Introduction
If you’re looking for a place to host your no doubt world-changing podcast, Buzzsprout is probably the first place you’ll be looking. Boasting over 100,000 customers, it’s almost certainly the biggest player out there. But can its services back up its immense popularity?
Main Features
In addition to letting you list your podcast on all the big providers (Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc.), Buzzsprout boasts a number of additional features that help put it ahead of the pack. These include:
- A Free Website
Buzzsprout will provide your podcast with its own website, gratis, complete with your own domain name. Admittedly it’s fairly basic, and if you’re looking at making a business out of it you’ll probably want to get your own WordPress site up and running. But it’s a nice touch.
- Advanced Statistics
Buzzsprout’s dashboard provides a whole raft of in-depth stats, from where your listeners are located to which device they listened to it on. The dashboard is simple to navigate, and the colourful charts and are easy to use and understand.
- Monetisation Options
While still a little basic at the moment, Buzzsprout provides affiliate marketing opportunities to help you make a little side-income off your podcasting. Admittedly there aren’t a huge number of brands to choose from, but Buzzsprout’s automated features (such as automatically incorporating your links across all platforms) take some of the hassle out.
- Audio Transcription
Buzzsprout provides automated transcription via the Temi service. By turning your ramblings into Google-readable text, you massively increase the amount of potential traffic your podcast can receive. Buzzsprout can also tack this transcription onto your episode description page.
Plans and Pricing
Buzzsprout offers four tiers of pricing, from free to $24 per month. Note that they currently lack the kind of annual payment structure you might be used to from web hosting services – payment is month-by-month only. Also note that the Free Tier does not host your podcast indefinitely – you only get 90 days. All tiers include a free website, custom embedded players, podcast directory access and 250GB bandwidth per month.
The tiers break down as follows:
– Free
- Upload two hours per month.
- 90 days hosting.
- Advanced Statistics.
- No Magic Mastering.
- Podcasts contain ads.
– $12/Month
- Upload three hours per month.
- Indefinite hosting.
- Upload extra content for $4 per hour.
- Advanced Statistics.
- Unlimited storage
- Free podcast importing.
- Magic Mastering available for $6 per month.
– $18/Month
- Upload six hours per month.
- Indefinite hosting.
- Upload extra content for $3 per hour.
- Advanced Statistics.
- Unlimited storage
- Free podcast importing.
- Magic Mastering available for $12 per month.
– $24/Month
- Upload twelve hours per month.
- Indefinite hosting.
- Upload extra content for $2 per hour.
- Advanced Statistics.
- Unlimited storage
- Free podcast importing.
- Magic Mastering available for $9 per month.
Pros:
– Easy to Use
You don’t need any podcasting experience before jumping right in with Buzzsprout. The dashboard is simple and intuitive to use, and they hold your hand through things like creating RSS feeds and so on. And as we stated above, the stats pages are clear and colourful and thoroughly idiot-proof.
– Great Feature Set
Although Buzzsprout might lack some of the fancier features of its competitors, it offers more than enough for any enterprising podcaster to get started – a free website, plentiful storage, embedding options and even monetisation opportunities.
– Clear and Value-for-Money Pricing
Pricing plans can be a little confusing when it comes to podcast hosting services. Some providers charge by downloads per month, which can get a little confusing when you’ve got a lot of different episodes up. On the other hand, Buzzsprout’s per-hour pricing policy is much easier to understand, and prices compare favourably with other hosting services.
– Excellent Customer Support
Buzzsprout offers 24/7 technical support, and the vast majority of reviews have cited the professionalism and helpfulness of the support staff as a big factor in why they chose to stick with their hosting service. Plus they provide a raft of guides and how-to’s to help you get started.
Cons:
– Automatic File Conversion
Chances are this won’t be a big issue for anyone but audio-heads, but Buzzsprout’s lower-pricing tiers automatically convert any files you upload to a mono MP3 file at 96kbps. This probably won’t be a big deal for most, but those seeking absolute crisp audio clarity will probably want to opt for the $6 per month upgrade which allows you to upload 192k stereo files.
– Free Website is A Little Basic
This is something of a ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ complaint, but Buzzsprout’s free websites are … less than ideal for professional podcasters, lacking the customisation options of your standard WordPress site. Sure, it’s nice to have the option, but if you’re serious about your podcast you’ll probably want to set up your own website.
Wrap-up
Overall, once you sign up it’ll quickly become apparent why Buzzspsout is the industry leader for podcast hosting. Clear, easy to use and packed with features, it’s the perfect choice for beginners. Long-time industry professionals may be a little underwhelmed by the lack of some of the fancier extras, but there’s enough here for anyone to get up and running with their podcasts.
