Avoid the Dangers of Free Media Hosts

You might be thinking, "what is so dangerous about a FREE service"? Well, it turns out free is not a good business model. Here is a list of companies that offered free media host that have gone out of business:

• Podshow/Mevio 8/2005 – 4/2014 (116 months – 38.8 million dollars spent)
• Podango 9/2006 – 12/2008 (27 Months)
• wildvoice.com 7/2006 – 7/2009 (36 months)
• mypodcasts.com 2007 – 2011 (estimated 48 months)
• Audiometric.io 11/ 2012 – 8/2014 (21 months before being purchased by panoply and taken off the market)
• Opinion Podcasting 11/2015-10/2017  (23 months)
• Zcat 1/2016 – 1/2019 (36 months)
• Whooshkaa 6/2016-5/2021 (53 months)
• Red Circle.com 4/2019 -
• Libsyn Studio 2/2022 - 12/2023 (10 months)
• Anchor - now Spotify for creators.

Of this list, my favorite was Podango. They gave their customers the time between Christmas and New years to move to a new host. You don't want to build your empire on a company that is not profitable.

The Best Podcast Website Configuration

For years I recommend Wordpress for hosting you site, then I found Podpage in 2020. I loved it so much, that I started working there as the head of podcasting in 2024. It's easy and powerful. 

Now Let's Look at Free Media Hosting For Your Podcast

As we go through this list you will see where they break the above rules.

Red Circle

Here’s what’s included in the Core Plan on RedCircle (their free tier): 

RedCircle Core Plan (Free) – Key Features

• Unlimited hosting — Store as many episodes as you want with no limits on storage, bandwidth, or downloads. 

• Host one podcast — You can only host a single show on the Core Plan. 

• Distribution to major platforms — RedCircle will distribute your podcast to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. (all hosts offer this)

• Monetization tools —

  • Donations from listeners (one-time or recurring)

  • Subscriptions / Exclusive Content for your paying supporters

  • RAP (RedCircle Ad Platform) — access to programmatic and host-read ads once you hit eligibility thresholds. 

• Standard analytics — Basic performance metrics to track your podcast growth. 

• Embeddable player — You can embed your podcast player on websites. 

• Basic stats dashboard — Includes download graphs, episode performance, etc., for insights into listenership. 

📌 Limitations of Core vs Paid Plans

• Only one podcast allowed (paid plans let you host unlimited shows). 

• More advanced analytics, cross-promotion marketplace, video-related tools, ad customization, and team seats are not included — those require Growth, Pro, or Enterprise plans. 

More Information

Buzz Sprout

Here’s what you get with a free account on Buzzsprout (their forever-free tier with limits):

Upload & Hosting

• Upload limit: up to 2 hours of audio per month. 

• Episode hosting: episodes are hosted in your account for 90 days before they are removed from your RSS feed and directories (older episodes expire). 

Podcast Tools

• Advanced statistics tracking how your episodes perform. 

• Unlimited team members — you can invite collaborators to your account. 

• Custom embed players to put episodes on your website/blog. 

 Distribution & Website

• Buzzsprout provides an RSS feed you can submit to directories like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

• You get a basic podcast landing page/website (though full features may require upgrade). 

More Information

RSS.com

Here are the features you get with the free podcast hosting plan on RSS.com (called the “Free – Local & Niche” plan):

Core Free Hosting Features

• Unlimited episodes – no limits on how many episodes you upload.

• Unlimited audio storage – no caps on your audio library size.

• RSS feed for your podcast – a standard feed you can submit to directories.

• Free podcast website – an automatically generated site for your show.

• Episode scheduling – schedule future releases in advance.

• Episode transcripts – transcripts are included.

• Promotion tools – built-in tools to help promote your podcast.

• Podcast analytics (last 90 days) – view performance stats for recent episodes.

• Automatic distribution to podcast apps – one-click publish to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more.

• Listener funding tools – accept support from listeners (such as donations or value-for-value payments).

• Location tagging – tag episodes with location information.

• Enhanced privacy and copyright protection – built-in protections for your content and contact info.

• Embeddable podcast player – embed your episodes on other websites.

• Customer support – support access is included even on the free plan.

Notes

• Generally limited to one podcast per account on the free tier.

• Analytics beyond 90 days and some advanced monetization or collaboration features are reserved for paid plans.

In short, the RSS.com free plan includes unlimited hosting along with the core publishing, distribution, analytics, and monetization tools needed to launch and run a podcast without a monthly fee.

More Information

Spotify For Creators

Spotify for Creators is an offering from the music surface. They are somewhat known as the "Walled Garden" as the "features" often only work in the Spotify (example, their "video hosting" only shows the video on the Spotify app, where others who use open RSS send the video to all the apps). 

They have released features only to have people jump on, and then later remove that option (example: "You can play music in your podcast" which was only after they approved the episode, and it was only able to be heard on the Spotify app and only by those with a paid subscription. Podcasters who wanted to play music jumped through the hoops only to see the program shut down a few months later.

Here are the main free features included with Spotify for Creators (formerly Anchor), owned by Spotify:

Core Free Hosting Features

• Unlimited hosting
  Upload unlimited episodes with no storage limits.

• Free distribution
  Automatic distribution to Spotify and easy submission to Apple Podcasts and other major directories.

• Monetization tools
  Access to listener support (where available) and ad monetization options once eligible (the threshold is high).

• Video podcast support
  Upload and distribute video podcasts to Spotify. While they say people are watching videos on Spotify, none of my friends are currently watching videos on Spotify. Are you?

• Basic analytics
  Track plays, audience size, demographics, and episode performance.

• Episode scheduling
  Schedule episodes to publish at a future date and time.

• Customizable podcast page on Spotify
  Add show descriptions, episode details, and branding.

• Embeddable web player
  Share episodes on your website or social media. All links will direct people back to your Spotify site (not yours).

While everyone is aware of Spotify, their name change from Spotify for Podcasters to Spotify for Creators is just another red flag that they don't really understand or care about podcastiner/podcasters. It is my least favorite hosting above all. 

More information

Podomatic

1. They limit your total storage to 500 MB (about 10 episodes) of storage space and 15 Gigs of bandwidth (about 300 listens). So this is an obvious, "enough to let you try it" scenario (but not enough to grow).
2. They put advertising on your site.
3. Their website for your show is very basic.

More Information

Podbean

Here’s what you get with a free Podbean account (the Basic plan):

Core Free Hosting Features

Storage & Upload Limits

• Total storage: 5 hours of audio (500 MB max total storage). 

• Daily upload limit: Up to 3 episodes per day. 

• Max file size: 100 MB per upload. 

• Bandwidth: Up to 100 GB per month of download bandwidth. 

Publishing & Distribution

• Create and publish episodes to your podcast. 

•  Generate an RSS feed to submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc. (free users generally submit manually). 

Podcast Site & Player

•  A free podcast website with basic customization. 

• Embeddable player you can use on blogs/websites. 

Analytics

• Basic podcast statistics to see downloads and trends. 

Supported Formats

• Supports common audio formats such as MP3 and M4A. 

Notes & Limitations

• Storage is limited — once you hit 5 hours total uploaded content, you’ll need to upgrade to keep hosting more. 

• Free accounts don’t include advanced features like advanced analytics, dynamic ad insertion, monetization tools (Ads Marketplace, subscriptions), Podbean AI tools, or custom domain support — those are part of paid plans. 

• Manual submission is typically required to list your podcast in directories (one-click distribution is a paid feature). 

In short, the free Podbean account gives you enough to start and publish a podcast with basic site pages and stats, but if you grow or want advanced tools, you’ll likely want to upgrade. 

More Information

Conclusion

If you want a free account with a full suite of tools, check out Buzzsprout which gives you three months of everything they have. At the end of the three months, starting paying as you will know if this is for you or not.

If you want a "free forever" and are not to interested in stats besides the number of downloads, the Red Circle is a great choice. RSS.com if you're doing a local show is another good choice. With those three (Buzzsprout, Red Circle, and RSS.com you should be OK). If you need a free account those are my suggestions. My favorite paid host is Captivate).