Podbean Review 2021 Vs Others

What is Podbean

Podbean is one of the oldest podcast hosts having been founded in 2004, 2 years after the WordPress CMS was launched. It also made to the list of top 10 podcast hosting and you can check out podcast hosts comparison.

Podbean is based in Manhattan, New York, USA.

On Podbean’s website, they refer themselves as a ” podcast publishing and monetization service.” Podbean offers free and premium hosting packages ideal for individuals, businesses, NGOs, and churches among others.

How does Podbean work

Wondering how Podbean works or how you can get started with a podcast using Podbean? Podbean is very user-friendly and you do not need extensive knowledge doing podcasts.

You sign up by using your Facebook account, Google account or by registering using email:

The next step allows you to enter the URL for your new Podbean hosting account:

Once you enter an allowed subdomain, you’ll be taken to the next page where you can pick who to follow in the Podbean community:

Once you choose who to follow, the next page is your new podcast dashboard that looks like this:

The dashboard will have your brand make similar to this ( https://admin.podbean.com/webtools/stats/overview ). I ended up with Webtools as my brand name as I couldn’t get away with 10webtools.

The final result is a dashboard similar to this:

Here is a podbean website example:

Is Podbean free: Free Plan/Free Trial

Podbean has a free plan and paid plans among its range of podcast hosting services you can choose from. If you are wondering whether it is really free, hear it from me. I have used the free plan and yes, Podbean is really free. If you want to know whether it is worth it or better than other podcast hosts such as Buzzsprout, read on. But the simple answer is this, Podbean is totally worth it if you are starting out and you can count on it to safetly store your audio files as it is backed by a legit company that has been around since 2006.

The Podbean free plan offers the following:

Unlimited Audio Plan, $9/month:

• Unlimited Storage & Bandwidth
• Pro Themes & Advanced Customizations
• Advanced Podcast Stats
• Map Your Own Domain
• Podcast Ads Marketplace
• Premium Podcast

Unlimited Plus, $29/m:

• Everything in the plan above and the following;
• Support Audios & Videos
• Pro Themes & Full Customizations
• Podcast Ads Marketplace
• PodAds – The SaaS for Podcast Advertising
• Podcast Patron Program

Business plan, $99/m:

• Everything in the Unlimited Plus and the following;
• Multiple Channels (2 included)
• Multiple Admins (2 included)
• Private Podcast with SSO authentication
• Remove Podbean Branding
• Live Chat Support
• Engagement Intel 
• White Label Apps 

Podbean Video Review:

Below is a full review of Podbean Review:

Podbean Pros:

1. Easy distribution as you can easily add your episodes to podcast apps such as iTunes, Google Play
2. Great for beginners
3. Generous beginner plan
4. Unlimited bandwidth in their plans
5. It has a free plan that does not delete episodes after a period.

Podbean Cons:

1. Limited security features
2. Podbean does not provide an uptime guarantee
3. Limited customization options

Is Podbean good for you?

To make a decision, read the most popular sections. The three links will take you to the sections:

1. Expert review:
2. Customer reviews
3. Hosting plans

Podbean coupon code

How to do a Podbean Embed

If you want to embed your audio on your website, Podbean has a detailed guide on how to embed it here.

YOu can easily embed by following these two steps:

Choose the episode you want to embed on your website by navigating from Publish to Episodes

The next step is to get the HTML code you’ll copy and paste on your website. Click on the ‘Embed Code’ on the episode details.

Podbean to other platforms:

Once you upload your mp3 file on your Podbean podcast account, you’ll be directed to a page similar to the one shown in the snapshot below:

To submit your Podbean podcast to Spotify, click on the ‘More’ button next to Tumblr logo. From the dropdown you get, choose Spotify and click it. If you are logged in to your Spotify account, it will post it, otherwise, it will redirect you to Spotify login page.

Sites/Hosts Like Podbean:

There are several hosts similar to Podbean and below are a few that we’ve recommended to podcasters:

1. Buzzsprout
2. Libsyn
3. Anchor
4. Soundcloud
5. Transistor

Podbean App

Podbean has a mobile Podbean app that you can download on Google Store and on the App Store. There are over 100,850 downloads on Google Play and the users have rated it 4.6/5. On the other hand, there are over 13,000 Podbean mobile app downloads on App Store and users have rated it 4.8/5.

Podbean Advertising

Podbean has a marketplace where podcasters are enabled to make money with podcast sessions. The platform offers great opportunities for podcasters to monetize its platform. Among the benefits are:

1. On the marketplace, top brands around the world sponsor unique podcasts.
2. It allows you control of your podcast: You can set slots for ads in your podcast (time slots and episodes) and you’ll be notified when selected for a campaign and can opt-out at any time.

Wondering how much you can earn from Podnean ads?

Podbean has a calculator on their website that you can use to see the potential earning.

Once you’ve launched your podcast, you can opt to join the marketplace where you can start earning from ads.

You should, however, note that this marketplace ads platform is only available to Podbean premium accounts. I got the following notice when I tried signing up with my free Podbean account:

Upgrade to a Podbean unlimited account (with lots of other benefits!). You can then opt to join Ads Marketplace if you wish to receive ad revenue.

Podbean Sponsorship.

Podbean iTunes

– podbean how to submit to itunes

Podbean google play

Podbean help/ live chat/phone/email

Podbean vs Other Podcast Hosts:

Podbean vs Spreaker

We certainly cannot fail to mention Spreaker as one of the best podcasting platforms alongside Podbean. With Podbean receiving a relative star rating of 3.2/5, Spreaker is not that far much behind with a rating of 3/5 on the review scale. I have reviewed and carefully painted out the relative comparative features for both podcast hosting platforms to help you select the best podcast hosting solution for your podcast needs.

Let’s take a look into some of the Podbean and Spreaker features…

With respect to these features, you can probably get a rough idea of which podcast hosting provider will be best suited to host your podcasting needs. Even so, I have run a further analysis into the relative advantages and limitations of using either podcast hosting platforms for your podcast hosting as follows:

Podbean Vs Spreaker Pros and Cons

podbean vs spotify

podbean vs captivate

podbean vs Google Podcast

podbean vs transistor

Transistor is a relatively new podcast hosting platform in the market that makes a suitable alternative for Podbean. Even though transistor does not have vast experience in hosting podcasts when compared to Podbean, it has great feature provisions and at cost – friendly prices. That having being said, you will find that transistor is a great platform in hosting brands. If you are looking to build a business or personal brand, then join great brands such as the ‘Cards Against Humanity’ in using Transistor for your podcast hosting needs.

Furthermore, Transistor is also great at analyzing podcast analytics for your use on the platform. As a matter of fact, Transistor is majorly directed towards users that are serious with podcasting. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you cannot enroll with Transistor if you are a novice user. It only means that you will have to be more focused on improving the quality of your podcasts using the tools provided by the podcast hosting platform.

To reinforce this brand building endeavor, Transistor enables you to host more than one podcast show under the same account and at the same pricing tier, a feature that is not available on Podbean. Even so, just like Podbean enables you to add more team members at higher podcast hosting packages, Transistor enables you to add various essential team members such as the editors and sound producers.

Additional Transistor Features

• Extended podcast website
• Excellent podcast statistical data
• Private podcasting availability

Why Transistor is better than Podbean

With the availability of multiple shows on one account, it means that you can be able to host even private podcasts under the same account. While the public podcasts are available to all users on the public platform, private podcasts require a specialized login to access the podcast content. With Podbean, you would have to acquire a new hosting plan which you probably have to restrict access by only the paid subscriptions.

Transistor pricing tiers start at $19 per month, which is the same as Captivate’s pricing tier, but slightly higher than that of Podbean podcast hosting provider. In essence, you will be able to get up to 10000 downloads, a figure that is more than adequate for most serious podcasters looking to build brands in the industry. To try out Transistor hosting platform, you can try their 14 – day free trial package, which will let you explore all the relevant features that you need for your podcast needs.

podbean vs podcast addict

podbean vs iTunes/Apple Podcasts

podbean vs acast

podbean vs simplecast

My list of the best podcast hosting providers would not be complete without mentioning Simplecast as a suitable alternative to Podbean. Simplecast will offer the same cool things as Podbean. In addition, you will get the same offers at Simplecast as you will with Podbean, but with much better feature provision. In fact, it has one of the best looking embedded audio players.

With Simplecast, you will also get a lot of advanced analytics that will be very helpful in helping you improve the quality of your podcasts. Interestingly, you will get a lot of features with Simplecasts at cost-friendly prices.

For instance, you will get unlimited podcast uploads, comprehensive analytical statistics, an extended website as well as the ability to host multiple team members for your account for only $15 per month. This is their lowest pricing tier. The highest pricing package is available at only $35 per month. Under this pricing tier, you will be previewed to more customization details both on the platform and on the website. Further, you will be able to have additional team members who will help you with the efficient delivery of your podcast while using a custom domain.

The highest pricing package available at Simplecasts enables you to be able to access advanced analytical data from individual episodes as well as a 50,000 download cap every month. Therefore, this means that you can hold a horde of individuals without thinking of the maximum number of users who can access your podcast and podcast media content.

To sweeten the pot, you can be able to preview all of Simplecasts features under their 14 – day free trial version. Just like Podbean, this is a very good proponent that lets you try the relevant features that you think are relevant for your podcast hosting before you enroll in the paid subscription packages.

podbean vs buzzsprout

Buzzsprout is a great podcast hosting alternative to Podbean for a variety of reasons. First off, it has a well – designed dashboard that is easy to navigate. This way, you will have more time creating podcasting media content for your podcast than spending time searching for the right tools to use on the platform.

Furthermore, Buzzsprout also provides regular updates as well as new features as they come up. Therefore, this means that you will always be up to date with developing technologies and functionalities that will improve the quality, reliability and authenticity of your podcasts. To put it simply, Buzzsprout invests in simplifying your podcasting experience while retaining the most relevant aspects of the podcast. Simple, not limited!

podbean vs pocket casts

Podbean vs Libsyn

If you are content creator considering doing podcasting for your content, you might have across Podbean and Libsyn as some of the best podcast hosting platforms. As such, you might be wondering which podcast hosting platform you should select for your podcast hosting needs. I have carefully delineated a direct comparison of both platforms to help you make the best selection for your needs. I have made the podcast comparisons based on the distribution, storage capacity, cost, benefits and limitations.

When reviewing these comparisons, it is difficult to say exactly which platform is the best. The best choice for you will depend on the relative podcasting needs for the successful launch and progress of your podcast. Since I need a podcast hosting platform that is scalable to suit the growing needs of my business, I would personally choose Podbean as the best podcast hosting platform as it enables a smooth learning and growing curve.

Podbean vs Soundcloud

Yet another suitable alternative to Podbean is SoundCloud. SoundCloud podcast hosting platform has received a myriad of positive reviews from many users across the globe. It has even been preferred to Podbean by most of these users. It is suffice to argue that with excellent speeds, disk storage and scheduled podcasting priorities; it no doubt makes our list of top podcast hosting platforms.

To better understand the relative differences and contrasting features between Podbean and SoundCloud, I used the following criteria:

• The storage space – The storage space is one of the most critical elements to consider as it determines the number of uploads and or downloads that can be made from your podcast hosting. You will be able to rate the possible space required for your hosting as well as the possibility of expansion.
• Embedding – It is also important to consider the embedding possibilities of your podcast hosting provider as it will enable you to determine the most suitable player for your podcast hosting needs.
• Cost and pricing – It goes without saying that you will definitely need to consider the cost at which you will be able to host your podcast content to your relative audience. These pricing tiers should be concurrent with the features that you need to effectively satisfy your hosting needs.
• The RSS feed – The RSS feed should be able to link your podcast material to your subscribers, and in different platforms. You should be able to know whether your podcast has an RSS feed, the extent to which you can share your podcast material with other hosts as well as the availability of auto-syncing your content to relevant podcast directories.
• Simplicity and ease of use – Yet another criterion that should be taken into consideration is the ease of use of the podcast hosting provider that you want to choose. It should be simple enough such that even a novice user would be able to effectively share their content with subscribers across the globe.
• Metric data and analytics – Furthermore, the best podcast hosting provider should be able to gather and display the user information with respect to your specific podcast. In fact, the collected user metrics is essential in directing your podcasts. You should be able to know the various reactions from podcast listeners and users such that you can be able to improve on the quality and marketing strategies related to your podcast.

It is difficult to choose either one of the podcast hosting platforms given the comparisons between the two. Both SoundCloud and Podbean have great and almost similar feature provisions that would suit any podcast user, whether you are a beginner or an expert podcaster. However, SoundCloud has been in the industry for quite some time and thus has vast experience in relating to the users. Even so, Podbean is more user oriented, aiming to grow their users to exponential growth levels. From my personal experience, I would recommend using Podbean as your preferred podcast hosting provider as your content will be measured with respect to the disk space used other than the airtime used within your podcast episodes.

Podbean vs Blubrry

Among the list of the best podcast hosting platforms is Blubrry. Blubrry rivals Podbean in the provision of valiant podcasting features that suits a range of users. To select the best podcast hosting platform, you will need to consider:

• Storage space availability
• The distribution of podcasting content
• The relative strengths and weaknesses of the podcast
• The Cost and pricing

We will use these factors to compare the podcasting features offered by either Podbean or Blubrry, to determine which the better podcast hosting provider is.

Comparisons between Podbean and Blubrry

First off, let me begin by mentioning that Blubrry offers great administrative tools to the podcast author. This is mainly because Blubrry is a podcasting platform that was created by podcasters for podcasters. As such, the creators believed that the podcast author should have total control and administration of all the elements in their show.

On the other hand, Podbean focuses mainly on the provision of services that would enable you to host a great show as well as expand your growth curve exponentially. To this end, Podbean has a budget friendly hosting service that is also user-friendly. Podbean provides a great flexibility for all its users such that you can be able to adapt to the relative changes happening within the podcasting industry, and with respect to your target audience and subscribers.

Storage space availability

The availability of storage space to host your content is one of the most important features that you have to consider. You do not want to find yourself with loads of content to share with your target audience and find no space to do it.

Podbean offers from 100MB to unlimited disk storage space depending on the selected hosting package. This means that any podcast author can be able to get the relative disk storage space required to be able to host vast contents on their show. This also means that you do not have limited airplay time with respect to the podcast episodes hosted on your show.

Similarly, Blubrry starts its disk space availability at 100MB, which is sufficient for small audiences, blogs and websites. Nonetheless, Blubrry does not have a diverse range of disk space availability to its users as its highest pricing tier can only accommodate up to 250MB of disk space storage. Even so, the same high priced package tier offers unlimited downloads to the respective podcast listeners and subscribers.

Content Distribution

On the one hand…

Blubrry has the best RSS feed hosting in the podcasting industry as it is able to link your own RSS feed to multiple podcasting platforms including Apple podcasts/iTunes. More so, it has a well – established integration process with WordPress hosted sites and especially PowerPress. Even further, you can be able to migrate to other sites with ease.

On the other hand…

Podbean has an all – inclusive distribution package that allows you to reach your target audience with ease and efficiently. Podbean is also supported by iTunes and enables you to have your own RSS feed. What’s more, you can choose to expand your target niche by expanding the pages in which you are linked to at a higher pricing.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Both Podbean and Blubrry have relative strengths that are worth your attention. For instance; Podbean offers unlimited hosting while offering you a personal site as well as the multiple networking opportunities to diverse network pages. Even better, you will get to work with a simple yet advanced interface. Podbean has so many strengths such that, the only weakness that I can reckon is perhaps their limited customer service.

With Blubrry, you cannot go wrong with the advanced customer service to all their users. After all, Blubrry was specifically designed for podcasters by a team of podcasters themselves. It is therefore prudent to put across that they employ a very ethical philosophy in the provision of their services. To top it all off, you will get the best podcasting services at very affordable prices for your specific podcasting needs.

Cost and Pricing

With regards to the pricing of their hosting features, Podbean takes the win over Blubrry as their prices are really hard to beat. Just think of a minimum starting price of $3 per month for an annual plan with Podbean.

Comparatively, Blubrry has a minimal starting price of $12 for their least pricing tier. Despite the huge difference in the pricing package, you will find that both packages offer 100MB for their start up pricing. This proponent already speaks volumes with respect to how advantageous it is to select Podbean as your preferred podcast hosting solution.

Interestingly, you will find that Podbean’s pricing features can go as high as $99, Blubrry’s highest priced package goes for only $80. This difference in the pricing despite the vice versa at the startup package pricing suggests that Podbean has a wide array of features available for their diverse user platform. On the other hand, it could also mean that Blubrry has a precise, user – specific podcast pricing packaging solution that enables you to meet your exact goals and objectives.

Podbean and Blubrry at a glance

podbean rss feed

podbean wordpress

FAQs

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Nate R. Reiner

My name is Nate Reiner and I am the editor here at 10Webtools. I have 8 years of experience using 50+ different web tools ranging from podcast, web hosting, email marketing, and much more. I previously managed a team offering support services to a large conglomerate that utilized tens of software solutions. I now run this blog full-time and when I am not reviewing or testing software, I enjoy riding bikes and supporting my clients achieve internet success. You can reach me directly at [email protected]