Podcast hosting cost calculator: what you really pay

For a new show the cheapest podcast host is RSS.com Free at $0 a month; the cheapest paid plan is Fireside Starter at $9. At 50,000 downloads a month the cheapest paid plan is Fireside Starter at $9. Caps decide it: Captivate, Transistor and Simplecast price by downloads, Buzzsprout and Podbean by upload hours, Fireside by bandwidth.

Last checked 2026-10-18 on the official pages.

Plan price for your number of shows, monthly downloads, upload hours and video, for Buzzsprout, Captivate, Transistor, Podbean, RSS.com, Castos, Simplecast, Fireside, Acast and Riverside. Every limit and price from the official pricing pages.

Podcast hosting cost calculator

Host and cheapest fitting plan	Plan price	Add-ons needed	Total / month	Per year

Share: link to these numbers

Total = plan price + any paid extra podcasts. Download and upload caps are the plan limits each host states; 'no cap stated' means the pricing page sets none (most call it unlimited or unmetered); Fireside and Podbean Network cap bandwidth in GB/TB, which is shown but not converted to downloads. Upload hours are audio hours (video uses more storage). 'Video podcast' = the host lists video podcast hosting on that plan. monthly price = no annual price is published as a number, so the monthly price is used. Ties are broken by name. Affiliate status is never used.

Cheapest podcast host by need

Monthly billing. Click a row for the full ranking.

Need	Cheapest	Second
1,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
5,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
20,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
50,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
100,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
250,000 downloads/month	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
2 podcasts	Acast Essential at $14.99/month	Simplecast Basic at $15/month
3 podcasts	Acast Essential at $14.99/month	Simplecast Basic at $15/month
5 podcasts	Acast Essential at $14.99/month	Simplecast Basic at $15/month
10 podcasts	Acast Essential at $14.99/month	Simplecast Basic at $15/month
Video podcast	Buzzsprout Audio + Video at $30/month	Podbean Unlimited Plus at $39/month
Daily show (30 hrs)	RSS.com Free at $0/month	Fireside Starter at $9/month
Network (10 shows, 200K)	Acast Essential at $14.99/month	Castos Essentials at $19/month

Try Captivate ↗ (affiliate link)

Try Castos ↗ (affiliate link)

Disclosure: Links marked “affiliate link” (Castos, Captivate) earn PodHostCost a commission if you sign up, at no cost to you. Prices, totals and rankings are calculated the same way for every host and never depend on affiliate status.

Hosts

Buzzsprout

From $18/mo · free plan to try it, no credit card (limits not listed on the pricing page, so not ranked)

Captivate

From $19/mo · 30-day free trial

Transistor

From $19/mo · 14-day free trial

Podbean

From $17/mo · free account to start

RSS.com

From $0/mo · free plan; 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans

Castos

From $19/mo · 14-day free trial

Simplecast

From $15/mo · 14-day free trial, no credit card

Fireside

From $9/mo · no free trial stated on the pricing page

Acast

From $0/mo · free Starter plan (1 show, 5 episodes)

Riverside

From $29/mo · 14-day free trial

Popular comparisons

Buzzsprout vs Captivate · Buzzsprout vs Transistor · Buzzsprout vs Podbean · Buzzsprout vs RSS.com · Captivate vs Transistor · Podbean vs RSS.com · Castos vs Transistor · Buzzsprout vs Castos · Captivate vs Castos · Simplecast vs Transistor · all

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest podcast hosting?

RSS.com Free costs $0 with unlimited episodes and downloads for one show. The cheapest paid plan for a new show is Fireside Starter at $9/month, then Acast Essential at $14.99.

Which podcast hosts limit downloads?

Captivate (30,000 / 150,000 / 300,000 a month), Transistor (20K / 100K / 250K) and Simplecast (20K / 50K included). Buzzsprout and Podbean limit upload hours instead; RSS.com, Castos and Acast state unlimited downloads.

What is the cheapest host for several podcasts?

For 3 podcasts and 10,000 downloads a month: Acast Essential at $14.99/month, then Simplecast Basic at $15.

What is the cheapest video podcast hosting?

Buzzsprout Audio + Video at $30/month, then Podbean Unlimited Plus at $39 (hosts that list video podcast hosting on the plan).