{"question": "best podcast hosting platforms for small businesses", "category": "podcast-hosting-platforms", "category_name": "podcast hosting platforms", "audience": "small-businesses", "audience_name": "small businesses", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-03T00:15:27Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/podcast-hosting-platforms-small-businesses-2026-10-03", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/podcast-hosting-platforms/small-businesses", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Buzzsprout", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Spotify", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Transistor", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Captivate", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Castos", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "WordPress", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "Podbean", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "Hello Audio", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://castos.com/best-podcast-hosting-services/", "domain": "castos.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://www.stackscored.com/pricing/podcast-hosting/", "domain": "stackscored.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.thepodcasthost.com/websites-hosting/best-podcast-hosting/", "domain": "thepodcasthost.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.spotsaas.com/blog/best-podcast-hosting-platforms", "domain": "spotsaas.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://helloaudio.fm/buzzsprout-alternatives/", "domain": "helloaudio.fm", "source_type": "vendor"}], "answer_text": "For a small business podcast, here's who I'd actually name, roughly in the order I'd recommend them:\n\n**1. Buzzsprout** - where I'd send most people starting out. $12/mo for 3 hours of upload time (free tier exists but episodes expire after 90 days), the best onboarding in the category, and dead-simple distribution to Apple/Spotify. The catch: it prices by upload hours *per show*, so it gets expensive fast if you run multiple podcasts (~$30/mo for five shows).\n\n**2. Transistor** - the best value once you're past episode one, and my pick if you might ever run more than one show. $19/mo includes **unlimited podcasts**, which is why agencies and companies with a customer-facing show plus an internal one land here. Prices on downloads (20k-100k+ depending on tier), which is the more modern model.\n\n**3. Captivate** - closest competitor to Transistor at $19/mo (~$17 annual), also unlimited shows, but leans harder into growth and marketing tooling: calls-to-action in episodes, better analytics, guest/network features. Pick this one if the podcast is explicitly a marketing asset you'll be reporting on.\n\n**4. Castos** - the one I'd name specifically for **private/internal podcasting** (clie", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}