judged on podcast content you’ve already created, you’d be forgiven for thinking the hard work is done. But entering podcast awards tends to come with a fair bit of admin as well as a fee.

Most awards will ask you to pitch your podcast and submit a series of audio clips that demonstrate the best of your show. But choosing short clips that do your content justice isn’t easy, and some awards as for more. One Alitu user recently reached out for support on how to edit together video clips for a reel they were making for an awards submission (a video reel! For a podcast award!).

As one survey respondent put it: “While it’s seemingly good to win an award, the value of winning vs. the investment in the application is a question.”

Clearly, the investment involves a lot of your time and effort as well as your cash. Very few independent podcasters who aren’t in a position to make their podcast their full-time job have much of this to spare.

They think awards don’t favour independent podcasters 

The most common thread amongst the survey responses we got was that a lot of creators don’t see the point in entering podcast awards. They think their chances of success are so low when up against the big mainstream players, that there’s no point in even trying.

“If you’re a small independent, what chance do you have going up against “celebrity” podcasts?” one survey respondent said.

Another podcaster told us:

“As far as I can see, [awards aren’t] dominated by “indie” podcasters but the people I call the “refugees from the BBC” or other big media organisations who seem to dominate the audio space.”

“Podcasting is a two-tier system: the big guys & everyone else! Using Pareto’s Law aka the 80/20 rule, you can guarantee at least 80% of podcasters are making nothing from their podcast but are expected to compete against massive shows with massive budgets. I am just not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. Maybe that money for entry fees may be better invested in buying advertising, to get listeners, that would in turn attract sponsors, who may pay cash?“

Clayton M Coke FRSA, Creator & Host of The Cashflow Show

They don’t know where to start 

As I mentioned earlier, some of our website readers who took the survey are beginner podcasters who are just getting started. This is likely why we had a lot of responses along the lines of “I don’t know where to apply for an award” or “never thought to submit”.

But there were also responses that were clearly from seasoned podcasters who also felt in the dark about the entry process.

One podcaster said they wouldn’t “know how to choose the material for submission.” Another said: “I don’t have time to submit my podcasts for awards, or even research which awards are available.”

While a lot of the big-name podcasts will have their own producers to navigate the award submission process for them, indies need to handle everything themselves, and knowing where to start is clearly a barrier for many.

The good news is, Lindsay put together a handy list of podcast awards that includes fees, deadlines and what’s involved in the process.

Podcasters want fairer award criteria 

Unsurprisingly, some independent podcasters don’t want to spend time on award submissions because they know the judgment criteria often work against them.

There was talk of it being unfair that some of the biggest shows with huge budgets and marketing teams being allowed to enter alongside independents as it’s almost impossible to compete. One podcaster suggested they “exclude exclusives, and branded content” to keep podcast awards focused on“free-range RSS only.”

Another respondent spoke about the “big methodological problems” involved in awards programs. These are present even when they try to be fairer by relying on listener votes instead of judge panels.

They said:

“Industry panel votes will tend to be quite insular, understandably. Podcasting is a huge and complex global landscape after all. Listener voting is fine in principle, but it’s going to be dominated by big shows, or by medium shows begging audiences to vote. Audience figures have some merit, but data consistency is barely a thing: Downloads, streams, time spent listening, completion, churn vs loyalty. If we had real comparable data, we could give awards for big start numbers, completion, per listener minutes, loyalty, etc.”

Podcasters care what listeners think, not judges

And finally, I’ll end with a quote that I think will resonate with a lot of independent creators:

“It’s fun to win awards, give speeches, and get respect from peers, but that’s not really why most people start podcasts. The respect of listeners is what we value most (or should), and as many of us were listeners first and remain dedicated listeners, we feel this respect and affection towards our favourite hosts, and it is a treasure.” 

It seems a shame that some podcasters consider respect from listeners and award recognition as mutually exclusive.

Make Awards More Indie-Friendly

The main message here is for awards organizers more than creators: Make awards programs more accessible to independent creators.

The low barrier to entry in podcasting is one of the main things that makes the medium so special. Therefore, it seems contra what podcasting is about to make it difficult for indies to participate in awards.

Our survey shows the success rate is high amongst those indies who do enter their podcasts for awards, so the content is clearly good enough to win. But long, difficult applications and high fees are keeping excellent content from getting the recognition it deserves.

If there’s one thing that independent podcasters can take from this survey, it’s this: your content is good enough.

If you need some guidance in choosing which awards to apply to, take a look at this guide to the best podcast awards in 2024.

It’s all well and good to say, “Go out there and create lots of episodes,” when you might be intimidated by the idea of creating just one.

So, this time around, we’re going to explore the nuts and bolts of timeframes, workflows, and content creation. Here, you’ll get real-world examples of how long it actually takes to run a successful podcast, and how it can exist alongside other channels, such as blogging, social media, and video.

Transcription: Balancing Time, Workflow, & Content

Meet Our Indiepod Legends

“I try to be ahead as much as possible ahead of schedule, especially having a toddler and she’s in daycare now. The toddler colds, they get me down and out. And there’s been a few episodes where I just powered through, but most of the time, if I’m not feeling well, I don’t wanna record episode. And so I make sure that I’m ahead enough of schedule to allow for that flexibility, and that helps keep me going.”

Andrea – The Savvy Social Podcast

“I could never interview a lot of people in one day. In fact, even two in a week is a little just taxing for me with everything that I do. And I really do a lot of research on the person beforehand, and my brain can only handle, I think, one, at least one a week.”

Susan – Lush Life

“Obviously, you want to aim for the stars, but you do really have to rein it in sometimes. And we definitely have. I’m sure we’ve had grand ideas and had to bring them back down to earth a little bit because we know it’s just not achievable with what else we’ve got going on.”

James – The Euro Trip

“A lot of my episodes are solo, but I also have a lot of really great guest episodes. And I find that the guest episodes are actually easier because it’s so much easier to have a conversation with somebody than it is to talk to myself for an hour. And I also find that I would prefer to offer another voice or even just alternative views on a topic for my audience.”

dCarrie – Travel N Sh!t

“But now, because I bring in feedback from listeners, it’s become more of a magazine and there’s stuff coming from all over the place that I’ve got to feed in, and that all takes time to curate and put into order.”

Paul – Fighting Through

“It’s way easier to start something and do a whole bunch of other things. Why when you make a t-shirt, does it cost $150 for one t-shirt, and then it’s $25 if you order 50 t-shirts? Because they set up the whole printing press. It’s someone’s time and resources. So you might as well do one thing that you have your brain set on in that time and then try to knock out, if you can, multiple episodes, versus the other way, which I used to do, trying to do everything all at the same time.”

Daren – The One Percent Better Runner

“I’ve gone through phases of this is what I put out. And if I worried too much more about it, it probably wouldn’t come out at all. So this is what you get.”

Mur – I Should Be Writing

“So now the blog and the podcast kind of are more linked together in the way that if I do a podcast episode that would make a good blog post, I’d also do a blog version of that episode.”

Vicki – Bring Your Product Idea to Life

“A studio session is usually like an hour planning. We meet once a week so that’s four weeks in a month. Everything we do outside of our meetings. I’d factor in another 10 hours for that. Editing, it takes me, depending on how long the episode is, I’d say like two-ish hours to edit. So, I’d say like maybe 20 hours for an episode.”

Alana – She Well Read

“But all I know is I have gained traction, and I like to believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that I do editing and I try to make my program tight. So, yes, that is another common mistake that I see new podcasters make – to think that they could just throw things out there without editing.”

Paul – The Joy of Cruising

“The thing that made it the easiest for me to be consistent is to do themed seasons. Not to put the pressure on myself to produce a new episode every week or every month, but really thinking about a season, making a plan for ten episodes that are all somehow related and then just producing those, and then that way the listeners know that they will get ten episodes and then they’ll have to wait again. I’m setting up the expectation for that to be the case so they’re not disappointed, and it makes it more manageable for me…”

Kathi – Wild for Scotland

How Consistency Leads to Podcasting Success

Let’s get specific: I’m looking closely at those tools that offer a similar experience to Descript. And that means text-based editing in particular. What other tools offer good text-based editing for podcasters?  

So, let’s dig in: Does Descript still look like a good option for podcast editing? And does it still lead the way in transcription-based editing? Here we go!

The Strengths and Weaknesses of Descript

I remember when Descript first came out, and the draw of text-based editing. I mean, if it works, you can save loads of time! Skim through that transcript, find the right sections to trim, pick out those crutch words, and spot highlights really easily.

I tried it out on Podcraft to see how good it was, but it was still pretty early. The cuts were quite harsh, and the transcript accuracy was still a little low. That’s maybe just me, though. One of the downsides of being Scottish: transcription services took a long time to figure out how to train on our accents!

But now (especially in the age of AI tools!), auto-generated transcripts are really good!  

That applies to every transcript-based editor, though, not Descript alone. So, text-based editing, by itself, isn’t really a strength for Descript any longer. Plenty of the Descript alternatives can do this just as well. So, let’s concentrate on the unique features of each.  

One oft-talked-about USP in Descript is its overdub feature. This is an AI-powered tool which can replicate your voice. So, if you find yourself editing out an errant sentence but really wish you’d said something else instead, you can have Descript create it for you! Write in the sentence, and Descript will simulate your voice, filling that gap.

The results aren’t perfect, but they are very good, and it’s ideal for small corrections. Be aware you need a higher tier Descript subscription to use this to the full. Otherwise, you’re limited to their 1000-word vocab. And most likely, you’ll use at least a few words outside of that list, as Lindsay did in this example…

Descript Strengths

• Well-developed, powerful interface for text-based editing. 
• Easily navigate your entire recording, and removal of filler words
• Overdub feature with AI-generated voice to help you fix mistakes
• “Studio sound” feature to upgrade the audio quality of your recording
• Good video production features and templates, with extra such as AI assisted eye tracking.

Descript Weaknesses

• The full Descript experience is currently only available in a downloaded app, rather than web based, which ties you down to one computer and means handling your own files. Not a huge deal, just sometimes inconvenient. (Editor’s note: this is changing, update below!)
• Doesn’t include native call recording, although it does integrate closely with recently acquired Squadcast. (More on this below)
• Refining text-based edits can be quite fiddly. It’s possible, but the waveform and the edit handles are very small and can be hard to work with.
• Not specifically podcaster-focussed, Descript serves a range of use cases, and it can feel cluttered in-app, or a higher learning curve for the average podcaster.

A couple of qualifications for the weaknesses above:

First, Descript has just launched a beta version of it’s own web-app (Autumn 2023). It’s still missing some features of the full Descript app (eg. recording, direct export, auto-levelling). We’ll make sure to update this when it’s fully released.

Secondly, the Squadcast integration is also likely to smooth itself out (and build directly in) over time, so keep your eyes peeled if truly integrated recording is important to you.

Pricing

• Free: 1hr of transcription / editing per month.
• $15 / month / editor: 10 hours of transcription/editing
• $30 / month / editor: 30 hours of transcription/editing

So, Descript is a great tool with a few weaknesses to consider. But is it the best ‘Podcast Maker’ for you? 

Well, let’s dig into some of the best Descript alternatives when it comes to podcast production and text-based audio editing. 

Alitu: the All in One Podcast Maker

Alitu is a podcast maker app that focuses on offering an all-in-one solution for making your podcast in as easy and stress-free a manner as possible. 

Here’s a list of what Alitu offers:

• Call and solo recording
• Audio cleanup (noise reduction, levelling, eq)
• Audio editing, both text and waveform
• Automated removal of ums, ahs and fillers
• Add segments, theme music, transitions, fades
• Transcription for every episode
• Podcast hosting & distribution

So, theoretically, Alitu podcasters never have to use any other app when running their show. Descript offers audio cleanup, but not native call recording or podcast hosting. The hosting is a big deal, of course, since this is the one true essential in podcasting. Hosting is how you publish your show online, and then submit it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the other directories.

Here’s more on choosing podcast hosting if you need it!

Alitu also concentrates on minimalism and simplicity. This means the learning curve is near zero, and it automates a lot of the process. But the trade-off is that you give up some flexibility in how you make your show. For example, you can’t add background music over just part of a recording (although there are workarounds with their clip genie…) or add sound effects behind a voice. Descript does allow more powerful multitrack editing, if you plan to do a lot of voiceovers, effects or ambience music.

But, for the 90%+ of podcasters who just run a straightforward show with intro music, a few recordings, and an outro, it does a great job. 

Alitu allows for a lot of the ‘highly produced’ type polish through one of its most unique aspects: its episode builder. The episode builder is a block-based podcast interface which pieces together all your show’s parts. It adds your theme music and transitions automatically, and you can put together podcast opens, interview recordings, adverts (with background music!), sponsor reads, outros, and all the rest, right inside there. 

Alitu released its text-based editing in September 2023, which ties into its podcast-specific audio editor. You can skim-edit using the text and then review and refine the cuts quickly and simply on the standard audio timeline. 

Alitu Strengths

• Episode Builder: automatically add your theme music, transitions, and drag-and-drop add all your segments.
• All-in-one platform: everything in one place for an efficient price and slick workflow, including podcast hosting for publishing online, and to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the rest.
• Audio cleanup, to reduce background noise and enhance voice.
• Magic Filters to remove filler sounds (um! ah!) & silences
• Skim edit with text, then use the podcast-specific audio editor to review and refine cuts.

Alitu Weaknesses

• No video feed in call recording. Alitu is audio only. 
• No multitrack editing, so you can’t layer music upon voice or voice upon voice in more complex productions.
• All-in-one price, so if you already pay for separate recording or hosting tools, you may end up paying more.

Pricing

Alitu has a simple one-price policy:

• $38 per month for full access to recording, editing, transcripts and podcast hosting.

There are no limits on recording and editing and a 10hr limit on transcriptions per month. You get hosting up to 1000 downloads per month included (enough for most podcasters until you start to see a lot of traction) and industry-standard upgrade pricing from there.

So that you know, Alitu is run by The Podcast Host’s sister company, so we are related! But our team at thePodcastHost.com is committed to being fair and impartial in all the reviews we do, and our comparisons with Alitu are no different. 

Riverside.fm

Riverside started out as a call recording company, heavily leaning on video. They’re one of the best call-recording platforms out there, with a whole bunch of special features in that area, from social media production tools to AI clipping. 

But, in 2023, they also released their own text-based editing tool, built into Riverside.

If you’re a video producer, Riverside is a potent tool. This might be a video version of your podcast, it might be social media clips, or it could be an entirely different stream of content to promote your show on YouTube. The production studio offers some great options in terms of layouts and captions, and the AI clipping tool produces some good-looking results.

Equally, if you run an interview show, even audio-only, Riverside still has a lot going for it, and the text-based editing only adds to that.

Riverside are a company that’s known for fast innovation, and they’ll often release tools in a fairly basic form before developing them over time (e.g. the fact that their editing was released without a timeline zoom initially – made it very hard to make or refine those edits! That’s now fixed, though.)

The text-based editing they’ve released is very good, though. Highlighting and removing works well. You can click a word a little ahead of your edit and hit space to preview.

The main downside remains the ability to refine those cuts. You can zoom in on the timeline at the bottom and adjust the cut edges, but the waveform is so small that it’s hard to use it as a guide. A little fiddling can get you there, but both Descript and Alitu offer more detail to help refine those cuts.

But, if you’re producing a lot of video and like Riverside’s developing production features (AI clipping, etc.), then this could be the ideal option for you.

Riverside Strengths

• Video production tools, including layouts, captions, and AI clipping
• Video call recording: easy to use and top quality

Riverside Weaknesses

• Refining your text-based cuts is tricky due to the very small audio timeline and handles.

Pricing

Riverside has a range of pricing tiers to let you jump in at a price that suits you. Here’s what you get with each:

• Free: Allows you to record and export single-track video with a Riverside watermark and edit that recording before exporting with text.
• $19 per month: 5 Hours of recording. Text-edit and export those recordings in full-quality video, no watermark.
• $29 per month: As above, but 15 hours of recording and therefore editing, plus downloadable transcripts.

As of right now, these are the core ones worth considering, and I’ll be sure to update this article as the market develops.

It’s a fast-moving area, as AI opens up the world of fast, accurate and cheap transcripts, so expect a lot of existing podcasting tools to add this feature in in future!

In the meantime, if you’re looking for all of the editing options, outside of purely transcription-based editing, check out our article:

• Best Podcast Editing Software

And, if you’d like to chat with other like-minded podcasters about their experiences with text-based editing, hop into our IndiePod Community – it’d be brilliant to see you in there!